Kelvingrove Bandstand plays the sweet sound of summer

Fully restored to its former glory, the venue attracts international and local talent, plus of course the fans – up to 2,500 of them

The gig was The Stellarites and the date 1911, but enthusiasm for this open air concert at Kelvingrove Bandstand was in no way stilted by the times. Thousands of people “thronged” to the venue to enjoy some entertainment on a warm night in August, just as will be the case this year with the new Summer Nights season now under way.

The dazzling reaction to the show, printed in papers of the day, illustrates how the powerful, positive effect of live music was in full flow in Kelvingrove 106 years ago.

The Stellarites, a musical comedy act from south London, performed in the Music Hall built in Kelvingrove Park for the 1911 Scottish Exhibition of National History, Art and Industry before decanting to the bandstand for an evening show.

A report in the Evening Times described a “godly sight” as thousands of people enjoyed themselves “with not a thought of tomorrow” on show. It added: “One sees so many serious and intent faces on the streets, dull eyed and listless, that it is refreshing to forget for a time this negative side of humanity and abandon oneself to the contagion of jollity.

“It is the most epidemic disease, the most sought after, and the most welcome. It was the mere fact that there is such an unassailable spirit of happiness in Kelvingrove that set us wandering off at a tangent.

It added: “People become for the time being citizens of an ideal city whose laws are so simple that all can understand and respect them.”

The original wrought iron bandstand in Kelvingrove was created for the first International Exhibition in 1888. It was moved to the Alexander Hamilton Park in Stonehouse with the new bandstand, that still stands today, built in 1924 to seat up to 3,000 people. Another 7,000 could stand on the natural gradient of the land. Capacity today now sits at around 2,500.

While musicians including Nile Rodgers, The Pixies, Chaka Khan and Arab Strap will take to the stage this summer, the programme back in its early days featured free classical concerts on a Sunday with jazz and traditional Scottish music performances also scheduled. Military bands, such as the Royal Scots Greys in their bearskin hats, were a popular choice.

Acts such as The Ne’er Do Wells and the Jingles and Smiles Party also featured with shows frequently broadcast on the radio.

Ballroom dancers would later perform showcases on the stage.

The bandstand was to get a jolt of new energy during the 1970s as Glasgow’s rock and alternative music scene began to flourish.

Paisley prog-punk crew Chou Pahrot played several gigs, their supremely loud sound and bizarre shows headed by singer Mama Voot in a trademark wedding dress, becoming the stuff of local legend.

By the 1980s, the bandstand became a platform for local bands like Wet, Wet, Wet, Hue and Cry and Simple Minds with thousands drawn to the park every weekend. Anti-poll tax rallies and free festivals found a natural meeting point there. The condition of the amphitheatre was, however, rapidly deteriorating and closure was first suggested 1992. The Friends of Kelvingrove Park campaigned to save it – with their campaign to last around 20 years.

Abandoned and vandalised, the bandstand still proved to have a creative draw. Teenage Fanclub “wandered in” and shot their low-budget 0 The new Kelvingrove Bandstand in 1925 (top); with Teenage Fanclub, who supported its restoration, playing in 2014 (right). Nile Rodgers (above) plays next weekend. video for Dumb, Dumb Dumb there in 2000. The band, along with Franz Ferdinand and Horse, later gave their support to the Friends group who doggedly pursued the restoration of the bandstand with the help of the Glasgow Buildings Preservation Trust.

Teenage Fanclub were among the first bands to play at the bandstand, now a listed building, when it relaunched – fully restored to its glory – in May 2014. Today, it is the only original bandstand left in Glasgow and one of only three with an amphitheatres left in Scotland.