10 Questions for Hogmanay stalwarts Phil Cunningham and Aly Bain

PHIL and Aly have become synonymous with Hogmanay on our TVs, always there to welcome in the New Year with a tune.

They are two of the most respected musicians in Scotland and have worked with all the greats.

They’re on BBC 1’s Hogmanay show again, tonight at 11.30pm.

When was the last time you had Hogmanay off?

Aly: I can’t remember. I’ve been doing New Year TV for 40 years.

Phil: It was 1976, when I used a poly bag to go sledging outside Beauly with a band I was in.

Your worst Hogmanay?

AB: When I was 16 and saved up for a bottle of whisky to go first-footing. Before I could begin I dropped it on my toe and it smashed. I was devastated.

PC: That nail-biting year when the Edinburgh street party was cancelled at the last minute and we had to quickly rearrange things for inside the castle.

And your best Hogmanay?

AB: The same year my whisky bottle smashed. My fiddle teacher, Tom Anderson, gave me another.

PC: When James Taylor played Edinburgh Castle with us. It was surreal as I’m a lifelong fan. He’s a legend.

The one tune you’d happily never, ever play again?

AB: Scotland The Brave.

PC: The version of Auld Lang Syne I had to play incorporating Basil Brush. Don’t ask.

Which of you is the more patient?

AB: I don’t think either of us is.

PC: Me, of course. Aly is very punctual but I have to wait around at the end of gigs as he’s a social butterfly.

How often do you disagree?

AB: Very rarely, if at all.

PC: We share a passion for music and cooking, so we rarely disagree. Playing together for 31 years is testament to that.

What does the other’s friendship mean to you?

AB: Phil is family, and I can’t imagine life without him.

PC: He’s like a brother, and it’s a very easy friendship. We laugh at the fact our partnership has lasted longer than our marriages.

What’s your motto in life?

AB: Try to look on the bright side.

PC: The older we get, the better we used to be.

Your hope for 2018?

AB: I hope for a safer world for children to grow up in.

PC: The simple things are the most important. I just wish for happiness and health for everybody.

You have 24 hours left to live. How do you spend it?

AB: I would drive to the top of a hill in Shetland and view the beautiful world I was born into.

PC: My favourite place is at home. Food, drink, dogs and cuddles would play a big part.