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Money was always tight. I say that blithely since I had very little to do with it. either incoming or
outgoing. There was always talk of
crisis and of issues not appearing. ()ne. apocryphally at least. was said to have been lost in the Firth of Forth after it flew off the back of a motorbike on the way to the printers in Fife. Others were delayed as cash stopped flowing. Then Robin turned into a high financier and had top level talks with Warren Buffett. George Soros or the man from his
local branch of the Royal Bank of
Scotland. At times it must have been pretty hairy but somehow the issue always came out and the readership gradually grew into. what‘s called in the trade. a circulation.
From the beginning. the idea was to think big. Nigel recalls that the very fact that the debut issue included an interview — by Allan Hunter — with Clint Eastwood was an important statement of intent. A
A
1989
Left to right: Ralph Steadman was paid in whisky for his exclusive Treasure Island illustration; Marsha Hunt spoke abou with a Rolling Stone; and Peter Brook brought Tramway to life, helping redefine Glasgow as City Of Culture
significant breakthrough. though.
was an interview Nigel himself got with Billy Connolly who. even then. was playing
harder to get than I I I
JD. Salinger. We
bombarded him with calls and letters and at one point Sarah was sent on the [ironing News fun run. in which the Big Yin was taking part. in order to pass him a note. Eventually. he cracked and agreed to give an interview just to get the intrepid List reporters off his back. In it. he took the opportunity to offer his uncomplimentary thoughts on the Scottish press which has been a
running theme of Connolly‘s ever
since. The List can fairly claim it got there first.
But then. every issue seemed to feature a big name. be it Anthony Burgess or the reclusive Stanley Baxter. Daniel Day-Lewis or Emma Thompson. It wasn't all glamour. though. Once. I recall. I spent an
Culture
year
0 Most talked-about film of the year: Scandal 0 The poll tax is introduced as a cruel joke on April Fool‘s
Day
0 John Malkovich and Glenn Close enjoy their finest hour in
Dangerous Liaisons
logo
0 Event of the year: Glasgow City of
I found both editors asleep under a tab e, huddled foetally together around a single-bar electric fire.
0 List readers vote the Judas Priest trial to be political issue of the year
0 Cinema Paradiso is the somewhat less surprising choice of film of the
15 YEARS OF THE LIST
evening touring Edinburgh and Glasgow pizzerias for a consumer testing. For a while. in the halcyon days before the discovery of the deep fried Mars bar. there was an annual pic tasting. at which untutored gourmands from The List gave a Scottish delicacy the Loyd Grossman
treatment. Fatalities I I I were mercifully few. Likewise the Christmas party. an invitation to which many contributors valued almost as highly as cash payment for their work. Almost. but not quite. It was nevertheless an amazing occasion. starting with prayers and ending with behaviour the like of which has not been witnessed since Fellini's .S'utvrii'un. Surreal does not do it justice.
Meanwhile. the magazine progressed from bawling infant to staggering toddler. It found a niche and an audience. and an appreciative one at that. That was our impression
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2—16 Nov 2000 THE ll8T13