The Apollo Glasgow: A Retrospect

Out of all the gig venues, I have read about. No venue has interested me more than the Apollo in Glasgow. The Apollo was the venue that will make you, either through a baptism of fire or hurled coinage. The amount of live albums recorded there is crazy. On AC/DC’s “If You Want Blood, You Got It” live album, many of the tracks are from the Apollo. An interesting fact, on the song “The Jack,” you can hear Bon ask, “Are there any virgins in Glasgow?” Rush recorded a lot of the “Exit Stage Left “album; in the liner notes there is a thank you to the Glaswegian chorus on “Closer to the Heart.” Another great feature was the bouncy balcony; currently you would have the building condemned, as it would be “unsafe” by the standards of some beige harpy. To me this just added to the experience. When I learned it was pulled down, I felt I had missed a vital piece of history not only in Glasgow but as a rock fan. It had so much history; it was crazy to pull it down to replace it with a soulless 80s construct, demolished in the length of time to put it up. Johnny Cash, the man in black himself was the first person to play the Apollo when they changed it from the Green’s Playhouse. Status Quo recorded their first live album there. Abba’s final performance was in the Apollo. The Rezillo’s performed their final gig there too, and released a live album. Ozzy Osborne’s first solo tour said he was shaking with stage freight before we went on but ended up being one of the best gigs he had ever done and meant so much to him when it was being torn down he did an interview in the empty disused site of the building for Scottish TV. Today the ground is used for a Cineworld and trendy bar Walkabout. What a waste. In recent years, many smaller venues are disappearing leaving conglomerate owned ones in their place. Music venues should be unique, not Wetherspoons, Gastro pub abominations. While the Apollo is a memory, some venues are not. Support them don’t let them be swept by the way side by rules and legislation.

Stuart Ritchie

http://www.glasgowapollo.com/index.asp?s_id=1&m_id=1