By Michael MacLeod FEW bands can claim to have picked up celebrity fans like U2’s Bono or Welsh crooner Tom Jones in the short space of a year. But Friendly Fires will cap off the year of their lives by seeing in the bells on stage Edinburgh’s Hogmanay concert on Wednesday. The hotly-tipped St Albans [...]
By Michael MacLeod A CONVICTED killer who was hospitalised after a drugs overdose tried to escape from police through a toilet ceiling. With culpable homicide and attempted murder charges to his name, Paul Newman, 45, was branded a “very great danger to the public” by a judge. But he was released on licence after serving [...]
By Cara Sulieman AN ELDERLY driver has died after suffering a heart attack at the wheel, sending his car ploughing into a tree. James Fisher, 72, skidded across the busy city road, clipping another car carrying a pregnant woman. The driver’s BMW then mounted the pavement and collided into a tree in Edinburgh. Mr Fisher [...]
By Karrie Gillett THE son of a prominent German politician who was studying in Scotland was found dead in his flat on Christmas Eve. Stephan Bisky, a PhD student at the University of Edinburgh, is the son of Lothar Bisky – the joint leader of the country’s socialist Left Party. The 23-year-old student had moved [...]
By Karrie Gillett DESIGNER handbags worth more than £10,000 have been stolen during an early morning ram-raid. The luxury bags were taken from the Mulberry store in Edinburgh’s trendy Multrees Walk after a 4X4 vehicle smashed through the glass front. The black Daihatsu was spotted reversing into the shop before thieves snatched eight of the [...]
By Karrie Gillett ALFIE the dog has been banned from Christmas – because he is too FAT. The German Shepherd will miss out on all his favourite treats this year after being put on a strict diet in a bid to shed more than three stone. The podgy pooch tips the scales at nine stone [...]
By Karrie Gillett BOOKMAKERS were snowed under this year by punters gambling on a white Christmas. A surge of bets on snow falling on Christmas Day saw odds slashed to 2-1 with one bookie even paying out ten days before the big day. Irish bookmaker Paddy Power decided to cough up more than £100,000 to [...]
By Alexander Lawrie A CUTE dog who bears an uncanny resemblance to Greyfriars Bobby could be used to promote a popular Scots seaside town. Yorkshire terrier ‘Blue’ has already been handed the accolade of starring as the famous Edinburgh pooch in a ceremony marking the 150th anniversary of Bobby’s first appearance in the city. And [...]
By Alexander Lawrie THE HUNT to find Scotland’s ugliest car has finally come to an end – just as the battered jalopy fell apart. A classic green and cream 1964 Ford Falcon, which has lain in its owner’s garage for the last four years, has picked up the unwanted motoring accolade. But the beat-up banger [...]
By Alexander Lawrie SCOTS pop star KT Tunstall has decided to spend her first Christmas and New Year as a married woman in New Zealand. The singer-songwriter has been invited to join supergroup Seven Worlds Collide for a series of intimate and up-close personal performances. Organised by Crowded House frontman Neil Finn, the charity supergroup [...]
By Alexander Lawrie A DEAF Scot is to spend his first ever Christmas being able to hear after a revolutionary operation proved successful. And Mark Ramsay, who has been completely deaf since birth, has said he is most looking forward to hearing Christmas carols for the very first time. The IT consultant’s favourite hearing experience [...]
By Alexander Lawrie LOVESICK John Smeaton will be spending this Christmas all alone – after doctors banned him from flying. The Glasgow Airport hero was left critically ill after suffering a severe asthma attack two months ago and is still recuperating at home. Smeato, 32, was hoping to travel to the US to spend Christmas [...]
By Alexander Lawrie SCOTS pop singer Sandi Thom has expressed her delight at Alexandra Burke winning the X Factor crown. In a message to her fans on Myspace, the Macduff-born singer said Alexandra was “a great British talent” who deserved her victory. Thom, 27, also revealed to fans she is “really excited” to be asked [...]
By Alexander Lawrie SCOTLAND’S favourite punks The Rezillos are back – and have landed a slot on this year’s Christmas Top of the Pops. The rockers will perform their new single, No.1 Boy, on the famous BBC music show – exactly 30 years after they first appeared on the programme. The original band has reformed [...]
By Michael MacLeod GRUMPY gallery bosses have hit out at a plan to show major sporting events live on a jumbo screen on their doorstep. The massive 280ft TV screens will appear across the country in the run up to London’s 2012 Games, showing highlights of Chris Hoy’s Olympic triple gold glory among the clips. [...]
Michael MacLeod SCOTS rockers Idlewild last night gave fans a killer guide of Glasgow before kicking off their week-long gig stint in the city. They revealed an online rundown of the “murder and heart disease capital of Europe.” The band are playing every one of their five albums in full to just 250 fans each [...]
By Alexander Lawrie THE NEW X Factor single could be about to make chart history – with two versions of the classic song fighting it out for the Christmas number one. Winner Alexandra Burke’s version of the Leonard Cohen classic Hallelujah is favourite to hit the number one slot this week, but the Jeff [...]
By Michael MacLeod GORDON Brown has shown his soft side by backing a campaign to bring pandas to Scotland. The prime minister hopes Edinburgh Zoo will be able to encourage a pair to have cubs. Zoo bosses are deep in talks with Chinese officials for a ten-year loan of the endangered animals starting in [...]
By Alexander Lawrie GLASVEGAS are getting themselves into the Christmas spirit – by playing an exclusive gig to some of Scotland’s youngest criminals. The Glaswegian four-piece have revealed they are to play a special one-off show at Polmont Young Offender’s Institute this Thursday. And bass player Rab Allan is hoping the gig goes [...]
By Michael MacLeod THE Scottish firm that built the Big Brother house has gone bust. Liquidators have been called in to wind up Woodco of Caithness, which had six workers. Despite a “fairly full” order book, husband and wife team Bob and Sylvia Crane were forced to stop trading amid rising trading costs. They [...]