Long-gone Glasgow nightclub that hosted Top of the Pops

Archaos opened on Queen Street in 1995 as one of the many entertainment businesses owned by G1 group magnate Stefan King.

It soon became cemented as one of the most popular choices in Glasgow’s buzzing nightlife of the 90s, and it was catapulted onto a national stage when it was chosen to host the iconic music programme Top of the Pops (TOTP).

Dozens of music fans flooded to the venue and queued up outside to get a glimpse of a famous face or get theirs on camera, as seen in this photo taken from our archives.

Queues outside Archaos for Top of the Pops, 1999 (Image: Newsquest)

The episode, filmed in May 1999, was the first outside of London in 30 years and arguably set the tone for a TOTP tour which began soon after.

Glasgow band Travis performed Driftwood while Sharleen Spiteri performed Texas’ new single Summer Son to an ecstatic audience at Archaos.

Sharleen Spiteri at TOTP in Archaos, Glasgow. Photo: PA (Image: PA)

But what made Archaos so special when there were dozens of other nightclubs in Glasgow? The venue was known for its very special and treasured way of disc-spinning.

Those of us who have stepped into a club in the last few years will know that modern jockeys tend to ‘fade’ tunes in and out of one another or perhaps mix them together.

But in Archaos, records would literally play one after the other, with the DJ waiting until the previous song had completely ended before starting a new one – affectionately known as ‘school disco’ style.

Sharleen Spiteri performing at TOTP, 1999. Photo: PA. (Image: PA)

This was once commented on by Glasgow DJ and producer Hudson Mohawk, who told Vice magazine that it “wasn’t the sort of club where the DJs were trying to mix, they’d just sling another track on like it was a school disco.”

He discovered Archaos on his first night out in Glasgow and he also recalled the unique layout where the dancefloor was centred in the middle of the venue and surrounded by balconies.

Texas performing at TOTP in Archaos, Glasgow. 1999. Photo: PA. (Image: PA)

While he considered this a ‘weird’ set-up, TOTP viewers would think of it as ideal for the audience to watch the performances in the middle of the room.

It wasn’t just Texas among the more familiar faces to have graced the club’s VIP ‘bed’ – Rangers hero Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne has partied there, as has American actor Charlie Sheen.

The club closed in 2007 after years of struggling with competition from rival clubs. Last year, plans were submitted to transform the space into student accommodation, but these are yet to be put in motion.

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