MATILDA IN THE MIDDLE: Family, Music & Mayhem - Katy Lironi

Matilda in the Middle is first and foremost a musical, family memoir. Both parents come with their own lives immersed in the Scottish music scene of the 1980s – Katy Lironi is enmeshed in everything that was Edinburgh based C86 indie pop while her bandmate and future husband, Douglas MacIntyre, embraces the Scottish post-punk era.

Matilda in the Middle charts Katy's childhood in a Scottish new town of the 70s as she tries and fails to follow in her musical older brothers' footsteps. Leaving home at 18, she seizes her chance to shine on the indie pop stage of the mid 80s as part of the C86 scene burgeoning in the capital at the time - specifically in the Publishing class at Napier College in Edinburgh where she finds herself.

She is swiftly signed up to C86 band The Fizzbombs and suddenly a life filled with snakebite, rehearsals, recording, DIY pop, touring and BBC Radio 1 sessions presents itself, until foreign lands beckon at the end of the college years.

Music makes many appearances during her foreign travels but it isn't until her return to Scotland in the mid 90s that singing in a band becomes the mainstay once again. The Secret Goldfish grows in tandem with Creeping Bent, the record label founded by Douglas on the cusp of their lives together.

Years fly by in a flurry of song writing, rehearsals, recording albums, radio sessions and gigs. Then, at the turn of the century, just as the Secret Goldfish, and their independent record label Creeping Bent, are in the midst of a creative overload, children start to appear at an alarming rate.

6 years and 5 children later, SandFest is born – an ongoing fundraising concert drawing on their past musical collaborations that raises thousands of pounds over the next decade for Down’s Syndrome charities, and offers all their children, not least their middle daughter with Ds, a taste of the musical limelight.

This memoir tells the story of a family, functioning just, and how music is always there to save the day and create a level playing field. At the centre of this family saga is the indomitable spirit that is Matilda.

This is at its heart the story of a family’s love of music and how it has provided purpose, forged relationships and created harmony in every aspect of their lives, with Matilda in the middle.

We have two ticket options available: * Event Only and *Event with Discounted Book Combo deal - books will be available for collection at the Festival.

Our event will be followed by a dedicated signing event with Glen. RRP books will also be available for purchase on the day.

Katy Lironi was brought up in the first Scottish new town, East Kilbride, feedback capital of the western world (according to the NME c.1984) She left at 18 to study publishing at Napier College in Edinburgh and found herself sharing classes with C86 stalwarts - Shop Assistants and Jesse Garron & The Desperadoes, and was soon recruited as singer with the Fizzbombs.

She sang, recorded and toured with the Fizzbombs throughout her college years, sharing bills with bands like the Vaselines, The Pastels and BMX Bandits. Leaving the C86 scene for foreign travels and teaching English abroad, she found herself back in Glasgow in the mid 90s, just in time to reconnect with old friend Douglas MacIntyre with whom she formed the Secret Goldfish. The Goldfish were signed to MacIntyre's Creeping Bent independent record label and spent the rest of the decade recording Radio 1 John Peel sessions, touring and releasing 3 albums.

She has spent the last two decades combining sporadic music making with writing, working and raising her 5 children.

Host or Publisher Louder Than Words Festival