The Hashtag Show

David Forbes Part 2 | A State of Trance, Hal Stucker & Scottish Rave Stories

David Forbes is back — and Part Two goes even deeper. 🎧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

After taking things right back to the beginning in Part One, this week we continue the story of one of Scotland’s most respected DJs and producers.

From the nerves of closing A State of Trance to the madness of the Scottish rave scene, Davie opens up about what actually goes into performing at the highest level — preparation, reading a crowd, adapting a set in real time and why, despite decades behind the decks, some gigs can still terrify him.

We get into:

🔥 Closing A State of Trance
🎧 Reading a room and what makes a genuinely great DJ
🎛️ Producing and performing almost entirely his own music
💿 Why Davie spent YEARS not playing his own tracks
👤 The brilliantly bizarre story behind Hal Stucker
🏭 Hanger 13 and the Scottish rave scene
📼 Paul Double Vision and the importance of preserving rave history
📵 The incredible modern club nights recreating the 90s — vinyl, VHS, 35mm film and NO phones
🌍 Life travelling the world as a DJ
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 The new generation of Scottish electronic artists
❤️ The gigs, friendships and memories that still mean the most.

And somewhere along the way we accidentally invent Ultra Masonic, the Forbes Rich List, discuss nightclub Rottweilers and pitch several business ideas that should probably never see daylight.

Standard Hashtag Show.

But underneath the madness is a fascinating conversation about craft, longevity and authenticity.

Because after more than three decades in music, Davie Forbes isn't simply living off what he did in the 90s.

He's still writing.

Still learning.

Still touring.

Still taking risks.

And still obsessed with getting it right.

🎙️ DAVID FORBES — PART TWO

Available now on The Hashtag Show.

⚡ The only way to hear BOTH PARTS in their entirety is to become a Hashtag Hero on Patreon.

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Everyone's welcome. No one is safe.

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David Forbes | From Glasgow’s Mayfair to A State of Trance

This week on The Hashtag Show, Scott sits down with one of Scotland’s most respected and enduring DJs and producers — David Forbes. 🎧🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

And this time… we actually remembered to record the whole thing.

From walking into Glasgow’s legendary Mayfair Club at just 17 years old with a handful of records, to producing music, travelling the world and eventually closing A State of Trance, this is the story of a man who has spent more than three decades completely obsessed with music.

🔥 The early Glasgow rave scene
🎛️ Learning the craft of DJing and production
💿 The records and producers that changed everything
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Scotland’s unique 90s dance music sound
🎧 Why Davie almost walked away from the scene
🎹 Developing his own sound as a producer
🤖 AI, technology and the future of making music
🌎 Touring Asia and performing around the world
⚽ Football, Hampden and the other great obsession in Davie’s life
❤️ Plus stories about Mallorca Lee, Mark Sherry and the friendships built through decades in Scottish dance music.

There’s also cheese. Square sausage. Chickens. Eggs.

Obviously.

What makes this conversation special is that behind the incredible career is still the same thing that started it all — a genuine obsession with music.

No masterplan. No chasing fame. No calculated career move.

Just a young guy hearing sounds he’d never heard before and thinking:

I need to be part of this.

More than 30 years later, Davie Forbes is still doing exactly that.

🎙️ The Hashtag Show with Scott Gibson

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⚡ This monster conversation runs for over THREE HOURS, so we’re splitting it into two parts.

PART ONE AVAILABLE NOW.

The extended 90-minute version is available exclusively to the Hashtag Heroes on Patreon.

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Subscribe on YouTube and Spotify, share the episode and help us continue telling the stories of the people who built Scotland’s dance music scene.

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This week on The Hashtag Show, Scott sits down with Andy Cocozza, founding member of Scottish rave legends The Rhythmic State.

And what a story this is.

From two young guys in Livingston experimenting with keyboards and trying to turn the sounds in their heads into music, to creating some of the most recognisable tracks of Scotland's legendary 90s rave scene.

Andy takes us right back to the beginning.

🎹 The formation of The Rhythmic State
🔥 The incredible story behind Power People
🧼 How Soap on the Rope came together
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Hangar 13 and Scotland's legendary rave scene
🎧 DJing, reunions and returning to the music
❤️ Mallorca Lee and the friendships created through the scene
🤖 AI, creativity and the future of music
🎬 The unexpected new life of Rhythmic State's music
❤️ And Andy speaks openly about living with MS, losing his hair through alopecia and the positive outlook that has carried him through it all.

There are brilliant stories throughout this one — but underneath the rave nostalgia is a conversation about friendship, creativity, getting older and what happens when something you made as a young man becomes part of other people's lives.

Andy describes himself and Nick as "a couple of wee lads from Livingston" who didn't really know what they were doing.

More than 30 years later, people are still dancing to their records.

That says everything.

🎙️ The Hashtag Show with Scott Gibson

Everyone's welcome. No one is safe.

⚡ The extended episode is available exclusively to the Hashtag Heroes on Patreon.

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If you enjoy the show, please SUBSCRIBE, LIKE, COMMENT and SHARE. Every one helps us continue growing the podcast.

#TheHashtagShow #TheRhythmicState #AndyCocozza #ScottishRave #OldSchoolRave #ScottishDanceMusic #90sRave #SoapOnTheRope #PowerPeople #Podcast

This week on The Hashtag Show, Scott sits down with legendary Scottish music producer Andy Haldane for a fascinating conversation about the music that shaped a generation.

From producing Ultrasonic, TTF, and countless Scottish dance classics to working alongside Mallorca Lee, Andy shares incredible behind-the-scenes stories from one of the most exciting eras in Scottish music.

Together they discuss:

🎧 The rise of Scotland's rave scene
🎹 Producing Ultrasonic and the untold story of Bikini State
🎙️ Working with Mallorca Lee and the friendship they shared
🎼 How hit records are really made
🤖 AI and the future of music production
🏙️ Glasgow's changing creative scene
🎤 Creativity, comedy and why the best ideas rarely arrive the way you expect

This isn't just a conversation about dance music—it's about creativity, friendship, loss, passion and the obsession required to create something that stands the test of time.

If you grew up with Scottish dance music or simply love hearing how great art gets made, you'll love this one.

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FULL 2hr Episode available for Heroes only on Patreon

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Scotland is melting, the World Cup is reaching its conclusion and Gibbo has discovered that neither his body nor his wardrobe was designed for 28-degree heat.

This week’s solo episode of The Hashtag Show travels from fat-man summer fashion and painfully expensive restaurant meals to the strange fears forced upon Scottish children in the 1980s.

Why were we convinced dog shite would make us blind? Why did every television advert warn us about fishing rods touching electricity pylons? Where have all the albinos gone? And why does Glasgow increasingly feel like a city that has simply been given up on?

Scott also looks back on the World Cup, the brilliance of the Tartan Army, FIFA’s apparent love affair with Lionel Messi and why Cristiano Ronaldo remains the true GOAT. ⚽

Expect questionable government initiatives, childhood nostalgia, political frustration, football arguments and the usual collection of completely unhinged tangents.

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The Governor is back. 👑

For the first time in Hashtag Show history, we welcome back a returning guest as Scottish dance music legend Joe Deacon joins Scott for another completely unfiltered conversation.

What begins with terrible flights, airport chaos and the decline of modern life soon takes a trip through Glasgow’s past — from growing up in the Calton, first jobs and family life, to the legendary Metro days, packed buses heading to Saltcoats, Scottish rave culture and a generation that knew how to enjoy the moment without filming every second of it.

But this conversation goes much deeper than nostalgia.

Scott and Joe talk about family, discipline, father figures, raising children, becoming a grandfather, losing people as you get older, the changing face of Glasgow and the strange realisation that, eventually, you reach a point in life where you no longer have to do things you don’t want to do.

Funny, nostalgic, occasionally emotional and completely unpredictable.

This is Joe Deacon as you probably haven’t heard him before.

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🏴 Scotland might be out of the World Cup... but did we actually lose?

This week Scott looks back at Scotland's unforgettable time in America, why the Tartan Army completely won over Boston, Steve Clarke stepping down, Peter Murrell heading to prison, surviving Scotland's ridiculous heatwave... and why maybe politicians could learn a thing or two from football fans.

Plus...

⚽ The greatest PR Scotland has ever had?
🇺🇸 Boston's incredible letter to the Tartan Army
🔥 Surviving Scotland's "Mediterranean" weather
😂 Fenway Park, stolen Stellas and one unforgettable Scottish football chant
☕ Peter Murrell's new business idea... Convict Coffee.

As always...

Everyone's welcome. No one is safe.

👍 #TheHashtagShow #ScottGibson #Scotland #TartanArmy #WorldCup #ComedyPodcast #ScottishComedy

The world feels like it's falling apart... but somehow Scotland have managed to cheer up an entire American city.

This week Scott talks the G7, social media bans, protests, free speech, men's mental health, and why he thinks everyone needs to calm the hell down.

There's also a deep dive into Scotland's World Cup campaign, the Tartan Army's takeover of Boston, why Americans have fallen in love with Scottish football fans, and whether Scotland should launch Operation Saltireand export Scottish pride across the globe.

Plus Laura joins the show for a brutally honest discussion about social media, parenting, online toxicity, and why modern life might be driving us all slightly insane.

As always, it's chaotic, controversial and completely unqualified.

Everyone's welcome. No one is safe.

Love, Love, Love.

Onwards!

Scotland are heading to the World Cup and for once we're not interested in hearing the usual doom and gloom.

This week Scott talks Scotland's chances in America, the proposed World Cup bank holiday, American football fans, and why Scottish supporters are about to drink every bar dry from New York to Miami.

There's also a look at the Clackmannanshire village slowly sinking into the ground, why new builds terrify him, and a surprisingly honest conversation about men's mental health.

If you're struggling, if someone you know is struggling, or if you've ever found it difficult to explain what's going on in your own head, this episode is for you.

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This week it's a solo episode and absolutely nobody is safe.

Scott dives into Peter Murrell's guilty plea, the world's most disappointing embezzlement scandal, and the bizarre shopping list that has Scotland asking one very important question: if you're going to steal £400,000, why spend it on a camper van, coffee machines and salt shakers?

Elsewhere, Susan Boyle has unveiled a brand new look, rumours of new music are swirling, Scotland is melting in a heatwave it wasn't designed to survive, and World Cup fever is beginning to build.

Can Scotland finally get out of a World Cup group? Is Susan Boyle secretly the distraction we all need? And why does every scandal in Scotland somehow end up being a bit embarrassing?

Welcome back to The Hashtag Show.

Everyone's welcome. No one is safe.

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