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The Scottish pop star who is a queer icon in the making

MacKenzie’s lament For the most recent instalment of On The Record, his excellent survey of Scottish rock and pop albums, The Herald’s Russell...

yesterday 5

Barry Didcock

Good news at last - Scotland's big two film festivals are in rude health

Main features Whisper it, but Scotland’s two major film festivals appear to be in reasonably good health. Glasgow Film Festival (GFF) opened on...

27.03.2025 2

Barry Didcock

Could this Scottish play end up on West End and on Broadway? It might just make it

I’ve never been to a glitzy opening night on Broadway or in London’s West End, so I can only imagine what they’re like. But after attending...

20.03.2025 10

Barry Didcock

Death of River City is a huge blow to those who work in Scotland's TV sector

Despite the headlines, news of the BBC’s scrapping of Glasgow-based soap River City maybe shouldn’t come as too much of a shock. Not in an era...

20.03.2025 6

Barry Didcock

The Golden Age of TV is over - so get ready for a wave of rubbish reboots The the Golden Age of TV is over – we have reached Peak TV and are sliding down the other side. Naturally all this affects viewers as they face more returning ‘zombie’ shows such as the BBC’s current Bergerac re-boot. But it also affects jobs, livelihoods, the prospect of a strong and healthy Scottish TV industry – and the chance of a decent career in it.

Golden years? “Just a few years ago a Golden Age of television was declared,” said Today programme presenter Jonny Dymond on Saturday’s show....

12.03.2025 10

Barry Didcock

This is probably the most surreal Scottish film you are likely to see this year

Review: Harvest, Glasgow Film Festival, Barry Didcock, Three stars A leading light in the so-called Greek Weird Wave, a movement centred on Poor...

04.03.2025 6

Barry Didcock

Will The Substance defy the odds to take Best Picture at the Oscars? Is it possible that when the last celebrities have been ushered out of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with goody bags in hand, actress Demi Moore and French director Coralie Fargeat will be among the lucky few also clutching an Oscar?

Is it possible that late on Sunday night, when the last celebrities have been ushered out of the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles with goody bags in hand,...

26.02.2025 4

Barry Didcock

Now it's Scotland's turn to put Haruki Murakami on the stage

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Pop quiz: which living author’s work has been turned into at least 10 films (one a...

19.02.2025 4

Barry Didcock

What literary great should be next in the culture war slaughter? Literature exists to challenge deep-seated orthodoxies and power imbalances. Curricula should too. That’s what education is for – and why it is constantly being fought over. So how wrong is it to slaughter our literary greats?

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. The row about the English curriculum for Scottish schools rumbles on. Readers of The...

12.02.2025 5

Barry Didcock

The dirty word of literature? In praise of the much-maligned essay

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Long known for exposing venality, corruption and incompetence in government, public...

05.02.2025 4

Barry Didcock

Shocking or unsurprising? Scotland makes appearances on Theatres at Risk list Every year the Trust publishes a Theatres at Risk register and the 2025 list has just dropped. Shockingly (or unsurprisingly) there are five Scottish theatres on the list.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. The Theatres Trust is a charity whose aim is the safeguarding of the UK’s theatres...

29.01.2025 1

Barry Didcock

John Maclean: From Beta Band to BAFTAs to Glasgow Film Fest glory If you were lucky enough to have seen Scottish group the Beta Band early days, you may remember the films that used to play on the walls, which is why it was less of a surprise when Beta Band mainstay John Maclean made a pivot into film direction.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. If you were lucky enough to have seen cult Scottish group the Beta Band in their early...

22.01.2025 1

Barry Didcock

An t-Eilean: Do Scottish broadcasters have the guts for a Tartan Noir revolution? Is Scotland finally catching up after decades of wondering why the Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Belgians and Welsh can make (or be bothered to fund) high-quality crime drama?

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. To trumpet An t-Eilean/The Island as the BBC’s most expensive Gaelic language drama...

15.01.2025 6

Barry Didcock

Wait, where was my flashy new Agatha Christie adaptation over Christmas? Did I miss something or was there really no flashy new all-star Agatha Christie adaptation on TV over Christmas?

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Did I miss something or was there really no flashy new all-star Agatha Christie...

08.01.2025 4

Barry Didcock

'Lazy and complacent' - BBC Christmas Day schedule damned by TV expert From 3pm until 11.05pm, BBC One’s Christmas Day schedule is a near facsimile of the 2023 version, which in turn resembled the 2022 one. Or, if you prefer the R-word, it’s a repeat. Groundhog Christmas, only with everyone looking a year older.

In 2019 a list was compiled of the 20 most watched Christmas Day TV shows ever. You won’t be surprised to learn that only one was from this...

23.12.2024 5

Barry Didcock

Scotland continues to punch above its cinematic weight Despite the odds, Scotland continues to punch above its weight in the cinematic arts. Take Edinburgh-born film-maker Charlotte Wells. Or Bill Douglas. Or Peter Mullan. Or Lynne Ramsay.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Despite the odds, Scotland continues to punch above its weight in the cinematic arts....

18.12.2024 5

Barry Didcock

Irvine Welsh releasing new Trainspotting while fighting fascism of ‘Disco Sucks’

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Last week Irvine Welsh unveiled a new Trainspotting novel, as well as a title and a...

11.12.2024 5

Barry Didcock

He's behind you: When jokes are too rude for panto... It is ‘Pantomime season can’t be here already,’ I say. ‘I’m still wearing shorts to the supermarket. It’s too early for Puss In Boots, surely.’

‘Pantomime season can’t be here already,’ I say. ‘I’m still wearing shorts to the supermarket. It’s too early for Puss In Boots,...

06.12.2024 4

Barry Didcock

EIF budget – curtains down for Scotland's cultural jewel? Budgets, financial reports and spending plans are issues making headlines at the moment. But while those things occupy politicians and business leaders, they’re also never far from the minds of those who make Scotland’s cultural weather.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Budgets, financial reports and spending plans are issues making headlines at the...

26.11.2024 4

Barry Didcock

EIF ascends under Benedetti – meanwhile, BBC Scotland are stuck relying on London Edinburgh International Festival is the jewel in Scotland’s cultural crown... while BBC Scotland is stuck commissioning and producing through London via branch offices.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Nobody should be in any doubt that the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) is the...

19.11.2024 4

Barry Didcock

The Day of the Jackal is ruined by this one major problem There should be a word for that special kind of disappointment when a thing you’ve been looking forward to turns out to be a dud. Whatever the word is (or will be) I was feeling the need of it well before the end of The Day Of The Jackal.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. There should be a word for that special kind of disappointment you feel when a thing...

12.11.2024 3

Barry Didcock

Are we getting value for money from BBC Scotland?

Ask yourself what’s meant by Scottish drama and a definition isn’t hard to come by. It means stories dealing with Scottish society and history,...

07.11.2024 3

Barry Didcock

Are ABBA really ‘the world’s greatest band’? Someone is bound to lay The Beatles down early. It’s one of those great pub argument prompts isn’t it – which is the most influential band ever?

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. It’s one of those great pub argument prompts isn’t it – which is the most...

29.10.2024 2

Barry Didcock

Photo booths are now a rarity – perfect time for an artistic comeback? Do you remember photo booths? They still exist, of course. But do you remember the ones where you didn’t have to pay with a smartphone then download the images from a website using a code and an app and an unholy confection of algorithms?

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Do you remember photo-booths? They still exist, of course. But do you remember the ones...

22.10.2024 2

Barry Didcock

New Lyceum artistic director is not a household name... but is he a good choice? James Brining’s inheritance is one of Scotland’s, and therefore the UK’s, finest theatres, but in common with most other venues it’s one which does not have its troubles to seek at the moment.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Following July’s news that playwright-turned-theatre chief David Greig was to leave his...

15.10.2024 2

Barry Didcock

So why do I only read books written by women now? I tend only to read novels by women these days, a trend which started a few years ago when I encountered, in close succession, the short stories of Anaïs Nin, the work of Shirley Jackson and an author called Anna Kavan.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. I tend only to read novels by women these days, a trend which started a few years ago...

08.10.2024 2

Barry Didcock

There would be no Bruce Springsteen without the real thing - Kris Kristofferson

My route into the work of Kris Kristofferson, who died this week, was an unusual one – an album by left-field California rock trio Acetone....

03.10.2024 10

Barry Didcock

Glasgow 850 may seem like flannel but here is why celebrations matter to city

In 1975, Glasgow turned 800 so in May of that year it threw itself a birthday party to celebrate. There was a groovily designed poster with the...

24.09.2024 2

Barry Didcock

A prestigious win for Cumnock Tryst and a dire warning for the arts Congratulations to composer Sir James MacMillan, who wears many hats including that of founder and main mover behind the Cumnock Tryst music festival. Last week the Tryst won the Classical Music prize at the prestigious Sky Arts Awards in London.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Congratulations to composer Sir James MacMillan, who wears many hats including that of...

24.09.2024 2

Barry Didcock

Guillermo del Toro and his love affair with Edinburgh's bookshops Acclaimed horror movie director Guillermo del Toro has been doing a great job of promoting Edinburgh’s independent bookshops during his stay in the capital.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Acclaimed horror movie director Guillermo del Toro has been doing a great job of...

17.09.2024 6

Barry Didcock

It's hard to ignore the grim beauty of a brutalist Glasgow It’s always been my suspicion that people who love brutalism probably did not grow up surrounded by examples of the form. And definitely didn’t grow up in one. But there is a grim sort of beauty to its architecture.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. It’s always been my suspicion that people who love brutalism – an architectural style...

10.09.2024 2

Barry Didcock

There's every reason in the world to fund Scotland's arts sector Only fools and right-wing ideologues still believe in the efficacy of trickle-down economics. But what about the trickle-up sort? It works, at least where the arts are concerned – a fact that’s worth remembering this week as a new round of austerity looms.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Only fools and right-wing ideologues still believe in the efficacy of trickle-down...

03.09.2024 3

Barry Didcock

Most heated controversy of the Fringe? Clearly the best joke award Heated discussion of the merits (or otherwise) of the winning gag in the Joke Of The Fringe competition might be about the most contentious thing to go down at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. My two favourite stand-up gags ever came courtesy of the criminally under-rated...

20.08.2024 10

Barry Didcock

Gigs at Edinburgh International Festival: An overdue idea or opportunistic? I end Week One and begin Week Two by dipping into a pool which for many years was not much fished by the Festival generally – and by the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) not at all. I mean popular music.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. As contemporary dancers twitch and jerk, opera singers warble, drag queens slay,...

13.08.2024 2

Barry Didcock

Who took the Fringe more by storm, Liz Truss or her impersonator? Hang on, isn’t that Ms Truss I see standing outside the venue as I saunter down Morrison Street, trademark blue dress matching the summer sky to a tee? Er, no.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. Although there are guiding hands at work curating the cultural offerings available in...

06.08.2024 3

Barry Didcock

A whole 30 years since first T in the Park – has anything compared since? By the time T in the Park emptied its last bottle of Buckfast in 2016, the festival landscape had changed completely. Dozens of ‘boutique’ rock festivals catering to niche tastes had arrived on the scene to offer diversity and provide more of a geographical spread.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. This week marks the 30th anniversary of the first T in the Park music festival, held at...

30.07.2024 3

Barry Didcock

Forget the outdoor festivals, it's time for a visual arts summer With Scotland about to disappear under a tsunami of stand-up comics, theatre shows, jugglers, stilt-walkers, sundry other street entertainers, perhaps now is the time for a quick word about the visual arts.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. With Scotland about to disappear under a tsunami of stand-up comics, theatre shows,...

23.07.2024 3

Barry Didcock

Emerging from Fergus McCreadie's sonic storm of homegrown jazz By the end Fergus McCreadie was on his feet along with the rest of the crowd as a deserved standing ovation greeted what had been a barnstorming performance by the Mercury Music Prize-nominated jazz pianist.

This article appears as part of the Herald Arts newsletter. On Saturday your correspondent took his seat for one of the highlights of the Edinburgh...

16.07.2024 1

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Popular

The Scottish pop star who is a queer icon in the making

Barry Didcock

Good news at last - Scotland's big two film festivals are in rude health

Barry Didcock

Could this Scottish play end up on West End and on Broadway? It might just make it

Barry Didcock

Death of River City is a huge blow to those who work in Scotland's TV sector

Barry Didcock

Barry Didcock

This is probably the most surreal Scottish film you are likely to see this year

Barry Didcock

Barry Didcock

Now it's Scotland's turn to put Haruki Murakami on the stage

Barry Didcock

What literary great should be next in the culture war slaughter? Literature exists to challenge deep-seated orthodoxies and power imbalances. Curricula should too. That’s what education is for – and why it is constantly being fought over. So how wrong is it to slaughter our literary greats?

Barry Didcock

The dirty word of literature? In praise of the much-maligned essay

Barry Didcock

Shocking or unsurprising? Scotland makes appearances on Theatres at Risk list Every year the Trust publishes a Theatres at Risk register and the 2025 list has just dropped. Shockingly (or unsurprisingly) there are five Scottish theatres on the list.

Barry Didcock

Barry Didcock

An t-Eilean: Do Scottish broadcasters have the guts for a Tartan Noir revolution? Is Scotland finally catching up after decades of wondering why the Danes, Swedes, Norwegians, Icelanders, Belgians and Welsh can make (or be bothered to fund) high-quality crime drama?

Barry Didcock

Wait, where was my flashy new Agatha Christie adaptation over Christmas? ​Did I miss something or was there really no flashy new all-star Agatha Christie adaptation on TV over Christmas?

Barry Didcock

Barry Didcock

Scotland continues to punch above its cinematic weight Despite the odds, Scotland continues to punch above its weight in the cinematic arts. Take Edinburgh-born film-maker Charlotte Wells. Or Bill Douglas. Or Peter Mullan. Or Lynne Ramsay.

Barry Didcock

Irvine Welsh releasing new Trainspotting while fighting fascism of ‘Disco Sucks’

Barry Didcock

He's behind you: When jokes are too rude for panto... It is ‘Pantomime season can’t be here already,’ I say. ‘I’m still wearing shorts to the supermarket. It’s too early for Puss In Boots, surely.’

Barry Didcock

Barry Didcock

EIF ascends under Benedetti – meanwhile, BBC Scotland are stuck relying on London Edinburgh International Festival is the jewel in Scotland’s cultural crown... while BBC Scotland is stuck commissioning and producing through London via branch offices.

Barry Didcock

Barry Didcock

Are we getting value for money from BBC Scotland?

Barry Didcock

Are ABBA really ‘the world’s greatest band’? Someone is bound to lay The Beatles down early. It’s one of those great pub argument prompts isn’t it – which is the most influential band ever?

Barry Didcock

Barry Didcock

New Lyceum artistic director is not a household name... but is he a good choice? James Brining’s inheritance is one of Scotland’s, and therefore the UK’s, finest theatres, but in common with most other venues it’s one which does not have its troubles to seek at the moment.

Barry Didcock

So why do I only read books written by women now? I tend only to read novels by women these days, a trend which started a few years ago when I encountered, in close succession, the short stories of Anaïs Nin, the work of Shirley Jackson and an author called Anna Kavan.

Barry Didcock

There would be no Bruce Springsteen without the real thing - Kris Kristofferson

Barry Didcock

Glasgow 850 may seem like flannel but here is why celebrations matter to city

Barry Didcock

Barry Didcock

Guillermo del Toro and his love affair with Edinburgh's bookshops Acclaimed horror movie director Guillermo del Toro has been doing a great job of promoting Edinburgh’s independent bookshops during his stay in the capital.

Barry Didcock

It's hard to ignore the grim beauty of a brutalist Glasgow It’s always been my suspicion that people who love brutalism probably did not grow up surrounded by examples of the form. And definitely didn’t grow up in one. But there is a grim sort of beauty to its architecture.

Barry Didcock

Barry Didcock

Most heated controversy of the Fringe? Clearly the best joke award Heated discussion of the merits (or otherwise) of the winning gag in the Joke Of The Fringe competition might be about the most contentious thing to go down at this year’s Edinburgh Festival.

Barry Didcock

Gigs at Edinburgh International Festival: An overdue idea or opportunistic? I end Week One and begin Week Two by dipping into a pool which for many years was not much fished by the Festival generally – and by the Edinburgh International Festival (EIF) not at all. I mean popular music.

Barry Didcock

Who took the Fringe more by storm, Liz Truss or her impersonator? Hang on, isn’t that Ms Truss I see standing outside the venue as I saunter down Morrison Street, trademark blue dress matching the summer sky to a tee? Er, no.

Barry Didcock

Barry Didcock

Forget the outdoor festivals, it's time for a visual arts summer With Scotland about to disappear under a tsunami of stand-up comics, theatre shows, jugglers, stilt-walkers, sundry other street entertainers, perhaps now is the time for a quick word about the visual arts.

Barry Didcock

Emerging from Fergus McCreadie's sonic storm of homegrown jazz By the end Fergus McCreadie was on his feet along with the rest of the crowd as a deserved standing ovation greeted what had been a barnstorming performance by the Mercury Music Prize-nominated jazz pianist.

Barry Didcock

Wait, where was my flashy new Agatha Christie adaptation over Christmas? Did I miss something or was there really no flashy new all-star Agatha Christie adaptation on TV over Christmas?