Burns fans give full voice to his bawdy nature

'A 200-YEAR taboo was broken last night with the first public performance of bawdy songs by Robert Burns that the poet himself said were "not for maids, ministers or striplings".'

'Stuart Nisbet, music programmer for the ten-day Burns An A' That festival, said: "Of course it's a bit smutty and offensive in some areas, but what could be closer to the tradition of modern gangsta rap music? Yes, it's sexist; yes, it's offensive; and yes, it's gratuitous — it's identical in almost every respect.'