Classic Grand under new ownership

It has been over two years since Glasgow’s Classic Grand opened its doors to the public, hosting a week long series of free events to celebrate its arrival. After recently coming under new ownership the venue is looking to re-establish itself as the top location for gigs and club nights in the city.

Classic Grand manager Luigi Aseni, booker Ally Gray and DJ Forbes Manson took ownership of the venue earlier this year. “We’ve always been blessed with good acts because the venue is in an excellent location,” says Luigi. “Previously we have had Adele, Grandmaster Flash, Hercules and Love Affair, Feeder, Goose and Hue and Cry. Quite a few aftershow parties are hosted here - one of the first events we had was the Babyshambles aftershow party and the New Order one followed that. The last ever Triptych chose us to host some of their events and Celtic Connections will be making an appearance in the venue next year.”

Since its opening Classic Grand has been seen as an alternative to the Cathouse and the out-of-town Soundhaus. Nights such as Decadence, Diversion and Hell mixed electro and rock in surroundings that proved popular. Barry Douglas is one of the venue’s main DJs after he left his residency at the Cathouse in September this year. Barry plays alongside Forbes most nights and the two have a long history together, dating back to a residency at Bamboo and the creation of the internet forum Alternative Nation.

March this year saw the beginning of the split-level rock and punk hybrid that is Absolution and Damnation. Taking place on Fridays and Saturdays the nights specialise in all things punk, metal, industrial, hardcore and emo.

“Our roots are very much in alternative rock, but we don’t want to be just a rock venue,” says Forbes.

“We’re constantly gearing the bands we book towards the nights we put on. We try and take the requests we get from regulars about the bands they want to see here and match them up with a local band to act as support. We have a lot of regulars and we’re trying to build a sense of community here. When people say what they do and don’t like about the club we listen, we’ve introduced birthday guest list and certain drinks based on the feedback we get.”

As a venue we’re growing, definitely. On Tuesday nights we’ve introduced an open mic night and for our birthday celebrations we had a lot of guests performing - Shitdisco, Killer Kitsch and Shaun Ryder all DJed. Grandmaster Flash returned, which was a sell out night, and Dub Pistols made their debut here.”

Ultimately, Classic Grand has its sights set on being one of the important music venues in Glasgow. “Ideally we want artists to consider us as a venue for their Glasgow dates in the same way that they think about King Tut’s just now. Currently I’d say we’re between The Garage and King Tut’s in terms of a live music venue.”

Classic Grand certainly has diversity on its side. With future plans including Celtic Connections and a possible foray into the increasingly popular territory of burlesque (Classic Grand hosted the Club Noir New Year party in 2006), it certainly can’t be pigeonholed as simply a rock venue.
“Classic Grand is making a name for itself, we’ve got the Presets appearing here later this year and we’re considering hosting some kind of art festival next year. We’ve got a passionate team working here and a unique venue. The whole place is very art-deco, it looks like something from the Titanic. It’s most impressive. I know we’re going to do very well.”