Back in 1985, armed with youthful energy and a vague sense of possibility, I helped launch The List, a Glasgow and Edinburgh events guide that somehow still exists, four decades later. At the time, I was living in Edinburgh, fresh from university, trying to break into journalism. The Scotsman had just axed its graduate traineeship, so I was freelancing, borrowing ideas from Blueprint magazine in London, and publishing a ‘Survival Guide’ to the Festival that was really about surviving myself.

The List emerged from a kitchen-table conversation with Sarah Hemming and Robin Hodge in the only habitable corner of Tweeddale Court (the latter’s house). Robin had publishing experience and a building; I had a map, a few contacts and a £5000 parental investment (thank you, end-of-garden sale). Robin put in three times that, and we were off.

Edinburgh in the mid-80s was no backwater. It was the golden age of the Festival and Fringe, and we felt confident we could shake up arts coverage. The local ‘what’s on’ guides were dull; we wanted something with the energy of Time Out, but with Scottish soul. Covering both cities was a gamble (Glasgow and Edinburgh weren’t exactly holding hands) but we believed the arts were a shared resource. We even campaigned for a late train so audiences could get home after shows.

We had no hierarchy of culture. Opera, cinema, TV, theatre: all got equal billing. We embraced early tech (Amstrads! IBM clones!) but still laid out pages with scissors and glue at 3am. We debated politics, covers and cartoon strips. I once insisted on putting Bernard Manning on the cover for shock value; Sarah disagreed, rightly.

The magazine gave us access to extraordinary people (Billy Connolly, Annie Lennox, Liz Lochhead) and became a hub for a new kind of journalism. It was always financially precarious, but creatively rich. I met my future wife working there. I introduced Simon, who named the magazine. Sarah’s now theatre editor at the FT. And me? I’m just amazed we did it.

Nigel Billen was co-editor of The List from 1985–1989, and later had editing jobs at Scotland On Sunday, The Observer, The Royal Academy Magazine, and Ace, the Lawn Tennis Association’s publication.

Classic feature of the 1980s

Billy Connolly (16 October 1985)

Nigel Billen had to work for months in order to secure an interview with Billy Connolly who had a major antipathy towards the Scottish press. But his persistence won through in the end. Too late for the very first issue, it just scraped through in time to grace the cover of issue number two. With that, Nigel helped establish The List’s style and tone: intelligent, questioning, discerning and acclaiming real talent but never sycophantic or cynical. It all makes for a great read and offers a real insight into one of the leading characters to have shaped modern Scotland. (Robin Hodge)

Follow The List’s timeline for more reminiscences from magazine’s past:
< The List at 40: Robin Hodge (co-founder) – ‘We were confident that there was need for such a magazine’
>  The List at 40: The best of 1985