Glasgow Venue 4 – ABC

Geographically Preston has always been an advantageous centre point of the West Coast main line resulting in reaching London or Glasgow/Edinburgh in a 2.5-hour rail journey. The trips North were infinitely more financially viable and aesthetically pleasing than the more expensive trips to the South.

Thus, Uncle George, John Dewhurst and I could be found in a train carriage in June 2005 heading up to a Mogwai gig in Glasgow. We lodged in the Premier Inn at the western end of Sauchiehall Street, adjacent to Charing Cross train station. After a couple of bevvies and some tea at a Chinese buffet establishment, we headed in high spirits to the venue to identify some stage times, only to discover to our chagrin that the gig had been cancelled due to the drummer having incurred an injury.

The disappointment was further compounded when after returning home I discovered an e-mail informing in advance of the cancellation, but this was in the days when I only checked my messages sporadically!

We encountered a gracious chap on a laptop who undertook a search for alternate gigs in Glasgow, but no viable options were unearthed. As the night now had no primary focus it morphed into an extensive pub crawl with memories of a late cellar bar supping Kronenbourg Blanc, a beer which I have not touched since.

Kronenbourg Blanc Jimmy? – Not for me thankyou! Image Credit beercrank.ca

In the morn, John was on an earlier train than us and his fragile nodder was not aided by a group of lads heading to Download Festival and their resultant noisy tuneage! George and I stumbled around the Glasgow hills and hollows before catching an afternoon train. Due to George’s Virgin train role, we very fortuitously garnered a first-class seat and had recovered sufficiently to sample some hair of the dog vino on the return leg home.

The gig was rescheduled for 18/08/05 but only John and I could attend as George couldn’t obtain the time off work but for the two of us it had now become a matter of principle to attend! The gig was at the ABC on Sauchiehall Street which had opened as a concert hall that year with Sum 41 being the opening day act. Mogwai are always fierce advocates of Glasgow venues so had set up an early gig there. I still wish I could have caught them playing at the likes of Nice and Sleazy, a small local bar, earlier in the career but to be fair I have not fallen short in my Mogwai attendances!

The ABC name sparked memories of it being one of the two main cinemas in Preston alongside the Odeon and the Pearl and Dean adverts they used to play. I was more of an Odeon boy, or the Palace in Longridge so can only recall visiting once to watch Jaws 2.

The ABC has a rich history opening in 1875 and has at different points been a theatre, circus, dancehall, ice skating rink and a cinema. In May 1896, it hosted Glasgow’s first public film showing. The cinema closed for the last time in 1999 and was renovated into a 1300 capacity hall. It operated as a venue for 13 years, until on 15/06/18 the Glasgow School of Art caught fire and the flames ripped through the ABC’s turquoise roof, however the 143-year-old entrance remained standing. The latest I heard was that sadly the property was due to be demolished.   

In the gig, we encountered a couple of other lads from Preston who had also attended the original aborted event. It was a sonic attack with their intent displayed by opening with ‘Glasgow Mega Snake’ and the main set including ‘Summer’, ‘Were No Here’, ‘New Paths to Helicon Part 1’ and ‘2 Rights Make 1 Wrong’. The encore incorporated ‘Mogwai Fear Satan’ and ‘Like Herod’. We departed with ears ringing and glad that we made the return sabbatical trip to see them.