Powerhouse is back in Ayr
Popular live music night set to raise the roof at Venue38
The live music night which famously brought Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Simple Minds, The Waterboys and so many others to Ayr is coming back.
Powerhouse is relaunching this September and hopes to see a revival of the town’s heyday rock and alternative scene.
The infamous Powerhouse nights ran from 1979 through to the 2000s and saw rock mad fans queue out the doors at Ayr’s Pavilion and latterly Nile Court to see their favourite bands live on stage.
Organiser David Grant, whose mum Annie Scott started Powerhouse alongside DJ Tom Jones, hopes adoring fans and new faces alike can enjoy the anticipated The Waking of The Beast opening night, set for September 25 at Venue38 on Ayr’s Carrick Street.
David said: “I can’t think of a better time to do it.
“If there was ever a time where people are going to go ‘gees, we need
We’ve always catered for the crowd who doesn’t get catered for
to get out and blow off steam and have a really good night’, it’s going to be at the end of Covid-19.
“My mum and I – sadly Tom is no longer with us – have talked about doing it for years and it’s never seemed to be the right time and also getting the right venue.
“The last thing we wanted to do was be in some function suite with the mobile disco and having to shut at 12am, so James and Tracy taking over Venue38 helped timing wise.
“We’re lined up to do Christmas Eve as well because when Powerhouse was running, particularly at the Piv [Pavilion], the Christmas Eve Bash was a massive thing.”
David, who used to DJ at Nile Court’s Powerhouse in the early 90s, said the impetus to relaunch struck him in January this year when watching old rock videos on TV.
He said: “I put something on Facebook along the lines of ‘how would people feel about a Powerhouse night?’ and the reaction shot up, and since then we have over 3000 followers on Facebook.
“There’s a rock crowd out there who
remember the Powerhouse days and there’s a student age, early twenties new generation who I think would like it as well.
“When I say ‘rock’ it’s a wide range. It’s not ACDC all night; we play Oasis, Pulp, Stone Roses, Pearl Jam, Nirvana – it’s a real mix.
David reminisced about the glory days of Powerhouse when his mum Annie and Tom, who sadly passed away in 2018, had a huge following.
He said: “They put on some really big gigs.
“That’s what people remember about Tom and my mum was bringing these bands to Ayr because it just didn’t happen, they all went to Glasgow.
“A Piv punter met TJ [Tom Jones] in Rabbies one day and said he would get Powerhouse tattooed on his arm (pictured right) if Tom would let him in for free for life.
Nobody thought he’d actually do it, but he did! “He’s coming to The Waking of The Beast and we’ve told him that the deal still stands and he won’t be paying to get in.
“The thing about Powerhouse is we’ve always catered for the crowd who doesn’t get catered for.
“We’d have people bouncing about to Rage Against the Machine’s Killing in the Name and they’d stay on the dance floor for Beyonce’s Crazy in Love – it was that kind of place.
He added: “We’re obviously hoping for a good turnout and that everyone has a blast.
“I just want to look out on the night and see a whole load of leather jackets and mohawaks.” Keep up to date at: www. powerhouseayr.com and www. facebook.com/Powerhouse Ayr