Chubby Checker just didn’t know what he started when he belted out his famous hit song The Twist. He recorded a version in 1959 and by the following year millions of young people were doing the new dance called ... The Twist.
And when he sang another song called Let’s Twist Again in 1961 the craze was everywhere, including Glasgow’s Dennistoun Palais, where these enthusiastic youngsters were giving the dance routine their all.
The city venue, which had opened in 1922, was the biggest dance hall in Glasgow, with a capacity for 1800. It was said that 10 times round the dance floor represented a mile.
In July 1966, the Denny Pally announced plans to reduce its dance space to just a small basement, with a much larger area set aside for roller skating. It was later turned into a supermarket, but there are now flats on the site.
As for The Twist ... well, the song is still played on radio and the dance is still popular, particularly at weddings and parties as older people remember the vitality of their youth.
If this was the view from your window then you would find plenty to interest you. One Glasgow resident saw something moving everywhere they looked as their eyes took in these bridges over the River Clyde in 1965.
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