The Apollo (Glasgow)
Encyclopedia
The Apollo was a music venue in Glasgow, Scotland, operating from 1973-1985. It was opened by Unicorn Leisure, in September 1973, after acquiring a lease from the owners George Green Ltd
Green’s Playhouse
The Green's Playhouse was an entertainment complex comprising a cinema, ballroom, tea rooms, and other facilities. The Playhouse was at 126 Renfield Street, Glasgow, Scotland, commissioned by George Green Ltd, designed by architect John Fairweather, and built by the Cinema Building Company...

. The venue's debut live performance was by Johnny Cash
Johnny Cash
John R. "Johnny" Cash was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and author, who has been called one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century...

 on 5 September 1973. While in operation, it hosted the most popular music acts of the day. However, the poor condition of the building took a financial toll, and the venue closed in 1985. The Apollo was located in the same building as Greens Playhouse, a cinema and ballroom that operated from 1927 to 1973.

History

The Apollo became the leading concert venue in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 and Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 throughout the 1970s and 1980s, playing host to artists, bands, and groups that expressed a desire to perform to a Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...

 audience. The cinema
Movie theater
A movie theater, cinema, movie house, picture theater, film theater is a venue, usually a building, for viewing motion pictures ....

 tradition was initially continued until it was seen as financially unviable and discontinued.

The lease to the Apollo was held by Unicorn Leisure, the management company for comedian Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly
William "Billy" Connolly, Jr., CBE is a Scottish comedian, musician, presenter and actor. He is sometimes known, especially in his native Scotland, by the nickname The Big Yin...

 and singer Christian, as well as the operator of many of Glasgow's pubs, clubs, and discothèques during the 1970s.

Above the main concert auditorium operated the ballroom
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...

, originally known as Clouds through various name changes including Satellite City and The Penthouse. The ballroom
Ballroom
A ballroom is a large room inside a building, the designated purpose of which is holding formal dances called balls. Traditionally, most balls were held in private residences; many mansions contain one or more ballrooms...

 became a music venue
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...

 for up-coming and relatively lesser-known bands (such as Queen
Queen (band)
Queen are a British rock band formed in London in 1971, originally consisting of Freddie Mercury , Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor...

, Simple Minds
Simple Minds
Simple Minds are a Scottish rock band who achieved worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s and best known for their #1 US, Canada and Netherlands hit single "Don't You ", from the soundtrack of the...

, Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello
Elvis Costello , born Declan Patrick MacManus, is an English singer-songwriter. He came to prominence as an early participant in London's pub rock scene in the mid-1970s and later became associated with the punk/New Wave genre. Steeped in word play, the vocabulary of Costello's lyrics is broader...

, Sham 69
Sham 69
Sham 69 is an English punk band that formed in Hersham in 1976.Although not as commercially successful as many of their contemporaries, albeit with a greater number of chart entries, Sham 69 has been a huge musical and lyrical influence on the Oi! and streetpunk genres. The band allegedly derived...

, & The Rich Kids
The Rich Kids
Rich Kids were a short-lived, seminal new wave band from London, founded in 1977 by Glen Matlock following his departure from The Sex Pistols. The band also included future Ultravox member Midge Ure, and Rusty Egan, who later went to found Visage.-Career:...

), who were unable to attract a paying audience capable of filling the concert venue.

Despite the Apollo's success as a music venue, the building was in a poor condition continuing to deteriorate structurally, with maintenance repairs being done on a 'make do' basis. In mid-1977, the owner of Unicorn Leisure relocated to the warmer climes of Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, USA. The lease was acquired by Apollo Leisure Group
Paul Gregg
Paul Gregg is an English multi-millionaire businessman and entertainment impresario, who built Apollo Leisure Group into the UK's biggest theatre owner....

. The new leaseholders experienced considerable problems with the buildings structural condition, to the extent they considered relinquishing the lease in 1978, with Mecca Bingo
The Rank Group
The Rank Group plc is a European gaming and leisure business. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...

 interested in the acquiring the building.

AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...

's concert at The Apollo on 30 April 1978 later became the bulk of their first live album If You Want Blood You've Got It
If You Want Blood You've Got It
If You Want Blood You've Got It is the first live album by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, originally released in the US on 21 November 1978...

. After a first 'final gig' with singer Christian as the headline act on 5 July 1978, The Apollo resumed business as music venue
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...

 less than a month later. The resumption was to herald a seven-year downward spiral, until the venue finally closed for business on 16 June 1985, with the Style Council
The Style Council
The Style Council were an English band, formed in 1983 by the ex-The Jam singer and guitarist Paul Weller, with keyboardist Mick Talbot. The permanent line-up grew to include drummer Steve White and Weller's then-wife, vocalist Dee C. Lee. Other artists such as Tracie Young and Tracey Thorn also...

 the final performers on the bill.

Northern Irish punk band Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers
Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977, at the height of the Troubles. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star , doing rock covers, until they discovered punk. They split up after six years and four albums, although they...

 played their final gig at The Apollo on February 6th, 1983, before re-uniting four years later in 1987.

The building was demolished in September 1987, following a fire that rendered the building structurally unsafe and is now the site of a multiplex cinema
Multiplex (movie theater)
A multiplex is a movie theater complex with multiple screens, typically three or more. They are usually housed in a specially designed building. Sometimes, an existing venue undergoes a renovation where the existing auditoriums are split into smaller ones, or more auditoriums are added in an...

 complex, the world's tallest
Cineworld
Cineworld Group plc is a cinema chain operating in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Jersey. The chain consists of 78 cinemas; 76 of which are located in the UK and one each in Ireland and Jersey. It is the second-largest cinema operator in the UK with 801 screens, and the owner of...

.

Enduring memories of the 12 years of the Apollo are remembered in the 2009 musical 'I Was There' written and produced by Tommy McGrory. A musical recollection follows the stories of two Glaswegian fans who spent their formative years frequenting the infamous venue. The 20+ piece Loud'n'Proud Rock Orchestra perform hits from bands synonymous with classic rock - AC/DC to Frank Zappa, ABBA to Black Sabbath, Alice Cooper to Tangerine Dream - all of whom performed the Glasgow Apollo between 1973 and 1985.

The show returns to Glasgow again on 27–28 August 2010, with a new line up of songs, memories, dancers and actors to once again reunite the Glasgow Choir.

External links

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