THE Shed nightclub has backed a UK-wide campaign to ask the government to support the country’s nightlife sector.

The iconic Langside Avenue venue has been closed for around four months, with the future possibility of putting on events in limbo.

The #LetUsDance campaign, which has also been backed the UK’s biggest DJs such as Fatboy Slim and Pete Tong, is a plea for support and guidance for nightlife venues.

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Marc Frossman, head of marketing at the Monteleone group which owns The Shed, said: “The campaign is about asking for support and guidance from the government, not to open right at this moment.

“As much as people tend to smirk at the nightlife sector, it is a big, big part of our economy but we don’t want to open until we can be sure that it is safe.

“We just have had no guidance on when that might be or what sort of regulations we will need to work with.”

Glasgow Times:

A £1.5billion package to support the country’s arts and culture was announced by the UK government on July 5, but with only museums, theatres and galleries specified, nightlife venues have been left in the dark.

Marc said: “One of the biggest misconceptions is the fact that nightclub staff are all students or have just moved home.

“We have staff that have mortgages and kids to provide for, and there is a lot of anxiety for when November comes and the furlough scheme ends.

“We have nothing to tell them, we’ve not been given any guidance.”

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The Monteleone group also owns pubs and restaurants across the city including The Butterfly and the Pig and West End bakery Singl-end.

“There was guidance for pubs and restaurants but for nightlife venues, we’ve been left guessing.

“The difficult thing is that events can take weeks to set up, so if we get told within 24 hours that we can open we won’t be able to put events on immediately.”

There are also fears that despite clubs and venues staying shut, groups will continue to congregate in unregulated and illegal gatherings.

In May, the Glasgow Times reported on groups of youths in Chryston who used woodlands behind Grayston Manor as a makeshift rave venue, with teenagers trashing the local area with discarded alcohol containers.

Marc said: “People are always going to want to dance.

“When you look back into the 80s and 90s, there was such a crackdown on licensing which birthed these illegal raves and unregulated meet ups all across the country, which is what is happening again.

“You hear stories about people packed into house parties, illegal raves, and we’re even hearing about Airbnb’s being rented out and used as makeshift venues.

“It’s important that we can use clubs as a way to let people come and have a drink and dance, but also make sure that they are safe.”

Marc has also told of the significance of The Shed in Glasgow's culture, with a wedding of a couple who first met in the venue even taking place this time last year.

He said: "It's coming up to a year anniversary of a wedding that took place in The Shed, with the couple having met in the venue.

"We were looking at maybe expanding this area of events and we had some great plans on the horizon but now we've been shut for most of 2020, which no one could have predicted.

"The Shed is an institution and means a lot to so many people, even hosting community events.

"We don't want to see any clubs in Glasgow have to shut down."