Irvine Welsh’s dance track inspired by chat on Edinburgh buses

Irvine Welsh has turned a conversation he overheard on a bus in Edinburgh into an electro-pop dance track.

The Trainspotting author, 65, said “How no” was based on a loud exchange between two females on the top deck of a number eight Lothian Bus, which runs between West Granton and the city’s Royal Infirmary.

He worked with Italian electronic duo Stereocalypse on the 4 min 24 sec track which has been released on Milan-based dance and electronics label, Stolen Goods Records.

Welsh, who provides the vocals, revealed his involvement when he was asked his favourite song during a book event.

He said: “My favourite song? I have to say I’ve actually got a song out now, a single that I did with these friends from Venice, who are Italian disco producers, so I’ve got a song called ‘How No’.

“It’s basically just two lassies on the number eight bus in Edinburgh, talking.

“I just heard these two mental lassies kind of shouting at each other on the number 8 bus so I just did their conversation verbatim basically.

“I would have taped them if I could have but I didn’t (have a tape recorder) so I had to imitate them and I made it into a disco single. So that’s my favourite song right now.”

Welsh has previously told how he originally wanted to be a musician before he became an author. He played in bedroom bands — “the band below garage bands because nobody had a garage” — but recordings he sent to record companies went unanswered.

He collaborated with Primal Scream in 1997 on a track called “The Big Man and the Scream Team Meet the Barmy Army Uptown”.

And in 2022 he even co-founded his own record label, Jack Said What, based in Brighton.

He met Stereocalypse after their manager played him their version of Small Town Boy by Bronski Beat and asked if he would like to do something with him.

The lyrics to “How No” came to him as he listened to one of the females on the bus recounting to her friend a clash with her boyfriend. They include the lines “You dare to look into my eyes” and “Shut your mouth, you’re out of luck” as well as references to “radges”.

Welsh is currently promoting Resolution, the latest in his Crime series of novels, which has been adapted for TV starring Dougray Scott.