Interview: Alison Irvine on the alchemy of ‘Barrowland’

Few buildings come to shape and define a city’s self-image as the Barrowland Ballroom does for Glasgow. In her new book, Barrowland: The Inside Story of Glasgow’s Beloved Ballroom, Alison Irvine looks beyond the musical history and reputation to offer a social and cultural history of both people and place.

What were the origins of this book? What inspired you?

I first looked at the Ballroom and the Barras Market in 2013 when I was working on Nothing is Lost, a documentary project on the East End of Glasgow in the context of the 2014 Commonwealth Games. That project was with my artist colleagues Chris Leslie and Mitch Miller. We soon realised that there was much more to say about Barrowland, so we applied for Creative Scotland funding and did another project, Barrowland Ballads, which was published in 2019. I still didn’t want to say goodbye to the place. Also, I had gathered so many stories the first time round, and kept being told many more stories, that I realised there was much more to say.

It’s about the place and the people, not just the music. Was there any trepidation from those you interviewed?

I have never met a single person who had trepidation about being asked to talk about the Barrowland Ballroom! Actually, that’s not quite true. A couple of staff members said they didn’t want to be interviewed – fair enough – but everyone else had loads to say and seemed to really enjoy talking either about their jobs and their workdays, if they were staff, or their gig experiences if they were gig-goers.

What shines through is a sense of pride. From those working there, gig-goers, and the local bands who make it to the stage. What is it that engenders such?

It is pride, I agree. I think audiences know that they can make a gig really special, staff members know that they can make a gig-goer’s night really special, and bands know that playing on the Barrowland stage is really special. So, it’s a kind of alchemy. Throw in the neon sign, the sprung floor and the beautiful ceiling, add the amazing back catalogue of bands and artists who have played there, and you get a feeling of pride at being part of a new Barrowland memory. It’s brilliant for Glasgow and Glaswegians, and I love that the venue is famous throughout the UK and the world.

There are some fantastic images throughout the book. Was that always going to be an important aspect?

Yes – I don’t think you can have a book on this amazing building without accompanying photographs. The photos from Chris Leslie, who I’ve worked with for years, and Gareth Fraser of 3rd mile, are stunning. As well as taking photos of the bands on gig nights, Chris Leslie has taken some beautiful photos of the granular detail of the venue – the stars, the mirrorballs, the lush wood and original tiles on the walls – and the staff. John sitting in his cowboy boots at the staff party is one of my favourites!

The shooting of Simple Minds’ ‘Waterfront’ video looms large. Is it possible to overstate its importance?

I do wonder about that. Would it be the venue it is today if the ‘Waterfront’ video hadn’t happened? I don’t know. What I do know is the story attached to ‘Waterfront’ is now part of Barrowland lore. It’s another facet of the story. Free tickets given out by Billy Sloan, the filming of a music video by a very much-loved Glasgow band, in a venue where many of the city’s mums and dads and grannies and grandpas had met and danced. It’s brilliant. I interviewed two people who got free tickets when they were 14 and 22 and had their lives changed by that day. That was over 40 years ago now.

You touch upon darker times in the book, particularly around the Bible John murders. Was it important to cover that past?

It was important, but I knew I had to do it sensitively out of respect to the families of the women who died and because it’s still in living memory. I didn’t want to talk about who Bible John was – he, or whoever he, or they, were, doesn’t deserve that [recognition]. I wanted to talk about the women and I did that by focusing on the lives of three women who were of similar ages to Patricia, Jemima, and Helen, the women who died.

What is your favourite Barrowland gig or moment?

The Pogues and guests in April 2025. A school friend of mine, Nicola Kearey, was supporting them and sang with them too. The Barrowland audience was superb and my husband and I had a rare night out together. That’s the thing with a night at the Barrowland: there’s the gig itself, the band or the artist playing, and then there’s also the additional and peripheral things, the wee stories, the who and what and why and how, and all those things make up our best Barrowland moments.

Barrowland is published by Luath Press

Photo credit: Chris Leslie