A Glasgow music venue is set to reopen after closing unexpectedly more than four years ago.

 

Barfly, on Clyde Street, formerly the 13th Note Club, played host to The Arctic Monkeys, Glasvegas and The Editors after it opened in 2002, but the venue's owners left music fans distraught when they shut its doors overnight in 2009.

Now local man Chris Queen is planning to revive the Clydeside venue and make it a staple of Glasgow's music scene again.

Chris, who has worked for the hotel chain Malmaison and nightclub group G1 in the past, said: "The building sat empty for a long time and it's a venue I had a lot of affection for.

"Everyone I talk to about it is so excited and they've all got a story about great nights they had in there.

"I used to go past it all the time, see it lying empty and think it was a missed opportunity.

"I kept thinking that someone could use that space to make something great out of it, so I decided to give it a shot."

Graffiti artist Rogue-One, who painted Mitchell Street's floating taxi, has been commissioned to create a piece especially for the new venue, which is set to reopen as Bar & Fly this Saturday.

Chris said: "We've not had to do anything major to the place - it's going to look pretty much as people remember it - downstairs definitely will.

"The upstairs bar is going to be a New-York loft style and will have more natural light, and a pool table."

Alpha Mitchell, the DJ who ran the old venue's most popular Funhouse night, will be taking the reigns at the bar's opening event, and owner Chris is hoping to confirm other big names for the lineup.

He said: "We've been talking to some very exciting people and we've got some great stuff in the pipeline."

hannah.rodger@ eveningtimes.co.uk