The Hidden Glasgow Forums

I used to love the Amusement Arcades in Glasgow in the early 80's right when the Video Games were king

Does anyone have any old photos they could post up of the Arcade fronts ? I'm going to list some of my favourites and some of my Fav Video Game locations from the early 80's..... Photos of any of these would be amazing, any Scottish 80's arcades in general !

Aladdins Cave in Stockwell Street, where Argos is now.... (Gone)

San Remo (Under the bridge at Argyle Street) (Gone) but was trading as Mitchells up until recently....

Treasure Island in Jamaica Street, still there, next to McDonalds

Enterprize at the top of Buchannan Street, where HMV is now across from John Lewis (Gone)

The Prize Bingo and amusements at Kent Street / London Road at The Barras

Codona's Pool Hall / Arcade in Baillieston, where i'm from at the top of South Scott Street across from Police Station, Gone

Arcade downstairs on Queen Street where the Olympic Health studio was

Little arcade on Argyle Street round from Finneston Street and PC world, Gone

Favourite Video Game locations, mostly Space Invaders that you could use a clicker on (Innards of a Colibri electronic lighter to click up credits and Flicking, flicking a 2p up through the reject coin chute which got you a 10p Credit

Down stairs in John Menzies, Buchannan St, Rita's Fashions Gallowgate, HMV and Bloggs record stores Renfield Street, Krazy House at Glasgow cross, Lewis's toy department, was it 5th floor ? With the old guys wandering around with the white jackets... We used to nick the coins from Santa's grotto at Xmas time on the 5th floor, then use the coins in the Video's

Photo's is what we want and memories.....

maxmix

Ahaaa, spent a lot of time hanging around the arcade in the barras, a good friend of mine used to carry a clicker about with him - he was obsessed (addicted?) with arcade games and fruit machines.

I remember his mother send him for a loaf of bread, instead he went into the prize bingo at Bridgeton cross, spent the money and ended up stealing the loaf - the same friend who got seven shades kicked out of him at Glasgow green when the carnival was there for trying to mess with machines - you just don't mess with the travellers, many of whom I went to school with.

Mis-spent youth indeed but fun times, looking back at those days - early 90's - kinda puts a lump in my throat. No pictures, sadly - but cool thread nonetheless.

debenhams top floor had an amusement/video arcade for a while.

TheSnigger wrote:Mis-spent youth indeed but fun times, looking back at those days - early 90's - kinda puts a lump in my throat. No pictures, sadly - but cool thread nonetheless.

These were the days and thanks (I've been a lurker for a while on here :))

There was a cracking little Arcade with Prize Bingo in Hillfoot Street, just off Duke Street in Dennistoun, my old Aunt lived in Ingleby Drive and used to go to see her every Saturday on my was home to Baillieston...

https://maps.google.co.uk/maps?q=Ingleb ... 0,3.4&z=17

The Saturday 62 Corporation bus route used to take me right to Aladdins Cave in Stockwell St (from Baillieston) for my Robotron fix in about 1982, (I would have been 15 at the time)...

Then San Remo and Treasure Island.... (High scores on most of the machines :)) a walk to The Barras to Kent Street with my last 2 Quid.... Blew the lot on the Video Games there, then I had to walk to Dennistoun to Aunties so I could get my bus fare home to Baillieston....

If it ended up around 7pm I used to stay the night :) and Dad would collect me next day....

But I made sure I made it to Hillfoot Street for a quick play at something before going home

maxmix

PS Where have the good times gone ? Great memories !

1990's GAM & Co, 236 Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow by Robert Pool's Glasgow Collection, on Flickr

There was one at the Charing Cross end of Sauchiehall Street in the early '90s, might have been the Big Apple?

Also, around the same time, at the top of Buchanan Street, roughly where Top Man joins on to HMV now, there was one in a basement, you went in a door from Argyle Street, immediately turned right and went down a narrow flight of stairs.

Anyone remember these?

Goliath wrote:There was one at the Charing Cross end of Sauchiehall Street in the early '90s, might have been the Big Apple?

Also, around the same time, at the top of Buchanan Street, roughly where Top Man joins on to HMV now, there was one in a basement, you went in a door from Argyle Street, immediately turned right and went down a narrow flight of stairs.

Oops! Just noticed that that last sentence should say "you went in a door from BUCHANAN STREET, immediately turned right and went down a narrow flight of stairs." My bad.

Was there not an amusement arcade of sorts on Dumbarton Rd across from Comet?

Mr D's used to further up Buchanan st at the corner of sauchiehall st in a basement, and then moved here during the late 80s onwards until demolished for the new Buchanan Quarter to be opend later this month.

I remember a puggy arcade where the Sir John Moore pub is now at Westergate in Argyle Street - probably Treasure Island.

There was a few machines inside Candelriggs market in the late 80s/early 90s because I remember playing Sinistar at about that time, they were located at the north end. I recall a friend mentioning he played pool at the top of Buchannan Street which must've been the arcades previously mentioned, perhaps not as this place was opposite the concert hall at the bend in the road?

Mori wrote:Mr D's used to further up Buchanan st at the corner of sauchiehall st in a basement, and then moved here during the late 80s onwards until demolished for the new Buchanan Quarter to be opend later this month.

Forgot about Mr D's Awesome....

Any more photos people ?

maxmix

I gave many of the arcades in Glasgow a call last year when I was looking to acquire an old arcade machine to convert into a cabinet for MAME (I still am, if anyone knows where I can get one). A few said they still had old machines but invariably the manager was never there, and despite promises of a return phone call, nobody ever did respond properly. One arcade was extremely rude, saying that it was illegal for them to sell - and the public to buy - the machines! This is nonsense. It's illegal for joe public to operate a coin op machine as an actual coin op ie. taking money, but if you set the machine to free play it's perfectly legal to own and operate it.

M&Ds said they'd destroyed their old machines and skipped them