Irvine Welsh spoke to the Liverpool ECHO in an exclusive interview about his new novel, Men In Love, ahead of a launch event in Liverpool
“It’s one of these marriages made in heaven. I always look forward to coming to Liverpool.” It’s easy to see why Irvine Welsh feels so at home whenever he’s in Merseyside.
The 66-year-old author has been one of the most important voices of his generation ever since debut novel, Trainspotting, first hit bookshelves in 1993. Iconic characters like Begbie, Renton, Sick Boy and Spud were immortalised as emblems of working class struggles in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain and the seminal novel changed pop culture forever. The Scottish writer’s novels have continued to have an explosive impact all over the world, but the anarchic spirit of his work has always particularly found a welcome audience in Liverpool.
The author, who hails from Edinburgh’s Leith, told the ECHO in an exclusive interview: “[Liverpool] is one of the real still rebel cities in England. It goes its own way and does its own thing. It has its totally own vibe. When you’re in Liverpool, you think, ‘Am I really in England?’ It feels a bit more like Ireland or Scotland. It has that energy to it and that slight radicalism and solidarity about it.
“There’s something in the ether. It feels like a bit of a home from home. If I’m sat in a pub in Liverpool, you walk out and I expect to be on Leith Walk or Great Junction Street. It feels very homely. Any place that’s working class, defiant and irreverent is always going to chime with me.”
Irvine’s bond with Scousers means he can’t wait to launch new book, Men In Love, in the city for a special event at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre on Wednesday (July 23). The new book marks a return to the world of his trailblazing debut, as it is set in the immediate aftermath of Trainspotting, and focuses on the characters’ attempts to settle down during the rise of late 80s rave culture.
It is the fifth time that Irvine has set a story in the Trainspotting universe – and the writer explained why he is always inspired to return to this set of characters. He said: “These characters helped me to understand the world. To publish something, I need a theme to be really interested. I thought this is a way to bring these guys back into it. To write about guys in their mid 20s getting involved in serious relationships for the first time.”
Although Irvine created this cast of characters 33 years ago, their journey still feels contemporary and the writer explained why the world of Trainspotting continues to have an impact across generations. He said: “We were the first generation of British society to feel the boot of industrialisation. We were told to get on our bikes, that you were redundant and superfluous to requirements. They weren’t needed anymore and they didn’t matter as citizens. All that existential stuff people can still relate to now.”
However, the writer said the continued resonance of the Trainspotting world is a negative indicator for how modern culture is stuck in the past. He said: “Everything has gone onto online now so we don’t really have a vibrant culture anymore, so that’s an issue too.
“Things in the 90s become ossified. If you did a list of the top albums in 2010, 2020 or 2030, it will be same albums as we had in 1990. The Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, Elvis. You might have one of two from the post Millennium, but it’s very rare.
“It’s mostly stuff from the analogue era. We’re not really generating any culture now because as soon as it goes online, it’s absorbed and thrown out to the world. Anything that gains traction and gets attention has to be a big broad stroke, catch all and like something that we’ve had before. The internet has now become more about us taking instructions from corporations, or from governments and being farmed for our experiences from them. For the algorithms or for AI.
“We don’t have a vibrant living culture so that’s quite a worrying thing. But people want it so they hark back to when we had it.” Irvine is hopeful things will change as he said the demand for the Oasis reunion tour is a sign that people still yearn for a culture to attach themselves to.
He said: “About a third of the population of the country applied for tickets. People are desperate for that kind of authentic experience of rock and roll, or acid house, or going out. I’m hoping that the Oasis thing will be some kind of revolutionary catalyst to get people back out, going to gigs and going to clubs.”
The writer’s observations on the decline of modern culture is something he is looking to channel into a series of short stories, as it’s clear the defiant energy that sparked him to write Trainspotting still burns brightly three decades later. Irvine is grateful that his voice is still able to have an impact, as he shared the keys to his long lasting relevance.
He said: “I’m interested in life and interested in people. I do work hard because I enjoy what I’m doing. If I didn’t enjoy it, I wouldn’t do it. Nothing comes easy to you. Unless you’ve got a big trust fund with compound interests, you’ve really got to be a bit of a grafter.
“In general terms, to still be in the game after 30 years and still getting such a positive reaction from people is really fabulous. It’s something that I never take for granted.
“Especially now, people are skint, they’ve not got a lot of money and it’s tough. Books are expensive. When someone goes out and buys my book, I know that means there’s something else they can’t buy and I really appreciate it.”
While Irvine’s next project after Men In Love will be a departure from the world of Trainspotting, the writer explained he will always be drawn back to his cast of iconic characters and hopes to one day turn their story into a TV series. He said: “We’ve been talking about it for a while. There’s been interest down the years and I think maybe it’s time to pursue that.”
It wouldn’t be the first time the novelist has written for the screen as his work has been successfully adapted into film and television many times over the course of his career. Irvine laughed he has a famous Scouser to thank for honing his skills as a screenwriter, as he revealed how Jimmy McGovern mentored him when they co-wrote the 1999 TV drama, Dockers.
He said: “I would never have written all those TV dramas I’ve worked on over the years if it hadn’t been for Jimmy. It was like being an apprentice to one of the best TV writers in the game. Jimmy was so generous and so incredible to all of the dockers, most importantly, but also to myself.”
Irvine said his time in the city with the striking workers during the Rock The Dock fundraiser is emblematic of his unbreakable bond with Liverpool as he said: “I come from a dock community and my family is a long generation of dock workers. It was just a special time. I’ve been back many times since and I’ve got a lot of friends in Liverpool.”
One of those friends is The Farm frontman, Peter Hooton, who is chairing Wednesday’s event. The writer can’t wait to return to the city close to his heart this week, but laughed he has to keep it restrained as he looks forward to the next chapter of his Liverpool story.
He said: “I have to watch myself because I’m on the tour. I’m up in Leith the next day, then in Glasgow the night after, so I’m going to have to behave myself. But the temptation to be led astray will be very great.”
An Evening with Irvine Welsh is at the Liverpool Everyman Theatre on July 23. You can find further information on how to get tickets here. Men in Love by Irvine Welsh is published by Jonathan Cape on 24 July.
