Glasgow’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

[tomsk]

You could be correct there Josef, I think this could have been the start of the breakdown of the good pub/Band scene in and around Glasgow around the mid 80s, I could be wrong here but I remember playing in bands in the early 80s and the band got payed a negotiated amount from the pub and the gig was free to punters, then by the late 80s bands had to sell tickets for there gigs which could result in two things, one; the band never made any money or just broke even and two; you ended up only attracting friends to your gigs as the average punter often wouldn't pay so see a young band they hadn't heard of so it was harder for up and coming bands to get started and progress.
Any thoughts?

p.s. for the last couple of posts...."It wiznie me Mr it wiz him!.....(only kidding)

I totally agree with everything you said Frenchbloke.

[Josef]

Post-Bungalow period :



Must have been late on the tour, because the metal plate Jon King bashed on "He'd send in the army" (or something) looked as if it had been hit with a bazooka by this point.

[Dexter St. Clair]

Post-Bungalow period :



Must have been late on the tour, because the metal plate Jon King bashed on "He'd send in the army" (or something) looked as if it had been hit with a bazooka by this point.

I might have been at that gig. Was Eddi Reader on backing vocals and Sara Lee on Bass?

[Josef]

Backing vocals, can't remember, but bass was the bloke that went off to be in Shreikback - it was the next album (and tour) that had Sara Lee.

Bungalow period :



Check the prices, btw. Probably more worthy of nostalgia than the bands.

And yes, I did go and see The Freeze, but I used to go to a couple of gigs there virtually every week. Honest.

[Dexter St. Clair]

I was wondering how I managed to miss Pere Ubu.

I've still got my Thirty Bob Suits sleeve. Don't know where the record is.

[Josef]

No comment on Thirty bob suits' music, but they used to rehearse in the basement of the Washington Street Arts Centre, along with the likes of Del Amitri and Kites (eventually to become Hipsway).

A drummer friend of mine had a tom-tom go missing, only for it to turn up re-sprayed and converted to a snare in the kit of said 30 bobs. He was unamused.

[Dexter St. Clair]

Tangential to the last few posts : I had the vague notion that the reason for the use of the Bungalow Bar for gigs was that you weren't allowed to charge for entry to see a band on licensed premises in Glasgow at that time, and there was a shortage of mid-sized venues. But now I come to think of it, I saw several bands in Student Unions over the same period. Anyone know?

If the pub had a separate lounge you could hire it for a gig and sell tickets in advance which is how I saw Cado Belle and later The Rezillos at Saints and Sinners (now King Tuts). Then it was a pub with a function suite. Legally you could not charge cash at the door.
As it was a public house it had to have a bar open to the public so one room bars could not put on gigs and charge, not even if they sold tickets in advance.
Occasionally blind eyes would be turned or you could have someone at the door directing punters to buy tickets from your mate in the pub or close across the street. Something like buying drugs on The Wire.

Clubs and dance halls could put bands on and charge at the door as that was what they had been doing for years. You paid your money and you got in to dance to a band. So Zhivago's was a club that normally ran as a disco but could be hired mid week and you could sit at the till and take the cash.

Student unions ran under a club license rather than an entertainments license and were only open to their members, guests and students from a Union with which they had a reciprocal arrangement. As Strathclyde was just about a male only establishment members could sign in four females any time (as if any engineer would know four females) but could not sign any male chums on a Friday or Saturday night. Any female with an NUS card issued by an FE college would be welcome but according to the law they should not have been allowed entry as their own establishment did not have reciprocal facilities ie a bar.

On a slow Saturday night rather than say tackle the Partick Fleet Strathclyde's finest would exit the Marine cop shop and raid the QMU asking everyone for their student union membership. I'm sure they discovered some underagers but you could not be charged with gaining entry with a Beano club membership and the QMU were never prosecuted for letting in non students I was never quite sure of the point of the exercise. I suppose it kept them on their toes.

The QMU now has an entertainments license and can be hired by external promoters and sell tickets to anyone like any other venue.

The Bungalow Bar thrived as pubs and clubs in Glasgow were reluctant to put on punk bands. They were being leaned on by the Licensing Court and probably by the police. Also publicans did not like punks whom they regarded as being mostly underage and violent which of course was how they were portrayed in the press. I was on the fringe of scuffle at a Skids gig in the Art School but I did not see any punks involved in bottling off Chou Pahrot at Kelvingrove.

[scaryman2u]

Sorry for butting in Tomsk, i`m sure Dex will ignore my post Does anyone know what happened with the members of Red Ellis? I saw them a few times at the Bungalow Bar and the Dial Inn, particularly remember the guy playing the guitar with a violin bow.

[flyman]

There should be a statue erected in Cowlairs road in honour of Karl Denver coming from there.Altogether now "Wimoweh a Wimoweh" etc ............btw i must admit i'm not a fan of twee Scottish indie music but lay off the Switchblades wee Rose is a personal friend and the stuff she does with Current93 and the likes is anything but twee these days.

[frenchbloke]

losing Tomsk's knowledge and input, regardless of personal tastes is a sad blow to an otherwise informative thread.
Christian may have been bland, but to ignore this blandness and the antithesis that such blandness inspired would be near criminal. To mention the good, we have to mention the bad, for the bad is what brings out the good. or something. For every Wet Wet Wet out there lies a Yummy Fur to bring harmony and equalise the bleh.

Hopefully it was a drunken rant from Tomsk and we shall speak no more of it once he reads what he typed in the morning.

We've all done the same.

[floweredpig]

Backing vocals, can't remember, but bass was the bloke that went off to be in Shreikback - it was the next album (and tour) that had Sara Lee.

Bungalow period :



Check the prices, btw. Probably more worthy of nostalgia than the bands.

And yes, I did go and see The Freeze, but I used to go to a couple of gigs there virtually every week. Honest.

Any Trouble had Clive Gregson in their line up who was a member of Richard Thompsons' band throughout the eighties

[scaryman2u]

Dexter wrote: And Scaryman I always recommend Glasband 80 for news about rock bands. I understand there's an interview coming soon from band member Joe Cochrane.

Cheers Dex

[Thom405L]

Hi there...and don't all groan at the thought of another Tom! I'm sure you're all aware that we get e-mailed with comments relating to threads we've posted. My last post was August 2008. Just to make it clear, I'm not Tommy or Tomski. That's a fact. The connection is that I also liked The Dolphins and also promoted Tommy's excellent Glasband 80 site on my pitiful little Youtube channel.

Having just read the comments over the last few days, I find them totally OTT against Tomski. Ok, his comments sometimes didn't help. However, he wasn't the only one to be intolerant to other folks music tastes. Dexter didn't like Underhand Jones....and to be fair, if I'd just heard the album (crap production) and had never seen them live, then I might have formed that opinion as well. However, they were an amazing live act. No debate needed.

Cado Belle on the other hand, were in my opinion the dullest band I ever saw...and that's after seeing them live...and also humphing their gear on a few occasions (Bobby Pringle's fault). Having said that, their Sanatanesque September was good...as was Maggie..an amazing talent. Christian...well let's not comment. This could go on forever...it's all personal choices folks...

Last point...can I stress that I am not Tomski...or Tommy D from Glasband 80.....it's just bloody unfortunate that we all have the same name.

[daveyboy]

The first gig I played with my own material was actually in Glasgow in 2006.The venue has since shut.It was on St Vincent Street.Anyone remember the Liquid Lounge?


This had to be my best EVER gig though.


Besides that the best gig I've seen in Glasgow couldn't relate to alot of the people who seen the bands of the 60's 70's and a few 80's ones.But my favourite older bands gig was probably seeing Slade,Mud and T-Rextasy last month.Loved Slade since I was wee and finally got to see them! (Well.....2 of the original band) Them or Roger McGuinn of the Byrds 2 years ago in the Royal Concert Hall

More recent fave Glasgow gig.Ocean Colour Scene,Barrowlands.December 2008.

[Dexter St. Clair]

Hi there...and don't all groan at the thought of another Tom!
Having just read the comments over the last few days, I find them totally OTT against Tomski. Ok, his comments sometimes didn't help. .

Make your mind up.