For the Love of G...lasgow: A Dram of Scottish Humour & the Finest Glasgow Comedy Podcast

The Twenty First: "Moonings"

Sun, 19 Jul 2009 12:49:00 PDT

The Twenty First: "Mooning".

Sorry about the late show due to the Springsteen and subsequent swine flu, but you can rest assured that this one was worth the wait. In our longest show for a while, we lament the passing of a national hero, review the new Frank Bruno Movie, the audio-described Transformers: Revenge of the Falling Earth Movie, the Hermione's Development Movie, and some place called Ketchup. We also debate the truth of the moon landings, whether Alan should be renamed Captain Birdseye and introduce our tragic Twenty First Competition.

Our Glasgow band of the week are the energetic Tenemants
(www.myspace.com/thetenemants) and we also cram in a great track sent in by one of our loyal listeners. Enjoy...

Bruce Springsteen in Glasgow and some snotty apologies

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 02:43:38 PDT

We were due to have been recording the new show tonight, a day late as I was at the Bruce Springsteen gig at Hampden Park Glasgow last night, but I've woken up feeling not unlike a poorly swine flu victim - snotty, sneezy, weak, over-reacting.

So I'm afraid we've pushed back the 21st episode to Sunday, and it should be available to download on the same day. In the meantime, keep the comments and emails coming in (fortheloveofglasgowpodcast@googlemail.com), and as soon as the blood disappears from inside my eyeballs I'll be sure to take a look at them.

As for Springsteen, yet another outstanding gig!

The man fair puts in a shift - played for three solid, sweat-invoking hours without a break, which isn't bad for a wee laddy turning 60 this year (bearing in mind how broken I looked just having walked home from the gig!).

He and the legendary E Street Band, including the mighty favourite Clarence "Big Man" Clemons who got a roar every time he even moved, entertained a typically deafening Glasgow crowd (I've never seen so much of the audience at Hampden cram onto the pitch despite having seated tickets - a reflection I'd imagine of the effort & energy coming from the stage) with some of his spell-binding classics, but other than Born to Run, the standout for me was what could be only best described as a Song for the Credit Crunch - Hard Times Come Again No More - a working class song sung by a working class hero for a working class City in need of a break.

(as Alan would say, songs from the streets - the lyrics could easily be about his own tough upbringing in Bearsden!)

Near the end of the gig, having seen the whole band revel in & appear pretty surprised by the pulsating waves of energy from the crowd throughout the gig, Springsteen said that next time they won't wait so long to come back.

Aye pal, if you're no back next year ah'll be ragin!

Put all that nonsense to one side though. The thing that really won it for me last night was all the wacky guys walking around on the pitch selling booze to the drunken masses, with some wacky contraption on their back I'll be yapping about on the next show, hopefully having purloined one for myself in the meantime!

So until then I'm off for a lie down and a quick check of the NHS site to see how long I've got...

I'm 90% Hetero!!!

Tue, 14 Jul 2009 05:44:40 PDT

I knew it!

I just totally knew it!!

I told you not to listen to Alan and his views on my sexuality. Now who's laughing?!!

I took the Stockholm Pride test you can do until 2nd August, and it analyses your Twitter feed to check your use of words most likely used by, well, non-heteros.

And look at that!

Alan might comment that most of what I do online is "Gay!", but there's the proof! There's the proof! - Right there!

Eh?

Eh?

Aye. I'm off to convince my parents.

It's competition time

Thu, 09 Jul 2009 02:35:12 PDT

We'll soon be recording our 21st show, and to thank all the new listeners who've flocked to us since we've been listed by iTunes as a featured comedy podcast, as well as all those who've been with us for a while, on the new show we'll be introducing The Twenty First Competition.

Sounds interesting, doesn't it?

Well OK, so maybe it doesn't. God you guys are so hard to please!

So here's the thing. Tune in to our next show which should be available a week today (I'll remind you nearer the time in case something more important pushes your back-breaking excitement to one side), and we'll give you details on how to qualify for a chance to win what can only be described as the best prize we've ever given away on the show.

Yes OK I know, we've never given a prize away on the show before. Do you have to look into every bold statement I make?!!

Whatever. New show. New competition. New prizes. New winner. And I can safely say that Alan's never been more pumped with yet another of my tragic additions to the podcast!

And you can still listen to the 20th episode over and over until then...

iTunes Screenshot [Flickr]

Scottybhoy — Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:51:03 PDT

Scottybhoy posted a photo:

Our place in the history of iTunes!

The Twentieth: "Lionel"

Wed, 01 Jul 2009 02:18:37 PDT

The Twentieth: "Lionel".

To be honest, it was supposed to be called "Michael", but you'll soon see why that wouldn't have been entirely appropriate. In our first landmark show we cycle furiously through our place in the history of iTunes, our thoughts on Wacko Jacko, Farrah Fawcett and Not Dead Goldbloom, and come to rest in Wimbledon & the coronation of Sir Andy Murray.

There's also some anti-racism thrown in for giggles, a premature review of a floating Glasgow restaurant, a disappointing Take That Circus at Hampden Park, and our independent Glasgow band this time around is the fantastic Hollow Horse (www.hollowhorse.co.uk).

Happy Birthday Dad, long live Lionel Ritchie!

The show must go on

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:39:58 PDT

Michael is no longer with us, but we'll place our devastation to one side and press on in his honour.

Our 20th show will be recorded tomorrow night and should be available to download by Wednesday. I'm not sure what we'll be talking about, and suspect that it might end up being just a 50 minute silence.

Either way, I'll Be There and so will Alan.

Eh? ...Eh? ...

Eh? ...

Aye.

Rest in Peace Michael

Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:24:20 PDT

All jokes aside here - I'm absolutely gutted.

Music taste has always been subjective - you either like the sound of something or you don't, and everyone's free to choose what to listen to. I've also taken the view that when it comes to numbers, record sales and downloads can never be relied on to prove that a band or musician has talent or not.

That said, sometimes numbers don't lie.

In this era of music, when 2 million sales or downloads can make you the biggest selling artist of the year, Michael Jackson is estimated to have sold over three quarters of a billion records over his career. What do you think that number tells you? What do you think the awards, the first-evers and all the record-breaking tell you? I've always raised a smile when his newer albums have been deemed failures because they've sold less than his prior work, even though their figures still blow every other act out the water and their sound still reverberates in the music of those acts considered more relevant than him today.

This generation has largely missed out on Michael Jackson, and despite the huge number of musicians in popular music today citing him as having been a major influence, despite much of today's sounds portrayed as unique & fresh by an increasingly myopic music industry having in fact been fashioned by him decades ago, despite all that, for the main part when this generation thinks of Michael Jackson, regretfully it's not the music which first springs to mind.

Despite being a fan of blues and rock, I grew up loving his music, wanting to be him, lapping up every record, every MTV appearance & Pepsi advert, screaming at the sensationalist news channels more concerned with his personal life, watching & re-watching increasingly fuzzy video tapes of his live performances. The first record I ever bought was Thriller, and in 1992 I was lucky enough to see him live at Glasgow Green. I've been to hundreds of gigs since then but that one sticks more than most in my memory, the image of him ending Man in the Mirror before flying off on a jet pack into the night - we all knew it wasn't him but what a spectacle that show was.

I listen to the older generation go on about Elvis, who died just after I was born. I hear them, even years after his death, mourn the passing of such a strongly influential light in music, wonder what he'd have achieved had he lived as long as he should have done. I listen to the music he produced and think about how great it still sounds, how breathtaking it must have sounded in the context it was created.

But I wasn't there!

I didn't experience the thrill of seeing his career unfold, so while yeah, I can tap along to his work and hear all the stories about how he changed the world, I'll never understand what it was like to have been there when it all happened.

Michael Jackson was our Elvis. I mean, I know that's not exactly a new revelation, but for me, all I can think about is just how lucky I've been to have borne witness to the career of one man whose music changed us all (even those who don't admit it & scorn his very existence). I think that the next generation might see him in the same way I see Elvis, and that it'll never have the chance to experience first-hand that kind of thrill, that magnitude of talent that transcends every colour, creed and border & completely reshapes the face of music.

The ticket refund I'm now expecting from his London gigs will be the least welcome money I've received for some time! Some truly depressing thoughts really, but I think I'll go and listen to some of his albums and cheer myself up!

Thanks Michael, and rest in peace.

Good Luck Sir Andy Murray!

Mon, 22 Jun 2009 00:58:04 PDT

It's Pimm's o'clock and I'm oozing fat strawberries because it's finally here.

Wimbledon 2009. The Championships. The theatre of dreams. The roof that keeps out the rain. The players who play tennis. In Wimbledon. For prizes and money and that.

As you all know, Sir Andy Murray is a great Friend of the Show, and Alan & I would like to take this opportunity to wish him the very best of luck in this season's tournament.

Let's hope Chris Hoy doesn't conspire to ruin Sir Andy's chances once again.
Let's hope the BBC mention that he's Scottish if he wins, rather than only when he loses.
Let's hope that WHEN Sir Andy beats "Pretender to the Throne" Federer in the final, it tops last year's final as the best ever match.
Let's hope I don't lose my job for watching the whole thing on a big screen in the office, dressed head to toe in my tennis gear.
Let's hope the female players don't wear shorts again.

Let's hope...and believe!

Do you believe?

Russell Howard and Glasgow and Painting Elephants with Tippex and Stuff

Fri, 19 Jun 2009 07:00:38 PDT

Having lapped up some outstanding gourmet burgers and at Ketchup in Shawlands, we went to see Mock the Week's Russell Howard last night at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, supported by the brilliant Mark Oliver.

Despite being right at the back row and therefore about 2 miles above the stage, we absolutely loved it. I'd seen Russell play the Old Fruitmarket before and wasn't really impressed (I think I was just too boozed, to be honest), but last night I had a stupid grin on my face all the way from start to finish.

Best bits included yapping about painting elephants with tippex, knifing leprechauns under rainbows and photographing 9 year-old girls in a museum.

He did make the mistake though after the rapturous applause of taking questions from the audience, something which should just never be done in Glasgow. The questions that could be heard and translated from the mostly boozed-up crowd included little gems like "do you know what chloroform smells like?" and "fancy coming to the pub after this?".

Good ol' Glasgow!

The Holy Grail has been found!

Tue, 16 Jun 2009 04:35:23 PDT

I think we must have been skirting in and out of the list recently and may continue to do so, but I noticed yesterday that after months of painful dejection, lonely months spent languishing in the bitter wilderness of independent broadcasting, iTunes has finally listed For the Love of G...lasgow, our little tragic venture into cyberspace, as a featured comedy podcast.

Basically, it's like the Holy Grail of comedy podcasting, or at the very least "pretty cool".

So the most thankful of thanks again to all our new listeners and also to the ones who've been with us throughout, enduring our darker days when more than likely there was something much better for you to listen to.

We'd love to hear from every one of you, so keep the emails and Skype calls coming in so we can play them on the show.

Free Willy...apparently [Flickr]

Scottybhoy — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 15:15:02 PDT

Scottybhoy posted a photo:

It's actually Shamu - I believe!

The Nineteenth: "Carradined"

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 14:48:52 PDT

The Nineteenth: "Carradined".

It's Summertime. It's hot and sticky. It's our first show after a wee break and we're excited to be back. Think about David Carradine, we talk about him. Think about Air France, we start a new campaign called Get Planes Out The Sky. Think about the USA's love of heroes and truency, we talk about that. We talk about midget restaurants in Glasgow, Free Willy, Cristiano Ronaldo and more.

In fact, this episode's so full of rubbish nonsense like this that you'll be glad it's over soon. We also introduce the innovative Glaswegian duo called sixpeopleaway (www.sixpeopleaway.co.uk) and give thanks to all our new listeners - you lucky, lucky people.

Comedy is just around the corner...

Mon, 08 Jun 2009 01:10:12 PDT

It took me some time.

This weekend, after a blissful early Summer break, was spent trying to find Alan. When I did find him, he pretended he was dead. Once I got my cattle-prod out however, he admitted that he wasn't dead, and that he was just pretending because he knew what I was after.

He knew that I wanted to record another episode of the podcast.

So a bottle of Mint Baileys and a few hundred pounds later, he agreed that we'll get back into the swing of things this coming Sunday. We'll record our Nineteenth that day and hopefully it'll be available to download on Sunday, or Monday at the very latest.

Exciting stuff...

A Brand New Day

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 02:10:08 PDT

Alrighteo,

That's me settling back into the ol' claes & purridge after a few weeks vacation. I'm pleased to have come back to note that the number of wacky folks listening to the podcast has just about trebled while we've been away.

(Once again I'm hit with the thought that we're more popular when we shut our collective cakehole!)

So anyway, hello to everyone including all you new guys, and thanks for all the emails to our fortheloveofglasgowpodcast@googlemail.com address. I'll announce pretty soon when our 19th instalment of nonsense will be recorded and available to download, so if you've any questions you want us to answer on the show, pop us an email and I'll try my best to stop Alan from tearing it apart!

I'm off to enjoy what's bound to be our last few hours of summer sunshine in Glasgow.

O.F.F.S.K.I.

Mon, 11 May 2009 00:47:01 PDT

Well, I don't envy you.

I'm off on holiday until the start of June. How will you cope?

OK, so more than likely you'll cope really well. More than likely you'll prosper, turn over a new leaf, rid yourself of what our little podcast has become to you - a very large and annoying monkey on your back, a monkey who keeps soaking your ear with raspberries of saliva every two weeks.

So have a great time of it while I'm gone, while we're gone that is, given that Alan can't work a computer so couldn't do the podcast in my absence (even if he wanted to, which he doesn't).

I'll post again here when I'm back to let you know when the next episode will be out, and please feel free in the meantime to ask us any questions you want us to yap about in the show - just send your questions & comments to fortheloveofglasgowpodcast@googlemail.com.

And you can still catch the Eighteenth show here:

Swine Flu [Flickr]

Scottybhoy — Tue, 05 May 2009 23:09:36 PDT

Scottybhoy posted a photo:

You've gotta be careful in these Swine Flu days!

The Eighteenth: "Swine"

Tue, 05 May 2009 22:47:34 PDT

The Eighteenth: "Swine".

This one's a bit longer. The reason for that is down to the serious global issues which have demanded our attention over the last few weeks. Issues like Swine Flu. Issues like Mexico. Issues like Swine Flu and Mexico. So in this, our last show before a short break while Scott goes on vacation, we talk about Swine Flu. And Mexico. Have you tired of such nonsense yet? We've not!

That aside, there's also some more A-Grade Glasgow restaurant and attraction reviewing, some inspirational celebrity eulogies, and a mighty fine track from Glasgow-based songstress Andrea Heins (www.andreaheins.com). Hope you enjoy the next few weeks of pure bliss, and remember to send us some nonsense and questions to our new address at fortheloveofglasgowpodcast@googlemail.com!

A New Dew

Mon, 04 May 2009 23:02:45 PDT

Fresh back from the first Public Holiday in May, we'll be recording the next show tonight. Look forward to our take on the Swine debacle. That's all I'll say, because I'm waching last night's 24, which is much more important!

Joe Bonamassa at O2 Academy Glasgow

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:38:04 PDT

OMG tht ws grt...

...as they'd say in the online world of the interweb.

Last night I went with my Dad to see Joe Bonamassa rock the O2 Academy in Glasgow. Who's Joe Bonamassa? Well, despite the lack of mainstream attention, he's widely considered the most significant, and perhaps even the best, guitarist on the planet today, and that's not restricted merely to the blues music he so excels in.

Looking around the room last night, the first thing I noticed was the average age of the audience. It was older than the usual crowd at the Academy. Blues is anything but mainstream, particularly in these times, immersed as we are in a depressingly one track music industry driven by the X-Factory and a sold-out MTV. In these times, I worry that not enough new people appreciate blues music, that even more so than before, it's been pushed to one side by a myopic industry bent solely on sucking cash from a succession of homogenous hits. Despite that though, Bonamassa managed to pack out the Academy, which is testament to the bridge I hope he's beginning to build.

I'm not concerned if you don't like blues music - we all like different things - but what I will say is that if you like music, you should give Bonamassa a chance. Head over to YouTube (interesting to see an older audience last night more focussed solely on enjoying the experience and leaving only a few tragic souls to record the gig for uploading) or iTunes, have a listen and see if you get hooked on the man's unparalled speed and technique, the breathtaking solos and inspiring lyrics.

To watch him last night was to watch utter perfection, and I could have stayed there all night, and I remember a few moments when, despite the deafening noise of the appreciative crowd, there'd be a slight pause, a gasp of air right at the end of a song or a solo, kind of like did he just do that?!!

Just a magnificent night my Dad and I will remember for years to come. I'm off to snap up his new album, The Ballad of John Henry and air guitar until the air can take no more!

Yey - You can now email us...

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 01:53:45 PDT

As time goes on, the number of people downloading and lapping up our little podcasting venture into comedy cyberspace has been increasing. Increasing, that is, to a fair proportion notwithstanding that in real life, on the streets and putrid gutters of Glasgow, we remain social outcasts. We're like Ant & Dec when they tried to break the US, walking the streets without recognition but in the knowledge that somewhere else in the world, we're like Kings!

However, until now it's appeared that we've been attracting only comedy voyeurs, listeners who like to listen and laugh but remain comfortably in the darkness, away from the light of the stage and the stand-up's searching gaze.

Well, we're accepting this no more!

We want questions. We want comments. We want pictures. We want videos. We want you to start sending us all this to our new email address at fortheloveofglasgowpodcast@googlemail.com.

Gonnae just email us eh?

The Seventeenth: "Sting"

Mon, 27 Apr 2009 03:49:45 PDT

The Seventeenth: "Sting".

In our newly contact lense-free show, we celebrate Earth Day by investigating its link with Vladimir Lenin's birthday, and unsurprisingly explore the real Susan's Boil Story from Britain's Next Top Model. Alan terrifies us with his wasp sting debacle, his grocery shopping in Morrisons and his usual insightful movie and restaurant review section including the delights of Knowing and Stravaigin.

We also yap about Jedi Cops in Glasgow and arguably the best guitarist on the planet, Joe Banana Sandwich, who'll be playing the O2 Academy in Glasgow. Our Glasgow indie music of this show comes courtesy of the fantastic Shimmer (www.myspace.com/shimmeruk), and another link we ask you to check out is Kyle Murdoch's Breast Cancer Cycle of Britain at twitter.com/whitelilyfund.

Wii Carnival [Flickr]

Scottybhoy — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 23:42:01 PDT

Scottybhoy posted a photo:

A Wii Record!

New Ship of Comedy Doom on the Horizon

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 05:20:34 PDT

Fresh from a blissful break from all things Internet this last week, we're absolutely 100% raring to go now. So the Seventeenth show will be a day late.

We'll be recording on Wednesday instead of Tuesday this time, so it should be available to download on Thursday, if that makes sense. The reason for the delay is that tomorrow evening, Alan is being given a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award for the Advancement of Scottish Comedy. The award ceremony is being held at the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, and is being hosted by Mr. T. I'm not sure if there are any public seating tickets left for the ceremony, but did hear that they're selling pretty fast on eBay, albeit at a mark up of at least 300%.

This week in our show we'll be talking about lots of things. In the last couple of weeks there's been a great deal of conversation pieces like the G20 protestor Ian Tomlinson, the Britain's Got Non Visual Talent of Susan Boyle, and the story about Jedi Cops in Glasgow.

But we won't talk about any of that, and more than likely will focus instead on filling out the silence with loads of pointless jingles involving me destroying the American accent.

Signing Out

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 02:55:34 PDT

Just to let you know that I'm deplugging for a week. No blogs, tweets or anything connected with the World Wide Interweb.

Need to cleanse my system. Thanks again for the interest in the podcast etc., and I'll be back again soon buzzing with energy.

Peace Out!

The Sixteenth: "Poke"

Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:08:11 PDT

The Sixteenth: "Poke".

Here we are again with a putrid pile of nonsense. There's stuff in there about Alan's worthwhile 24th birthday celebrations, a sterling review on the Damned United movie, and we trot out an exclusive statement received from National Hero Barry Ferguson. More, as always, on Alfie Patten, and continuing on our intellectual learning curve, we try to understand the reasoning behind the recent G20 protests as well as Andy Murray's stated hatred of boozing.

Finally, Alan provides a summary of the Original Easter Parable for those of our listeners going to hell, and our Glaswegian independent guest band this time around is the outstanding Casino Brag (www.myspace.com/casinobrag).

Happy Egg Rolling and Chocolate Weekend!

Easter [Flickr]

Scottybhoy — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 23:03:57 PDT

Scottybhoy posted a photo:

Happy Egg Rolling Day!

What connects the G20 protests with Barry Ferguson?

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 03:27:34 PDT

No doubt you'll find out tomorrow once our new episode of the podcast is uploaded.

Tonight when we record it, we intend to explore the darkly lit caverns of truth which the world's media has whimpered away from, led away like the village idiot by the comforting hand of Rupert Murdoch and his cohorts.

Tonight we will discuss nothing less than the disturbing connection between seemingly independent current events, a connection hidden in the wind from the collective consciousness, but unearthed bloodily by myself and Alan in the last few days. Yes, we're like the modern day equivalent of Woodward and Bernstein!

The G20 protests, the chaotic uprising against Barry Ferguson and Alan McGregor, the sadly mistaken tale of little Alfie Patten, and the end of Lent. Stories woven together in a transparent weave of hatred.

The truth will out. Listen in tomorrow, and for the first time in your life we'll prise open your mind to what's really going on in the world today. Oh, and there'll also be some nice music in there from Casino Brag, another one of Glasgow's finest independent bands.

So clear your diary!

Singin' on yer Mammy's Knee

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 01:03:09 PDT

Who in Scotland hasn't fallen asleep on their Mammy's knee to this one at some point in their life? I broke a tooth last week when I fell off!

A Bunch of April Fools

Wed, 01 Apr 2009 00:37:00 PDT

It's 1st April, and you know what that means don't you?

Another round of hastily thought out April Fool pranks. To be honest, I had been thinking of convincing our listeners as a joke that we were stopping the show, that our little venture into cyberspace was at an end.

I stopped myself from doing that though, because it occurred to me that if I had done that, there would likely have been a huge swell of support for the idea, and perhaps even some collective sighing of relief around the world, not least from the guy I do the podcast with - He Who Doesn't Want To Be Mentioned Or Associated With This.

So I'll be abstaining from April Fools Day, and just to spite you, will spend it instead preparing for our next show!

Lobey Dosser Tribute Blog [del.icio.us]

scottybhoy — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:44:42 PST

The Top Ten Glasgow Guide [del.icio.us]

scottybhoy — Wed, 28 Feb 2007 14:42:09 PST