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Glasgow Live
Glasgow Live
National
Holly Lennon

Glasgow's electronic music scene celebrating milestone year as council urged to mark it

A motion has been put forward by the council to mark milestone anniversaries of venues and club nights intrinsic to Glasgow's electronic music scene.

In 2022, the Sub Club will celebrate its 35th anniversary while Optimo club night will be marking 25 years and record and music shop Rubadub will be hitting 30.

To mark the anniversaries, a local councillor has called for the council and its cultural body Glasgow Life, to create ways for the public to celebrate and learn the story of electronic music in Glasgow.

Councillor Jon Molyneux said: "These businesses have helped Glasgow establish an enduring national and international reputation for producing and enjoying high quality electronic, house, and techno music.

"Council recognises their substantial cultural and economic impact on the city and their role in encouraging and nurturing a steady stream of talented DJs and producers, many of whom have gone on to achieve international success, and that this continues today.

"Council thanks their respective founders and key figures for their contributions to the city of Glasgow."

Mr Molyneux said he believes that there is an 'important opportunity' to better tell the story of electronic music in the city and highlight the contribution of these and other Glasgow nightclubs, club nights, promoters, DJs, producers, record shops, and related creative industries.

He also urged the importance of continuing to support the music industry business following the covid pandemic, including "direct business support and ensuring they are not put at risk from neighbouring development through correct application of the Agent of Change principle in planning policy."

Sub Club will have even more reason to celebrate having faced permanent closure during the pandemic.

The venue was at one point in need of £90,000 to keep them going during the prolonged closure.

Speaking at the time, bosses said they had faced 'countless challenges' throughout the club's existence and that it had been a 'labour of love for all concerned for more than three decades'.

Sub Club opened below ground at 22 Jamaica Street in 1987, becoming a giant of Glasgow's clubbing scene.

As well as a lengthy lockdown, the club has also overcome a fire in a neighbouring building in 1999 that caused enough damage to keep the club closed for three years. It eventually rose once again in 2002.

Optimo club night also launched in 1997, going on to define the musical landscape of Glasgow.

The club night continued for 13 years, with the likes of Franz Ferdinand and LCD Soundsystem performing live.

This year, JD Twitch and Wilkes will be celebrating 25 years since they first linked up to form Optimo.

As for Rubadub, it first opened its doors in August 1992 under the stewardship of Martin McKay and Wilba Sandison.

The record store and vinyl distributor first started life on Glen Street in Paisley, before moving to the Virginia Galleries, followed by a short period of time on King Street.

A true institution in every sense of the word, Rubadub - on Howard Street - is unique in not only being regarded as being a pivotal part in the emergence of Glasgow’s dance music scene, but it also remains at its core.

It found its current home, around the corner from The Sub Club, in the early 2000s.

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