with Tommy Mackay. An encyclopaedic mish-mash reflecting the absurdity of modern times.
First broadcast 15 July 2025.
Tommy is a musician, a comedian, a punk, a satirist, a mature student, a reader of James Joyce, and a writer.
He’s the creator of The Daily Reckless, a long-running website known as ‘the paper that’s sick of the news’ – which is jam packed with comic songs.
Tommy’s unfinished project is a book called The Reckless History Of The 21st Century. It’s part a history, part memoir, part experimental account of the Daily Reckless and of the 21st century. He describes it as ‘an encyclopaedic mish mash reflecting the absurdity of modern times’.
Tommy used to play in punk bands in the 70s and 80s, but then resurrected his career to become a popular entertainer on the Scottish comedy circuit.
As The Sensational Alex Salmond Gastric Band he has played in comedy clubs across the UK. He was once a regular on SW1 radio in London, as well as appearing in several Edinburgh Fringe shows, including Tartan Special, Best of Scottish Comedian Of The Year and Mark Watson’s ‘The Hotel’.
He has also contributed regularly to the Caledonian Mercury and the BBC Comedy Unit’s Rough Cuts. Collaborations include his work with Armando Iannucci, Adam & Joe and journalist Robert McNeil, whose reviews of Scottish MSPs Tommy shaped into a collection of songs about our political leaders (mishaps.htm).
Links of interest
Rabelais – https://www.britannica.com/biography/Francois-Rabelais
Armando Iannucci – https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0406334/
Stuart Lee – STEWART LEE vs THE MAN-WULF : Stewart Lee - 41st Best Standup Ever!
Hugh MacDiarmid – https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poets/hugh-macdiarmid
P.L. Travers – https://www.britannica.com/biography/P-L-Travers
Wake podcast – WAKE: Cold Reading Finnegans Wake | Podcast on Spotify