The Hot 100 2017: 100–91
Limmy, Christopher Brookmyre, Craft Scotland and The Soup Movement among our favourite cultural contributors this year
Another blockbuster year of Scottish culture has just whizzed by and once again we've taken on the monumental task of ranking in order our top movers, shakers and pioneers. From award winners, artistic directors, new talent, experienced campaigners, great venues and memorable festivals, you should find all the people and places who made 2017 another landmark year for the arts and entertainment industry. But who has nabbed this year's top slot? Let the countdown begin…
100 Limmy
His second short story collection That's Yer Lot was another unsettling vision from Brian Limond, a man whose surreal comedy feels effortless. Limmy's Homemade Show is on the way, but entertain yourself in the meantime watching him teach people some manners on Twitter. (CA)
99 Inverleith House
With 'lack of vision and leadership' cited by the report into the sudden closure of one of Edinburgh's oldest and most lovely galleries, we'll have to wait and see how much its planned reopening (marked by the great Plant Scenery of the World exhibition this summer, above) commits to first-rate contemporary art. (DP)
98 Peter Capaldi
While Peter Capaldi's tenure in Doctor Who hasn't been an unmitigated success, let's blame that on the early writing. This year's series was a triumph, and Capaldi, channelling just a hint of Malcolm Tucker's cantankerousness, has helped the character escape from its nice-young-man period. (MR)
97 Sean Focus
Zimbabwe-born, Edinburgh-based Sean Focus wears many different hats, from artist and producer to sound engineer and label boss. His recently released EP 'Koda' is an afro-pop banger, with elements of bashment, dancehall and rap mixed in for good measure. (AQ)
96 Craft Scotland
During the rather busy month of August, Craft Scotland's summer show rolled into the capital's White Stuff for an exhibition of contemporary design-led craft. They also had a strong presence at London Craft Week and the London Design Festival. (BD)
95 Chris Brookmyre
Brookymre followed 2016's McIlvanney Prize-winning Black Widow with two fantastic thrillers. In Want You Gone, reporter Jack Parlabane joins forces with a hacker, while Places in the Darkness takes murder to space, clashing advanced technology with base human urges in a book of epic twists. (RMc)
94 Kaite Welsh
Author and critic Kaite Welsh launched a new kind of amateur sleuth this year in The Wages of Sin. Set in Victorian Edinburgh, the novel featured Sarah Gilchrist, a medical student and 'fallen woman' drawn into a murder enquiry when she recognises a corpse in her anatomy lecture. (BD)
93 Richard Gadd
The Fife winner of the 2016 Edinburgh Comedy Award brought his victorious Monkey See Monkey Do back for a limited run at Summerhall, upstaged the League of Gentlemen at this August's Edinburgh Comedy Awards ceremony and starred opposite Daniel Mays in Against the Law, part of the BBC's Gay Britannia season. (BD)
92 The Soup Movement
Originally started in the USA, 'Soups' are now taking place across Scotland. A brilliant example of local democracy: you pay a fiver, eat tasty soup, watch live bands, hear four local charities pitch for the entrance pot and then vote for your favourite. (KA)
91 Kenneth Tindall
A dancer with Northern Ballet for 12 years, Dundee-born Tindall began flexing his choreographic muscles in 2012 with small one-act pieces. In 2017 he created his first full-length work, the superb Casanova, which toured the UK to critical and audience acclaim. (KA)