Glasgow: As a breeding ground for music, Scotland's second city is second to none, writes Tony Clayton-Lea
ALMOST 20 YEARS after Glasgow held the title of European Capital of Culture, it has been bestowed the title of a Unesco City of Music, a status it shares with Bologna and Seville. Some would say not before time: Glasgow is intimate by comparison with London, New York or Los Angeles, but the city that Time magazine once described as Europe’s secret capital of music has been at the forefront of some of the best rock and pop produced in the UK in the past 30 years.
Acts from or associated with Glasgow over the decades include Alex Harvey, Donovan, Simple Minds, Altered Images, Al Stewart, Orange Juice, Texas, Teenage Fanclub, Glasvegas, The Jesus and Mary Chain, Primal Scream, Deacon Blue, Travis, Mogwai, Belle and Sebastian, Franz Ferdinand and The Fratellis.
All styles are contained and nurtured in the city, although it is indicative of the swagger, no-nonsense demeanour and ruggedness of the place (indeed, of Scotland as a whole) that it has produced no successful boy bands to speak of – just boys in bands that have grown up.
It’s easy to see why Glasgow is a Unesco City of Music: it isn’t just the number of events taking place in any given week (in a typical seven-day period there are more than 120) but their quality; it’s the venues that have played a crucial part in the city’s musical evolution; it’s the highly influential record labels, such as Postcard, Chemikal Underground, Soma and Rock Action.
While the music scene stretches from pop, rock, folk and country to Celtic and classical, so the venues range from King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut (consistently voted the UK’s top rock venue) to Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, City Halls and Theatre Royal (home to, respectively, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and Scottish Opera).
It is rock and pop, though, that the city is perhaps best known for. Like other British and Irish cities, it was galvanised by punk rock in the mid- to late 1970s, but as the years passed it sacrificed style for content, helped along by venues such as Nice N Sleazy and Barrowlands (see right).
With a capacity of 300, King Tut’s is small. Founded in 1990, and located in a basement, it offers strategically chosen next big things in intimate (read cramped) conditions. In other words it’s a bone-fide rock’n’roll venue; it’s also the one that established acts return to in order to soak up the atmosphere that gave them early aspirations to greatness. Secret gigs by the likes of Primal Scream, Bloc Party and Snow Patrol (who are Scottish in Scotland and Irish in Ireland, due to their Irish-Scottish membership) have been instant sell-outs, while the venue itself created its own place in rock’n’roll history when in 1993 Oasis were signed to a record deal after their gig. Even the men’s toilets have a rock’n’roll bias: the standing urinal is titled Wonderwall.
If a gig at King Tut’s is sold out, then you should head to Nice N Sleazy, which has seen the likes of Arab Strap and Mogwai agitate pernickety customers who know their Smiths B-sides from their Josef K rarities.
If, however, you want the full-blown rock’n’roll treatment, then Barrowland is the place to go. Hard to beat for large-capacity atmosphere and audience reception, this is a venue some big names take pay cuts to perform at.
In a nutshell? Glasgow’s success as a place of musical distinction hinges on Scotland’s reluctance to look to England as a place of creative inspiration. Or at least that’s what Alan Horne, one-time major-domo of Postcard Records, says. “What has England to offer to compare with soul music or The Byrds or Velvet Underground? Glasgow people, in particular, love style, and America has much more of that.”
Go there
Aer Lingus (www.aerlingus. com) flies to Glasgow from Dublin. Ryanair (www.ryanair.com) flies from Dublin, Shannon, Belfast and Derry.
Where to stay, eat, go and catch a live show
5 places to stay
Malmaison Glasgow. 278 West George Street, 00-44-141-5721000, www.malmaison.com. Formerly a Greek orthodox church, now a sturdily fashionable hotel that is a refuge for off-duty rock stars. Doubles from £99 (about €108).
Radisson SAS Hotel. 301 Argyle Street, 0044-141- 204-3333, www.glasgow. radissonsas.com. As with all Radissons these days, think cute design-driven interiors, spacious rooms and – essential for a combined leisure-business weekend – free Wi-Fi. Doubles from £119 (about €130).
Hotel Du Vin. 1 Devonshire Gardens, 00-44-141-3392001, www.hotelduvin.co.uk. Probably Glasgow’s finest multigarlanded boutique hotel. The Hotel Du Vin group took this over in 2007 and set about enhancing an already fine property with suitably smart touches. Doubles from £150 (about €164).
Abode. 129 Bath Street, 00-44-141-2216789, www.abodehotels.co.uk/ glasgow. We like this place. It mixes traditional Scottish architecture with contemporary design, and the 59 rooms are divided into Comfortable, Desirable, Enviable and Fabulous. Doubles from £79pps (about €86).
Devoncove Hotel. 931 Sauchiehall Street, 00-44-141-3344000, www.devoncovehotel.com. A contemporary three-star with a distinctive Victorian facade, this is an ideal city-centre hotel for those driving, as it provides free private parking (subject to availability). Doubles from £60 (about €66).
5 places to eat
Red Onion. 257 West Campbell Street, 00-44- 141-2216000, www.red-onion. co.uk. Chef-owner John Quigley once travelled the world as a private cook to the likes of Bryan Adams, Tina Turner and The Bee Gees. Now he’s back home, operating a superb casual-dining joint. If you’re lucky, he’ll regale you with some rock’n’roll tales as you tuck into your dessert.
Two Fat Ladies at the Buttery. 652 Argyle Street, 00-44-141-221-8188, www.twofatladiesrestaurant.com/buttery. Once an Irish pub (it dates back to 1860), now a foodie’s paradise.
Tchai Ovna Teahouse. Otago Lane, 00-44-141-3574524, www.tchaiovna.com. Is this the smallest cafe in the UK? Quite likely, but less is more here, as the hippy space boasts a balcony lit by fairy lights and (probably) Scotland’s largest tea menu. Evening activities include acoustic sessions and poetry readings. Far out, man.
The Sub Club. 22 Jamaica Street, 00-44-141-2211177, www.subclub.co.uk. More than 20 years on the go, this compact basement club remains an exhilarating city nightspot.
Groucho St Jude’s. 190 Bath Street, 00-44-141-3528800, www.saintjudes.com. The well-known London media club branches out. Liked for its cocktail list as well as its cool open-door policy that welcomes members and non-members alike.
5 places to go
Grosvenor Cinema. 24 Ashton Lane, 00-44-141-3398444, www.grosvenorcinema.co.uk. Forget the clinical multiplexes: relax with lots of legroom and leather seats in this small but cool cinema where indie movies rule the roost.
The Lighthouse. 11 Mitchell Lane, 00-44-141-2216362, www.thelighthouse.co.uk. An architectural gem, designed by Charles Rennie Mackintosh in 1893 to house the offices of the Glasgow Herald. Glasgow School of Art.
167 Renfrew Street, 00-44-141- 3534526, www.gsa.ac.uk. Another example of the enduring handiwork of Mackintosh, this art school’s home remains one of the most influential buildings of the 20th century.
Kelvingrove Art Gallery Museum. Argyle Street, 00-44-141-2769599, www.glasgowmuseums.com. This excellent building (sandstone Victorian) in the city’s West End houses a fine municipal collections of Scottish and European art.
The Burrell Collection. Pollock Country Park, 00-44-141-2872550, www.glasgowmuseums.com. Glasgow’s top visitor attraction houses a staggering 8,500-plus art treasures, including works by Manet, Degas and Rembrandt.
5 best music venues
Barrowland. 244 Gallowgate, 00-44-141-5524601, www.glasgow-barrowland.com. Renowned for its atmosphere, bar and rowdy audiences. Sandal-wearers beware.
Nice N Sleazy. 421 Sauchiehall Street, 00-44-141- 3330900, www.nicensleazy. com. Art-deco-style music venue that has attracted gig-goers for years. The best jukebox in town? Och aye.
King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut. 272a St Vincent Street, 00-44-141-2215279, www.kingtuts.co.uk. A landmark Glasgow music haunt, and a deceptively small (but effective) venue that created rock’n’roll history when, in 1993, Oasis were signed by Alan McGee of Creation Records.
The Arches. 253 Argyle Street, 00-44-141-5651000, www.thearches.co.uk. A leading arts venue that pledges support to emerging talent as well as established music acts. One of the most important music venues in the UK.
Òran Mór, Byres Road, 00-44-141-3576200, www.oran-mor.co.uk. Another old building put to brilliant use: this used to be Kelvinside Parish Church; now it’s one of Glasgow’s coolest music venues, for a canny mix of traditional and up-and-coming rock talent.
Check out
Mixed Up Records. 18 Otago Lane, 00-44-141-3575737, www.mixeduprecords.com. Good second-hand record shops are a rarity these days, so make a beeline to Mixed Up Records before the recession hits it. All genres are gathered here, and if the music doesn’t get you the album covers will. Wall art a-go-go.
Che Camille. Argyll Chambers, 30 Buchanan Street, www.checamille.com. Late last year, 32-year-old New Yorker Camille Lorigo, a semi-finalist in Grazia magazine’s Female Entrepreneur of the Year contest, set up her design operations. Lorigo provides part shop, part workshop, part photography studio while scoping out independent design talent.