Who were the cultural movers and shakers of the last 12 months? To kick off the HOT 100, Nick Barley looks back at what has been one hell of a year.
24 THE LIST '
t' the best political tnotnent ol 2()()S in Scotland was when (ieorge Bttsh crashed his
hike into a policeman in the grounds of
(lleneagles. what was the cultural highlight'.’ .\lost promising was the nation's biggest eyer detno that glot'iotis .luly day when 35().()()() marchers donned white wristhands and tried to .\lake I’oyerty History. But tor all the great expectations l‘or historic outcomes. any lasting impact ol the (i8 summit either political or
cultural was steamrollered hy press coyerage ol~
Boh (ieldol-‘s llaeeitl l.i\'e 8 gig in London. then
smothered with ticker tape as the city landed the 2012 Olympics. and linally blown to smithereens hy the 7 July homhings there. In the turmoil. the huu surrounding the (i8 eyaporated. and it was easy to question whether culture actually tnattered at all.
(M. course. We doggedly went on. T in the Park was enjoying its most successl‘ul sell-out year yet. while lidinhurgh was huilding up to another rectit'd-breaking liestiyal. Around the rest of the country. l'es'tiyals ol’ a different kind were in full swing. not least the rip-roaring successes of the Skye. Wicker Man and 'l‘artan Heart l"c‘sti\';tls. And as the year drew to a close. the National Theatre ol Scotland unyeiled a promising programme to widespread acclaim.
.-\I an international leyel. Scotland dominated the airwayes and screens. not least because ol' l-‘ran/ lierdinand's new album which won hearts eyerywhere l’rom (‘umhernauld to ('incinnati. Noyelist .-\li Smith got Booker and Whitehread
judges in a lather with her sparklineg inyentiye
noyel 'I‘ltc .-\('ci(/('n/ul. while artist Simon Starling brought the Turner l’ri/e home to (ilasgow.
Against this backdrop. it was our task to collate this list of the linest contrihutions to culture in Scotland oyer the past l2 months. The results are as wide-ranging as you might expect: where else can you lind l‘our dead men. a (iihhon. a (iril‘tin and a Starling. a Midge and a Big Yin. two summer liestiyals and a ’l'imelord'.’ It could only he The Lisl's Hot “)0.