In a UK-wide ‘Voices Project’ poll conducted by the venerable and much-loved BBC, Edinburgh-born Sir Sean Connery has been named as having “the most pleasant voice” from a range of celebrities.  While results further down the list showed some disagreement and regional variation (the ‘least pleasant voice’ belonged to Ian Paisley or among Northern Irish respondents, Janet Street-Porter, with David Beckham and Cilla Black faring poorly too), Sir Sean’s trademark baritone was found soothing and seductive across the board, consistently getting top marks from English, Welsh and Northern Irish voters as well as Scots.

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When you mention Scottish music, many people instantly think of whisky-soaked fiddlers playing jaunty ceilidh tunes or the mournful drone of a lonely piper in some misty glen. That’s part of it, but there’s a time and a place for everything, and with many of our freshly home-grown talents making a real impact on the indie, rock and dance scenes it might be about time to give Scottish music a little more (street) credit…

Ayrshire’s favourite sons Biffy Clyro, for instance, are currently riding high on the success of their fourth album, Puzzle - they’re headlining the Kerrang! tour right now and next single, the live favourite Who’s Got A Match?, is due out in February. With their complex, multi-instrumental, harmonic yet heavy guitar-driven sound, and such catchy song titles as Toys, Toys, Toys, Choke, Toys, Toys, Toys and Living is a Problem Because Everything Dies, it’s perhaps understandable that it’s taken over a decade for the lads to find mainstream recognition. Thankfully, their storming live performances prove that the time hasn’t taken its toll and we can continue to expect great things from them.

A nomination for 2007’s Mercury Music Prize turned the spotlight on to The View, a delightfully down-to-earth, tousle-headed young foursome who named the band after their local pub at home in Menzieshill, Dundee. Combining bouncy punk-pop riffs with searingly honest lyrics about hangovers, ‘skag trendy’ dropouts and wearing the same jeans for four days, they certainly gave partygoers at Glasgow’s official Hogmanay party plenty to sing about.

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