Archive

Say Zen

The angry Irish girl – the Sinéad of the savage crop and mouth to match – is a thing of the past. At 22, Sinéad is discovering the joys of marriage, motherhood and, not least, mysticism. You can hear this in the softer, more spiritual songs written for her new LP. It is, says Sinéad, like being visited by the Holy Ghost…

The Spice Girls: Fox Force Five

November 1996: The Spice Girls. You may very well laugh when they say they’re on a mission to empower the women of the world, but more than a million people in Britain appear to believe them. Just who exactly do they think they are?

At home with Neneh Cherry

October 1992: Three years after her debut album, Neneh Cherry is back in the pop arena. But first she invited us to her retreat in rural Sweden to talk about life, love, family – and home.

So Solid Crew: swaggering to the top of the charts

August 2001: They’ve been banged up, shot at, knifed, adored, ripped off, sampled and mobbed. There’s 30 of them and the youngest is eight. They’ve brought mob rule to the charts and rebuilt pop for the 21st century. This is So Solid Crew: get UR streets on to the future sound of young Britain.

How Missy Elliott changed the face of hip-hop

June 1999: To celebrate Black History Month, we’ve dug through our 40 years-deep back-catalogue to find interviews and profiles with the world’s greatest talents across film, music, fashion and the arts. Over the coming weeks we’ll be posting a selection of these FACE encounters with the best of the best. Creative, resilient and revolutionary: these are our Archive Heroes.

The Story of Malcolm X

Spike Lee is now showing a sunnier face to the world, yet he’s making another film without a happy ending.

Grace Jones: confessions of an art groupie

To celebrate Black History Month, we’ve dug through our 40 years-deep back-catalogue to find interviews and profiles with the world’s greatest talents across film, music, fashion and the arts. Over the coming weeks we’ll be posting a selection of these FACE encounters with the best of the best. Creative, resilient and revolutionary: these are our Archive Heroes.

Godspeed you black emperor!

Black History Month: It's September 1999. He is Napoleon in Pumas. In LA, he brokers peace for Biggie and Tupac. In London, he buys champagne for 700 friends. In Paris, he parties with George Lucas. And back in New York, there are the Spanish and rock markets to conquer… Has Puff Daddy come to save hip-hop, or to bury it?

The Prodigy: burning down the house

July 1996: Things won’t ever be quite the same for The Prodigy following the incredible success of that record. Where next for the fire-starting mob now they’ve torched the rock ‘n’roll blueprint?

Mancunian candidates

January 1990: After a year of underground success, Stone Roses and Happy Mondays crowd into a Top of the Pops dressing room to celebrate their entry into the national charts. With Britain at their feet the world will surely follow, and if you're looking for the sound of the Nineties, these are the Mancunian candidates.

What is The Matrix?

It’s the blockbuster that’s part Western, part comic-book and a bit Mortal Kombat... It’s the sci-fi film reinvented. Let the experts who made it show you how. The Matrix: you’ll believe Keanu can fly.

Mister Angry: Dave Chappelle

September 1993: “There’s no cure for cancer,” a cigarette puffing Denis Leary bragged in his 1992 comedy routine. But 19-year-old Dave Chappelle disagrees: racism is a cancer and it’s not too late for treatment. Wicked world, it’s time to laugh yourself better.

The inventions of Jean-Paul Gaultier

February 1984: “The badly-dressed people are always the most interesting,” says Jean-Paul Gaultier. His zany and iconoclastic creations have managed to bemuse even the most modern tastes. Here are six of the most striking, described and photographed by the designer himself.

Cock of the North

November 1996: You are Ewan McGregor. In Trainspotting you play Britain's most famous heroin addict. You're fêted at Cannes, then signed by Hollywood. What do you do next? Star in a film in which you mostly appear naked, with words painted on your penis. Of course.

A Dogg’s Tale

February 1994: Snoop Doggy Dogg is currently America’s top rap star. He’s also due to be tried later this year as an accessory to murder. In his first interview with the British press, he tells us whether the gangsta life celebrated on his records has now become reality.

The emperor strikes back

December 2000: Joaquin Phoenix has demons. The myth surrounding his late brother River. His “hippy” family. The six “wilderness” years he took off from acting. That “moodiness”. But this year, with formidable performances in Gladiator and now The Yards, he’s finally headed into the light.

Straight Outta Hollywood

May 1991: In homage to the late John Singleton, director of ‘90s cult classic Boyz N The Hood, The Face unearths an archive feature on the rise of “Black Hollywood”.

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