Amy McDonald: '18 years and this will never feel normal'
Amy says she is glad it doesn't. "For me it is still incredibly exciting and I still get such a buzz from hearing my songs on the radio – it is such a big part of what I do," she added.The singer, from Bishopbriggs, near Glasgow, launched her new album and a European tour with a fashionable pop-up gig in Glasgow's Princes Square shopping centre. She follows in the footsteps of other artists promoting new music with surprise gigs, but said she had to be convinced it was a good idea."Everybody seems to do this now – I've seen so many videos of Ed Sheeran appearing anywhere and everywhere this week and it's so cool. "I thought, people love live music, I'll go out and play a few tunes for them and hopefully everybody goes away with a smile on their face."
Hundreds turned out on a Friday afternoon to see the singer, best-known for hits Mr Rock And Roll and This Is The Life.And the live gig reflected the inspiration for the new song, and album.Amy said: "It started off about my love of live music. I'd seen a load of amazing videos of U2 playing at The Sphere in Las Vegas and thought what an incredible venue that is. "And it got me thinking about performing live and how nothing can really replicate that."It was basically a song that started off about my passion for performing and seeing live music and being in a crowd and just being part of that."She is looking forward to touring after her last dates were hit by the Covid pandemic.
"My last album it was interrupted with cancellations and the constant rule changes so we kind of missed out on that so it feels like it has been a long time coming," she said."I am excited to be back in Glasgow and I've got loads of festivals this summer and then a big run of dates in Germany, Switzerland, Austria, all these European places where I spend so much of my time."But I am just grateful that I am able to do something I love and am able to get out there and see so many people."The highlight is set to be her homecoming at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow on 12 December.She said: "I have always flown the flag for Scotland and Glasgow and I have always felt very loved and love performing in Scotland – it's my home. "We have the best fans in the world."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Herald Scotland
38 minutes ago
- The Herald Scotland
Luxury watchmaking giant opens first store in Scotland
Christoph Grainger-Herr unveiled the ambitions of IWC Schaffhausen to open stores in cities outside the Scottish capital as the brand rides a wave of 'regionalisation' in the luxury goods market that it is now seeing across Europe. IWC Schaffhausen has launched a new range inspired by a timepiece worn by Brad Pitt in the film F1. (Image: Getty Images) His comments came as the watchmaker, which was founded in 1868, opened a boutique on Princes Street in partnership with Scottish jeweller Chisholm Hunter. The new boutique is currently displaying the watch with the green dial worn by Brad Pitt in the film F1.
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
Rylan Clark shares 'nightmare' plane journey that left him saying 'I didn't think I'd be here'
Radio 2 star Rylan Clark shared a series of unfortunate events that happened on his flight back from Spain with his beloved mum Linda, including a malfunctioning engine Radio presenter Rylan Clark revealed his flight "nightmare" as his journey home from a brief Spanish getaway was plagued with problems, leaving him worried he'd miss his BBC Radio 2 programme. The former X Factor contestant had jetted off to Marbella for a quick break with his cherished mum Linda, but their return to London turned into a comedy of errors. The homeward trip encountered multiple setbacks, including faulty air conditioning, engine troubles and frustrated passengers threatening to abandon the aircraft, which Rylan amusingly recounted alongside his mother's experience. Telling the tale to his BBC Radio 2 colleague Sally Boazman yesterday (Saturday, August 8), he revealed: "I didn't think I was going to be here. I had a nightmare yesterday. "About half an hour after we're supposed to board, everyone's like: 'What's going on?' Basically the women went 'there's a problem with the air con on the plane. On the way out it just went off so it's just sweating for everyone. They're just fixing it now,'" reports the Manchester Evening News. "Everyone's like: 'How long's that going to be?' They say 'seconds'." The 36 year old explained that another hour passed with passengers eventually sitting on the floor before being told the aircraft was ready. However, matters deteriorated further when they boarded and discovered the left engine had failed due to a computer glitch, according to the pilot. He revealed: "Basically there was a problem with the computer, it's not firing the left engine. It's a software error. "They had to switch the plane off for seven minutes. Everything is turned off, it's silent. I've never been on a plane like this before." Rylan revealed that they had been aboard the aircraft for two hours when one family began insisting they wanted to disembark. He described the scene: "One family want to get off. I've never seen anything more British than a plane of people turn against a family. "We all knew every single bag had to be put onto the runway to find their four bags. That's taken another hour. They've run out of water. "Then the mechanics go: 'We've managed to get the engine working.' Then they said they need to re-fuel because they've left the plane on for so long." Rylan quipped he could have travelled to Dubai and back given the extensive hold-up. He concluded the tale by revealing they arrived home "safe and sound" at London City Airport just before 10pm, barely avoiding a diversion due to the airport's 10pm curfew. Despite the gruelling day for Rylan and his mother, he heaped praise on the aircraft's captain and crew who helped make the nightmarish journey from Malaga Airport back to London more tolerable.
Wales Online
an hour ago
- Wales Online
Mel Gibson becomes emotional as he recalls ‘joy' of making Braveheart
Mel Gibson becomes emotional as he recalls 'joy' of making Braveheart The Oscar-winning director and actor posed for selfies with fans and signed posters before attending a musical performance of movie songs in Co Meath. Mel Gibson in Braveheart (Image: 20th Century Fox) Mel Gibson has said it was a "joy" to make the film Braveheart as he spoke at an event to mark 30 years since the historical epic was filmed in Ireland. The Oscar-winning director and actor posed for selfies with fans and signed posters before attending a musical performance of movie songs in Co Meath. Gibson starred in Braveheart as Scottish rebel William Wallace, as he sets out to challenge King Edward I of England. The film won Oscars for best director and best picture. Speaking after the score from the 1995 film was played by an orchestra in a tent in Trim on Saturday, Gibson told the audience that composer James Horner was inspired by Celtic music. He said this allowed him to relive parts of his Irish heritage, and Gibson became emotional as he spoke about Horner. "This film was a joy to make, and my mother was born in Longford so I was raised on this kind of music myself, so it was a real treat for me to explore this culture and the sound of it," he said. "In the Braveheart score, you can hear bits and pieces of old tunes that he borrowed from. He drew from a very rich source of music and poetry that's part of this country, as well as Scotland." He also retold a story about meeting three of the four Beatles at Abbey Road, where the score was recorded. The Scottish epic was mostly shot in Ireland after the Irish government lobbied and offered to supply 1,600 army reserves as extras. Gibson said that while filming in Scotland was "fantastic", the ground was not firm enough for the big battle scenes. He said then arts minister Michael D Higgins, who is now Ireland's president, made the film possible. Fans travelled from all over Ireland to get a chance of meeting the Lethal Weapon and Mad Max star. People queued at Trim Castle Hotel to meet Gibson and other Braveheart cast members, including Angus Macfadyen, John Murtagh and Mhairi Calvey. The event raised 10,000 euro for the Irish Equity Support Fund as part of the local King John Summer Prom festival. Maksim Okhotnikov, eight, dressed up as William Wallace in a costume created by his mother, who also sketched a charcoal drawing of Gibson. "I didn't watch all of the film, I just watched pieces because it's (rated) 16+," Maksim told the PA news agency. Asked what he likes about the film, he said: "I like himself." Adam Walker and his son, Nathan, seven, from Dublin, were among the first people into the room to meet the cast. "Obviously he's too young to watch the full movie, so I was trying to show him the quotes, the big freedom speech at the end of the movie. We were watching that, we were watching the mad Irishman of course, David O'Hara who plays Stephen of Ireland," Mr Walker told the PA news agency. "We were at the Q&A yesterday and a lot of the lads pointed out that the actors said the thing that it did was, it really changed things, Ireland seemed to really latch on to it, there was a lot of similarities between the Irish and the Scottish, but it seemed to call out to everybody. "We were looking for a wedding venue 12 years back and we were looking everywhere and we found here, it was lovely, the prices were great, and then I read at the end the castle was where Braveheart was filmed. "I said to my wife 'we're doing it', so we got married in the room just there and we had the castle as the backdrop. "So it's very interesting to be able to come back 12 years later and actually meet Mel Gibson here, and this little lad wasn't even alive at the time." Elaine Coyle, who travelled with her mother from Dublin, said watching Braveheart was a family tradition. "My dad would be a big fan, it's what we grew up with. It's a Christmas tradition in our house," she said. She said of the film: "You can relate to it as an Irish person a little bit too, it's iconic. "It definitely opened the door to the Irish economy around films, it completely changed how the industry worked going forward, but I think in general people recognise that it made such an impact on Ireland, and we can also relate to the history of it. It's generational." Cousins Eileen Shields and Anita McGrath travelled from Galway at 6am to meet the star. They said they are fans of Gibson's films Lethal Weapon and Daddy's Home 2. "He has a wicked wink in his eye," Eileen Shields said. "It was lovely to meet him, short and sweet, but it's nice to have the opportunity. "Hopefully we see a lot more of him in Ireland. You know his family are from Longford, he was named after St Mel's Cathedral." Anita McGrath said: "I crocheted a shamrock for him, for good luck, so I gave it to him and he said 'thanks very much'. Just something different." Ms Shields added: "He wiped his brow with it." Sevinc Ozogul, who lives across the road from the hotel, said she was excited to see the castle from Braveheart when she moved to Trim. She said Gibson is one of her favourite actors, adding: "I was so excited to see him." She added: "He was a bit tired but he looks great." Gary Downes and Vinny McConnell, who worked as extras on Braveheart, reunited with Gibson at the poster signing and took memorabilia from the filming. As part of the King John Summer Prom festival, Gibson and his family joined people in a red and white tent on the outskirts of Trim on Saturday to listen to the Irish Philharmonic Orchestra play themes from famous movies, conducted by Niall O'Sullivan. Irish actor Patrick Bergin introduced the music from Sleeping With The Enemy, in which he starred in opposite Julia Roberts. He told a story about how, after auditioning for the role, he tried to leave the room and walked into a broom closet. "As I came out of the closet (director) Joe Ruben said 'it was the look in your eye that got you the part'." Actor Kate O'Toole told the story of how her father was away for two years to film Lawrence Of Arabia, before introducing the theme from the film played by the orchestra. "One of the weird things about it that still stays with me is that scene with the quicksand, I really thought when I was a child that going to the beach was dangerous," she told the crowd. Article continues below Singer Leah Barniville performed Ennio Morricone's Ecstasy Of Gold from the Good, The Bad And The Ugly, as well as the Titanic Suite.
