King Tuts Wah Wah Hut

 

King Tuts Wah Wah Hut is a venue I have personally not had the opportunity to visit, but one I deem very culturally significant to Glasgows gig scene.

King Tuts opened in 1990, and was built in the aim to boost smaller bands and give them the opportunity to play their music live. One of the most infamous bands, Blur, were one of the first to play in the venue, to an audience of 40 people, setting the scene for decades to come. Before playing in King Tuts, Blur had never played in Scotland nor had they released a single. This highlights the opportunity that King Tuts give for smaller bands, as Blur then went on to release their single which began their rise to fame.

One of my favourite stories of King Tuts, and one that truly reinforces the significance of the venue, is when Oasis played a gig here in 1993. They played a 20 minute set, which was only after they showed up unannounced and 'demanded' to be let on the stage. The reason they played in this specific venue is due to them hearing a band they shared a rehearsal space with in Manchester called the Sister Lovers, were playing that night so they hopped in a van and took the drive up to Glasgow. The short set was played only to twelve people, where Alan McGee was one of the people in the audience and also the man who would go on to give them the record deal that arguably led them to their success as a band. It is surreal and extraordinary to see a band who found their feet in a small gig venue in Glasgow, now go on to sell out hundreds of stadiums around the world, crash the Ticketmaster site for millions of people and specifically sell out three stadium shows in Edinburgh, with no doubt that they'd sell out three more.


Photo Above: Oasis backstage at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut

1_I160413_134000_1654331oTextTRMRMMGLPICT000035530641o.jpg

Many other famous artists and bands have played at King Tuts over the years including, Snow Patrol, Biffy Clyro, Coldplay, The Chameleons, The Strokes, Natalie Imbruglia, The Libertines and many more household names. All these artist have gone on to great success, which goes to show the importance of venues such as King Tuts that give smaller and upcoming bands the opportunity and space to show off their talents. 

It is fascinating to wonder which of these bands who are currently playing the stage will be discovered next.





Sources:

https://www.kingtuts.co.uk/our-story

https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x971hhy

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

OVO Hydro

Image
 The OVO Hydro is the largest entertainment venue in Glasgow, with a capacity of 14,300 people. When discussing the gig scene in Glasgow, it would be hard to miss out. This venue is hugely flexible, holding many live events from concerts, conferences and other large scale events. One of the most famous and significant events that was held at the Hydro was the 2014 Commonwealth Games, highlighting that this expands further than gigs.  It hosts over a million visitors each year and many of the most famous international stars have played here and brought thousands of Scots together to watch their performances in the infamous venue. For example, Taylor Swift, Kylie Minogue, Rod Stewart, Arctic Monkeys, Prince and many more. Taylor Swift and Arctic Monkeys are both artists who went on to selling out much larger shows in Scotland after playing the Hydro.  Photo Above: Prince playing his last Scottish gig at the Hydro 2014 GettyImages-73203544.jpg Furthermore, the Hydro is claim...
Read more

Barrowland Ballroom

Image
My favourite venue in Glasgow is the Barrowland Ballroom, therefore it is only natural to start the blog with this iconic venue.  The Barrowlands opened in 1934, originally opening as a dance hall, which was designed to compliment orchestras and bands that played inside. The famous venue was named after the Barra's street market, which is located just next door. The Barrowlands were opened by a woman named Maggie McIver, who was later named the 'Barra's Queen', as she provided an income for many working class Glaswegians.  This was originally opened for functions and dances and eventually formed into live music events. Tragically, the venue burned down in the late 1950s shortly after Maggie's death, but thankfully it was rebuilt to the iconic building it is now and reopened on Christmas Eve of 1960. The new building highlights the legendary neon signage that is known and loved today.  The original signage of the Barrowlands, was an image of a man with a wheelbarrow,...
Read more