Londoner Josie Long’s wide-eyed humour has been a breath of fresh air ever since she won the If.comedy Best Newcomer award at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2006. Malcolm Jack caught up with her ahead of a show at the Glasgow...
Tommy Reilly can still hardly believe he won Channel 4’s Orange Unsigned Act contest. Now the 19-year-old Glaswegian has a record deal and, he tells Kenny Hodgart, plans for plenty of gigs NOBODY commented on the similarity but I for...
Artist David Shrigley tells Graeme Virtue why he invited art students to his Glasgow studio as they prepared for a Ctrl.Alt.Shift exhibition based on the conflict in Colombia Though he was born in Macclesfield, David Shrigley is very much a...
Girl power is back, but similarities between We Rock Like Girls Don't and the Spice Girls end there. This rocking duo stands out from the crowd, looking and sounding different to most girl bands in the charts. Originally a trio,...
For an antidote to the ageing nature of Scottish golf you need look no further than a club with its own course in Coatbridge where the average age is no more than 10. It might be just six holes and...
IN the futuristic, multi-faith fantasy world of Meanwhile City, the masked Jonathan Preest (Ryan Philippe) stalks the streets and rooftops, where he growlingly narrates a detective noir in between beating up hordes of goons. In parallel with this is a...
Every aspiring indie band on the planet claims to have eclectic influences; wide-ranging musical interests that make them stand out from the crowd. Mostly this is pure flannel - but, in the case of Glasgow's finest new outfit in years,...
An emotional Duffy stole the honours from Coldplay at last night's dazzling Brit awards ceremony, winning three of the four prizes for which she was nominated. While Coldplay grabbed the headlines across the Atlantic earlier this month, winning three Grammys...
More than 11,000 young people throughout Scotland are to benefit from improved sports facilities, including new 3G synthetic pitches, as part of the latest element of the Scottish Government’s CashBack for Communities scheme. The first 19 projects, part of the...
Andrew Garfield won a Bafta for playing a released convict with a dark past in Boy A and acted opposite Robert Redford in his first major Hollywood movie, Lions For Lambs. In March he’ll be seen on Channel 4 donning...
Ugly Betty star Ashley Jensen’s big break came late, but it was certainly worth waiting for, writes Malcolm Jack Bubbly blonde Scots actress Ashley Jensen has become a household name at home and abroad over the last few years, with...
Paul McGuigan, a native of Bellshill and the man behind such films as Gangster No 1, Wicker Park and Lucky Number Slevin, is northing like the archetypal highly strung, egotistical film director. Ahead of the UK release of his new...
Anna Meldrum: The slavish snacking is over – it’s time to take control, get to the gym and get back in shape My tummy and I have a relationship akin to that of master and slave: my tummy is a...
By Gavin McNeill A week had passed since that fateful day, the 28th of December; a week in which the shock and horror of the terrible tragedy had not yet sunk in. The morning of the memorial service had arrived,...
Today’s young people, who spend more of their time engaging with media than they do sleeping, have more say and more choices than previous generations ... and they’re changing the world, writes Jay Richardson Valentine’s Day? That’s yesterday’s news. Why...
In just six months, the Script have gone from playing King Tut's to selling out the O2 Academy and a similarly rapid rise may await their choice of support, Gary Go. Already handpicked by Take That to join them on...
His alarm clock may begin to peep persistently at 5.15 several mornings a week but even that unpleasant awakening cannot disturb Jamie Wright's dreams of skating stardom. Neither can the trip to East Kilbride from his Newton Mearns home that...
Opening the NME's annual gathering of much-hyped bands arguably carries more pressure than closing it. The likes of Kaiser Chiefs and Franz Ferdinand are past alumni and while Florence And The Machine are perhaps too quirky to achieve similar commercial...
Renee Zellweger has a new man in her life, but he doesn't know it. "I have a crush on Jimmy Carter. I admit it," Zellweger says. "He has an extraordinary mind. He's an exceptional human being. And he writes poetry,...
Revolutionary Road, in cinemas now Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet, who shot to fame in one of the highest grossing films of all time – The Titanic – are reunited on screen for the first time in this adaptation of...
Eve Muirhead seems remarkably relaxed for someone whose entire future will be decided in the next few months. Indeed, the 18-year-old seems more exercised by her new iPhone than she does by the prospect of going to the Winter Olympics...
Glasgow band Glasvegas and the city's legendary Barrowlands venue are in the running for UK awards. The Dalmarnock quartet have been shortlisted for Best Album and Best New Act at the NME Awards, while the Barrowlands is nominated in the...
Their mission was Doll Domination, and the Pussycat Dolls clawed, purred and conquered Glasgow. Revving on stage like Hells Angels astride motorbikes, the burlesque troupe raised temperatures with a high-octane set. Bionic frontwoman Nicole Scherzinger - and her four sexy...
Andrew Robertson does not watch contentious refereeing decisions on television, offers anodyne answers to potentially parlous queries and avoids affiliation to a particular team. The 17-year-old is an apostle of arbitration. Scoring an unprecedented 99% in the Scottish FA's refereeing...
Your guide to the best music coming up this year VW BROWN Set to be your new ray of upbeat, bubblegum pop sunshine in 2009 – just like Alphabeat, Mika and the Scissor Sisters were in previous years – VV...
With Limmy’s Show set to hit the screens of BBC2 Scotland in February, the internet sensation behind swearing xylophones, fake smiles and the World of Glasgow podcasts has fulfilled a lifelong ambition. Brian Limond chats to Brian Donaldson about school...
Franz Ferdinand’s new album, Tonight, released January 26 They’re already back on the airwaves with Ulysses, the first single from the follow-up to album number two, 2005’s You Could Have It So Much Better. But where that track is a...
ANNA MELDRUM Hogmany party plans have been cursed in the past - and 2008's celebrations were not without incident Toni and I are cursed. Having spent the last few Hogmanays together, every year some disaster worse than the previous year’s...
The food is the highlight of Kuala Lumpur for Sara McLaughlin, but a return to Thailand goes pear-shaped when protests break out Another month, another built-up city that didn’t seem to have much going for it tourist-wise. Kuala Lumpur was...
Homecoming Scotland 2009 aims to encourage Scots, people of Scottish descent and those who simply love Scotland to come “home” to Scotland in 2009 and join in a year-long celebration of Scotland’s culture and heritage. Over 300 events and festivals...
By Sean Bell Where to begin? Maybe with one steerage-class exodus or another, as our forebears scattered around the globe looking for high adventure and exotic employment opportunities. Or maybe with the crank’s habit for wild invention that lurks in...
Sporting heroes are going back into the classroom to inspire pupils under a new mentoring scheme, Champions in Schools. Be Kenny Hodgart EVERYONE has their sporting heroes; but for all the shouts of “come on Andy” in living-rooms these days,...
Sony’s release of Home, its answer to Microsoft’s New XBox Experience, was almost a year late and even now the system is incomplete. Graeme Virtue takes a peek into this new virtual world and finds ... lots of potential Now...
A new year’s resolution to get fit doesn’t mean you have to join a gym or get up at 6am and pound the streets. Here’s some fresh ideas which won’t cost too much in time or money – and the...
Late last year, fresh and The Co-operative Insurance gave you the chance to design your school’s football strip. Our two lucky winners went to Italy to see their kits take shape WE all wear our team’s colours with pride, but...
Boy's got talent ... Sungha Jung plays The Beatles’ Come Together When horror meets romantic comedy ... The Shining remade with love...
Slumdog Millionaire, in cinemas now The story of an orphaned Indian teen who becomes a contestant on the Hindi version of Who Wants to be A Millionaire?, this is a rags to riches to story with real depth, colour and...
Playground nicknames, far from being insulting - as they sometimes are - can actually be good for kids, according to a top psychologist. Try telling that to Pele, the world's finest footballer. The youth born as Edson Arantes do Nascimento...
SCOTLAND'S national stadium is gearing up for its busiest year ever with a string of superstar acts booked to appear. Every year since the stadium first hosted gigs by Rod Stewart, Tina Turner and the Rolling Stones, it has increased...
JENNIFER Breaden knew from fourth year in school that she wanted to work in the construction industry. She left Lourdes Secondary the following year with eight Standard Grades, seven at credit level, and five Highers, three of them at A...
19/12/08 Amy MacDonald; Barrowland, Glasgow; Saturday and Sunday Nowhere could be more apt for the Glaswegian singer-songwriting sensation to host a triumphant two-night residency: after all, her debut album This is the Life, which has now sold almost two millions...
19/12/08 Ah, Christmas. The 750,000 Christmas cards, the half billion aluminium and steel cans, the 4000 tonnes of aluminium foil. If it were all piled up together, Gillian McKeith-style, it would block out the sun. - The most wasteful aspects...
This Friday (December 19) sees the UK release of the don’t-miss vampire movie of the year, Twilight. Author Stephenie Meyer’s saga of young love between high school teen Bella Swann (Kristen Stewart) and broody bloodsucker Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) arrives...
Star rating: *** Such has been Kings of Leon's musical shift over their four albums towards a bigger sound that it's hard to reconcile today's slick arena rockers with the raw upstarts peddling down-and-dirty rock that first appeared in 2003....
The food may be healthier and canteens have been given a stylish makeover with widescreen televisions and pop music, but Scottish secondary pupils still aren't eating school dinners. As chips, burgers and pizzas have been sent packing from dining halls...
Sigourney Weaver rated the hugely successful interactive Alien Wars experience as even more scary than the original film set – and now it’s back in Glasgow. Malcolm Jack plucked up the courage to check it out A long, gloomy, disorientating...
fresh caught up with Roisin Murphy - pop diva, fashion icon and former lead singer in Moloko - when she stopped in Scotland for her tour Your music is often quite poppy in terms of production but it’s also sometimes...
Forget about men in tights and classical music, Scottish Ballet is bringing school pupils a taste of all the other aspects of dance – and the real folk tales that inspire its hit productions. fresh finds out more WHEN you...
The Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final draw leaves open the possibility of an Old Firm final – but don’t write off the underdogs just yet. fresh spoke to players from Rangers, Celtic, Falkirk and Dundee United about their Hampden dreams Scotland’s...
The Co-operative Insurance Cup semi-final draw leaves open the possibility of an Old Firm final – but don’t write off the underdogs just yet. fresh spoke to players from Rangers, Celtic, Falkirk and Dundee United about their Hampden dreams Scotland’s...
Every household has its own Christmas-tree traditions. Some get the Anthea Turner treatment, with only carefully coordinated baubles allowed anywhere near them; in these houses, you suspect that the all-too-perfect presents below are actually empty cardboard boxes. Other trees find...
28/11/08 The Changeling, in cinemas now Angelina Jolie makes a grab for an Oscar in Clint Eastwood’s true story of corruption and conspiracy set in 1920s Los Angeles. Jolie plays Christine Collins, a single mother and telephone exchange manager, whose...
SCOTS rockers Idlewild are the latest big name on the bill of Glasgow's Hogmanay party. The band join Paolo Nutini, Blondie tribute act Bleachie and the winners of the Road to Hogmanay band contest. Next month, Idlewild will also play...
As the first airing of Do They Know It's Christmas? wafts through Woolworths' doorway and high-street checkout queues grow into po-faced conga lines, it's natural to question what it's all for. All too often, the spirit of Christmas gets buried...
Most of the ribbing was affectionate. He was a "dancing pig in Cuban heels" and an old bloke with "baby elephant moves". But it was John Sergeant's swan-like grace in withdrawing from this year's Strictly Come Dancing that left the...
Star rating: ** During Scouting for Girls' opening number, James Bond, vocalist Roy Stride declared: "Since I was a boy I've wanted to be like Roger Moore." It's unsurprising, because, like Moore, the London trio ply their trade with a...
Harry Potter-themed silliness in the Potter Puppet Pals' The Mysterious Ticking Noise Must Love Jaws. Jaws recut in the vein of Free Willy. Stoopid and annoying? It's cats and dogs singing Christmas songs...
20/11/08 My Best Friend’s Girl, cinemas from Friday Romantic comedy meets crude dude humour in this movie starring darlings of Hollywood fluff and farce, Kate Hudson, Jason Biggs and Dane Cook. Hudson plays Alexis, feisty ex-girlfriend of Dustin (Biggs), who...
Star rating *** It was hard to tell whether Mr West was being tongue-in-cheek when he apologised to fans for ruining all their future gig-going by "jading your minds with greatness", but it's clear that he has put his heart...
RICHARD WINTON What appears to be a fire exit lies ajar, light spilling into the Port Glasgow gloom. Inside, the noise of squeaking soles and coarse commands confirms the location of the Port Glasgow Victoria Amateur Boxing Club in the...
Dance act Groove Armada will bring in the new year as headliners of Edinburgh's massive Hogmanay street party, under a "canopy of lasers". The duo are promising a spectacular mix of music, light and fireworks as more than 100,000 revellers...
Max Payne, in cinemas from Friday 14 November We’re in familiar phantasy territory here as Mark Wahlberg, the good-guy cop whose wife and child are brutally murdered for no apparent earthly reason, is drawn into a Manichean struggle of almighty...
REGULAR readers of fresh will know that we are always on the look-out for great competitions that challenge our readers to come up with inspiring ideas – and this one really fits the bill. fresh and The Co-operative Insurance have...
I get criticised for being camp. But television is camp. Someone pretending you’re in their living room, saying ‘hello, welcome to my show’ Alan Carr’s advice to any underwhelming young stand-ups: steal the reviews of a more popular act. The...
I get criticised for being camp. But television is camp. Someone pretending you’re in their living room, saying ‘hello, welcome to my show’ Alan Carr’s advice to any underwhelming young stand-ups: steal the reviews of a more popular act. The...
DAY ONE GLASGOW – NEWARK Caroline: Having packed my coffin-sized suitcase and stumbled down three flights of stairs at 6am, we got in the splitter van, mumbled the usual courtesies and abuse at each other and headed to Glasgow airport,...
KATIE McGRATH is tired, with justification. “We’re on night shoots at the minute,” she tells me in a southern Irish lilt far removed from the regal tones we hear in Merlin, the new retelling of the youthful exploits of the...
FANCY winning a cutting-edge digital media player and doing your bit for the environment at the same time? fresh has teamed up with the Go Greener campaign and Trevor Baylis to give away five Eco Media Players (worth £100 each)...
Emily Booth is a hard worker. As presenter of the seminal gamer show Bits, face of late-night Channel 5 weirdfest outTHERE, Hollywood interviewer, on-the-ground reporter at British horror extravaganza FrightFest, B-movie heroine and star of the upcoming Doghouse, she seems...
PSYCHEDELIC Liverpudlians and fresh favourites The Coral recently crowned their unbroken streak of magnificent work with their Singles Collection, a two-disc compilation that also includes a treasury of previously unheard demos, outtakes and rarities which treat the listener to all...
YOU’VE almost certainly got an opinion on Paris Hilton – it seems everyone does. Some people write her off as nothing more than a shallow millionairess, but others look at her as a trendsetter and astute businesswoman. Ahead of a...
THE blockbuster season may be drawing to a close in Hollywood, but before the cold winter nights draw in there’s still another huge hit movie to look forward to. Ben Stiller has written, directed and is starring in Tropic Thunder,...
As the fourth instalment whips into view, Malcolm Jack dons his fedora and enlists the help of Scotland’s very own Indy to find out what makes Dr Jones so special
The countdown is almost complete ... soon Harrison Ford will be swinging into our cinemas as the star of Indiana Jones 4: The Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull. But what is all the fuss about? And what makes Mr Jones...
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