Blog

If you’re looking for a blithe summer soundtrack to accompany the gradual easing of Covid restrictions, allow us to suggest Hi, the new album by Texas. These Scotpop stalwarts formed in Glasgow 35 years ago but there’s nothing creaky about their intuitive blend of disco, soul and pop influences.   Anyone who has seen Texas…

We love sharing our memories of Barrowland and Barrowland Park on our Merchant City Past and Present tour and we’re really looking forward to the second part of Barras100 exhibition this weekend. A programme of events marks the 100th anniversary of the Barras Market with exhibitions and opportunities to share Barras stories. A photography exhibition…

Whether you’re a musician or a music lover (maybe you’re a little bit of both), you’re probably here because you appreciate the incredible impact that musicians have on each of our lives through their creativity. My name is Étáin and I am the Fundraising and Volunteer Officer in the Scottish office of Help Musicians, 100-year-old…

 Now that spring has sprung and Covid restrictions are easing, we are delighted to announce the re-opening of our tours on Saturday 1stMay. We cannot wait to share the music stories of Glasgow with our customers once again. Photo by Jannica Honey Our tour guide, Phil  It’s been a year like no other and we…

No one likes a good gig story more than we do – especially if that gig story concerns an historic show in Glasgow and/or comes from our learned customers. But we’ve met our match in Chris Brickley, the man responsible for conceiving and compiling 16 Years: Gigs in Scotland 1974-1990, a hefty pictorial account of…

On our Music Mile Tour we tell our guests about the former Maryland club, which was located in what was once a private villa and is now within the CCA in Glasgow’s Sauchiehall Street. Our guest blog is by friend of the tours, David Beckett, who worked at the Maryland. David remembers when blues legend,…

 While we can’t walk’n’roll just yet, we are looking forward to welcoming guests on our music tours as soon as we get the green light. In the meantime, we are excited to present this blog from one of our guides, the supremely talented Alison Eales. In addition to her work as a tour guide for…

We are big fans of Cerys Matthews’ show on BBC 6 Music, not just for the eclectic music she plays but also for the enthusiasm the former Catatonia frontwoman brings to her broadcasts. As well as supplying absorbing music and chat, she is an ardent advocate of poetry, and has channelled that passion into a…

Leith-based musician Shaheeda Sinckler is the creative force behind an unholy trinity of incarnations – she operates seamlessly as Nova the rapper, DJ Scotia and producer Nova Scotia the Truth. Like many outside of the Scottish hip-hop scene, we at Glasgow Music City Tours were unfamiliar with Sinckler’s music before she was nominated for –…

Our first guest blog of 2021 is from the writer, Alison Irvine. Alison wrote her brilliant new novel Cat Step at the same time as she was writing about the Barrowland Ballroom for the beautiful Barrowland Ballads book, which we previously covered on our blog: https://glasgowmusiccitytours.com/blog/category/barrowland-ballads/ photograph by Chris Leslie We know Alison loves her…

This time last year, Amy Macdonald was preparing to record her fifth album, The Human Demands, probably fairly secure in the knowledge that she would have another hit on her hands, such is her avid fanbase. Recording commenced at the start of 2020, then a certain pesky virus reared its head and Macdonald found herself…

Well, that was a strange year for our tours. And everything else in the world. Because of you-know-what, our season didn’t start until August this year and, to be honest, we didn’t know if anybody would want to come out on our walking tours. We had capped numbers, done risk assessments and satisfied the government’s…