The Printed Word

Roger Waters at The Hydro two years ago Summer used to be momentous for big outdoor gigs and festivals. June 30, 2013: Bruce Springsteen delivering the whole of his 'Born In The USA' album as a mid-set treat on a sun-scorched day at the Olympic Stadium in London. June 29, 2018: Roger Waters on stage at the Hydro delivering a live show that was simply breath-taking. June 29, 2020; On the cusp of 100 days in lockdown, the same venue, which is built to hold crowds of up to 13,000, warns it may take until 2022 before it can present shows on such a scale again if social distancing remains in force. A world without live music - from the biggest festivals and stadium gigs to the smallest, most intimate venues - is one without joy. Social distancing makes that a worrying reality. It has already decimated the arts industry, as theatres remain dark, comedy clubs stand silent, and buildings which once packed fans into gigs stare at empty calendars. My next two gigs a...

Ice hockey's long road to the 2020-21 season has barely begun. Right now, we ought to be sparking a countdown to the puck dropping, and beginning to feel the buzz over signings, new strips and season ticket sales. Instead, there is a void filled with uncertainty. No starting date, no schedule and, in all honesty, no clear indication when, or even if, the sport will resume. Rewind 12 months and Fife Flyers were exactly 62 days away from their first pre-season friendly against Herlev Eagles, and had announced the return of Mike Cazzola, Bari McKenzie and Chase Schaber, with Evan Bloodoff and Shane Owen departing for new teams. In 2020, hockey's long off-season looks set to extend deep into the Autumn. Across the EIHL there have been little more than a dozen or so announced signings, and most of them have been returnees - and most of these deals would have been done and dusted long ago. Cardiff Devils and Glasgow Clan are in the market for new head coaches, but definit...

I stood on the roof of the World Trade Centre just three weeks before it came down and soaked up its magnificent views. The soundtrack in my head was Springsteen's New York City Serenade. He's always told stories and created characters, but he also paints compelling landscapes. Western Stars brings all three elements together. I guess that's why it has been on my playlist every single day of lockdown - it's an album to set the spirits alight,one packed with songs to brighten  the longest of  empty days. And at its heart as those magnificent, glorious, life-affirming strings. They soar across this album,  swooping down on choruses, and picking up the narrative and carrying it to the next stage. Western Stars has been labelled his 'cowboy album' but it's much more than that.  It captures a landscape as well as  characters, and paints his most vivid pictures since those early epics of  Jungleland and New York City Serenade. Like his characters who ...

When you remove the tourists and  the traffic, you start to appreciate the beauty of Auld Reekie. Scotland's capital has revealed so much in lockdown.  A city used to the bustle of life, has become still, breathed once more, and given us all an opportunity to explore, to enjoy and to discover. It's easy to get tangled up in the endless tourist tours which criss-cross the city centre every hour, pointing to the same old statues and landmarks, and delivering the same old stories to first-time visitors who then leave with identical experiences. Edinburgh has so much more to offer than the top ten must-see places which appear in every single guide. Step back from the crowd, look up and look to the horizon, and you find gems which simply beg you to explore further. It's almost 38 years since I last spent so long in this city, and it has been a joy to rediscover its beauty, its rich history and its wonderful creativity. The sheer volume of public art - everything fro...

The Pink was an institution in Edinburgh, Much like the Green 'Un in Aberdeen and the Sporting Post in Dundee. It rolled off the presses early Saturday night, and had all the match reports, tables, results and scorers published for posterity when the cheers of the crowd at the full-time whistle were still ringing in your ears. Producing and printing a newspaper, from scratch, in the space of an afternoon remains an astonishing feat - but one that happened in every major city every weekend. The thrill of being part of it - even a small, walk-on role - has never diminished. I was 15 years old and desperate to be  a journalist when I got a chance to work on The Pink. I went to a Hearts game midweek, wrote a report and posted it  off to Bill Lothian that night to show what I could do. Pretty sure Willie Gibson bagged the winner in that game ... Next week or so, a plain white postcard dropped through our letter box at Cobbinshaw House in Wester Hailes det...

The green door and McSorleys name say all you need to know about the building - mass produced signs saying 'here for the craic' and out-sized foam Guinness hats on St Patrick's Day. But, that doesn't tell the story of what it used to be - or how important it was to a generation of music lovers. Forrest Road in Edinburgh was one of my haunts as a teenager, with visits every Saturday with a few quid in my pocket and hours to kill. The Ezy Rider Record Exchange - known to many as the Hippy Market - didn't just open my eyes, and ears, to a host of bands, it brought music alive. Stepping inside the stone entrance at what was Oddfellows' Hall, was to disappear into a semi-lit world of vinyl, populated almost entirely by blokes, many sporting denim jackets with band names and logos embroidered with great care on the back. The patches and art work defined them. The teenage me thought the market was huge. Stepping back inside it last year for a Free ...

We're nudging close to three months in lockdown. March and April already feel like distant memories as we clock in for week 11 working from home waiting for the  new normal to formally introduce itself. Everyone's story of the spring of 2020 will be different. It has been a time of great upheaval and a strange sense of dislocation from family, friends, work and society. The Springsteen lyric "no place to be, and miles to go" sums up much about lockdown where long days still have to be filled when almost everything has closed; our access to shops, cafes, bars, venues, places to go, things to see and do all cut off. Atuning to the silence has been a challenge too. The yawning emptiness of roads, the lack of people on pavements. Or anywhere. But there are positives.  Stripped of its chaos and crowds, Edinburgh has revealed its true beauty. I haven't spent so much time here since leaving at the age of 18, and it has been a joy to rediscover many of its co...