STILETTO heels, multi-coloured petticoats and dance lessons.

A night out the dancing sounds like it took a lot more effort back in the heyday of the Glasgow dancehalls.

At Easterhouse's Platform, dozens of former Saturday night ballroom stars gathered to watch six piece band That Swing Sensation fill the hall with the sounds of yesteryear as dance troupe Boogie Box Jive filled the floor with fantastic moves.

For Jean Ramsay, the afternoon event brought back her own memories of stepping out.

The 82-year-old, whose favourite haunts were the Playhouse and the Dennistoun Palais, said: "We were dancing daft.

"It was more about the dancing in my day, you liked to get up with a good dancer. You wouldn't have cared if it was the ugliest guy in the room if he could dance.

"I used to take dance lessons at a place in Muirhead where there were two professional dancers and you had to really dance or you were told to sit down."

For John Williamson, from Knightswood, the dancing was about having a great night with your mates.

John, 73, hung out at the FandF at the junction of Byres Road and Dumbarton Road, or at the Locarno.

"You just wanted to go out and have fun with your mates. There was no drinking or any of that," he said.

"We went out on a Thursday night and a Saturday night. I liked the jiving but I was just passable - you couldn't say fantastic.

"It was just a brilliant night, getting together, having a good laugh.

"You liked a Coke, all the American drinks, but there was no alcohol. The girls wouldn't go near you if you were drunk.

"I used to borrow my brother's sparkling jacket - not that he new I had it - and that helped me stand out from the crowd.

"I never put anything on my hair except Corporation Hair Oil... water, in other words."

One lady, whose story made her blush as so she asked not to be named, said she had an unfortunate event happen one evening at the dancing.

She met a young man at the Barrowlands Ballroom who was up dancing with her for the whole evening.

That night she had entered a competition to win some money - and her luck was in with a win to the tune of 14 shillings.

She said: "I thought I would do the decent thing and I split it with him - seven shillings each.

"He left without saying thank you. I didn't even get a lumber."

Betty Clark, from Craigend, shared her memories of St Andrew's Halls at Charing Cross and the Dennistoun Palais.

The 76-year-old remembers the special moves. She said: "We used to do The Moonie and it was a bit risky because the boys all wore Brylcreem in their hair and you would get it smeared on your cheek.

"The Plaza, at Eglinton Toll, was Grab a Granny, we used to call it. It was for the older women trying to get a man.

"I met my husband, George Cooper, at a house party and he was a wonderful dancer. We used to go out to the dancing on a Saturday night. Everybody did that then.

"We were married from 1961 to 1989 but he was killed, he was knocked down by a car.

"He was good looking, George. He was six foot tall with black hair. I had four boys with him and they're all like their father."

Lena Wallace, from Craigend, is convenor of the Craigend Seniors Club, and hotly disputes the Grab a Granny tag.

The 77-year-old said: "I went to the Albert, on Bath Street, and the Majestic on Sauchiehall Street or sometimes the Plaza at Eglinton Toll . It's nonsense that it was Grab a Granny - not in my day.

"When I went to the Albert they had a dance class downstairs - I did exams in ballroom dancing, bronze, silver and gold.

"We did jiving as well, everyone learned.

"We had lovely dresses we wore and high heels - stilettos. And they really were stilettos. If you accidentally stepped into a man's turn up on his trousers, the heel would go right through.

"Peerie heels were the next fashion after stilettos and easier to dance in."

Rita Thomson, also from Craigend, has been married to Pat for 50 years.

The 75-year-old has fond memories of her nights on the tiles. She said: "Everybody went to the Barrowlands because you could jive. It was open from 12pm til 2am on Bank Holiday weekends and people would start queueing outside at 10.30pm to get in.

"The Locarno was the fanciest, more upmarket, and you went there for a special occasion.

"I know the Barrowlands has a reputation now but when I was young it wasn't that type of place. There was no alcohol at all. Some of the girls would sneak a drink in - you weren't allowed into pubs in those days, you'd be murdered, so some would bring in gin or whiskey in their handbags.

"But that wasn't for me. I would have been terrified it got back to my mother.

"You could go and not have a drink and still have a good time, that wasn't a problem."

Being able to move was vital for the young dancers out for a good night - and Rita didn't have far to go to learn.

She added: "I learned to dance from my older brothers and sisters round the living room.

"You could never refuse a dance. You could get put out if you turned a man down - he could go and tell the steward and you would be asked to leave.

"I didn't take a lumber, I only ever went with my mum.

"If you were the sort of girl who took a lumber then you would get a bad name about you. It wasn't about that - it was all about the dancing."