TIMES PAST Bringing the glory days of old Glasgow ballroom to life
FROM her vantage point in the cloakroom, Rose Garrity watched the dancers come and go at the Albert Ballroom. 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!”
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 midFifties, 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.