Roddy Woomble

Homecoming Final Fling - ditch cynical, think musical

19 Nov 2009

You know the big speech by Renton in Trainspotting where he goes on about how it’s ‘shite being Scottish’? Well, he was only half right. His defeatist rant is a quintessential example of that under-a-dreich-cloud Scottish pessimism, rubbishing…

U2 - In the Name of Love

9 Aug 2009

After 30 years at the top, U2 remain an unstoppable force of live performance, global success and critical relevancy. Ahead of their Glasgow date, we ask some prominent figures in music to describe their relationship with the band and explain their…

Idlewild

11 Dec 2008

ROCK RESIDENCY It’s a good time to be an Idlewild fan. For one thing there’s a new album on the way, set to be released in April, and before that we have this one-off run of King Tut’s shows – that’s six brilliant records delivered live, across five…

Scottish Book Trust - Days Like This

16 Oct 2008

Refining that old platitude that everyone’s got a novel in them, the Scottish Book Trust launched their Days Like This project earlier this year, looking for ordinary people’s stories of their extraordinary days. ‘Days Like This is really about…

Drever, McCusker and Woomble

18 Sep 2008

FOLK There comes a time in most rock musicians’ careers when they long to swap the frenetic rock’n’roll lifestyle for something more sedate. After a decade of touring the world with Idlewild, Roddy Woomble’s inclination of late has been towards folk…

Drever McCusker Woomble - Before the Ruin

4 Sep 2008

The crossing of normally disparate musical boundaries is always to be applauded, although it’s not automatically the green light to genius that reviewers sometimes make out. This collaboration from two generations of folkies – Kris Drever and John…

Bookslam

Ripping up the stuffy literary world

14 Aug 2008

‘People think live readings are supposed to be 20-minute monotones about the “quality of light on the mountains” and unfortunately they often are,’ says Alan Bissett, master of ceremonies for a stagefull of Dan Rhodes (pictured), Patience Agbabi and…

The People's Story - Days Like This project launched

19 Jun 2008

Scottish Book Trust, Scottish Arts Council and BBC Radio Scotland join forces for groundbreaking book and radio project Days Like This. People the length and breadth of Scotland are being offered the chance to share their stories, as part of a unique…

Ballads of the Book

WORDS & MUSIC

27 Feb 2007

Projects like Ballads of the Book don’t come along very often. And, looking at the roll call of writers and musicians involved, it is easy to see why. It must have been a logistical nightmare getting 54 of Scotland’s finest writers and musicians…

Dispatch - Roddy Woomble

The Dispatch

12 Feb 2007

Celtic Connections passed by in all its hazy, folky glory. I had a great time during the festival, and managed to see a few concerts I’d been looking forward to: John Martyn performing Solid Air, and Dick Gaughan performing his 1981 folk masterpiece…

Dispatch - Roddy Woomble

The Dispatch

20 Dec 2006

Generally I have no idea what’s going on around me, in terms of new books, film and albums. There was a time, when I was 19 or 20 when I knew what record was coming out on any number of record labels, what was going to be great, the next new thing etc.

Dispatch - Roddy Woomble

The Dispatch

11 Dec 2006

It’s a wonder this Dispatch made it at all; I thought I’d missed it. Not a very rock star confession I know, worrying about missing your column deadline, but there you go. I’ve been away on tour with Idlewild. Not a long tour - our days of those are…

Dispatch - Roddy Woomble

Keeping fit has never seemed so Orwellian but Rodd

11 Nov 2006

The Dispatch It feels like we’ve going through some sort of food revolution at the moment, or maybe it’s just because I’ve started to notice it a bit more now that I’ve started taking an interest in growing vegetables and reading books about soil…

Dispatch, The

The Dispatch

28 Sep 2006

I’ve just been spending some time down in London finishing off a new Idlewild record, which has been, by all accounts, a successful foray back into the world of rock music. I used to live in London, but I hadn’t spent any proper time there really until…

Dispatch - Roddy Woomble

Roddy Woomble ponders the big birthday question: a

4 Sep 2006

I never really ever expect anything for my birthday, which is why in recent years I’ve been unexpectedly surprised and delighted by the way things have turned out. This year I spent it on a beach in Iona, eating banana and pineapple birthday cake, then…