Glasgow Apollo

To celebrate the forthcoming publication of Themes For Great Cities: A New History of Simple Minds by Graeme Thomson  (published by Constable on 27 January) we’re delighted that the author has penned a brilliant guest blog for us. We also have a one copy for one lucky winner in a giveaway, lookout for details coming…

Guests on our Music Mile tour love hearing and sharing stories about the late, great Glasgow Apollo, and we’re re-running Roddy Frame’s guest blog on the fabled venue in case you missed it first time around. Although he decamped many years ago, Frame will always be linked to the town: partly, because he gave the city an…

The Skids were one of Scotland’s most successful punk exports. Formed in Dunfermline in 1997 and fronted by the idiosyncratic double act of teenage singer Richard Jobson and gifted guitarist Stuart Adamson (later to form the much loved Big Country), they scored a handful of enduring hits, including Into the Valley, Working for the Yankee Dollar…

Glasgow is a great place for music. But don’t take our word for it – listen to what some of the city’s musicians have to say on the subject. We’re pleased to introduce the first in a series of (very) short films we’ve put together, in which Glasgow musicians talk about making music and going to gigs in town. First up is Mr Francis Macdonald – composer, label impresario behind Shoeshine Records, and drummer with popular beat combo Teenage Fanclub. For more on Francis, check out his website. Huge thanks to the legend that is Scott Paterson, director, interviewer and general man behind the camera for all of these films. We’ll be putting up another little video soon…watch this space! (Meanwhile, you can check out our other clips here.)

A man who knows his onions, Lindsay Hutton started his seminal fanzine The Next Big Thing as a punk Xerox sheet in 1977. He went on to found the world’s first ever Cramps fan club The Legion of the Cramped along with a certain Stephen Patrick Morrissey…Lindsay keeps the garage flag flying at his splendid blog He kindly agreed to pen…

As far as Glasgow Music City Tours is concerned, The Primevals are right up there in the pantheon of all-time great Glasgow bands. We still remember the frisson of first seeing them in the mid-1980s at this recording of the brilliant Scottish music show, FSD: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hPXY6oF_PCs Singer Michael Rooney exuded that potent combination of mean attitude and…

To mark the success of our first rehearsal run of the Glasgow’s Music Mile tour on Saturday and in anticipation of the maiden voyage of our Merchant City Music Past and Present tour this Friday, we are pleased to launch our Spotify playlist. It’s over there, on the right. You’ll probably need to scroll down Like any good jukebox,…

Oh, be still our fluttering hearts. Tomorrow is a big day for those of us who believe that the only thing better than a Franz Ferdinand gig or a date with Sparks is the smooshing together of the four Franz boys and the Mael brothers in the exquisite meeting of hearts, minds, musical talent and…

Today we’re delighted to bring you Part Two of our guest blog from the multi-talented FRANCIS MACDONALD – Scottish BAFTA nominated composer and songwriter, record label manager, and general music gentleman around town, who’s worked with everyone from Alex Chilton, Edwyn Collins, Belle & Sebastian and The Pastels to Kevin Ayers, Kate Rusby, Max Richter…