THE HOT 100
THE NOT 100 They’re not hot, and there are only five of them. Our pick of those who’ve not had such a good year
Donald Trump The Obama ‘birther’ conspiracist and owner of the only ego visible from space isn’t technically Scottish, but his anti-wind farm stance and opposition to a BBC screening of Anthony Baxter’s documentary You’ve Been Trumped mean he’s remained a presence in the national press. Plus, we suspect that’s a haggis-hide hairpiece. Creative Scotland Our nation’s embattled arts funding body was widely criticised for failing to communicate effectively with the country’s arts community. John Byrne, Luke Fowler, Alasdair Gray and Liz Lochhead were among 100 signatories on a damning open letter to Creative Scotland back in October. Chief executive Andrew Dixon stepped down in early December.
Tian Tian And Yang Guang They may be Edinburgh Zoo’s most famous residents, but ‘Sweetie’ and ‘Sunshine’ proved once again that pandas are not best equipped for natural selection. Their disinclination to procreate and very picky diet indicate a species Darwin would have written off years ago. Craig Whyte In this patriotism-inspiring Year of Great Sport (see Team GB panel and Chris Hoy on page 26, and Andy Murray, page 29), Craig Whyte stuck out like a sore thumb. The Motherwell businessman dubbed by some press as having ‘wealth off the scale’ bought a controlling share in Rangers FC for £1 back in 2011, drove it into administration in early 2012, and sold off his stake in May. His selling price? £2. Kerching!
Susan Boyle She’s got a fourth album on the way, and a stage musical inspired by her story garnered rave reviews upon release in March. But Fortress SuBo is far from impregnable: the hash- tag #susanalbumparty, deployed in November, was either an ill- conceived PR strategy or the work of a disgruntled insider. Only time will tell. (Niki Boyle)
12 THE LIST 13 Dec 2012–24 Jan 2013
100 JK ROWLING POST-POTTER WORLD
97 ALASDAIR GRAY GLASGOW GURU REJUVENATED
92 KAREN DUNBAR BUT SERIOUSLY . . .
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The Harry Potter author seemed to be in the news more for tree houses than books in 2012, but one
day in September witnessed a torrent of publicity when she released The Casual Vacancy. Her i rst novel for adults raised plenty of eyebrows for its, well, adult content. A BBC adaptation is scheduled in 2014. (BD)
99 JELLY + GIN POP-UP DINERS
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Aoi e Bevan and Carol Soutar’s imaginative and unconventional dining pop-ups Burgher Burger and
Create:Eat created a real stir among a younger food audience, giving a gastronomic make-over to greasy spoon cafés, country manor houses and Edinburgh’s Signet Library. (DR)
98 JAMIE COLEMAN TECHNO MD
The inaugural Turing Festival added tech to the multi- arts melting pot that is Edinburgh during August. Securing a keynote speech from Apple’s Steve Wozniak alongside seminars, workshops and networking events, Coleman rounded off 2012 with a recent appointment as MD of Scottish digital start-up platform TechCube. (HN)
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As well as bringing out every short story he’s written since 1951, the man dubbed ‘Glasgow’s Borges’ made a real mark on his own city with an expansive mural inside Hillhead station. And Gray’s artwork for the First Minister’s 2011 Christmas card was sold for £4800 at a charity auction. (BD)
96 BLYTHE DUFF IRON LADY
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The TV star continued to demonstrate there’s more to her talents than fronting a certain long-running Glasgow-based crime drama, reviving her acclaimed role in David Harrower’s Good with People at the Fringe before delivering a breathtaking performance as a woman serving life for murder in Rona Munro’s Iron. (AR)
95 SILK CUT UNDERGROUND DJS
You may have caught their high- energy, synth- soaked, housey vibrations at the Sub Club or Old
Hairdressers. Refreshingly and dei antly without an online presence, Silk Cut played Music Language, The List’s Hot 100 Party and Cry Parrot’s i fth birthday bash, and will release the Dinosaur L-echoing Golden Teacher (with Ultimate Thrush), Lovers’ Rights (with Dam Mantle) plus an EP on Glasgow’s High Sheen in 2013 (CS)
94 LUNG HA’S GREEK LOVE
Scotland’s only major theatre company providing opportunities for people with learning difi culties continued to impress in 2012 with an ambitious production of Antigone beautifully adapted by Adrian Osmond with choreography by Janis Claxton. (AR)
93 TILDA SWINTON DOESN’T NEED TO
TALK ABOUT KEVIN
Last year’s Hot 100 number two (stop snickering) was part of Wes Anderson’s impressive ensemble cast for
Moonrise Kingdom, released in May. In June, she went straight onto i lming Jim Jarmusch’s vampire i lm, Only Lovers Left Alive,
due for release in 2013. (NB)
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While she remains best-known for her tragi-comic roles in the likes of Chewin’ the Fat, the actor with
the most expressive nostrils in the business is increasingly attracting praise for her stage performances, this year delivering a revelatory turn as the embittered Rose in The Guid Sisters. (AR)
91 NEU! REEKIE! NOT ALL TALK
Those behind the spoken word and i lm/music nights took a daring new step this year by also becoming
a record label. Back on stage, they took up residency at Summerhall and brought us the diverse likes of John Hegley, James Yorkston and Liz Lochhead. (BD)
90 ANDREW FAIRLIE TWO-STAR CHEF
Scotland’s most decorated chef saw his Gleneagles restaurant judged best in Britain by reaching No 1 in October’s Sunday Times Food List. He also picked up a top-i ve slot in the National Restaurant Awards Top Sustainable Restaurants. (DR)
89 DANIEL SLOSS FIFER GOES BALLISTIC
Just another year in the rapidly burgeoning comedy career of Sloss. He’s lost the Bieber hair but gained many more fans with another superb Fringe run while his i rst live DVD, i lmed at Glasgow King’s, arrived. See his 2013 predictions, page 13. (BD)
88 KINNING PARK COMPLEX
MULTI-PURPOSE, MULTI-TASKING
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COMMUNITY HUB
The south Glasgow community centre has been a well- used space this year, by steel drummers, zumba classes, steering groups and musicians, including Richard Youngs & Luke Fowler performing at Music Language. After ongoing maintenance work and decorating by volunteers (KPC receives no council funding), the ex-schoolhouse is looking well-loved too. (CS)