The Rip It Up exhibition is currently taking place at the National Museum of Scotland. Along with this exhibition there has been a radio documentary, television documentary and now a book celebrating Scottish pop music. Broadcaster, journalist, musician and writer Vic Galloway has undertaken the joyful task of charting a history of Scottish pop and distilling this vibrant history into a comprehensive volume. The event at the Edinburgh International Book Festival is chaired by fellow music journalist Nicola Meighan and gives an insight into the creation of the book.

The audience learn that Rip It Up was devised after a 2 year discussion whilst the National Museum of Scotland tried to bring the exhibition to life. When it was given the green light Vic then had the task of writing 50,000 words over a four month period. Vic goes on to describe his own relationship to music in Scotland. He describes growing up in Fife next to James Yorkston and discovering the music of The Jesus and Mary Chain. There was a revelation when Vic and James realised that the band were actually from Scotland and this opened their ears to Cocteau Twins, The Shop Assistants and the C86 bands.

Vic mentions that the book goes back to look at the beat and skiffle movements in Scotland and progresses to the modern day. When researching the older bands Vic states that “Personally I learned a lot doing it.” The statement “New music is music you’ve never heard before” rings true and from the joy in his voice, the audience definitely get the impression that the writer was in his element when going back to discover older bands. The writer also speaks about the relationship Scotland’s pop music has with the rest of the UK and the wider world. In the past bands had to leave the country to find success, but: “from the late 70’s to the early 80’s bands tried to stay in Scotland”. Vic notes that many bands take up a D.I.Y approach, setting up record labels, music festivals and gigs to get their music heard.

The events draws to a close with audience questions. Here Vic gets the chance to vent his frustration at the amount of venues and outdoor music events in Edinburgh that get shut down due to noise complaints. Music venues are important for a scene to foster and grow and the Rip It Up book, along with the exhibition, clearly highlight just how vibrant, diverse and important the music scene in Scotland is right now and always has been.