The story of the Barrowland is colourful, even by dance hall standards. Tradition has it that Margaret McIver, the extraordinary entrepreneur who, with her husband, James, built up the Barras market from one barrow selling fish and fruit, gave a dance for all her stallholders every Christmas. It was after finding the local St Mungo’s Halls already booked one year that she decided to build her own. The original collection of outdoor hand-barrows was covered over in 1926 after Maggie’s observation that the hawkers, having been out in all weather gathering their wares during the week, got the clothes washed and dried at the steamie and then hung them up at the weekend only to have it soaked by rain “so that it looked like washing hingin oot again”.
The Locarno was regarded as one of Glasgow’s top jive ballroom dancing venues for many years, and was popular with American servicemen during the Second World War for JitterBuggin. In the 1960s the name was changed to Tiffany’s, as discotheques became more fashionable with fashion conscious teenagers who were more into the R&B music than the old rock and roll. Dancing finished when the building was converted into a casino in the 1970s.
At the age of 14, Lulu joined a local group - The Gleneagles - and started playing club engagements in and around Glasgow and Edinburgh. Each Sunday evening, the group with Lulu in tow as lead singer, played at The Lindella Club - a popular Glasgow Mod Discotheque.
On one particular cold Glaswegian evening at The Lindella, Lulu was discovered singing by Marion Massey, who later became her manager and mentor … and who guided her to stardom. Says Lulu: “When I was fourteen, I was very lucky. I was discovered - to use a terrible term - by a person who was absolutely sincere. Since I was five, people had been coming up to me saying: ‘Stick with me, baby, and I’ll make you a star’. In fact, nobody ever did anything for me. Then Marion came along”.
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April 22nd, 2008 at 11:27 pm
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!
April 22nd, 2008 at 7:55 pm
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!
April 14th, 2008 at 11:33 pm
Janny we should get you an A Team from the list here …
April 14th, 2008 at 10:53 pm
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!