Edinburgh and Glasgow forge lyrical link

Some of the cities' best-known musicians and writers will be performing or discussing their favourite lyrics as part of the first major cultural collaboration between the arch rivals.

Let's Get Lyrical will explore the legacy of everything from the Beatles and Bob Dylan to hit films such as Singin' in the Rain and The Wicker Man.

Events celebrating wartime tunes, peace anthems and political protest songs rub shoulders with a "disco lecture", songs linked to gardening and a night inspired by William Shatner's music, in the programme of more than 50 events.

Music fans will be asked to share a story about their favourite song lyric on the official website, while thousands of song lyric cards and bookmarks featuring celebrity choices will be given away in arts centres, cafs, pubs, libraries and schools.

Organisers hope the 50,000 initiative will raise the profile of lesser-known musicians and writers, generate new interest in long-forgotten songs, and encourage school pupils to develop an interest in song-writing.

Among the big names who have given their backing to the campaign are veteran singer Barbara Dickson, Waterboys' frontman Mike Scott, chart-topper Lloyd Cole and folk favourite Eddi Reader.

Musicians performing include Teenage Fanclub's Norman Blake, Emma Pollock, King Creosote and Karine Polwart, while writers due to appear include Ian Rankin, Alan Bissett, A L Kennedy, and Janice Galloway.

Venues include Kelvingrove Gallery, Glasgow University, the Royal Botanic Garden and Usher Hall, both in Edinburgh, as well as bars, nightclubs, libraries, cinemas and church halls.

Among the expected Let's Get Lyrical highlights are a celebration of the Rat Pack's classic songs, an insight into cult Glasgow band the Blue Nile, a community opera at Glasgow's Citizens Theatre, and a club night in Edinburgh jointly hosted by Cargo Publishing and the Chemikal Underground record label.

A gala concert will be staged to celebrate some of Edinburgh's most famous characters including John Knox, Sean Connery and Robert Louis Stevenson, while Let's Get Lyrical will see the unveiling of new music inspired by Glasgow artist Susan Philipsz's recent Turner-winning work.

The festival is being held under the Unesco banners of Edinburgh's city of literature status and Glasgow's city of music mantle.

Let's Get Lyrical, which runs throughout February, follows the success of previous initiatives promoting the work of Robert Louis Stevenson and last year's "Carry a Poem" scheme, involving more than 32 events held across Edinburgh. It culminated in the largest ever poetry event in Scotland, with 19 poets and a sell-out crowd of 800.

Anna Burkey, events co-ordinator at the Edinburgh Unesco City of Literature Trust, said: "This is the first time the two cities have worked together on a project of this scale."