DISQUS

Felonious · 1 year ago

The Locarno was part of the Mecca ballroom chain of dance halls. The Scottish heats of Come Dancing were filmed there. On a Friday and Saturday night nearly 2000 people would meet there. Mecca had a strict dress code and throughout the sixties admission on those night was restricted to gentlemen wearing ties. It didn't stop the fighting and it actually started a few. Glaswegians were accosted by open necked guys who had suddenly decided to go to The Locarno. Some would offer to buy a tie whilst others tried to forcibly remove them from passers by.

American sailors from the naval base at the Holy Loch were regulars at most of the Glasgow dance halls throughout the sixties and the Shore Patrol van was a familiar site in Sauchiehall Street.

The Locarno was the venue for several key mod events in Glasgow. The Who played there on Thursday 17th November 1966. I'm not sure if Keith Moon played the gig or just part of it and had to be substituted by the drummer from Julian Covay and The Machine (needs verification)

On Thursday 30th of March 1967 Otis Redding played Glasgow backed by Booker T and The MGs and The Mar-Keys at the Locarno with support from Arthur Conley, Eddie Floyd and local outfit Studio Six. Otis topped the bill but had to follow double dynamite Duo Sam and Dave who had been a knockout with the 1700 strong Glasgow audience. They'd paid 17/6 for a ticket. Otis was sensational and endeared himself to the crowd by engaging with them. Too closely as he was dragged off the Locarno's low revolving stage and had to be rescued by stewards. The balcony in the Locarno went all around the hall and bridged over the stage. Otis was fascinated by this and spoke to a group of girls who seeking to touch him almost fell over the rail and joined Al Jackson on drums.

By the late seventies Mecca decided to rename their ballrooms as Tiffany's and on the 11th November 1979 the venue hosted the 2 Tone tour with The Specials, Madness and The Selector.
The visit to Glasgow which I guess included a visit to Paddy's Market because I can't recall where else would Jerry Dammers have witnessed this “In Glasgow, there were these little old ladies on the streets selling all their household goods, their cups and saucers." Which along with the tour bus coming in through the East End of Glasgow provided the inspiration for Ghost Town.

Janny · 1 year ago

Fascinating stuff, would have loved to see the 2 Tone tour, Booker T and Otis Redding!

One of the current music mags (MOJO or the like) has a big write up on the specials and a free CD on the front with Prince Buster etc on it ( saw it in WH Smith in Central). In the article it says that what Thatcher did to Coventry was the inspiration for Ghost Town - but would like to think that's wrong and the Glasgow story is correct! Having said that, I suppose it could have been written about any number of towns during the Thatcher years and the decline of heavy industry!

Also read that The Specials have reformed and are touring Oct/ Nov this year! Wonder if there will be a Glasgow gig?

admin · 1 year ago

certainly is great info, from what my sources are saying frank the Locarno was renamed Tiffany's 1968 and it was converted into a casino 1971ish.... I think the Ghost Town story is great. I came across Nik Cohn whos inspiration for Saturday night fever was based on Northern Soul. I think the Locarno looks great in the colour photo.

Felonious · 1 year ago

Your sources are wrong. I'm sure i wasn't the only one on here to catch the 2 Tone tour and I did not have to take out membership 24 hours before the gig.Tiffany's went back to being the Locarno in the mid eighties.

Nik Cohn based his article Saturday Night fever on mods. Northern Soul fans wore semmits, baggy trousers and had beer towels hanging out the back of them. To the best of my memory none of these fashions featured in Saturday Night fever. Maybe Staying Alive was different.:)

I'll see if i can check some date stamped references for The Locarno but trust me on this.

Felonious

Charlie · 1 year ago

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JANNY! A million thanks for your help in locating "Painter Man" Jason, talk to you soon, enjoy your well deserved Special Day! All the best!

N.G. MODS · 1 year ago

I like to add, that Secret Affair played at Tiffany's in 1979 and I'm sure Squire was in support as part of "Dancing in the Streets" tour. If i come across the add I will post it up.

admin · 1 year ago

Frank I got the info from the Glasgow city archives at http://www.theglasgowstory.com/image.php?inum=T... could it be that the Locarno was a casino and then converted back to discotheque in 77 or 78ish thus the name Tiffanys...

On the Saturday Night Fever inspiration, I got this from a soul blog, so its not written in stone might just be hearsay, would love to confirm from a solid source....

"A short piece on the scene by Nick Cohn was worked up into the film script. Working class kids doing manual jobs and dressing up and doing extravagant dances to soul/disco music at the weekends"

As for trusting you, how could we not trust the public performer FELONIUS :-)

Thanks for correcting ....

Robert · 1 year ago

Hello

Another popular place to hang out was Brookes Bar in Charing Cross. The other Pub that comes to mind was The Hang Mans Rest in Igram Street. Brookes was the better of the two and had good music playing that set you up for the Scene Club on a Saturday night.

modernworld · 1 year ago

Felonious, thanks for printing the date of the 2-tone tour, I remember it was a Sunday night, because I distinctly remember going through to see them on the Saturday evening at Stirling Uni, so if it was 11/11/79 , then I was ?? It was definately called Tiffany's, there was no restrictive entry (although you were supposed to be over 18, that was a joke), in fact I remember going to see other bands there such as The Stray cats, The damned. I remember seeing Secret Affair but I cannot remember the venue, however tiffany's keeps popping into my head for some reason, maybe someone can enlighten me.

Felonious · 1 year ago

Jimmy

the glasgowstory and Virtual Mitchell were short term funding projects and there are errors scattered throughout both. The Locarno opened as a ballroom from the 1920's. The name change to Tiffany's was in the mid seventies and I'd say 1978. You'll find references to Level 42 and Big Country playing the Locarno in 1984 so it did revert from Tiffany's back to the Locarno. I'm taking a guess here but I think it became a casino in 1991.

The soul blog is correct but it was long before disco which really didn't take off till after Saturday Night fever.

here's the "truth"

http://www.cantstopwontstop.com/blog/2003/12/ni...

"In a follow-up article printed in The Guardian two years ago, Mr. Cohn said he based his piece on a young man he knew in England. "My story was a fraud," he wrote. "I'd only recently arrived in New York. Far from being steeped in Brooklyn street life, I hardly knew the place. As for Vincent, my story's hero, he was largely inspired by a Shepherd's Bush mod whom I'd known in the Sixties, a one-time king of Goldhawk Road."

I'm off to correct wikipedia

felonious

admin · 1 year ago

brilliant thats made my night, what a great scoop for the mods again.... thanks for the article frank.... Now I wonder if the same person was responsible for SNF and Quad ?

Janny · 1 year ago

Would echo the comments on Virtual mitchell and Glasgow Story - have found a few errors myself!

Whereas us at Glasgow Museums - we know what we're talking about!(?)

There is a blue 1960 Vespa ( REG no 498 CGB) going into the new Riverside Museum, was supposed to be accompanied by a Mods and Rockers story but they couldn't get enough first hand info so it has been postponed! Maybe I could have words with my colleagues???

Sorry admin there aint no Lammys in the collection!

admin · 1 year ago

Janny we should get you an A Team from the list here ...

N.G. MODS · 1 year ago

Just been checking my articles, and I can confirm that Secret Affair and Squire played at Tiffanys on Sunday 2nd December 1979 as part of "THE I-SPY DANCING IN THE STREET TOUR"

Charlie · 1 year ago

Hi Felonius, I was fascinated to know that Otis, Booker T. The M.G's and The Mar-Keys' played the Locarno,  I only recently found out The Mar-key's lead singer Ronnie Stoots(stage name Ronnie Angel) designed the famous Stax logo we have all been dancing too, and the whole stax sound and formula was based on The Temptations "Don't Look Back" written by Smokey Robinson/Ronnie White released October 1965, Dave Porter sussed out the structure, the brass and horn section you hear on all Stax recordings was dubbed "The German Echo" by Issac Hayes and Dave Porter, this was their answer to "The Motown Sound" The Stax heartbeat was known as "The Big Six" 4 members of the M.G,s and Hayes and Porter, the very much and underrated Al Bell, is and was "The Berry Gordy  Of Stax", no Al Bell,no Stax!

Charlie · 1 year ago

Some rare info for all Booker .T and The M.G's fans, there is the first Stax Movie Soundtrack called "UpTight" directed by Jules Dassin, an all -black cast remake of John Ford's 1935 classic "The Informer", on the soundtrack there is a song called "Johnny,I Love You", unique as it contains the one and only,full fledged Booker T. vocal on an M.G's. record, after the soundtrack was released in February 1969 came the classic "Time Is Tight"  this had been originally written for a James Coburn movie called "Duffy" ( I kid you not,folks,) The movie producers requested the publishing rights, but for some unknown reason Stax refused, right up untill the "Up Tight" movie, the song remained untitled. All these facts are contained in the "Story Of Stax" by Rob Bowman pages 172 and 173 if you are lucky enough to track a copy down. Charlie News At Ten, Maryhill!