Twenty Years On...
Leader: The first week of April marks the 20th anniversary of a Glasgow institution, The Sub Club, an impressive achievement when you consider that the venue has always put cutting-edge music at the forefront of its operations.<br/><br/>Pull quote: ""Its success is largely due to fact that it's never followed fashion, but above all else, it's down to the people who've come to the club over the years that have really made it what it is.""
| 11 Apr 2007
Back in the mid '80s the 'Sub Club' was a soul, jazz, and funk club night running in several city centre venues. Promoted by resident DJ Graham Wilson, it eventually came to rest at Lucifer's on Jamaica Street. Wilson and local publican Greg McLeod purchased the basement club in late '86, re-naming it The Sub Club and opening for business on April Fool's Day in 1987.
Refusing to diversify the music or dilute its quality, the club was open Friday and Saturday nights, with DJs like Wilson, Segun, Bob Jeffries, Gerry MacGlauchlan, Yogi Haughton, Nick Peacock and notably, a young Harri all playing. "The music policy was dictated primarily by the DJs," recalls the then manager, Brian Mullen. "There was no structured plan for it to change, as the music developed, we developed." Sure enough, the influence of Chicago house gradually took hold with Harri and Yogi in particular pushing this sound.
In 1989, Slam's Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle, alongside current Soma Director Dave Clarke, became the first outside promoters to get involved, starting Joy on Fridays. The following year, the trio joined forces with Harri to start their now legendary Saturday residency, Atlantis. Glasgow's status of European City Of Culture meant the night enjoyed a weekly 5am license, helping to fuel the hedonism which the night became famous for. Running till '94, it came to an end just as Slam edged toward a more techno-based sound and began concentrating on their new Friday night at The Arches.
Current Sub Club owners, the MacCrimmons, installed Mike Grieve as the new manager, who, alongside Paul Crawford, took over the running of the club. "I was keen to get the Saturday night re-established," Mike explains. "Atlantis hadn't had many guests but we began booking a lot of Detroit DJs such as Stacey Pullen and Derrick May to play."
After a small re-fit in '95, a more major refurbishment took place the following year, opening up the disused area in the back of the club. "That put the Sub truly on the map," Grieve remembers. "We didn't tamper with the fundamentals of the club - the DJ box, dancefloor or bars – but now we really had something to shout about and began to be taken more seriously." By 1999, the club was experiencing its most successful year to date and Mike was beginning to feel it was 'mission accomplished'. Then, in November, disaster struck. A huge fire destroyed a building adjacent to the club, forcing it to close for weeks, then months, as demolition work took place. Fortunately, an alternative venue - Planet Peach (now Cube) - was found and its intimate confines served the Sub well till a second relocation to the better-equipped, larger capacity Mas, in the summer of 2001.
All this time, the end date for the re-building work was delayed on several occasions. "The whole period that the club was shut was a nightmare," recalls Mike. "As deadlines for completion were repeatedly missed, people started to lose faith that the Sub Club would ever re-open." Subculture and Optimo were the only two nights retained after the move to Mas, partly due to financial constraints, but also because Paul and Mike were concentrating their efforts on brokering a deal to buy the Sub Club from the MacCrimmons. As these negotiations intensified, Subculture was pulled in June 2002, with a finalised deal that summer, giving the pair joint-ownership. Then, in late November, almost three years to the day that it closed, the Sub Club re-opened.
"I felt like I was starting all over again," admits Mike. "The first few weeks were really nerve-wracking, but six months forward things were going really well." Five years on, the club has gone on to truly re-establish itself. "Reaching 20 years is a milestone that could hardly have been predicted a few years ago", concludes Grieve. "Its success is largely due to fact that it's never followed fashion, but above all else, it's down to the people who've come to the club over the years that have really made it what it is."
Refusing to diversify the music or dilute its quality, the club was open Friday and Saturday nights, with DJs like Wilson, Segun, Bob Jeffries, Gerry MacGlauchlan, Yogi Haughton, Nick Peacock and notably, a young Harri all playing. "The music policy was dictated primarily by the DJs," recalls the then manager, Brian Mullen. "There was no structured plan for it to change, as the music developed, we developed." Sure enough, the influence of Chicago house gradually took hold with Harri and Yogi in particular pushing this sound.
In 1989, Slam's Stuart McMillan and Orde Meikle, alongside current Soma Director Dave Clarke, became the first outside promoters to get involved, starting Joy on Fridays. The following year, the trio joined forces with Harri to start their now legendary Saturday residency, Atlantis. Glasgow's status of European City Of Culture meant the night enjoyed a weekly 5am license, helping to fuel the hedonism which the night became famous for. Running till '94, it came to an end just as Slam edged toward a more techno-based sound and began concentrating on their new Friday night at The Arches.
Current Sub Club owners, the MacCrimmons, installed Mike Grieve as the new manager, who, alongside Paul Crawford, took over the running of the club. "I was keen to get the Saturday night re-established," Mike explains. "Atlantis hadn't had many guests but we began booking a lot of Detroit DJs such as Stacey Pullen and Derrick May to play."
After a small re-fit in '95, a more major refurbishment took place the following year, opening up the disused area in the back of the club. "That put the Sub truly on the map," Grieve remembers. "We didn't tamper with the fundamentals of the club - the DJ box, dancefloor or bars – but now we really had something to shout about and began to be taken more seriously." By 1999, the club was experiencing its most successful year to date and Mike was beginning to feel it was 'mission accomplished'. Then, in November, disaster struck. A huge fire destroyed a building adjacent to the club, forcing it to close for weeks, then months, as demolition work took place. Fortunately, an alternative venue - Planet Peach (now Cube) - was found and its intimate confines served the Sub well till a second relocation to the better-equipped, larger capacity Mas, in the summer of 2001.
All this time, the end date for the re-building work was delayed on several occasions. "The whole period that the club was shut was a nightmare," recalls Mike. "As deadlines for completion were repeatedly missed, people started to lose faith that the Sub Club would ever re-open." Subculture and Optimo were the only two nights retained after the move to Mas, partly due to financial constraints, but also because Paul and Mike were concentrating their efforts on brokering a deal to buy the Sub Club from the MacCrimmons. As these negotiations intensified, Subculture was pulled in June 2002, with a finalised deal that summer, giving the pair joint-ownership. Then, in late November, almost three years to the day that it closed, the Sub Club re-opened.
"I felt like I was starting all over again," admits Mike. "The first few weeks were really nerve-wracking, but six months forward things were going really well." Five years on, the club has gone on to truly re-establish itself. "Reaching 20 years is a milestone that could hardly have been predicted a few years ago", concludes Grieve. "Its success is largely due to fact that it's never followed fashion, but above all else, it's down to the people who've come to the club over the years that have really made it what it is."
The Sub Club 20th Anniversary Music Festival takes place over Sunday 1 - 6 Apr with Blurt, Roy Ayers, Karl Bartos (ex-Kraftwerk), Sugarhill Gang, Louie Vega, Barbara Tucker, Kerri Chandler and Monique Bingham all making appearances. For more details and t