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FIRST&LAST EDDI READER The acclaimed folk-pop singer-songwriter and Burns devotee takes on our Q&A in which she discusses Brussels sprouts, Bob Dylan and blow- up swimming pools
First record you ever bought I bought Sunshine when I was 15, the soundtrack to a 1973 B-movie which was shown in the cinema that I had a summer job in circa 1975. The soundtrack was the actors all doing covers of early John Denver songs and it turned me on to better ways of playing my acoustic guitar.
Last extravagant purchase you made Ableton Push 2 . . . it’s a new world. First film you saw that really moved you Joe Kidd with Clint Eastwood. At that time (1976), the cinema showed two movies a night, a cowboy for the boys and a weepy for the lassies. I come from the dark ages.
Last lie you told That I wasn’t hungry for cake.
First movie you ever went on a date to Jeezo: there’s no way I can remember the movie, I only remember the dude. Last time you cried Last week at the Judy Garland film starring Renée Zellweger.
First thing you do when you’ve got time off work Fix my garden, cook for my boys, clean the fish tanks, play Zelda.
Last great meal you cooked Yesterday I made a pretty brilliant sautéed, shredded Brussels sprouts with nuts, garlic, black pepper and lemon juice.
First crush The Alias Smith and Jones guys. 136 THE LIST 1 Nov 2019–31 Jan 2020
Ben Murphy was pretty much plastered over my bit of our shared bedroom wall.
Last book you read Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert.
First great piece of advice you were given ‘Be good to yourself and always have the bus fare home’. Last meal on earth Two slices of plain loaf wrapped around butter, chips, tomato sauce / mayo and a massive pint of sugary tea.
First song you’ll sing at karaoke Anything by Elvis Presley.
Last time someone criticised your work Me, today. I’m working on it.
First concert you ever attended Bob Dylan, Earls Court, on the Street Legal tour in 1978. Set me off on the road. Last funny thing you saw online Some boy swinging a sword to show off his samurai skills and slicing through his parents’ blow- up swimming pool. I’m easily amused.
First word you spoke I don’t know, I wasn’t conscious, but I sung into a reel-to-reel tape my dad had in the early 1960s. I was two or three and I can hear me singing ‘3 Penny Buns in a Baker’s Shop’. I still have that recording.
Last song at your funeral ‘Goodnight My Love’ by Shirley Temple might be good. First person you’d thank in an award acceptance speech Mum and dad?
Last thing you think of before you go to sleep Shall I watch a film?
First thing you think of when you wake up in the morning Is it sunny?
Eddi Reader appears with Jools Holland, SECC, Glasgow, Fri 6 & Sat 7 Dec; Phil Cunningham’s Christmas Songbook, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Tue 17 Dec, and Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh, Sat 21 & Sun 22 Dec; solo tour, Old Dr Bells Baths, Edinburgh, Mon 30 Dec; Auld Lang Syne: BBC SSO & Special Guests at Celtic Connections, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sat 25 Jan. See much more of this Q&A at list.co.uk
NEXT ISSUE 1 FEB The Glasgow International Comedy Festival lays on another top-notch programme of fun in March with Jamali Maddix (pictured), Janey Godley, Stewart Lee and Jimmy Carr already confirmed. Movie buffs will have a whale of a time across February and March as the Glasgow Film Festival rolls up with its excellent roster of premieres, retrospectives and special events. Over in Edinburgh, manipulate delivers an array of visual theatre, puppetry and animated film for all ages.