Glasgow Music & Club Scene
By Fiona Shepherd | |
| Glasgow and its people have long enjoyed a love affair with music. As a thriving port, the city sucked in fresh sounds from the USA, and rock’n’ roll and country music remain a passion for folks of all ages. Two of the UK’s biggest bands, Texas and Travis, originally hail from Glasgow, which has produced an inordinate number of premier league guitar groups over the years, including Simple Minds, Wet Wet Wet, Teenage Fanclub, Del Amitri and Primal Scream. Belle & Sebastian and Cosmic Rough Riders are more recent success stories of the city’s evergreen music scene. The city would be in no position to produce bands of this calibre if it did not have the venues to support them, ranging from the city's large auditoriums in the SECC and Glasgow Royal Concert Hall to the plethora of pubs, which encourage a full spectrum of popular music at grassroots level. A must-visit musical mecca is Barrowland, the historic ballroom situated in the east end of the city, which has an incomparable celebratory atmosphere and is as popular with performers as with audiences. The far more intimate King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut has achieved a position in rock lore as the venue where Oasis were spotted and signed by Glaswegian record mogul Alan McGee. It remains the place to catch up-and-coming talent, along with buzzing bars Nice’n’Sleazy and The 13th Note, where acclaimed cult favourites Mogwai and The Delgados started out. The Arches, an idiosyncratic venue situated under Central Station, attracts an exotic array of performers, from the Avalanches to Zero 7, to its brick vaults, while the recently revamped CCA (Centre for Contemporary Arts) offers a progressive programme of new music. The Renfrew Ferry is an unusual venue for roots and world music, while new kid on the block the Carling Academy on Glasgow’s south side, has quickly grown in popularity since its opening in early 2003. In addition to its fertile live music scene, Glasgow is commonly recognised as the UK’s most vibrant clubbing city outside London, with house and techno high on the menu at clubs such as Ad-Lib, Asylum, The Arches and Archaos – and that’s just the ‘A’s. For serious clubbers, The Arches is a colossus, with a pulsating array of club events. The clubbing cognoscenti should also try out Subculture at the critically acclaimed, internationally renowned Sub Club. For those who like to dress up, Tiger Tiger and The Tunnel have designer décor to match the patrons’ clothing, while The Corinthian and Arta attract older clubbers to their opulent surroundings. Cheap drink and cheesy music make the Garage a perennial student favourite. More cosmopolitan nightlife can be found at the Art School union, where soul/psychedelic club Divine (Saturdays) is a 13-year institution. You will need to be signed in by a student to sample its treasurers. Barfly, by the Clyde, has an eclectic music policy and very reasonable prices. Close by is the Riverside Club, a ceilidh venue until midnight, which then opens its doors to more hardened clubbers. Cuba Norte offers Latin thrills, but if you would rather headbang than salsa, The Cathouse is a crucial destination. To sample a diet of easy listening, root out your retro threads and journey to Vegas (monthly at Renfrew Ferry) for the epitome of lounge cool. If you want to avoid entrance fees, Ad Lib and Lowdown are stylish, late-opening bars with a club music policy. Or if late night clubbing holds no appeal, head for a hoedown at the Grand Ole Opry, where country’n’western culture (line-dancing, fake shootouts) collides with indigenous pursuits (bingo, raffles) for a quintessentially Glaswegian night out. |