Captain's Bar,
South College St,
Edinburgh

Andy McFarlane, Edinburgh-based musician & artist

Humanist, performance poet and writer with stories, poems and factual articles in print. Elected Chairman of the Federation of Writers (Scotland) in 2005, became Ambassador in 2010 when he resigned the Chair. Since 2007, elected Secretary of the Scottish Association of Writers, Chairperson of the West of Scotland Local Association of the Workers Educational Association and is on the Management Board of Glasgow based ConFab (an innovative education/literary project group). Also Chairperson of the Larkfield Community Centre in Glasgow.

An absurdist 'Skiffle Poet' with a banjolele and a washboard . . . Bagthorpe's only 'Skiffle-Gospel' artist! . . . Adversely influenced by Ivor Cutler, Tom Waits, Johnny Dowd and Michael Hurley . . . chain sawing his way through the madness of life . . . this is NOT X-factor . . . Don't ask for a cover unless you want one thats 100 years old! There are songs about tractors, hangings, the Devil, Werewolves, coal, patriotism and of course the 'legendary' Dog Sh** Blues . . . take your pick and let the journey begin . . .

Retired ex-NHS employee - having fun!

Semi retired and aging disgracefully!

Ah har m'lads.. all the best to the Captain.

THE ZIPS Pacing the floor at Punk’s birth in the Seventies, splitting up as it was overtaken by Ska and New Romantics in the Eighties, and re-forming due to European bootleg interest in their back catalogue in the Noughties, Glasgow’s socio-politico-proto punk band The Zips, are keen to make up for lost time. With 3 new cd eps on their own Tenement Toons label, a download single for the Make Poverty History campaign on Oxfam’s (www.bignoisemusic.com) site, and tracks on numerous compilation cds, The Zips finally released their debut album, Guitars4Hire, Sept 06 – 27 years after their debut single! Copies of that single, The Zips ep, which received extensive airplay on the late-great John Peel Show, have fetched up to $427 on eBay, and it was recently listed as number 37 in the top 100 most collectable punk records, of all time, in Record Collector. On the back of that accolade, it has just been re-issued in the original 7” vinyl format, by Brooklyn-based label, Sing Sing Records (www.singsingrecords.com). Now 2010, the band are putting the finishing touches to a new anti-war single, the JawJaw ep. Friends to the stars(www.youtube.com - nardwuar vs kate nash pt1), and no strangers to local radio airwaves, the band also have a reputation for rip-roaring stage performances, which has ensured that they are always in demand on Scotland’s live circuit, including the annual Joe Strummer tribute night, on December 22nd, at King Tuts, Glasgow. Catch them at a gig near you, soon! Check (www.myspace.com/thezips) for gigs, toons, photies and vids. 4 guys3chords2minutebuzzbombs1helluvanight - guaranteed!