But! Songs & Stories with Boff Whalley [Edinburgh's Radical Book Fair]

Schedule

Thu Nov 06 2025 at 08:30 pm to 09:30 pm

UTC+00:00

Location

Assembly Roxy | Edinburgh, SC

Advertisement
Part reading, part gig, part conversation with Boff Whalley from anarchopunk band Chumbawamba & Commoners Choir.
About this Event

Thursday night at !

But: Life Isn't Like That, Is It?

Join us for an evening with Boff Whalley, musician, author, and a founding member of the anarcho-punk band Chumbawamba and Commoners Choir.


Part reading, part gig and part conversation, Boff will play songs from a lifetime of writing and making music, songs which chime with the book, and will draw from a personal history of creative activism.

Whalley's new book But is a collection of stories about real lives, real people, and real life: Stuttering, wayward, disjointed, funny, ridiculous, and unplanned.

We're thrilled the have a Radical Book Fair pit stop on Boff's tour, to talk about, and sing, the stories that make up the book.


The Speaker:

Boff Whalley is a former guitarist and songwriter with anarchist band Chumbawamba. He has written several touring plays and large-scale musicals, created projects at Manchester Museum, Somerset House and the Tate Gallery, and composed for Welsh National Opera. Boff has published three books (‘Footnote’, ‘Run Wild’ and ‘Faster! Louder!’) and continues to write songs for the situationist Commoners Choir as well as collaborating with a wide range of artists and activists. He once had a job building plywood grottos for supermarket Santas. When he isn't writing, it’s a good bet Boff is fell running across the hills of Northern England, where he lives in Yorkshire with his family and a very old cat.



[This Event is part of Edinburgh's Radical Book Fair, 4 days of events, panels, workshops & stalls hosted by Lighthouse at Assembly Roxy]


*Please note that masks will be required at this event ().

*Accessibility: All events will be professionally filmed & livestreamed. The Roxy is wheelchair accessible (including toilets) and we'll have provisions for neurodivergent guests including stims, quiet space and colour-coded lanyards.

*Events are £5 or free -we completely understand paying for one or two events and then getting free spots for others. The Radical Book Fair is entirely bookshop run and ticket sales are vital to keeping the fair sustainable and paying all our speakers so all support is heartily welcome!

*Featured books: The book & ticket option will select the most recently published book at any given event, if you’re not sure which book you want or don’t want that featured book, then buy a £5 voucher ticket that can be used for any of the books below. There are also which are £10, listed as a 'book', please note these are not redeemable at the fair, and rather a much appreciated contribution to the Fair's running costs,

*If you'd like to help make the book fair accessible to more folks, please consider adding to our pay-it-forward fund .

Advertisement

Where is it happening?

Assembly Roxy, 2 Roxburgh Place, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Event Location & Nearby Stays:

Tickets

GBP 0.00 to GBP 6.13

Icon
Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.
Lighthouse - Edinburgh's Radical Bookshop

Host or Publisher Lighthouse - Edinburgh's Radical Bookshop

Ask AI if this event suits you:

Discover More Events in Edinburgh

Daiistar, live at Sneaky Petes - Edinburgh
Thu, 06 Nov at 07:30 pm Daiistar, live at Sneaky Petes - Edinburgh

Sneaky Pete's

Hejira play Joni Mitchell
Thu, 06 Nov at 07:30 pm Hejira play Joni Mitchell

Voodoo Rooms Edinburgh

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Luke Jackson \/ The Speakeasy at The Voodoo Rooms \/ Edinburgh \/ 06.11.25
Thu, 06 Nov at 07:30 pm Luke Jackson / The Speakeasy at The Voodoo Rooms / Edinburgh / 06.11.25

The Voodoo Rooms - Bar, Restaurant & Function Rooms in Edinburgh

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Weekly Quiz
Thu, 06 Nov at 08:00 pm Weekly Quiz

Liberton, Edinburgh

CONTESTS
Staying Curious: The Enigma of Pain
Fri, 07 Nov at 08:45 am Staying Curious: The Enigma of Pain

Royal College of Surgeons of Edinburgh

MEETUPS NONPROFIT
Crazy Hair Day \ud83d\ude1c
Fri, 07 Nov at 09:00 am Crazy Hair Day 😜

St Joseph's RC Primary School Saughton Road, Edinburgh

NONPROFIT
Fri, 07 Nov at 09:00 am DARIAH Day 2025

Edinburgh Futures Institute, The University of Edinburgh

WORKSHOPS ART
Friday morning dip with Susie
Fri, 07 Nov at 09:30 am Friday morning dip with Susie

Wardie Bay Beach

SPORTS FIRST-FRIDAY
The White Heather Ceilidh Club at Bonnie & Wild
Thu, 30 Nov at 08:00 pm The White Heather Ceilidh Club at Bonnie & Wild

Bonnie & Wild

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
RYE Live
Sat, 23 Dec at 10:30 pm RYE Live

Whiski Bar & Restaurant

Jason Kyrone Live
Tue, 26 Dec at 10:30 pm Jason Kyrone Live

Whiski Bar & Restaurant

Rantum Scantum Live
Wed, 27 Dec at 10:30 pm Rantum Scantum Live

Whiski Bar & Restaurant

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Old Town Sessions
Thu, 28 Dec at 10:30 pm Old Town Sessions

Whiski Bar & Restaurant

THE GORMS LIVE
Fri, 29 Dec at 10:30 pm THE GORMS LIVE

Whiski Bar & Restaurant

MUSIC LIVE-MUSIC
THE GORMS
Mon, 01 Jan at 10:30 pm THE GORMS

Whiski Bar & Restaurant

MUSIC LIVE-MUSIC
Old Dollar Bill
Sun, 07 Jan at 10:30 pm Old Dollar Bill

Whiski Bar & Restaurant

PARTIES ENTERTAINMENT
Sound journeys and reiki in Edinburgh
Sun, 04 Feb at 07:00 pm Sound journeys and reiki in Edinburgh

The Salisbury Centre

HEALTH-WELLNESS MEDITATION
Eric's Encore
Tue, 28 Jan at 01:30 pm Eric's Encore

The Eric Liddell Community

MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
Ebrius Edinburgh Pub Crawl - Weekend
Fri, 16 May at 07:30 pm Ebrius Edinburgh Pub Crawl - Weekend

Kick Ass Greyfriars

PARTIES PUB-CRAWL
Scottish Evening Experience
Thu, 22 May at 06:00 pm Scottish Evening Experience

The Scotsman Hotel

MUSIC WORKSHOPS

What's Happening Next in Edinburgh?

Discover Edinburgh Events