HD by design
The End Of Innocence
CURRENT AFFAIRS
As the ANC celebrates its centenary, the public is still wondering what turns a freedom fighter like Jackie Selebi to the dark side. With his appeal recently lost, the liberation hero is now firmly behind bars.
By Adriaan Basson
Photograph by Adam Hill
To millions of people in and outside South Africa, the African National Congress has embodied a moral force over the past decade. The party, which turned 100 in January, is the oldest liberation movement on the continent. It survived being banned by white minority rule, it resisted the brutal apartheid system, and when it came to power in 1994, under Nobel Peace Prize winner Nelson Mandela.
Julian Assange
THE ROLLING STONE INTERVIEW
Under house arrest in England, the WikiLeaks founder opens up about his battle with The New York Times, his stint in solitary and the future of journalism.
By Michael Hastings
Photography by Max Vadukul
It's a few days before christmas and Julian Assange has just finished moving to a new hide-out deep in the English countryside. The two-bedroomed house, on loan from a WikiLeaks supporter, is comfortable enough, with a big stone fireplace and a porch out back, but it’s not as grand as the country estate where he spent the past 363 days under house arrest, waiting for a British court to decide whether he will be extradited to Sweden to face allegations that he sexually molested two women he was briefly involved with in August '10.
David Bowie
How Ziggy Stardust Fell to earth
David Bowie made rock ’n’ roll safe for glitter gods and space oddities – but he was really trying to hold on to his sanity.
By Mikal Gilmore
On July 3rd, 1973, David Bowie sat backstage at the Hammersmith Odeon theatre in London, waiting. Assistants, make-up artists and costume designers were preparing him for the most anticipated performance of his career: the final date of a triumphant first world tour with his extraordinary band, the Spiders From Mars. As he waited, hundreds gathered in the theatre’s auditorium. Many of them were followers – they dressed like Bowie, in daring and glamorous outfits; dyed their hair to duplicate his shock-red mane; they made their faces pallid.
Rolling Stone Issue 4
Sinead O'Connor
October 29, 1992
“People should just not vote, they should stop going to work, they should screech this whole fucking sham to a halt. Put the fuckers out of business and start all over again.” The Irish songstress shares her thoughts on surviving politics, fame, feminism and religion in this classic interview.
By Alan Light
Her face goes blank, and everyone in the room knows what’s coming. Things were moving along smoothly during Sinéad O’Connor’s public debut of material from Am I Not Your Girl? , her first album since her 1990 breakthrough I Do Not Want What I Haven’t Got. The risky new record is a collection of pop standards that were family famous favourites in her youth: “These are thes ongs that made me want to sing,” she explains in the album credits.
