The story of Glasgow's Hard Rock Cafe as venue closes

The 170-seat restaurant and music venue, which mysteriously closed without warning earlier this week, was a feather in the cap for Buchanan Street, right in the heart of the Style Mile when Glasgow was the biggest shopping destination in the UK outside of London.

KT Tunstall performs at Glasgow's Hard Rock Cafe (Image: Newsquest)

It is a sad end for the much-anticipated venue, which opened amid plenty of fanfare in November 2013. Hard Rock Café brought with it glamour and celebrity – famous fans included Nicole Scherzinger and Yoko Ono - and it quickly became a tourist hotspot.

Before opening day, our photographers were given access behind the scenes as staff started to move in some of the most sought-after music memorabilia in history, including John Lennon's corduroy jacket, a bass guitar that belonged to Pink Floyd's Roger Waters, dresses belonging to Katy Perry and Lady Gaga, Madonna’s iconic corset and a leather jacket worn by Sid Vicious.

Narissa Moore with Madonna's iconic gold corset in Glasgow (Image: Newsquest)

Memorabilia designer Giovanni Taliaferro posed with pictures of home-grown star Alex Harvey, while operations manager Amy Harris showed off one of the fantastic instruments on display, an exclusive silver-plated guitar, and bar staff Monica Carlin, Elsa Brecsia and Linzi MacDonald gave a taste of the cocktails which would be served up once doors opened.

Isaac Tigrett and Peter Morton opened the first Hard Rock Café in London in 1971. Today, Hard Rock International has venues in more than 74 countries. The famous logo was designed by celebrity artist Alan Aldridge, who is best known for his work with The Beatles.

Paul McCartney and Wings performed an impromptu concert at Hard Rock Cafe, a warm-up gig for their 1973 tour, and Carole King wrote the hit “Hard Rock Café” in tribute to the venue.

Inside the Glasgow venue (Image: Newsquest)

According to the Hard Rock website, Eric Clapton was a regular in London, and asked Isaac to hang his guitar over his bar stool to "mark his spot."

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A week later, a package arrived with a guitar and a note that stated: "Mine's as good as his! Love, Pete." It was from The Who guitarist Pete Townshend. Now, Hard Rock’s memorabilia collection includes around 87,000 pieces.

In 1982, the first US café opened in Los Angeles.

The Glasgow venue was the company’s second in Scotland, after Edinburgh.

It was created inside the Athenaeum Theatre, which opened in 1893.

Previously home to the Scottish National Academy of Music in 1929, which later became the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the striking building was also the first home of the Citizens Theatre, now based in the Gorbals, and Scottish Youth Theatre, who used the premises from 1989 until 1998.

DJ Knoxy (Image: Newsquest)

A string of big names and local acts have played there over the last 11 years, including KT Tunstall, who donated her Epiphone Firebird to the Glasgow venue.

Other memorabilia on display included a Frightened Rabbit 2013 T in the Park signed set list, and a kilt worn by Clarence Clemons of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street band.

Amy Macdonald in 2014 (Image: Newsquest)

A few months after opening, Hard Rock Cafe Glasgow hosted Clyde 1’s Big Weekend, with DJ Knoxy at the helm and star guests including the Fratellis and Amy Macdonald.

Mince Fratelli and Hamish Dodds smashing guitars (Image: Newsquest)

Fratellis drummer Mince and Hard Rock CEO Hamish Dodds “smashed” guitars outside as part of the high profile opening party.

In February 2019, Bay City Rollers fans from around the world joined together at the Hard Rock Cafe in Glasgow to celebrate Scottish legend Stuart 'Woody' Woo, who performed with the New Generation Bay City Rollers in front of a packed crowd.