Below is the original web-page that was created to give information of the night, and encourage people to come along.
It also listed all the singles that Roddy left when he moved to London, and gave attendees the opportunity to request their favourites ahead of time. That list of records is on the ‘Music’ page.
A celebration of the life of Roddy Lumsden on (or close to) what would have been his 60th birthday.
Scroll down for more information
Photo by Stuart Morton
Mischief Night - Roddy Lumsden’s Return
In 1997, St Andrews born poet Roddy Lumsden launched his first full length collection, Yeah Yeah Yeah (Bloodaxe), upstairs at the Waverley Bar in Edinburgh. Music, dancing and drink were involved.
The event heralded the arrival of one of Scottish and British poetry’s most mercurial talents, as Roddy proved over seven more collections prior to his untimely death in 2020.
Twenty-nine years on from Yeah Yeah Yeah, friends and fans of Roddy return to the Waverley to celebrate what would have been his 60th birthday.
Music will again be involved, as the organisers revive “Sleepless Nights”, the vinyl only lo-fi boutique night at St James Oyster Bar (RIP), where Roddy was unofficial writer in residence, putting the neighbourhood on Edinburgh’s literary map long before the so-called Trainspotting steps next door hit the big screen.
For this special edition of “Sleepless Nights,” DJs will be playing records drawn from Roddy’s own collection of seven-inch singles, an eclectic array of obscurities and off-piste pop bangers. There may be a quiz. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do come along.
Friday 12th June, 2026. 7pm-11pm
Tickets - here
For further information contact Mark Reed – [email protected]
Make A Request
When Roddy left Edinburgh, he left over 500 records behind.
We don’t want to have to bring them all to the Waverley, so if you’re attending, please take a look at the list of records below and mail us to tell us which ones you’d like to request.
Requesting ahead of time is optional, but be aware that if no one makes any requests, we will play our favourites. And we’re big fans of Father Abraham and the Smurfs.
Send an e-mail to [email protected] with your requests.
We can’t guarantee to play every record requested, but will do our best to play as many as we can. Especially those by Father Abraham and the Smurfs.