A Pipe Band procession arrived at the Albert Halls prior to this event.
Denise Mina presents Lee Child
Friday 18th September - 18:45
We welcome back a legend of the genre and the creator of possibly the most iconic protagonist in thriller fiction. Lee Child has many imitators, but he and Jack Reacher remain the gold standard to which they all aspire. Travelling with just the clothes on his back and a toothbrush, Reacher is a hero for the ages.
Over the course of 30 pulsating novels, Lee has sold an incredible 100 million books, which have been adapted into two movies starring Tom Cruise and a hit TV series. He will look back on an extraordinary career with guest programmer Denise Mina.
Tickets: £14.75 each
The first of the Giants of Crime Fiction events (it's not called that, but they are both tall). It sold out in less than a day.
Lee is eloquent, urbane and down-to-earth. He had the audience rapt with stories of childhood, working in the theatre, and getting fired from TV (leaving him with only seven months' worth of mortgage money in the bank, which gave him the impetus to write and sell his first Reacher).
He told us how he is a voracious reader, getting through six books a week. He has no qualms about Tom Cruise playing Reacher, because it gave him a $200 million promotional showcase for his work, more than enough to ignore the height disparity between actor and character.
Denis Mina is a lovely interviewer, matching Lee for charisma. She gave him the space to tell his stories and gently steered the conversation forward at the right moments. The pair obviously share a mutual admiration, as he accepted Mina's invite to attend Bloody Scotland over one from the Queen.
Richard Osman with Mark Billingham
Friday 18th September - 20:15
When Richard Osman last appeared at Bloody Scotland in 2019, he was an unpublished author best known for presenting Pointless and House of Games. Fast-forward seven years, and things have changed remarkably. Beginning with The Thursday Murder Club, Richard has broken all sorts of records in the process of becoming a global publishing phenomenon.
His novels have sold an incredible 17 million books worldwide and have been translated into 40 languages. His new thriller We Chase Shadows races from Italy to Palm Springs to Barcelona in pursuit of a killer. Richard will be interviewed by fellow bestselling crime writer Mark Billingham.
Tickets: 2x £14 & £1.50 fee = £29.50
The second event was cosy, with the friendly pair discussing Richard's two crime series and his favourite ice cream flavour (Mint Choc Chip). Richard's novels always start with the characters, and then he wonders what they get up to. His favourite books growing up were the Famous 5 books. Mark pointed out that The Thursday Murder Club also has two males, two females and a dog. We learned that Richard is the decade's best-selling author.
The conversation also moved on to Richard's TV work and how excited he is to see Michael Sheen as the quizmaster. Richard regards the week Mark was on as one of the best, most competitive weeks ever of HoG. Mark is annoyed now that he didn't win a dartboard, only receiving a fondue set from his time on the show. He might go back to try to win one with Michael Sheen's face on it.
Our second consecutive tribute show. I'd been curious to see this band after hearing great things. My wife had also recently returned from Liverpool, so she was eager to see them, too.
We arrived after the doors had opened, so the queue was only as far as the end of the building. Outside, a busker was murdering a Beatles song on his acoustic guitar. He wasn't getting many donations, so he switched it up to include songs by John Lennon and Oasis. His voice was still shite.
Security was cursory tonight, even though the metal detector shrieked as I went through. Emptying my front pockets and a quick wand sweep were enough to pass through. Loads of youngsters were in attendance, unaccompanied by a supervising adult. They were drinking beer (heavens!) and taking selfies with each other against the murals or with the stage as a backdrop. All very exciting for them.
We chose a spot in the middle of the hall and moved closer as needed, such as when a vivacious drunk stood nearby or when tall people blocked our view. We ended up behind three youths and a short chap in a dapper suit. I was alarmed when I witnessed a drunk man manoeuvre himself behind an unknown woman, whose hands were full carrying drinks back to her pals, and place his hands on her hips to push her through the crowd at pace, causing her to spill the drinks she was carrying. He laughed. She was mortified and furious, apologising to the people she'd soaked. He staggered away, bouncing through the crowd, eventually finding support from another couple of drunks near the front. I watched him threaten to topple forward, only for one of them to grip his shoulder and straighten him up again. He got a talking-to from another, followed by a kiss on the forehead. Happy drunks. You don't really expect this behaviour from someone in their late fifties/early sixties, especially not before the gig has even started.
Dan Parks
Support act Dan Parks is a local lad. He ticks the cheeky Scottish singer-songwriter box, mostly playing his own material on acoustic guitar. He hadn't expected to land the gig when he bought tickets to the show a year ago. His mum, dad, and gran were near the front, and he pointed them out and name-checked them, along with a long list of pals who were there too. I enjoyed his two covers: Handle With Care by the Traveling Wilburys and Johnny B. Goode by Chuck Berry. Maybe if I'd been more familiar with his own stuff, I'd have enjoyed it more. He revelled in being on stage at the Barrowland. (At the end of the night, as the crowd shuffled to the exits, I spotted him being carried aloft by his pals, Escape to Victory-style).
There was a bit of a disturbance before the main act as latecomers pushed in. Nothing violent, just words being exchanged. I get it. You're small and female and want to find a spot where you can see the band, but when you're being led by a big chap and have kids in tow, maybe choose somewhere further back or arrive earlier. A courting couple pushed in beside us, under the pretext of looking for their friends. They got dagger looks from the girls whose view they now blocked. The pair brassnecked it and stayed. His singing voice was so bad, people were turning to frown at him, but he only had eyes for his girlfriend. I suspect she didn't have anyone to compare him with.
The band arrived on stage at 9 pm, as Green Onions came to an end, dressed in their mop-top-era wigs and costumes. The crowd went wild. The girl behind me went into full Beatlemania mode, screaming her lungs out. I was glad I had my earplugs.
The band's look, sound, accents, mannerisms and script were all spot on. Even the way they finished each song with a bow made you feel as if you were witnessing the (actual) Beatles. They rattled through hit after hit, with the crowd singing along and grooving to the dancier numbers. It was brilliant.
My only issue was with the youngsters. It was as if they were conditioned to raise their phones to any song they recognised (which, at a Beatles tribute night, is everything). A sea of screens filled the air at the start of (nearly) every song. I recognise my hypocrisy: I too like to shoot a couple of songs for my YouTube channel, but at least I record the whole song from face height and don't give up after the first chorus, dipping my head to check the footage and instantly sharing it with my friends. These youngsters missed half the gig. Actually, it was more than that, as they disappeared before the encore, probably to catch the last train (the band overran the advertised timings, finishing around 10.40 pm).
The band's transformation into the older Beatles was uncanny. I appreciated how they played the songs in the appropriate outfits, the early material in mop-top style and the later stuff in their hippy look. It gave the material a sense of time, playing it in the correct era. The girl who had been screaming so loudly at the start either lost her voice, moved elsewhere, or realised that such behaviour was inappropriate for the band's trippy period.
It was fun to spot a fifth Beatle on stage from time to time, in the shape of their tour manager, who accompanied them on tambourine at the back. In the second set, they introduced him properly, with him mostly on keyboards, having changed out of his black garb into something bright and striped.
The Barrowland was a brilliant venue to see this band. Through clever lighting, it could not only recreate the intimacy of The Cavern but also showcase the band's superstar nature in their later period. This is why the Barrowland has such a revered, legendary status.
This was certainly as close to seeing the real Beatles as you'll ever get without using a TARDIS.
A Hard Day's Night
The Ballad of John and Yoko
Setlist (The Beatles covers unless otherwise stated)
1962-1966
I Saw Her Standing There
She Loves You
All My Loving
From Me to You
Roll Over Beethoven (Chuck Berry cover)
I Want to Hold Your Hand
I Wanna Be Your Man
Eight Days a Week
A Hard Day's Night
Can't Buy Me Love
I Feel Fine
Help!
Ticket to Ride
Day Tripper
Twist and Shout (The Top Notes cover)
Yesterday (Acoustic inc.Suspicious Minds, Here, There & Everywhere, Blackbird & I’ve Just Seen A Face excerpts)
1967 - 1970
Come Together
Something
Get Back
Don't Let Me Down
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da
While My Guitar Gently Weeps
Revolution
Here Comes the Sun
Hey Jude
Encore:
Rock and Roll Music (Chuck Berry cover)
Ticket Price: £35.00 x 2 & Service Fee: £3.50 x 2 & Handling Fee £2.75 = Total £79.75 from Ticketmaster.
We booked the tickets for this show while waiting for the matinee performance of The Silence of the Lambs to begin, after receiving an email from ShowFilmFirst. A gig for under six quid? My wife loves Bowie, so this was a no-brainer.
Of course, at the back of my mind, I kept thinking this gig might end up sounding like top-level karaoke. No one sings like David Bowie. The Wet Wet Wet situation post Marti's departure came to mind. Would Glenn's vocals be worthy?
The end of the queue is visible on the right
We arrived shortly after the doors opened and found a minimal queue, which was just as well given it was raining. Within minutes, we were inside. The stage barrier had already been claimed by eager fans, but we could have stood behind them if we so wished. Instead, we chose to stand at the upper bar level at the corner railing next to the accessibility seats. Great view, easy to make an exit. There was no support act, and we didn't know when the show would start, so we waited and chatted. The audience was predominantly older, as you'd expect. Latecomers appeared unhappy about joining the standing crowd in the stalls area and kept hoping to find a space next to us, but that wasn't happening.
The front seating area was blocked off and reserved for the guest list only. I think this surprised a few punters who arrived early expecting to snag those seats. A few of them chose to lean against the railings in front of that section.
At 8.30 pm, the band took the stage, opening with Five Years. There were eight musicians on stage, nine if you include the one on bongos and tambourine behind the speakers, so it was pretty crowded up there. Glenn Gregory looked debonair in his blue suit and waistcoat, bald and bearded. He recounted the story of Tony Visconti commenting that his voice was reminiscent of Bowie, long before he got the gig. He paid homage to both Woody and Tony, whom he regards as Legends. At the time, I wondered if this was an attempt at deflection if it all went wrong ("This was their idea, don't blame me"), but that definitely wasn't the case.
Initially, the band sounded rough, perhaps under-rehearsed. The sound mix needed tweaking several times, boosting the guitars and Glenn's voice. It was the first date of the tour, so forgivable. I couldn't get the karaoke vibe out of my head. After they played Ziggy Stardust, with the appreciative audience behind them, those thoughts faded, and I engaged more with the music.
It wasn't a perfect evening. They played a few lesser-known Bowie songs and left out some classics (no Heroes, for example). They did play for two hours, though, so definitely good value, especially since I only paid under six quid for the pleasure of their company.
At the end, Tony and Woody gave speeches praising David. Woody talked about the good old days at the Green's Playhouse and about not being able to understand the locals' accents, unable to distinguish between threatening language and praise.
It was an interesting evening, but I wouldn't have paid full whack. It was fun, best viewed as a celebration of Bowie's songs, and better than staying in to watch Taskmaster, but we listened to some proper Bowie on the drive home. Nothing compares to the real thing.
A staff member removed this poster before the end of the gig
Five Years
Changes
Ashes to Ashes
Starman
Life On Mars?
Rebel Rebel
Setlist (All David Bowie covers)
The Width of a Circle
Lady Grinning Soul
Ziggy Stardust
Time
Quicksand
Changes
Ashes to Ashes
All the Madmen
Wild Eyed Boy From Freecloud / All the Young Dudes / Oh! You Pretty Things
Boys Keep Swinging
Space Oddity
The Man Who Sold the World
Starman
"Heroes"
Rock 'n' Roll Suicide
Life on Mars?
Moonage Daydream
Encore
Rebel Rebel
Suffragette City
Ticket Price: 2 x £5.95 = £11.90 from ShowFilmFirst (27/08/2026)
I mistimed my departure, so I arrived in Edinburgh later than intended. Heading directly to the Caley Picture House Wetherspoons from the West End tram stop, I had 40 minutes to order and eat my lunch if I were to reach the Book Festival site in time.
It was close, but I made it, ending up drenched in sweat and having to use my shirt sleeve to wipe away the sheen from my scalp. I must have looked disgusting to the kids waiting with me in the queue for Katherine Rundell.
Impossible Creatures Made Real with Katherine Rundell, 13:30 - 14:30
Event Brochure Entry
Dragons, griffins, sphinxes, centaurs – on a cluster of magical islands called the Archipelago, creatures of myth still live. Katherine Rundell’s multi-award-winning Impossible Creatures series tells the story of how an ordinary boy and a flying girl get swept up in adventures they’ll never forget. Today, Katherine shares the epic third book, The Neverfear – how did she create such a richly imagined world? And what tips does she have for budding young writers with wild imaginations?
Ticket Price: £8
I adore Katherine's fiction. Her middle-grade fantasy fiction is so vivid and imaginative. She was really the driving force to visit the capital again. This would be my first experience seeing her in person.
Upon entry, the front section filled up quickly; lots of kids were desperate to get as close to the front as possible. I chose a seat at the end of the front row of the raked seating away from everyone else, conscious that I was still sweating profusely.
Katherine's event felt like a TED Talk given by the best primary school teacher in the world. Armed with her clicker, she stood on the stage below her giant screen and addressed us with passion and enthusiasm, introducing us to her process. Her worldbuilding often begins with the foods. The rich tastes and smells help immerse the reader in her world. In real life, she likes to research her characters' experiences as much as possible, so she learned to fly a biplane, kayaked up the Amazon, met huskies and even practised walking a tightrope.
One story involved her characters eating a tarantula. She didn't get to taste one on her Amazon trip, so, in her book, she used the description the natives related, that it tasted of fish or prawn. Much later, she happened upon a supplier of ethically sourced tinned tarantula and tried it. Yuck! It tasted horrible, like burnt hair. She didn't amend the description in the book, though, because it was possible that fresh tarantula tasted nicer than the tinned variety.
She often incorporates a young creature into her stories, as they represent life continuing. All her book creatures are based on actual folklore creatures from around the world. When she describes them, she bases the creatures on real-world alternatives, so unicorns are like horses and gaganas are like crows.
She asked the audience lots of questions, and the kids were all keen to answer, raising their arms straight into the air. What was especially amazing was how Katherine could take their What If? ideas and spin them off in five or six directions off the top of her head. Katherine's humour shone throughout the talk, as did her passion for writing. It was inspiring to listen to her.
Afterwards, the kids rushed to the bookshop like a fast-moving river. The oldies, like me, couldn't keep up, walking at a more dignified pace. I ended up about halfway back in the book signing queue. It took forty minutes to reach the front, despite Waterstones' slick operation of writing the name in advance on a Post-It and sticking it like a bookmark onto the signing page. So many of the kids had questions to ask her, and nearly all of them wanted a picture. A lucky few received a card featuring one of the Impossible Creatures. They weren't handed out to adults, though. When it was my turn to get my book signed, I clammed up, content to receive her autograph and a smile.
Writing the Darkness with Patrick Ness, 15:30 - 16:30
Event Brochure Entry
Patrick Ness is a titan of Young Adult literature. Author of modern classic, The Knife of Never Letting Go, he returns to the world of the bestselling Chaos Walking trilogy with Piper at the Gates of Dusk. Blending sci-fi, speculative fiction, and adventure, it’s a story of power, division, and hope. Hear Patrick talk about going back to a world he created nearly 20 years ago and what it takes to write award-winning science fiction.
Ticket Price £15.50
Donations: Support our Schools Programme £2.00
The queue for Patrick Ness was not too long when I joined it at 3.10 pm. The rain was spitting again, so I was glad to be under the cover of the Courtyard tent. Patrick's audience skews older, more YA, but there were as many adults as teens present. As we filtered in, I ended up with a seat in the front-row aisle. At the very end of the row was a man holding a sleeping, four-month-old baby, which turned out to be Patrick's.
Patrick is gay, American and remarkably urbane. He grew up closeted in a small Christian conservative town. His writing helped him form his identity. He believes spite and defiance will take you a long way in the publishing world, and even when people reject you, write anyway.
As he writes both YA and adult fiction, he was asked what the difference was. He said in YA, the protagonists push the boundaries, discovering where they lie, while adult fiction is often more about being trapped within those boundaries.
He's funny but painfully frank in his replies, admitting he's bitter about how the Chaos Walking film was handled and noting that Tom Holland never once mentioned the project's name during the press junket. He had a far better experience working with Spielberg on "A Monster Calls".
He is a staunch advocate for LGBTQ+ rights. One of the new heroes in his latest work is a trans man. He felt it was important to explore that experience. In answer to one of the interviewer's questions, he refused to use Harry Potter as the example he had used in the past, as he now regards JK as the Evil One, thanks to her using her wealth to push an anti-trans agenda.
During the Q&A, an older woman with a prim-sounding voice began her question: "In Edinburgh, we are a polite people, so I think you should apologise for those comments you made about JK-" That's as far as she got. Patrick snapped, "I'll cut you off right there." His temper boiled, and he explained to her passionately why JK's views are so harmful, especially to his readers. He stopped short of having her removed from the room, but did joke at the end that everyone was welcome to join him at the bookshop to get their books signed, "Except you", pointing to the woman in question. He apologised multiple times for losing his cool, but we understood why.
I didn't have a book to get signed, so afterwards I exited the Book Festival site to look for something for my dinner, buying a meal deal from the nearby Tesco Local.
Patrick hates doing book readings
My next show wasn't for a few hours, so I bought an ice cream (two scoops, one of lemon drizzle and one of passionfruit) and wandered over to the Pleasance to see if there was anything available starting soon that took my fancy. There wasn't. I sat on a wall, ate my wrap, used the on-site toilet facilities, and headed across to Cab Vol 1.
Felicity Ward was chatting with a pal in the booth behind me. I didn't eavesdrop; instead, I read my Kindle and scrolled through social media.
Edinburgh Fringe
18:40 (1hr) Dan Rath: Help Me Please
Cab Vol 1. Ticket Price: £14 (& 1.50 BF) = £15.50
Blurb:
You probably already know me from reading the news. In 2018, I dressed up as a sewing needle and hid inside a strawberry. There should be a French word for the moment you realize a bald dude actually has a ponytail. I'm so used to failure that success represents an existential threat. 'His mind works like no other' ***** (Chortle.co.uk). 'The speed and frequency of his jokes is dizzying… Buckle up' **** (Guardian). 'Book yesterday' **** (Age). New Faces of Comedy, Just For Laughs Montreal, 2025 Winner: Best of the Fest Sydney Comedy Festival.
Dan died on his arse tonight. The room was less than half full. The audience had largely ignored the ushers' attempts to wrangle us to the front, so we were spread out across the space, leaving many empty seats. The crowd on one side of the room laughed loudly and heartily, but it sounded forced. On my side of the room, there was mostly silence with occasional titters, creating an odd imbalance.
This threw Dan, who never managed to make his material flow. Normally, he pauses to ride the laughter, but tonight those silent pauses turned awkward. He worked hard to laugh off the bombs, mentioning how "that one usually gets a laugh". He did have some good lines, but I felt he sometimes rambled on too much after the joke, diminishing its effect, like a gymnast stumbling a couple of steps after landing. Compared to last year's brilliant show, this one felt like it was composed of castoffs that didn't fit.
You know it isn't going well when the comedian pauses to ask an audience member where they heard about the show, and this develops into an audience survey as he randomly picks person after person to tell him, none of it eliciting any laughs.
I'm addicted to time travel. I keep thinking of the past. I want to go back. Not too far though. Not Pangea. Remember Pangea? It was the first Brexit. This was when T-rexes were playing scissors scissors scissors. Before they added rock and paper to the game. That's when the game got heavy. Everything's heavy now. I feel the gravity. Back then things felt lighter, like being on the moon. Let's go there. Meet me on the moon. Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer nominee 2024. ***** (Telegraph). ***** (Skinny). **** (Scotsman). **** (Observer).
I nipped out sharply from Cab Vol 1 as I only had twenty minutes before my next show at Pleasance Above. The queue had started but wasn't too long, despite the show being a sellout (and nominated for the Edinburgh Award). I ended up with a seat in the middle of the second row.
I've seen Li a few times now. When he started out, his opening ten-minute set established his USP as a soft-spoken, otherworldly comedian with well-hidden, left-field punchlines. His debut hour expanded on this, but was still a little rough. This show brings everything together beautifully, blending the mystical with the mundane, playful and funny in equal measure. He remains in the moment, responding to the sound and movement of the audience, stepping out of the routine to comment on someone scratching their nose, sometimes copying someone's cough or a stray laugh before returning to the material. That keeps the atmosphere electric.
I liked how he used the large full-moon prop, lit in different ways, subliminally creating the effect of passing time.
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