Once again Montgomery Scott raises a glass to see out the old year and ring in the new and that means it’s time for Scots Whay Hae!’s annual selection of New Year’s Eve treats. It’s an alternative to the Hogmanay telly, so if there’s little you fancy on the box there might be something here to your liking.
Back on BBC's iPlayer is one of the greatest TV adaptations of all time, and certainly the best adaptation of an Iain Banks' novel. I'm referring to The Crow Road and if you have never seen it you are in for a treat. If you have you'll be keen to see it again. It's got an incredible cast, including Peter Capaldi, Bill Paterson, Stella Gonet, Valerie Edmond, Dougray Scott, David Robb, Paul Young, and many more, including the young Joe McFadden as central character Prentice McHoan. It's only available for another couple of weeks, so don't miss out as it might be a while before it comes around again. Click on Joe/Prentice's face to go there...
We sadly lost the great Robbie Coltrane this year, and you can read the SWH! tribute to him here - Robbie Coltrane (1950 - 2022) : An Appreciation... There were many shows which payed their own respects, quite rightly, but here's a show I could only find on YouTube, and it's Robbie in conversation with Michael Parkinson. It's in two parts but together they make for a wonderful 30mins of great telly, and is a reminder of just what a humble, charming, and charismatic man Robbie Coltrane was. Parts One & Two are below:
Part One
Part Two
One of the best films of the year was the documentary Ride the Wave which we talk about on the recent Best Films of 2022 podcast. It's an amazing film about a young surfer and his family, one which manages to be both spectacular and intimate. It also has an amazing soundtrack by Scott Twynholm which stands alone as a great piece of music. Here's the trailer:
Ride the Wave
We also like to offer up our very own Hootenanny each year to see you through the Bells, and there were lots of great songs released in 2022 which also happened to have great videos as well. Here's just a few.
One of the best albums of the year was Mima Merrow's Almost Home which is such a moving and musically interesting collection of songs, and 'Jelly Tots' is one of the finest examples. Fiona Liddell and Ali discuss it, and the album, on our Best Music of 2022 podcast, but below you can hear for yourself just what's so special about Mima's music:
Jelly Tots
Another great release was Hailey Beavis' album i'll put you where the trombone slides which came out late in the year, but still made the SWH! Best Albums of 2022 list. Hailey was one of the Scots Whay Hae! Radio Show's Artists of the Week, and you can find the video version of that conversation, and all the others, over at the SWH! YouTube Channel. But first, this is 'Anything That Shines':
Anything That Shines
One of the bands of the year, and one who won a lot of deserved critical acclaim, were Poster Paints who are Simon Liddell & Carla J Easton. Their eponymous album (which features some of Scotland's finest musical talent) was another to make our Best Albums of 2022 list, and the reason was it has great songs like this one - 'Falling Hard':
Falling Hard
One of the gigs of the year was Mango Lassie at The Glad Cafe in Glasgow which saw the launch of her debut EP Cycles (another release featured on our Best Albums of 2022 list). What we got on the night was not just about the music, those four gorgeous songs which were released throughout the year. There was storytelling and film, and when everything was brought together it was quite magical. To give you just a taste of the night, here is 'Bonnie Heather', a song, and video, which explores Summer on The Isle of Mull:
Bonnie Heather
Talking of gigs, the FRETS series of concerts which are hosted at The Strathaven Hotel in Strathaven by FRETS Creative continued to go from strength to strength in 2022. They included shows from Altered Images, Bernard Butler, James Grant, Norman Blake, Monica Queen, JJ Gilmour, King Creosote, Roddy Woomble, Michael Head, Arab Strap, Ricky Ross, BMX Bandits, The Pearlfishers, and more, with Grant Lee Buffalo (with Monica Queen in support) and Twilight Sad coming in January of 2023.
But they also had The Bathers play a couple of times last year, and here's the proof. This is The Bathers live at The Strathaven Hotel with one of their finest - 'If Love Could Last Forever':
If Love Could Last Forever
Huge thanks to all of our podcast and radio show guests this year, and to all those people who have read, liked, listened to, supported and shared what we do. It's so appreciated, and we hope to offer you even more in 2023.
From everyone involved with Scots Whay Hae!, Happy New Year and we’ll see you on the other side…