Get the scoop on Bungalow heyday with new book
Journalist Loudon reveals tales from behind the scenes
A new book is to lift the lid on what went on back in the heyday of an iconic Paisley music venue.
The Damned, Alan McGee, The Associates, Echo and the Bunnymen, Altered Images, The Psychedelic Furs and The Teardrop Explodes among other big names all took to the stage of The Bungalow Bar.
Now Renfrewshire author and journalist Loudon Temple is promising the real truth of what went on behind the scenes at the old Renfrew Road mecca.
Fittingly, he will launch the book at a gala night at the newer Bungalow Bar venue in Shuttle Street in June.
Loudon booked bands for the Bungalow at the height of the punk and new wave explosion from the late seventies to 1981.
Glasgow had banned the punk bands due to the controversy – so Paisley became a key stop-off within the west of Scotland for touring acts.
A free three-hour launch party will take place on June 3 and Loudon anticipates many band members and audience will be there.
Copies of the book ‘The Bungalow Bar - Stories from The Venue and Those who Played There’ - will be signed.
And a donation of £ 5 from each copy sold will go to help the homeless.
It’s the latest in a series of non fiction books penned by Loudon, a journalist and publicist for more than half a century.
He said: “There have been too many myths and wild exaggerations over the years.
“This is the real truth, with anecdotes from both musicians who appeared on The Bungalow stage, and audience members too.
“The punk nights at The Bungalow were highly charged with raw energy that you always felt had the potential to go terribly wrong.”
Loudon, 72, will give a short talk and The Bungalow says it “will be a night of nostalgia and a celebration of those times”.
The music at the original Bungalow stopped 40 years ago, but people still talk affectionately about the old gigs.
And three years ago The Bungalow Musical was performed at Paisley Town Hall.
A spokesman for The Bungalow said: “You may be amazed at some of the tales Loudon recounts himself, and those that he uncovered.
“The music writer and BBC Scotland presenter Billy Sloan says Loudon’s book tells the inside story of a legendary venue.”
Loudon’s book will be available to buy from next month.