Aug 6: Cities and Music #7: Glasgow

Glasgow is one of the cities that is featured in Karl Whitney's 'Hit Factories' book.

In August 2008, Glasgow was named the UK’s first UNESCO City of Music and only the third in the world with the city being home to legendary venues as well as hosting huge music festivals.

There are plenty of bands associated with the city.

Here are some chosen by Glaswegians.

The city also has several venues that are famous.

The city's Sauchiehall Street has a long history as does Barrowlands (with several bands and artists recording live albums there) including Francis Dunnery.

The SECC or 'Armadillo' is a building I've visited several times, and I also enjoyed my visit to the Hydro, to see Peter Gabriel some years back.

Here's an image of mine of the Hydro and the Finnieston Crane.

Perhaps the best known band is Simple Minds. They have been around since the 1970s - next year sees their 50th anniversary.

The band is currently a core duo of original members Jim Kerr (vocals) and Charlie Burchill (guitar), augmented by guest musicians. Notable former members include Mick MacNeil (keyboards), Derek Forbes (bass), Brian McGee (drums), Mel Gaynor (drums), and John Giblin (bass).

My favourite album of theirs is 'Sparkle in the Rain'.

And here's Peter Gabriel on the Back to Front tour, which I saw as mentioned, back in 2013 at the Hydro.

Set List here.

Belle and Sebastian recently toured their albums.

What other Glasgow bands have I missed?

Image: Alan Parkinson, shared on Flickr under CC license