Sixty years of Scottish music goes on display

Sixty years of Scottish pop history is going up on display.

A new exhibition, ‘Rip it Up: The Story of Scottish Pop’, has gone on display at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh.

Costumes, DIY demo cassettes and a guitar with the handwritten warning: “Don’t f***** touch" belonging to some of the biggest names in pop music will be on view to the public.

Items belonging to Alex Harvey, Annie Lennox, Wet Wet Wet, Lulu, Texas and Gerry Rafferty will be among the 300 objects on display - many of which have been lent by the artists themselves.

Visitors will be able to catch a glimpse of the leather Elvis suit worn by Sharleen Spiteri of Texas, Alex Harvey’s cane and a guitar set on fire by Biffy Clyro at the Reading festival.

Fans of The Proclaimers will get to see the band's demo cassette for their hit Letter From America, complete with hand-drawn pictures of themselves on the cover.

There will also be an acoustic guitar belonging to The Skids lead singer Richard Jobson which has the warning “Property Richard Jobson don’t f***** touch" written on it in marker pen.

Stephen Allen, exhibition curator, told Sky News: “Scotland punches above its weight in pop music.

"There’s a very strong sense of musicality within Scotland, a lot of storytelling.

"In Scotland, there’s a very strong sense of identity and social justice and that’s something that comes out very strongly throughout the exhibition."

Shirley Manson, lead singer of the band Garbage, has contributed the bright orange jacket she wore for their 1998 release of Version 2.0.

She said: “Scotland has long deserved an examination of its rich musical heritage, the effects of which can be heard all over our globe today.

"While music is universal, and Garbage are an international band, being Scottish is a large part of who I am and has had a huge bearing on my work and our career.

"I’m honoured to be included in the exhibition alongside my peers and many of the artists who influenced and moulded my own musical identity."