'We got to meet some heroes': New book celebrates legendary Glasgow club night

Between 2003 and 2012, the legendary club night grew from a small get-together in a pub basement to a huge, hilarious party that attracted guest DJs and music acts as diverse as The National, Florence and the Machine and Super Furry Animals, and helped launch Scottish stars of the future, from Glasvegas and The Fratellis to Chvrches and Frightened Rabbit.
Now, the man who created it has turned its story into a book.
Retired Teenagers: The Story of a Glasgow Club Night, by John McGonagle, is essential reading for fans of indie rock, synth pop and Glasgow nightlife in the noughties.
“It was a nice thing to do, put it all in a book,” grins John, who is now a commercial contracts and intellectual property lawyer (“years of negotiating with bands probably did influence the line of work I went into,” he agrees, with a laugh.) “So many memories. It was an amazing experience.”

Unimpressed by the Glasgow club scene of the early noughties, John decided to start his own, in the basement of Merchant City pub Blackfriars.
“I can’t remember why the name Pin Up Nights was picked – beside the reference to the David Bowie album, I think the idea was that whatever venue we had would be decorated with posters of music ‘pin-ups’,” he explains in the book. “The first ever flyers described a ‘punk rock reggae emo soul ska singalong”, a rather unpromising sounding jumble.”
Around 50 people turned up to the first night, and John handed out mini fanzines and badges. “The badges were labours of love every month…and featured slogans like Glasgow’s School of Musical Magic, “ he says.

Over the next nine years, Pin Up Nights was to move around the city, with spells at Fury Murrays, Woodside Social Club, The Beat Club and finally, the Flying Duck.
“Glasvegas played one of their first Glasgow gigs at Furys and they really stood out,” says John. “I remember thinking – these guys are a cut above.”

John also welcomed Alex James of Blur to Pin Ups, met Justin Currie and Florence Welch, of Florence and the Machine, and one of his favourite nights involved American rockers The National. “They arrived at the Beat Club like pied pipers with literally hundreds of fans in tow,” he explains.

In the end, up against big venues and pubs with late licences, John, who lives in Pollokshields with wife Wendy and sons Artie and Teddy, decided to call it quits in 2012.
“We played a role in launching some of the best new Scottish bands and got to meet some heroes,” he says. “I’m really proud of what we achieved.”