Trainspotting

Preview of 2012 - Irvine Welsh's Skagboys

Renton, Sick Boy et al are revisited in this Trainspotting prequel

6 Jan 2012

Wonder how Renton, Sick Boy, Spud and co got to be the drugged-up life-rejecting Leith loons in Trainspotting? Well, wonder no more, as the publication of Skagboys brings us a bit more background on the individual and social circumstances revolving…

Irvine Welsh Q&A at charity Trainspotting screening

19 Aug 2010

Iconic book-cum-film Trainspotting takes centre stage as its author Irvine Welsh does his bit for charity. A screening of the film will be held at the Dominion Cinema in Edinburgh on Wed 1 Sep to mark the 10th anniversary of Scottish charity Love in…

Trainspotting Tour

3 Jun 2010

There are few books that have changed the landscape of contemporary Scottish literature quite like Irvine Welsh’s debut novel of 1993. Over the course of two hours, you’ll spot Irvo’s flat, Sick Boy’s pub and Leith police station on your way to getting…

Best of a decade: Respectable in the Noughties

2 Dec 2009

Much of the most powerful art produced in Scotland in the 1980s–1990s developed in angry reaction to the political situation and tapped into our radical, left-wing and egalitarian traditions – it’s no accident that the most popular works of that period…

Scotland The Great - Homecoming

22 Jan 2009

Four skinny boys stare up at a mountain. The mountain stares back at them. The hairiest one throws his arms out and roars: ‘Does it not make you proud to be Scottish?’; the prettiest one looks up from his vodka bottle, and hurls back bile. It’s been…

Ewan McGregor's Trainspotting no

Celebrity Gossip

27 May 2008

Ewan McGregor will not make a sequel to 'Trainspotting'. The 'Star Wars' actor has ruled out ever starring in a follow-up to the 1996 film because he isn't a fan of Irvine Welsh's 'Porno', the sequel to 'Trainspotting'. Ewan, who played heroin…

Sick Boy and Renton return in Trainspotting prequel

19 Mar 2008

Ever wondered how Sick Boy, Renton and Spud ended up in their drug-fuelled squalor, choosing heroin over life and over-sized televisions? Fifteen years on and all is about to be revealed, as acclaimed and controversial Scottish writer Irvine Welsh…

Trainspotting's Ewan Bremner to star in Damascus

6 Mar 2008

Trainspotting actor Ewen Bremner is to star in a touring production of David Grieg's Damascus, the Traverse Theatre announced today. Bremner, perhaps most famous for his role as Spud in 1994's Trainspotting, will play the role of Paul in the play…

Scottish screen roles prove a hit with tourists

28 Aug 2007

People flocking to the site of their favourite film or TV programme are providing a huge boost to the UK economy. A report, compiled by various film and tourism agencies, claims the phenomenon is worth as much as £2.9 billion to the UK economy, with…

Porno still no nearer completion

23 Aug 2007

The sequel to Trainspotting is still in the sidings according to author Irvine Welsh. Porno, his follow-up novel to his breakout hit, is still waiting on a workable screenplay, though the author did reveal it is currently being worked on by John Hodge…

Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting (1993)

100 Best Scottish Books of all Time

1 Jan 2005

Much imitated but never bettered, Irvine Welsh’s Trainspotting is my personal numero uno 20th century Scottish book. This novel is now so embedded in Scottish culture that it’s hard to remember it’s only been around for 11 years. In that time, it’s…