A ghost sign from a popular post-war outlet in Glasgow has been spotted by a local man, on a building which many will recognise as one of the city's most popular record stores.
Norry Wilson, who runs the Lost Glasgow Facebook group, posted pictures of the decades-old ghost sign. The building at 232 Battlefield Road had a previous life as an Army and Navy store - as the sign reads. More recently, it had been occupied by Ihnen Electronics until they closed up shop a couple of weeks ago.
Army and Navy (A&N) stores spread across the country in post-war years, selling surplus kit such as overalls, heavy trousers and boots.
Many of the A&N stores began to disappear in the 60s and early 70s. After the Battlefield Road outlet closed up shop, the renowned Gloria's Record Bar occupied the space.
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Norry, who spotted the sign, explained the outlets to Glasgow Live: “With so many men still working in outdoor manual jobs, they provided cheap, warm and heavy wearing working clothes. Army and RAF greatcoats were also great favourites with students.
“I had no idea that the (Army & Navy) signage was still in situ, which obviously predates Gloria’s.”
After the Battlefield Road A&N store closed, one of Glasgow’s musical institutions opened up. Gloria’s Record Bar, rumoured to have 100,000 records and tapes on display at any time, was a favourite with fans and musicians alike.
The Blint family, who ran the record store, attributed their success to a great working relationship with sellers. Howard Blint, managing director, once said: “We are in the privileged position of having priority in deliveries from record manufacturers.
“If there is a shortage of certain records, we, along with 20 or 30 other shops in Britain, get the first delivery.”
Many will remember their record tokens often unwrapped on Christmas day as a gift - which could then be run down to Gloria’s to trade it, as the business made the smart decision to open on Christmas Day.
As legend goes Gloria’s was born after the Blint family mother, Betty, was struggling to keep her dress shop in Battlefield afloat. After her daughter Gloria brought home some records, Betty thought to begin selling vinyl in the store.
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In its beginnings, ten of the most popular records of the time were sold alongside the dresses - and the vinyl stock rapidly increased, with the dresses soon pulled from the racks. The Blint family soon purchased the shop next door, extending the store into two different areas - ‘pop’ and ‘adult records’.
Howard said of the extension: “Now the records don’t get mixed up and the customers don’t get in each other’s way. Everyone is happy.”
Norry recalled knowledge of the record store, telling us: “I knew Gloria’s has been about there somewhere, although I’m too young to remember it.
“A couple of years back, storm damage took down some existing signage to reveal part of the original Gloria’s sign.”
The business extended into a second premises at 204 Springburn Road, and enjoyed decades of success before eventually closing its doors. While the store is long gone, Norry is holding out hope that the signage here - and on many of Glasgow’s lost outlets - will remain in place.
He told us: “While some ghost signs are great examples of signwriters’ art, and should be preserved, others, like this, are a bit more workaday - and if/when a new business moves in they’ll want to put up their own signage - hopefully this ghost will stay in place, and simply be covered over, to reveal itself another day.”
