GLASGOW in the 80s was a city in transition.
(It was also a musical hotspot, with the likes of U2, Altered Images, Orange Juice and New Order playing at city venues.)
Shaking off the last remnants of its industrial, gritty and occasionally grim past and reinventing itself as European City of Culture, it had a bold new vision.
Photographer Martin McClenaghan’s remarkable archive of the time has now been turned into a limited edition photobook, launched at Mono in Glasgow on Monday (November 20).
This independent publication from Chris Brickley (whose last photobooks 16 YEARS, Saints & Sinners, and The Inner Circle were sell-out successes) features Glasgow cityscapes, architecture, the Clyde, markets, portraits, political demos, work, leisure and holidays.
The book also includes some of the key gigs of the time, from The Fall and Cramps at Glasgow Tech, to Altered Images at Tiffany's and New Order at the Plaza Ballroom. Orange Juice, U2, Bad Manners and Test Dept also played the city...
“Many of the iconic genres and youth tribes are on show, with fans as the lifeblood of the live music experience,” explains Chris.
“Post Punk City turns the lens on Glasgow during its period of transition, from the last remnants of the city of urban myth through to its emergence as European Capital of Culture in 1990.”
He adds: “McClenaghan focuses on the city’s architecture, river and the people at its heart. The typical warmth, humour, resilience and sense of community shines through, tempered by poverty and latent violence.
“We see bustling streets and markets, crumbling tenements and towering blocks, demos and marches, parks and ships, work and leisure.
“This is truly the ‘post-punk era’ with vibes and scenes to match - sights and sounds in context. Beauty and ugliness, hope and menace. It’s all here in a largely-unpublished and vital archive. If you didn’t live it, you can now.”
READ MORE: Meet the man who has been touring with Young Fathers
A “tender foreword” from Primal Scream frontman Bobby Gillespie, who lived in a Glasgow tenement in his early childhood, sums it up, says Chris.
Bobby writes: "So thank God then, for post-punk music and the many great concerts that were available for us lucky teenagers to see most weeks. I was in attendance at most of the gigs that Martin photographed.”
He adds: “If, like me, you came of age in Glasgow in the late 1970s, or early 1980s, then the photographs in this wonderful book will transport you straight back there. If you didn't, then this book will show you what it looked and felt like for us that did.''
Post-Punk City is available from Monorail on King Street and Decadent Riot in Kelvinbridge or directly by emailing scotgigsrelived@outlook.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here