The Garage (night club)
Encyclopedia
The Garage is a music venue and nightclub
located at 490 Sauchiehall Street
in Glasgow
which opened in 1994, it is Scotland
's largest nightclub. The Main Hall was formerly a ballroom known as The Mayfair, although it has since been remodelled by the addition of an extension to the Mezzanine
level. Apart from the Main Hall, other areas of the venue include; the R'n'B-themed G2 club in the basement, the Indie rock
-themed Attic, Snapshots Bar and The Engine Room Cocktail
Bar. As well as hosting night events, The Garage also offers day-time events such as their weekly Zumba
and salsa classes, which are available to the public. The main entrance has the cab of a truck projecting out over the doors to the venue. As a gig venue, it is primarily known as a stepping stone for bands which are attempting to make their way to the top. The Garage also has rooms available to be hired for public events, Band Room, Lounge, Balcony, Cocktail Bar, Attic and G2. They can cater for over 300 people or provide smaller, exclusive rooms for private parties.
, Fall Out Boy
, Maroon 5
and comedians such as Frankie Boyle
and John Bishop (comedian)
.
. The musician is now better known as Prince (musician)
.
Tam Coyle, the man who had been tasked with setting up the concert in 1995 was asked at 2pm to meet Prince’s tour manager, who had said that Prince wanted to play a gig after his show at the SECC. Tam suggested The Garage but when he went to the venue to set it up, none of the staff believed him. “I told them I was offering them the best experience of their lives, but they wanted to know where the hidden cameras were.” “They thought I was working for Beadle's About.”
The gig was agreed upon at 4pm that day, later on that night tensions were starting to rise. “We opened the doors at 11pm and 800 people piled in and waited. Then a big articulated truck turned up, but still no Prince.” Prince did turn up later on that night and, ignoring his dressing room, went to spend time with the rest of the band on the balcony, listening to the club music. However, if Prince did not feel that the vibe was right, he would not perform, and this made a lot of people anxious. He eventually played, and his set lasted until 3am. After which he ran out onto Sauchiehall Street and “The Rolls Royce reversed at 70 miles an hour, the back door of the car swung open and Prince dived into the back seat like an Olympic swimmer.”
The Garage released a statement saying "The thoughts of all management and staff are with the victims and their families. The stewards are long established employees who were simply carrying out their duties in a proper and conscientious manner."
A later article describes the trial of the men who were accused of the assault. "The accused men, Admir Gharda, 26, Sokol Perpalaj, 25, and Orion Gjoka, 20, deny charges of stabbing and attempting to murder four nightclub employees, James Mead, Peter Pedersen, William McKinnon, and Lee Allan. Mr Perpalaj and Mr Gjoka deny a charge of conducting themselves in a disorderly manner, shouting and repeatedly demanding entry to the Sauchiehall Street club and committing a breach of the peace.All three also deny screaming and shouting, gesturing aggressively, refusing to leave the premises and attempting to force entry and did commit a breach of the peace."
The view claim that the majority of people who frequent the garage are university students who usually dress casually considering it is a nightclub. "some might say scruffy". However this is accepted as the garage is often host to live gigs where it isn't required to dress up.
"If the place is empty it looks awful. The dancefloors sit sad and empty and people don't tend to stay for very long. However, once an event has got going, The Garage is lively, and it fills up with people who are prepared to pull a few mad dance moves."
They say the garage is a popular place for fairly well known bands to play before they start playing at larger venues, and sum up the review stating "The Garage is not a remarkable venue, but it is a good place to see your favourite band."
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
located at 490 Sauchiehall Street
Sauchiehall Street
Sauchiehall Street is one of the main shopping/business streets in the city centre of Glasgow, Scotland. Along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, it forms the main shopping area of Glasgow, containing the majority of Glasgow's high street and chain stores.Although commonly associated with the...
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...
which opened in 1994, it is 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...
's largest nightclub. The Main Hall was formerly a ballroom known as The Mayfair, although it has since been remodelled by the addition of an extension to the Mezzanine
Mezzanine
Mezzanine may refer to:* Mezzanine , an intermediate floor between main floors of a building* Mezzanine, in technology, can refer to a thin sheet of plastic insulating different parts of circuitry from each other in cramped environments, such as laptop interiors* Mezzanine board, or daughterboard,...
level. Apart from the Main Hall, other areas of the venue include; the R'n'B-themed G2 club in the basement, the Indie rock
Indie rock
Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...
-themed Attic, Snapshots Bar and The Engine Room Cocktail
Cocktail
A cocktail is an alcoholic mixed drink that contains two or more ingredients—at least one of the ingredients must be a spirit.Cocktails were originally a mixture of spirits, sugar, water, and bitters. The word has come to mean almost any mixed drink that contains alcohol...
Bar. As well as hosting night events, The Garage also offers day-time events such as their weekly Zumba
Zumba
Zumba is the largest dance fitness program in the world, based on a Latin-inspired dance fitness program created by dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez in Colombia during the 1990s....
and salsa classes, which are available to the public. The main entrance has the cab of a truck projecting out over the doors to the venue. As a gig venue, it is primarily known as a stepping stone for bands which are attempting to make their way to the top. The Garage also has rooms available to be hired for public events, Band Room, Lounge, Balcony, Cocktail Bar, Attic and G2. They can cater for over 300 people or provide smaller, exclusive rooms for private parties.
Notable Appearances
Throughout the years, while not being a vastly well-known club outside of Glasgow, the Garage has hosted many well known acts such as Tinchy StryderTinchy Stryder
Kwasi Danquah III , better known by his pseudonyms Tinchy Stryder and Star In The Hood, is a Ghanaian British recording artist, music executive, A&R executive, and businessman...
, Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy
Fall Out Boy is an American rock band from Wilmette, Illinois, formed in 2001. The band consists of vocalist, guitarist and composer Patrick Stump, bassist and lyricist Pete Wentz, guitarist Joe Trohman, and drummer Andy Hurley. The band released five studio albums from 2003–2008...
, Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
and comedians such as Frankie Boyle
Frankie Boyle
Francis Martin Patrick "Frankie" Boyle is a British comedian and writer, well known for his pessimistic, often controversial sense of humour...
and John Bishop (comedian)
John Bishop (comedian)
John Joseph Bishop is an award-winning comedian.His television debut came on The Panel. As an actor, he has appeared in the E4 teen drama Skins as Mr Fitch, father of twins, Katie and Emily and in the Ken Loach film Route Irish...
.
List of appearances
| Year | Appearances |
|---|---|
| 1994 | Prince, Pulp, The Pretenders. |
| 1995 | Ash, Spiritualized, The Shirehorses. |
| 1996 | Marilyn Manson, Fun Lovin Criminals. |
| 1997 | Ian Dury, Tricky. |
| 1998 | Travis, Feeder, Gomez. |
| 1999 | Tommy Lee, Flaming Lips, Mercury Rev, Rolf Harris. |
| 2000 | Jeff Healy Band, The Delgados, Less Than Jake, The Fall, Billy Bragg, Soulfly. |
| 2001 | New Found Glory, The Proclaimers, Gary Numan, Reel Big Fish, The Shirehorses, The Wildhearts, Rolf Harris, Ocs. |
| 2002 | Biffy Clyro, Echo & The Bunnymen, Murderdolls, Austin Powers, Mighty Mighty Bosstones. |
| 2003 | Daniel Beddingfield, Ian Hunter, Killing Joke, Primal Scream, Athlete, Dandy Warhols, Anthrax, The Rezillos, Frank Black, Funeral For A Friend, Average White Band. |
| 2004 | Maroon 5, Bloodhound Gang, Mc5, Embrace, Babyshambles, The Ordinary Boys, Goldie Lookin Chain, The Bravery, Mark Lanegan, The Damned . |
| 2005 | Hayseed Dixie, James Blunt, Hot Hot Heat, Europe, Mudvayne, Hard-Fi, Trivium, The Undertones. |
| 2006 | Hayseed Dixie, INME, Graham Coxon, Sevendust, Anti Flag, Papa Roach, W.A.S.P, Saxon, Stone Sour. |
| 2007 | Cute is What We Aim For, Fall Out Boy, Saxon, The Almighty, Lordi, The Ataris, The Mad Caddies, New Modal Army, The Almighty, Paradise Lost, Wildhearts, Reel Big Fish, The Bloodhound Gang, Hit The Lights, Razorlight. |
| 2008 | Anthema, The Rifles, Go Audio, Uriah Heep, The Gaslight Anthem, Keane, Rev Horton Heat, Underoath, Gym Class Heroes, The Automatic, Kill Hannah, Bring Me The Horizon, Wed 13, Sonata Arctica. |
| 2009 | Tinchy Stryder, Boys Like Girls, Escape the Fate, All American Rejects, Forever The Sickest Kids, The Bronx, Fucked Up, Rolo Tomassi, Rhod Gilbert, Andy Parsons, 36 Crazy Fists, Russel Kane, Frankie Boyle, Cobra Starship, King Creosote, Elliot Minor, New York Dolls, Elliot Minor, New Found Glory, Hank Williams III, Juliette Lewis. |
| 2010 | Thrice, Fear Factory, Daniel Sloss, Richard Herring, John Bishop, Rich Hall, Zebrahead, Madina Lake, Kids In Glass Houses, Fozzy, BMTH, Mayday Parade, Travie McCoy, Midnight Beast. |
| 2011 | We The Kings, Roll Deep, Cold War Kids, Darwin Deez, Terrorvision, And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead, Rival Schools, Comeback Kid, Pop Will Eat itself, Dan Clarke, Greg Davies, Daniel Sloss, Russell Kane. |
Prince's Appearance
“The artist formerly known as” helped launch the nightclub a number of years ago, by putting on a show after a concert at the Scottish Exhibition and Conference CentreScottish Exhibition and Conference Centre
The Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre , located on the north bank of the River Clyde, in Glasgow, is Scotland's largest exhibition centre....
. The musician is now better known as Prince (musician)
Prince (musician)
Prince Rogers Nelson , often known simply as Prince, is an American singer, songwriter, musician, and actor. Prince has produced ten platinum albums and thirty Top 40 singles during his career. Prince founded his own recording studio and label; writing, self-producing and playing most, or all, of...
.
Tam Coyle, the man who had been tasked with setting up the concert in 1995 was asked at 2pm to meet Prince’s tour manager, who had said that Prince wanted to play a gig after his show at the SECC. Tam suggested The Garage but when he went to the venue to set it up, none of the staff believed him. “I told them I was offering them the best experience of their lives, but they wanted to know where the hidden cameras were.” “They thought I was working for Beadle's About.”
The gig was agreed upon at 4pm that day, later on that night tensions were starting to rise. “We opened the doors at 11pm and 800 people piled in and waited. Then a big articulated truck turned up, but still no Prince.” Prince did turn up later on that night and, ignoring his dressing room, went to spend time with the rest of the band on the balcony, listening to the club music. However, if Prince did not feel that the vibe was right, he would not perform, and this made a lot of people anxious. He eventually played, and his set lasted until 3am. After which he ran out onto Sauchiehall Street and “The Rolls Royce reversed at 70 miles an hour, the back door of the car swung open and Prince dived into the back seat like an Olympic swimmer.”
Attack on Bouncers
On the 12th of June 2001, one of the bouncers, Ped Peterson of age 30, was put into hospital in a critical condition after being stabbed. Him and three of his colleagues were attacked by a gang after refusing them entry due to them lacking proper identification. The other three doormen, Willie Mackinnon, 28, Lee Allan, 26 and Jamie Mede, 23, were also kept in hospital, however their conditions were stable. "Detectives said a row had taken place between the four stewards and the three attackers earlier in the evening when they were refused entry to the club. The men then returned later armed with weapons and attacked the doormen at around 0015 BST." All four of the doormen were stabbed by the attackers who eye witnesses described to be of "eastern european" appearance. Police treated the attack as attempted murder.The Garage released a statement saying "The thoughts of all management and staff are with the victims and their families. The stewards are long established employees who were simply carrying out their duties in a proper and conscientious manner."
A later article describes the trial of the men who were accused of the assault. "The accused men, Admir Gharda, 26, Sokol Perpalaj, 25, and Orion Gjoka, 20, deny charges of stabbing and attempting to murder four nightclub employees, James Mead, Peter Pedersen, William McKinnon, and Lee Allan. Mr Perpalaj and Mr Gjoka deny a charge of conducting themselves in a disorderly manner, shouting and repeatedly demanding entry to the Sauchiehall Street club and committing a breach of the peace.All three also deny screaming and shouting, gesturing aggressively, refusing to leave the premises and attempting to force entry and did commit a breach of the peace."
Lady Sovereign Bust Up
In June 2010, following her concert at King Tut's, Lady Sovereign and her entourage appeared at The Garage Nightclub to continue their night of partying. Her crowd became particulary noisy and rowdy which lead to two of her party being ejected from the nightclub by the bouncers for bad behaviour. After this, Lady Sovereign herself became very aggressive towards the bouncers, which eventually lead to her leaving the nightclub with the door being slammed shut in her face. An insider said "Lady Sovereign and her gang were in a noisy mood. The problem started when two of her group began spitting their drinks. They were then asked to leave."Freak Snowfall
The Garage, along with Buchanan Bus Station and Central Hotel, had to play host to thousands of stranded members of the public after a freak snowfall in March 2006 left them without a way home. Due to the snow all taxis, buses and trains were grounded, leaving them with no method of transport home. the police contacted the 3 venues described as "warm areas" to shelter members of the public. Police say they were fortunate that only 3000 people were stranded as more may have caused a more alarming situation. Once safe, 44 gritters and 130 staff were deployed to the streets to clear the roads to allow the people to get home. After the incident, police now operate a weekly city centre plan incase of a similar situation.Reviews
The ViewGlasgow gave The Garage 3 out of 5 stars stating "At The Garage there's space to dance, jump and shout. And if there's a live act you'll have a great time." However, the review marks The Garage down on its atmosphere, stating "Unless it's packed for a live gig, The Garage lacks personality."The view claim that the majority of people who frequent the garage are university students who usually dress casually considering it is a nightclub. "some might say scruffy". However this is accepted as the garage is often host to live gigs where it isn't required to dress up.
"If the place is empty it looks awful. The dancefloors sit sad and empty and people don't tend to stay for very long. However, once an event has got going, The Garage is lively, and it fills up with people who are prepared to pull a few mad dance moves."
They say the garage is a popular place for fairly well known bands to play before they start playing at larger venues, and sum up the review stating "The Garage is not a remarkable venue, but it is a good place to see your favourite band."