The Culture Swally

It’s October, which means it’s time for the annual Swally Spooktacular! This week we head to Govan as we look at 1989’s Govan Ghost Story. Written by Bryan Elsley and directed by David Hayman it tells the tale of Jock, an out of work ex-shipbuilder. Jock discovers that old memories are awakened in a terrifying and dangerous manner when he encounters a strange little girl in the high rise flat wher...

We’re back in Edinburgh this week and pounding the streets looking for Mr. Confectioner as we cover the 2021 BritBox exclusive, Crime, by Irvine Welsh. Seen as a prequel to his 2008 novel of the same name, it stars Dougray Scott, Ken Stott, Jamie Sives and Joanna Vanderham and follows DI Ray Lennox investigating the disappearance of an Edinburgh schoolgirl.    In the news we hear about a real life...

We look at a more serious item this week on The Swally as we cover the 2003 drama, written and directed by Richard Jobson, ’16 Years of Alcohol’. Starring Kevin McKidd, Laura Fraser, Susan Lynch, Ewen Bremner and Lewis Macleod, the film is based on Jobson’s semi-autobiographical novel of the same name. Telling the tale of Frankie, a Ska loving skinhead as it follows him through his childhood and i...

Tonight, we are Rock and Roll Stars as we look at 2021’s ‘Creation Stories’ the biopic of Glasgow’s Alan McGee and his journey to creating arguably, the most important record label of the last 40 years. Starring Ewen Bremner, Michael Socha, Richard Jobson and Leo Flannigan the film follows Alan throughout his career, discovering a few bands along the way, including a bunch of Mancunian blokes call...

We’re putting on our finest wolf-man and clown masks this week on The Culture Swally as we take a look at the 1985 classic ‘Restless Natives’. Directed by Michael Hoffman and starring Vincent Friel and Joe Mullaney it follows the adventures of two Scottish youths from Edinburgh, who in rebellion of their drab lives, become modern day highwaymen!    In the news this week we meet a woman who was app...

Last year on episode 36 of The Culture Swally, we reviewed series one of the superb BBC Scotland series, Guilt, written by the wonderful Neil Forsyth and starring Mark Bonnar, Emun Elliot and Jamie Sives.  We loved it so much, it was only a matter of time before we caught up with the team and dived into series two! So here it is!    In the news we take a break from the laughs and meet a true genui...

Last week we discussed the classic, Local Hero and this week, it’s the Local Hero of Govan, Rab C. Nesbitt as we look at series one of the classic Scottish sitcom from 1990. The series centres around our titular hero, a drunken street philosopher who choses being unemployed and a waster as a way of life. Created by Ian Pattison and starring Gregor Fisher, Tony Roper, Elaine C. Smith, this is an ep...

It’s our 50th Episode! Join us for our Golden Jubilee as we celebrate the best the news in Scotland has to offer and we look at a gem from Scottish Pop Culture history!    On this momentous episode we discuss what is widely regarded as one of the best Scottish films of all time, Local Hero. Which tells the tale of a Texan oil executive who is sent to the village of Furness, to purchase the village...

This week on The Swally we take a look at the 1981 film A Sense of Freedom. Starring David Hayman, Jake D’Arcy, Alex Norton and Fulton Mackay it tells the tale of notorious Glasgow gangster Jimmy Boyle and his journey through the prison service in Scotland.    In the news we meet a man in a bath who crashed a council meeting, discover the latest must have Scottish serial killer items on Etsy, hear...

We’re back in the Scottish Highlands this episode as we look at the 2019 film Get Duked! Following Dean, Duncan, Ian and DJ Beatroot who are taken on a school trip to achieve their Duke of Edinburgh Award. But the trip turns into a fight for survival when they become the target of The Duke. Starring Eddie Izzard, James Cosmo and Kate Dickie, Get Duked! was released on Amazon Prime in 2020.    Also...

It’s a Ken Stott love in this week on The Swally as we discuss the 1999 film The Debt Collector. Starring Billy Connolly, Ken Stott and Francesca Annis.  Loosely based on the character of Jimmy Boyle, The Debt Collector tells the tale of Nickie Dryden,(that’s not how you spell Nicky) released from prison after 18 years and trying to get his life back on track as an artist, but the policeman who pu...

We’re plumping up our cushions, getting our Scottish variety of biscuits and making sure we have plenty of chairs this week on The Swally as we look at the first series of The Book Group from 2002. The series begins with American, Clare, who arriving in Glasgow from Cincinnati decides to start a book group to meet intellectually and like minded friends. However the people she encounters are not qu...

It’s a big one this week as we revisit our old friends Mark, Simon, Franco and Spud as we look the sequel to Trainspotting, T2 Trainspotting. Released in 2017 it catches up with the characters from the original 20 years later. Directed by Danny Boyle and written by John Hodge, can it live up to the original?    In the news we meet a girl with a dream linked to someone we’ve met on the Swally befor...

After too much masculinity at the start of the year we’ve decided to get in touch with our feminine side as we look at the 2019 film directed by Michael Canon Jones, ‘Our Ladies’. Based on a novel by Alan Warner, it tells the tale of a group of Catholic schoolgirls from Fort William who get the opportunity to go to Edinburgh for a choir competition. But the girls are more interested in drinking, p...

Our accidental Liam Neeson month continues as we take a look at the 1990 film The Big Man also known as Crossing The Line in the United States.   It follows unemployed Scottish miner Danny Scoular as he is forced into the world of bare knuckle boxing to provide for his family. Starring Liam Neeson, Joanne Whalley Kilmer, Billy Connolly and our favourite…Pat Roach!    In the news we discover someth...

We’re back! After a small break The Culture Swally is back and we are talking about the 1995 classic Rob Roy. Starring Liam Neeson, Jessica Lange, Brian Cox, John Hurt and Tim Roth, it tells the tale of Rob Roy MacGregor  who is wronged by a nobleman and his nephew, becomes an outlaw in search of revenge while fleeing the Redcoats, and faces charges of being a Jacobite. Honour made him a man. Cour...

We’ve polished our flutes, got the creases in our trousers as sharp as we can and are donning our favourite red bow tie this week as we discuss the 1975 Play for Today ‘Just Another Saturday’. Starring John Morrison, Eileen McCallum, Bill Henderson and Billy Connolly, it tells the tale of John, who looks forward with nervous excitement to the annual Orange order march in Glasgow, in which he will...

We’re going to party like it’s 1999 on this episode of The Swally as we look at the 1982 Play For Tomorrow ‘The Nuclear Family’. Starring Jimmy Logan, Ann-Scott Jones and Gerard Kelly, it tells the tale of a family living in a dystopian future, where teenagers do all the work and earn all the money. When the family decide to go on a ‘working’ holiday, they get more than they bargained for.   In th...

Happy New Year everyone! We are having an extra week off on The Swally, so we thought we’d put out that cheap, annoying clip show they used to do in The Golden Girls and Friends.   We look back at some of our favourite stories from 2021, including milk thieves in Dalkeith, acting tips from Sean Connery, a man desperate to be let into a house, a cigarette smuggler and Scotland’s newest superhero.  ...

Happy New Year from both of us at The Swally! We have a Hogmanay treat for you all as we discuss the 2013 pilot of ‘Two Doors Down’. Initially meant to be a one off, the show proved to be so popular it’s currently in its fifth series in the BBC. The show tells the story of Beth and Eric as they host a Hogmanay party for their neighbours, with hilarious consequences.   In the news we take a look at...

Merry Christmas from The Swally boys, as we have a look at something festive on this episode. We are going back to 1983 when we were both just small boys to talk about one of our favourite small boys growing up. Yes, it’s time for The Krankies as we review their 1983 Christmas special ‘Christmas with The Krankies!’.   If you haven’t seen The Krankies, then you can find the link to this wonderful f...

We’re feeling guilty on The Swally this week as we look at the first series of Neil Forsyth’s wonderful thriller series ‘Guilt’. Centred around two brothers, played by Mark Bonnar and Jamie Sives, it tells the tale of two brothers involved in a hit and run and the implications of their decision on what to do next. Please note, as this is pretty recent, we do spoil it, so if you haven't watched it...

We’re going away The Crow Road on this episode as we discuss the 1996 four-part BBC series based on the book by legendary author Iain Banks. With an all-star Scottish cast including Joseph McFadden, Bill Patterson, Dougray Scott and Peter Capaldi it tells the tale of young student Prentice McHoan who becomes obsessed with solving the disappearance of his uncle Rory eight years previously. Along th...

On this episode it’s Non-Educated Delinquents aplenty as we discuss the wonderful 2010 coming-of-age drama ‘Neds’, directed and written by the amazing Peter Mullan. Starring Conor McCarron, John Joe Hay, Christopher Wallace, Gary Lewis and Mullan, it follows the story of young John McGill and his involvement in Glasgow’s youth culture in the 1970s.   In other news, we discuss illness and hot toddy...

It’s a full moon on this episode of The Culture Swally as we discuss the 2002 film directed by Neil Marshall, ‘Dog Soldiers’. Starring Kevin McKidd and Sean Pertwee, it tells the tale of a routine military exercise which turns into a nightmare in the Scottish wilderness. In the news, we meet a Posse in Dundee who call themselves the ‘Jute Jury and Executioners’, discover that a famous singer has b...