READERS’ POLL FEATURE
REM‘s Monster proved just that .with a nation already booking a day off work for next July's live dates. Oasis took the indie-kid title and M People impressed the mainstream dance posse in a pleasingly diverse result.
BEST CLUB
l. Saliva
2. Divine
3. Joy
This year‘s List Festival Party featured the Sativa drutnmers. who proved immensely popular. So it‘s no surprise to find their multi-media mother sweeping the boards. High jinks at Glasgow School of Art and hands-in-the-air heaven at The Calton. Edinburgh catne close but no cigar.
Favourite Restaurant
l. Di Maggios. Glasgow 2. =Pierre Victoire. Glasgow/Edinburgh =Pierre Lapin. Edinburgh =Pepe Vittoria. Edinburgh Doing your bit to uphold the reputation of the canny Scot. you voted for quality food at stupidly cheap prices in restaurant chains which turn a blind eye to raucous partying.
FAVOURITE PUB
1. Horse Shoe Bar. Glasgow
2. The Traverse Bar. Edinburgh
3. Sneeky Pete‘s. Edinburgh
The true winnner in this category was ‘anywhere that's open‘. such was the diversity of responses. A splendid effort at upholding the image of the drunken Scot.
BEST PLAY
1. Trainspotting
2. Les Miserables
3. The Big Picnic
Sex. drugs and a truckload of sweary words courtesy of lrvine Welsh and the Citizens‘ opened up the weird world of theatre to the proletariat. A couple of good punch ups. namely the French Revolution and World War I. also pulled in the punters.
BEST ART EXHIBITION
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l. Monet to Matisse. National Gallery of Scotland
2. Annie Leibowitz Photographs 1970—90. Scottish National Portrait Gallery
3. FIELD for the British Isles. Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art
Three top-notch exhibitions with Edinburgh's broadscale. breath-taking art extravaganza way out in front. Special mentions must go to those who could not remember the name of Stills Gallery's female photographers exhibition. What She Wants — Regarding Male Objects. but provided graphic descriptions of the. ahem. goods on offer.
l. Co/nplicity: Iain Banks
2. How Late 1! ll’as, How Late: James Kelman
3. The Acid House: lryine Welsh
A Scottish full house topped a rather predictable selection. However. we at The List were heartened by your enthusiasm
for Kelman’s exploration of seedy journalism — that‘s us. that is. As for the lounge lizard London literati who showed consternation over Kelman‘s language. well they can obviously go bile their fuckin‘ heids.
WRITER OF THE YEAR
1. Iain Banks
2. =James Kelman =lrvine Welsh Scottish Writer of the Year
I. =James Kelman =lrvine Welsh 2. Iain Banks A definite pattern is emerging. with
Kelman‘s Booker stooshie earning him extra brownie points.
DAILY NEWSPAPERS
l. =The Guardian =T/te Scotsman 2. The Herald List readers in left-wing. local news- loving shocker. A close run result.
SUNDAY NEWSPAPERS
1. Scotland on Sunday
2. The Independent on Sunday
3. The Observer
Wot. no Sunday Sport? S. 0.5. romped ahead in a staggering display of intellectualism. when compared to the popularity of sleaze in other Readers‘ Poll categories.
1. Q
2. NAT/f
3. The Big Issue
Actually. The List won hands down. Bttt being modest we allowed the music moguls to take their places on the pedestals and gave a big band to The Big Issue. A special award for honesty has been bestowed on the gent who openly admits to ‘reading' liscort regularly.
LIST
GLASGOW AND EDINBURGH EVENTS GUIDE
SPORTING HIGHLIGHT
l. The World Cup ")4
2. Wimbledon
3. Raith Rovers‘ defeat of Celtic in the Coca-Cola cup final
A lot of balls kept you off the streets. with bewildered Americans oblivious to what was providing excellent prime time viewing in their own back yard. Closer to
home. in true British spirit. you cheered the underdogs on to victory.
SPORTING PERSONALITY
1. Martina Navratilova
2. Bruce Grobbelar
3. Damon Hill
Sporting prowess was overshadowed in the year that Martina bowed out gracefully. if unsuccessfully. Grobbelar the (alleged) Nobbler found fame over his off-pitch antics and Damon (was he robbed?) Hill missed out at the last moment.
MOST AOMIRABLE PERSONALITY
1. Richard Branson
2. Tony Benn
3. John Prescott
A new fizzy pop. free slippers on every charter flight to Ibiza and a preoccupation with daft world records was all it took for the thinking woman‘s Noel Edmonds to hit the top spot. lsn‘t capitalism grand? Benn and Prescott. however. 'would suggest the nation is divided.
MOST FANCIABLE PERSON
Male:
Hugh Grant
A huge range of nominees included Russell Grant. Ian Paisley and Helrnut Kohl but the ‘take him home to mother'. 'looks like he doesn't sweat' ambience of Grant got the hormones going. Or did all those weddings make you broody‘.’
Female:
2 Anna Friel (Beth from Channel 4's Bron/(side)
2 Joanna l.umley
= Kirsty Young
You're not fussy are you'.’ A screen lesbian. a lush and um. ‘broadcaster‘ Kirsty Young. in a staggering three-way tie at the top.
SLEAZIEST POLITICIAN
1. David Mellor
2. Michael Portillo
3. All of them
Although relatively uninvolved in Parliament these days. Mingin' Mellor is crowned Slime King. Portillo proved less offensive. but a bitter and twisted mass uncharitably plutnped for the whole damn lot of them.
HYPE
I. The National Lottery 2. The Royal Family 3. = Tony Blair
= Pulp Fiction That nice Mr Major gives you the chance to help ‘Good Causes‘. something to do on a Saturday night and fair odds on winning a tenner and this is the thanks he gets. You ingrates. The possible third place correlations. however. are certainly something to think about.
MOST TEDIOUS TOPIC
l. The National Lottery
2. The Royals
3. Political Sleaze
Not only a hype. but boring conversation too. A freak meteor landing combined with a loony extremist attack on Camelot HQ during an en masse State and Parliamentary visit would appear to be the only answer.
MOST WORRYING FASHION
70s retro
When l was a lass. we knew all about style. not like the youngsters these days. We wore platforms. flares. tank t . . . oops!
LIFE IN SCOTLAND TODAY
Everyone agreed Scotland is blessed with beautiful scenery and cursed with hellish weather. However. an interesting and definite split arose when considering the locals. Patriotism. nationalidentity and independent spirit were common. positive character traits cited by one camp. while xenophobic. insular and Englishhating were repeatedly mentioned as flaws by the other. Overall. despite despairing of Scotland’s economic situation. most readers love it here. their sentiments best summed up by one reader: ‘l'm English. and I wouldn't live anywhere else.‘
So that was I994. The List will continue to keep you bang-up-to-date with arts and entertainments in the Central Belt during 1995. Please join us. we'd love to have you. Look out for the first issue of I995. on sale Thursday l2 January.
Statistical analysis and text by Susan Mackenzie.
The List 16 December l994—l2 January 1995 21