THE city's clubbing landscape may have changed dramatically over the years but there has been one constant - and that is legendary night spot Sub Club who are gearing up to celebrate their 30th birthday.

The Jamaica Street venue officially opened its doors on April 1, 1987, and since then it has become a cultural icon for ravers across the globe.

Managing Director Mike Grieve has been a key figure in guiding the club through those three decades after joining Sub Club full time in 1994.

"We have always stayed true to what we think we should be doing. We have never followed fashion," he offered as an explanation over why the venue has been more successful than other city night spots.

Having started its origins as a club night, Mike explained that Sub Club was held in various venues across the city including the Cotton Club in 1980s.

It then took over the Saturday night slot at Lucifers, and when that premises closed, it was reopened as Sub Club.

When Mike came on board, the club already had a reputation for giving clubbers that unique house and techno sound, and attracting some of the world's best DJs.

Mike said: "Like most stuff around music in Glasgow the people is the first thing you would mention.

"The Glasgow audience really makes such a difference. All the world’s greatest DJs have played here. They all say that the crowd is the best they have ever played to.

"The space also lends itself to the type of thing we do. Its very intense when it is going full tilt. There is something about the space that works really well.

"Way back in the 50s it was a kind of speakeasy jazz joint and I believe that some of the real greats of the jazz scene at that time played in here. It feels like music is in the soul of the place somehow."

The venue is perhaps one of the few in the city that just oozes coolness. It is a natural thing that has never come across as artificial and it is for this reason that Sub Club has attracted many celebrity clubbers.

Mike said: "We never ever speak about them when they come because we want people to come here and feel relaxed.

"We don’t want people coming here and thinking. 'oh God they phoned the papers or whatever'."

He added: "Keira Knightly came here a few times when she was filming in Scotland. There has been quite a lot of real famous people but no one makes a fuss over them.

"People like that come here because they aren’t going to get people pestering the life out of them."

The ride to 30 has, however, not been a smooth one for the venue as the music was switched off for good in 1999 after a fire in a neighbouring building forced the closure of Sub Club for three years.

Mike said: "If we had known in November 1999 that we were going to be closed for three years we would have never persevered.

"The club wasn’t damaged at first at all. There was some water damage from the Fire Brigade. It was the demolition of the remains of the building next door which damaged this building. They had to rebuild the whole end of the building.

"You could have come in the same week after the fire and had a party."

Another blow came when their dance neighbour The Arches' nightclub arm was shut down by Glasgow City Council's Licensing Board in 2015. This eventually lead to the administration of the venue.

Mike said: "Unfortunately for The Arches, whatever happened there, I think the city lost a cultural institution. It won't come back. That’s depressing if I am honest.

"I think our business very often is the focus of when things go wrong and there is a lot less concentration on how important it is to the culture of the city.

"I think almost everybody you know met their partner in a club. It is where we go to have fun, it where we go to party and to meet people. "We form relationships that last a lifetime in nightclubs but the focus is always on the negative things. And those negative things happen in every walk of life."

The cultural significance of the Sub Club, however, is not lost on anyone with Michael explaining city students often to choose to further their education in Glasgow to be near the club.

"People regularly tell us that they go to university in Glasgow because of the club," he boasted

He continued: "The club is genuinely renowned around the globe. I think sometimes people don’t realise the cultural significance of electronic music and clubs, and how important Glasgow is in that scene."

The club plan to celebrate their birthday in style with lots of events including a set by Mr Fingers aka Larry Heard planned for throughout this year.

It is attracting this calibre of artist, Mr Fingers is known for the house anthem Can You Feel It?, that has kept Sub Club at the forefront of their game.

Mike said: "I am always most proud of the last night that we did. Its always about the now.

"Although we are celebrating 30 years, it is always about the moment that we are in.

"If we spend too much time looking back and being proud at previous achievements, we are not concentrating enough on the next one."

He added: "The key thing for us is pushing new music forward, as long as we do that we can be here in 50 years time."

For more on the Sub Club 30th birthday celebrations, visit http://subclub.co.uk/