TIMES PAST DO YOU REMEMBER? Frosty’s disco and 80s bands
DO you remember the Magnum Leisure Centre? A favourite weekend and holiday haunt of Glaswegians, this was Europe’s largest leisure centre when it opened in Irvine in September 1976.
Around 25,000 people turned up on its opening day, and at its peak, around 1.5 million people came each year to enjoy everything from ice skating – at the legendary Frosty’s Ice Disco – and gymnastics to dog shows, indoor bowls, boating and movies.
It was also a popular concert venue, attracting some of the world’s biggest bands, including The Jam, The Clash, The Smiths and Chuck Berry.
For 40 years, it attracted families from all over the west of Scotland, until declining visitor numbers resulted in its closure.
For its 25th anniversary of the official opening ( which was carried out by then Scottish Secretary of State Bruce Millan) the centre held a huge party for visitors and staff.
Gordon Laird, the longestserving member of staff still working at the Magnum at that point, was guest of honour and cut the cake, while younger visitors enjoyed circus skills workshops, puppet shows, face painting and more. It was just 25p for an entry ticket in 1977, and at its height, it was Scotland’s second most popular tourist attraction after Edinburgh Castle.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon once fondly recalled her teenage years and Frosty’s Ice Disco at the Magnum during an appearance on Desert Island Discs three years ago.
She recalled: “The Magnum was probably the first of its kind of these big leisure centres in Irvine where I grew up.
“The ice rink had a Saturday night disco called Frosty’s where we used to skate round and round and round to the sound of Wham, Duran Duran and Culture Club and all sorts of delights like that.”