Latest News
This section aims to keep you up-to-date with the exposure the Apollo is getting in the media and on the net.
The day Rod Stewart's footwear raised Jock Stein's eyebrows - Glasgow Herald - 20/06/2023
Consider: its heyday was as long ago as the 1970s. In the decade that followed, the old place, which stood at the top of Renfield Street, and had been showing its age for an indecent number of years, was finally demolished after 12 years of unstinting service. Up in its place went a skyscraping cinema. Read the article here
Glasgow Apollo Live YouTube Channel
The channel will feature curated video content about the Glasgow Apollo as well as full and edited copies of the Glasgow Apollo (live) weekly simulcast which takes place on a Friday evening at 9:30pm on YouTube, Facebook and many more streaming sites. Click here to watch
Those crazy nights at the Glasgow Apollo - Glasgow Herald - 05/09/2015
WALK down a certain part of Glasgow's Renfrew Lane today – the part behind the cinema, the hotel and the Aussie pub – and you'll quickly realise it is nothing special. Just like any other lane, in fact. Recycling bins and puddles. Read the article here
Was the Apollo the ultimate iconic venue? from The Herald 09/09/2012
"IT opened 40 years ago this month, hosted most of the biggest names in rock and pop, from the Rolling Stones to The Who and Diana Ross, and closed down with a whimper in 1985." click to read the article.
"Shocking News" from The Herald 02/02/2012
"APOLLO Memories, the history of Glasgow's legendary music venue, has been updated and re-released by author Martin Kielty. In it he tells the story of Genesis playing the Apollo in 1973, when frontman Peter Gabriel went on stage to tell the rowdy crowd that they couldn't play that night as due to an electrical fault the stage was live.
The audience was not happy. When Gabriel asked: "You wouldn't want us to be electrocuted, would you?", 4000 Glaswegians shouted back: "Yes!""
Alice Cooper once asked David Bowie where he should play a concert in the UK as he could only fit in one venue and not a tour due to commitments. Bowie told him Glasgow Apollo. Read the full Money Marketing article here...
Def Leppard star Joe Elliott: I watched gig in Glasgow Apollo through peephole in door fearing balcony would collapse. "The crowds are mental and you've got to love that. We were privileged to experience the Glasgow Apollo as opening act for AC/DC in 1979 on their Highway To Hell tour" read the Daily Record article here...
Scott's Blog - McArthurs Rant
Check out the new blog by Apollomemories co-founder Scott McArthur.
The Temple of Apollo
11 Mar 2009, 11:30 on BBC Radio Scotland. A celebration of the Glasgow Apollo, Scotland's leading concert venue in the 1970s and 80s, which was demolished in 1987 following a fire. Details here
Saxondale
Steve Coogan's latest creation Saxondale mentions the Apollo in his pre-programme interview!
"The old Glasgow Apollo was wild; the balcony used to visibly bounce up and down. I was there with Lynyrd Skynyrd in ’75 when a midget fell from the first circle into the stalls. It was one hell of a shock, but I can laugh about it now. If I’m being honest, I could laugh about it then as well. I’m not proud of that."
Apollomemories the Book
Written by Martin Kielty in conjunction with the website, the book reveals the life and times of the venue.
To get your copy of the book , click this link BUY BOOK, then press the "Add" button underneath "About the author".
"...the wrinklies of rock and roll...." (Sunday Times 25 June 2006)
Our old mate Tom Morton gives us a mention in his article about the current crop of farewell tours in the Sunday Times (Scotland):
"And while the thousands of visitors to the Apollo Memories website have starry-eyed recollections of that massive, mouldering rock venue in Glasgow’s Renfield Street, the comforts of the Clyde Auditorium are kinder to their current sciatica and arthritis.
For Scott McArthur, founder of Apollo Memories, nostalgia is a potent force. “It’s pretty normal to reminisce about your youth — and when you were brought up in the central belt of industrial Scotland in the 1970s and 1980s, there were only a few ways of escaping from normal, everyday life.
“Music became an obsession for many and the spiritual home of live music was the Apollo.”
We're off to take some cod liver oil!
STARS LAUNCH APOLLO DVD - Shaken not stirred (Sunday Mail 5th March 2006)
Thanks to our old mate Billy Soan for the plug in the Mail:
"CHECK out a great new DVD called The Story Of The Glasgow Apollo which marks the 20th anniversary of the closure of the legendary venue.
I went to my first ever gig there, seeing The Who on October 21, 1971. The DVD - narrated by my pal Clare Grogan - features interviews with Midge Ure, Nazareth and Hugh Cornwell of The Stranglers."
Apollo Countdown DVD now available (Evening Times 23 January 2006)
Talisman's documentary production about the Glasgow Apollo is now available. The 90 minute presentation features interviews with members of the Apollo management team , musicians (including Midge Ure, Fish and Claire Grogan), fans and Apollomemories. Buy a copy of the DVD NOW for £12 + £2 p and p. Buy your copy from our shop or by emailing us at apollomemories@yahoo.co.uk.
We're on the Tele! (11 November 2005)
To celebrate the publication of Apollo Memories the book, BBC Reporting Scotland featured the website and book on the national Scottish news today. The feature can be watched by visiting our LINKS section.
CHILLY RESPONSE (HERALD 1 September 2005)
OUR story about guitarist Hank Marvin complaining about how cold the Apollo was in Glasgow reminded Paul Tucker of going to see performer and poet Ivor Cutler who walked on to a hushed crowd then immediately walked off, much to the crowd's puzzlement. He returned with a jacket around his shoulders and announced: "When I came into this industry, no-one told me there would be draughts."
COLD CALLING (HERALD 31 August 2005)
RECOLLECTIONS by fans of nights at Glasgow's long-lost rock venue, the Apollo, are being gathered for a book entitled Apollo Memories, which includes Gordon Ellis's memory of Hank Marvin of The Shadows stepping out on to the perennially dank auditorium's stage. Instead of shouting the inevitable and obvious "Hello Glasgow!" Hank proffered the immortal phrase: "God, it's perishing in here."
Rock 'n' Roll Heaven (SUNDAY MAIL 15 May 2005)
The Apollo story was featured in Sunday Mail (Scottish Newspaper) in May 2005. Article features Frank Lynch, Midge Ure, Colin Robertson and Apollomemories! Thanks to Billy Sloan from Apollomemories for writing this article - just shows that sometimes the press do listen!
