Bringing glory days of old Glasgow ballroom to life

It was the 1960s, and while foxtrots and waltzes were still around, high energy moves like the twist and the locomotion were taking hold.

The Albert, on Bath Street, was one of the best ballrooms in a city full of them. The building was destroyed by fire in 1974 and few photographs survive.

Rose’s son Joseph Kelly is on a quest to find old pictures – and he is hoping Times Past readers can help.

“My mum, Rose Garrity, was a cloakroom attendant at the Albert – she met singer Chris McClure, stage name Christian, there in the 60s,” he told us.

“She and her friend Thelma asked for his autograph and he obliged – although Thelma had nothing to write on so he wrote his name on her arm – she said she would never wash it off!”

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Joseph, who now lives in Renfrew, adds: “I was wondering if any Glasgow Times readers had any photos showing the ballroom, staff or performers in the 60s. I would love to see if I can spot my mum or even just see what the place was like when she worked there.”

Our archives have a few pictures of the Albert, founded by councillor and dancehall entrepreneur John Warren in 1905.

Like others in his family, he had been a successful professional dancer; in 1922 he had been president of the National Association of Teachers of Dancing. Before the Albert, he had organised dances at the Argyll Halls in Duke Street and the Annefield Halls in Gallowgate.

When the Albert came into being, dancers wore gloves and slippers. In 1925, the hall was rebuilt and re-named the Albert Palais de Dance. In the mid-Fifties, it became known as Warren’s Albert Ballroom.

To celebrate the 50th anniversary in 1955, Warren – who was 78 at that point - and his fellow directors reserved the ballroom on Monday, May 30, for former patrons. The following evening would see the directors entertain current customers.

He told our newspaper’s Talk of the Times column that he was proud the Albert was Britain’s oldest public dance-hall.

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He also gave our reporter an interesting piece of information – that notorious socialite Madeleine Smith, who had been accused and found not proven of poisoning her lover in a scandal which still sets tongues wagging today, was supposed to have patronised a dancehall on Bath Street.

He had done some research, he told us, but had been unable to establish if it was true.

The Albert closed down after a fire in 1953 but soon reopened, with the band reportedly wearing firemen’s helmets on the opening night.

The Warren family sold up in 1965. Later, a disco called Joanna’s opened up in the basement, but the building was destroyed by fire in 1974.

The Albert also played host to the Six Five Special in 1958. The show had been broadcast from the Kelvin Hall the previous year, to great acclaim – the first time the popular rock and roll dance show had been filmed outside London.

We still have many readers who recall the Albert.

“I am now in my eighties and still have happy memories of going to the Albert once a week with two of my girlfriends during my teenage years,” Anna Aitken told the Evening Times in 2010.

“I still recall that we stood in the queue with our dance shoes in brown paper bags.”

Can you help Joe find pictures of his mother, Rose?

Do you have any old photos of the Albert? Do you remember a different dance hall? The Denniston Palais, perhaps, or the Plaza at Eglinton Toll? Maybe you frequented the Astoria Ballroom on Sauchiehall Street, the F&F Ballroom at Patrick Cross, the Berkeley Ballroom opposite St Andrew’s Halls, the Barrowland or Green’s Playhouse – send us your stories and photos.