Irvine Welsh on Edinburgh: ‘I officially had a criminal record at eight years...
The Trainspotting author on breaking the law, revelling in his ‘bad boy’ status and how life on a housing estate shaped his worldviewWe are all formed by our early experiences, principally our family...
View ArticleIrvine Welsh: ‘When you get older, it’s harder to be a bastard’
The author talks about his obsessive-compulsive thing, which Trainspotting character he most resembles, and losing his temperIrvine Welsh is doing just fine for money. He knows he never has to work...
View ArticleDead Men’s Trousers by Irvine Welsh – a last hurrah for Renton and company
The heroes of Trainspotting keep on giving – albeit in increasingly cartoonish formIrvine Welsh’s style is so pulpy nowadays that it’s hard to imagine Booker prize judges losing time arguing over his...
View ArticleDead Men’s Trousers by Irvine Welsh review – the Trainspotting gang party on
Renton, Begbie, Sick Boy and Spud are back in this wildly farcical story of revenge, sentimentality and psychedelic drugsAt a newspaper I used to work for, the story was told of a foreign correspondent...
View ArticleQuiz: can you guess the city from the literary quote?
Which city did Margaret Atwood describe as ‘New York without the garbage and muggings’? Which writer called one London area ‘ungentrified, ungentrifiable’? Pit your wits against our quiz“With so many...
View ArticleIrvine Welsh: ‘I thought Trainspotting would be a cult book, but not...
The Scottish author on 25 years of his landmark novel, Brexit as a catalyst for democratic change and the exhilarating effects of boxingTrainspotting is 25 years old. Did you have any idea when you...
View ArticleTrainspotting 2 actor Bradley Welsh was shot dead on his doorstep
Author Irvine Welsh leads tributes to friend murdered in EdinburghThe author Irvine Welsh has led tributes to the Trainspotting 2 actor Bradley Welsh, who was shot dead on his doorstep in Edinburgh...
View ArticleIrvine Welsh on Glastonbury: 'You build a city in a field and make your own...
There’s no other music festival like it, says the author, who describes past misadventures and the party tune playlist for his guest DJ slotI did a walking tour of Spain this year, the Camino de...
View ArticleMessage from the Skies review – Edinburgh's heritage illuminated
Various venues, EdinburghCharlotte Runcie and Irvine Welsh are among the writers exploring Scotland’s maritime history in these evocative installationsA litany of names is projected on the outside...
View ArticleFrom Donna Tartt to Irvine Welsh: 10 great novels about friendship
Urban junkies, competitive mothers, adolescent girls caught in the world of Charles Manson ... Lara Feigel picks her 10 favourites Love beyond sex, money and property: a case for friendshipDonna Tartt,...
View ArticleBritBox's first slate of original shows includes Irvine Welsh adaptation Crime
The streaming service will adapt four novels for its first raft of original shows, with actors including Jared Harris, Cush Jumbo and Dougray Scott set to starBritBox has announced its first original...
View ArticleBret Easton Ellis and Irvine Welsh in talks to co-write TV drama
American Psycho and Trainspotting authors set to collaborate for the first time on show about a manipulative American tabloid Bret Easton Ellis dreamed up the depraved excesses of serial killer Patrick...
View ArticleThe week in TV: Small Axe: Mangrove; The Crown; The Great British Bake Off...
Steve McQueen’s vital black British historical drama sears into the mind, and Peter Morgan’s saga of the Windsors returns waving its pro-Diana flagSmall Axe: Mangrove (BBC One) | iPlayerThe Crown...
View ArticlePassing sentences … what’s the worst kind of book thief?
Theft is never a great thing, but there must be a special place in hell for those who steal libraries’ shared cultural treasureA 13th-century inscription in an early copy of Bede’s commentary on the...
View ArticleCreation Stories review – mythmaking and megalomania in likable Alan McGee...
Irvine Welsh’s cracking adaption of an autobiography by the ‘President of Pop’ flashes from My Bloody Valentine to his discovery of Oasis“I’m talentless. But I make things happen.” That’s record label...
View ArticleCreation Stories review – generic biopic of record label supremo Alan McGee
Ewen Bremner stars as the fiery Scots label boss in this cliche-ridden drama co-written by Irvine Welsh“Bottom line, it was fun,” says self-declared Glaswegian ginger bastard Alan McGee (Ewen Bremner)....
View ArticleCreation myths: Alan McGee tells the real story of those wild Britpop years
The maverick label boss on why he didn’t let the truth get in the way of a good movie … and why he may owe an apology to Tony BlairAlan McGee, the music label founder who signed Oasis and surfed the...
View ArticleDead Men’s Trousers by Irvine Welsh – a last hurrah for Renton and company
The heroes of Trainspotting keep on giving – albeit in increasingly cartoonish formIrvine Welsh’s style is so pulpy nowadays that it’s hard to imagine Booker prize judges losing time arguing over his...
View ArticleDead Men’s Trousers by Irvine Welsh review – the Trainspotting gang party on
Renton, Begbie, Sick Boy and Spud are back in this wildly farcical story of revenge, sentimentality and psychedelic drugsAt a newspaper I used to work for, the story was told of a foreign correspondent...
View ArticleQuiz: can you guess the city from the literary quote?
Which city did Margaret Atwood describe as ‘New York without the garbage and muggings’? Which writer called one London area ‘ungentrified, ungentrifiable’? Pit your wits against our quizContinue...
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