Tribes of Glasgow by Alan McCredie and Stephen Millar sampler
Stephen Millar and Alan McCredie took to the streets of Scotland’s largest city to depict the multitude of groups, both old and modern, that make up its population. From cowboys to cosplayers, Barras traders to bikers, and gunslingers to goths, forget Humans of New York - these are the Tribes of Glasgow.
Stephen Millar and Alan McCredie took to the streets of Scotland’s largest city to depict the multitude of groups, both old and modern, that make up its population. From cowboys to cosplayers, Barras traders to bikers, and gunslingers to goths, forget Humans of New York - these are the Tribes of Glasgow.
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stephen millar was born in <strong>Glasgow</strong> <strong>and</strong> left as a child when his family moved to Engl<strong>and</strong>.<br />
He later lived in London for 20 years before moving back to Scotl<strong>and</strong>. He is the author<br />
<strong>of</strong> the successful three-volume series London’s Hidden Walks, as well as Edinburgh’s<br />
Hidden Walks <strong>and</strong> London’s City Churches. He is also the principal photographer on the<br />
book London Architecture (metro publications), <strong>and</strong> has had articles published in The<br />
Scotsman, inews, the Sunday Herald <strong>and</strong> other newspapers.<br />
alan mccredie was born in <strong>Glasgow</strong> but moved to Perth at an early age. Now living<br />
in Edinburgh he has been a pr<strong>of</strong>essional photographer for 20 years. He is the author <strong>of</strong><br />
100 Weeks <strong>of</strong> Scotl<strong>and</strong> (Luath) <strong>and</strong> Scotl<strong>and</strong> the Dreich (Luath) <strong>and</strong> has also worked<br />
with the writer Daniel Gray on the book This is Scotl<strong>and</strong> (Luath) <strong>and</strong> Val McDermid on<br />
her book My Scotl<strong>and</strong> (Sphere). He also lectures in photography at Edinburgh College.<br />
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<strong>Tribes</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Glasgow</strong><br />
STEPHEN MILLAR<br />
<strong>and</strong><br />
ALAN McCREDIE<br />
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First published 2019<br />
isbn: 978-1-912147-85-4<br />
The authors’ right to be identified as author <strong>of</strong> this book<br />
under the Copyright, Designs <strong>and</strong> Patents Act 1988 has been asserted.<br />
The paper used in this book is recyclable. It is made<br />
from low chlorine pulps produced in a low energy,<br />
low emission manner from renewable forests.<br />
Printed <strong>and</strong> bound <strong>by</strong> cpi Antony Rowe, Chippenham<br />
Typeset in 11 point Sabon <strong>by</strong> Main Point Books, Edinburgh<br />
Text © <strong>Stephen</strong> <strong>Millar</strong> 2019<br />
Photographs © <strong>Alan</strong> <strong>McCredie</strong> <strong>and</strong> <strong>Stephen</strong> <strong>Millar</strong> 2019<br />
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This book is dedicated to my children – Patrick, Anna, Blythe<br />
<strong>and</strong> Arran – <strong>and</strong> all the <strong>Tribes</strong> who helped me along the way.<br />
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Introduction 9<br />
Cowboys <strong>and</strong> Cowgirls 11<br />
Gridiron <strong>Glasgow</strong> 16<br />
Barras Traders 21<br />
Bikers 26<br />
Muscle 31<br />
Jacobites 36<br />
East Africans on the Bridge 41<br />
Buskers 46<br />
Circus 51<br />
Cosplay 56<br />
The Sabs 61<br />
Keep the Faith – Northern Soul 66<br />
Anarchists 71<br />
Opus Dei 76<br />
Karate 79<br />
Lolita 83<br />
Pagans 87<br />
The Dominatrix 92<br />
Graffiti 97<br />
The Gaels 102<br />
Traditional Musicians 104<br />
Roma 110<br />
Mixed Martial Artists 114<br />
Spiritualists 119<br />
Industrial Goths 124<br />
Scottish Martial Arts 128<br />
Contents<br />
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The Italians 132<br />
Gunslingers 137<br />
The Miners 142<br />
Drag Queens 146<br />
Mods 151<br />
The First Poles 156<br />
lgbt Boxers 160<br />
Flute B<strong>and</strong> 165<br />
May the Force Be With You 170<br />
Tribute Act 175<br />
Wrestlers 178<br />
The Poets 182<br />
Red-heads 186<br />
Image Credits 191<br />
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Introduction<br />
i recently returned to Scotl<strong>and</strong> after leaving as a child, <strong>and</strong> wanted to reconnect<br />
with <strong>Glasgow</strong>, my home city. But it wasn’t easy. Then I began to seek out tribes in<br />
the city that might make me underst<strong>and</strong> what <strong>Glasgow</strong> was really like, away from<br />
the headlines <strong>and</strong> buildings. The tribes <strong>of</strong> <strong>Glasgow</strong> you will meet in this book are as<br />
diverse as you can imagine <strong>and</strong> probably not the ones you might immediately think<br />
<strong>of</strong>. My encounters with them revealed a side <strong>of</strong> the city I had never seen before.<br />
I met gunslingers with Stetsons <strong>and</strong> pistols, hunt saboteurs <strong>and</strong> industrial goths. I<br />
experienced the thrill <strong>of</strong> mma fighters in combat inches from my face <strong>and</strong> enjoyed my<br />
first Roma-style Burns Night in Govanhill. In frank conversations, people revealed<br />
to me the inner workings <strong>of</strong> their subcultures <strong>and</strong> I thank them all for letting me into<br />
their lives.<br />
I came across <strong>Alan</strong> <strong>McCredie</strong> on Twitter, loved his photography <strong>and</strong> got in touch.<br />
So began an unusual partnership. Our first meeting was over c<strong>of</strong>fee, our second in a<br />
dominatrix’s basement, our third at a pagan gathering… <strong>and</strong> so on.<br />
What did I learn along the way? As someone who has spent their entire life actively<br />
trying to avoid becoming part <strong>of</strong> any tribe, I recognised nevertheless that being part<br />
<strong>of</strong> one had many benefits, particularly in the modern age when increasing numbers<br />
<strong>of</strong> people feel lonely or disconnected from others. As Donne said, no man is an<br />
isl<strong>and</strong>.<br />
How did I select these particular tribes? I asked several people for suggestions <strong>and</strong><br />
the majority (usually taxi drivers..) always went for gangs or supporters <strong>of</strong> the Old<br />
Firm. However, I decided to try <strong>and</strong> avoid stereotypes. Instead, I wanted the book<br />
to be positive <strong>and</strong> feature groups who never seem to make it onto the shelves <strong>of</strong><br />
mainstream bookshops. I am willing to bet that, whatever its faults, this book is the<br />
only one in the history <strong>of</strong> the world that features Opus Dei alongside anarchists,<br />
wrestlers <strong>and</strong> red-heads.<br />
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Beyond this aim, the actual manner <strong>of</strong> selection <strong>of</strong> individual tribes was <strong>of</strong>ten r<strong>and</strong>om<br />
<strong>and</strong> haphazard. Many groups turned me down flat, or expressed interest in helping<br />
but disappeared from view as I got closer to them. I will admit to giving up a number<br />
<strong>of</strong> times, particularly on one occasion after I left work, drove to a tough pub <strong>and</strong><br />
ended up in an empty back room with half a dozen large men who wanted to know<br />
if I was really a member <strong>of</strong> Special Branch.<br />
But the more connections I made, the more new tribes were revealed to me, <strong>and</strong><br />
slowly I made progress. The final selection is very subjective <strong>and</strong> I don’t claim this<br />
is a representative sample <strong>of</strong> the city’s tribes – you could write ten volumes <strong>and</strong> still<br />
only scratch the surface <strong>of</strong> what a city as big as <strong>Glasgow</strong> has to <strong>of</strong>fer. However each<br />
tribe has – to varying degrees – its own rule <strong>of</strong> behaviour (written or not), sometimes<br />
a charismatic leader (alive or otherwise), <strong>and</strong> a particular purpose or shared heritage.<br />
This book is my tribute to John ‘Hoppy’ Hopkins, a leading countercultural figure<br />
<strong>of</strong> the ’60s <strong>and</strong> one <strong>of</strong> the best British photographers <strong>of</strong> any era. He once told me<br />
about a book project <strong>of</strong> his own, focusing on groups at the fringes <strong>of</strong> society. For<br />
some reason it was never completed, but ever since the idea has intrigued me <strong>and</strong> it<br />
is the inspiration for <strong>Tribes</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>Glasgow</strong>.<br />
<strong>Stephen</strong> <strong>Millar</strong>, February 2019<br />
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Cowboys <strong>and</strong> Cowgirls<br />
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the country <strong>and</strong> western scene has been popular in the city for a long time, its<br />
focal point being <strong>Glasgow</strong>’s Gr<strong>and</strong> Ole Opry on Govan Road. Founded in 1974,<br />
inspired <strong>by</strong> the legendary Gr<strong>and</strong> Ole Opry in Nashville, in its early years it was the<br />
only c&w club in Scotl<strong>and</strong>. In its heyday, it had 2,000 paid-up members <strong>and</strong> people<br />
would queue around the block to get in. Those days are long gone, but it is probably<br />
still the largest c&w club in Europe.<br />
Why American c&w took hold so strongly in <strong>Glasgow</strong> in the ’60s, ’70s <strong>and</strong> ’80s is<br />
complex. No doubt many who grew up in the difficult years after wwii sought escapism<br />
in American Western films <strong>and</strong> television shows <strong>and</strong> were attracted to emotionally<br />
charged Nashville songs <strong>of</strong> tragedy, love <strong>and</strong> redemption. Much has also been made<br />
<strong>of</strong> connections between c&w <strong>and</strong> the music <strong>of</strong> Irish <strong>and</strong> Scots immigrants to America<br />
in the 19th century <strong>and</strong> even gospel music has been likened to Gaelic psalm singing.<br />
For many cowboy-loving Glaswegians <strong>of</strong> the ’50s, ’60s <strong>and</strong> ’70s, stars such as Johnny<br />
Cash also epitomised the tough, independent rebel many (particularly males) aspired<br />
to be. The reality <strong>of</strong> life for most working-class people was very different <strong>and</strong> c&w<br />
was, <strong>and</strong> remains, a form <strong>of</strong> escapism. Tellingly, Cash was obsessed <strong>by</strong> his own Scottish<br />
roots, his musician daughter describing how ‘our Celtic past made him realise that<br />
this was where he derived his tone <strong>of</strong> voice, the mournful quality to his music… <strong>and</strong><br />
it was that sense <strong>of</strong> place <strong>and</strong> time that was passed on to him <strong>and</strong> then on to me.’<br />
The c&w tribe in <strong>Glasgow</strong> contains several smaller groups, including those in c&w<br />
b<strong>and</strong>s, line dancers <strong>and</strong> gunslingers. I met one veteran c&w musician named Billy,<br />
a pedal steel guitar player in the b<strong>and</strong> Nickles & Dimes. In his 70s, he dresses in<br />
black <strong>and</strong> wears a Stetson. The gig I meet him at takes place at a small c&w club<br />
on a Monday night, but it is packed, most attendees in their 60s <strong>and</strong> 70s. Billy tells<br />
me he would play every night if he could but there just are not as many gigs as there<br />
used to be.<br />
His love <strong>of</strong> c&w began in the ’40s: ‘I don’t think I was alone in discovering this<br />
music. In the late ’40s <strong>and</strong> early ’50s America seemed to become a little bit closer to<br />
our shores. The us troops brought loads <strong>of</strong> things with them <strong>and</strong> we were so ready<br />
to greet the “technicolor’ life”.’ His youth was spent soaking up American culture;<br />
his local cinema became known as ‘The Ranch’ due to showing a Western film every<br />
day <strong>of</strong> the week. These influences, he thinks, were ‘possibly the reason <strong>Glasgow</strong> folk<br />
were such fans <strong>of</strong> the Cowboys <strong>and</strong> country music’.<br />
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Arguably the parallel revival in the traditional folk music scene appealed more to<br />
middle-class audiences <strong>and</strong> Billy certainly saw c&w as ‘working man’s music’ that<br />
was popular with those employed in heavy industry or in the shipyards: ‘Many b<strong>and</strong>s<br />
played at the American base on the Holy Loch <strong>and</strong> if there was a “Southern State”<br />
ship at the base then a Country b<strong>and</strong> would be invited to play, whilst “Northern<br />
State” ships wanted soul b<strong>and</strong>s.’<br />
Billy remembers when <strong>Glasgow</strong>’s Gr<strong>and</strong> Ole Opry opened: ‘The club was packed<br />
on a Friday, jam packed to capacity on a Saturday <strong>and</strong> a little quieter on Sundays.<br />
The management ensured that there was a “top” b<strong>and</strong> performing at least once<br />
every month <strong>and</strong> the quality <strong>of</strong> the local b<strong>and</strong>s was extremely good. Local clubs<br />
<strong>of</strong> smaller capacity were also well attended during that time <strong>and</strong> there was a club<br />
night somewhere in <strong>Glasgow</strong> at least five nights a week.’ He saw a decline in the<br />
’80s onwards, for the b<strong>and</strong>s at least. Tougher economic conditions meant promoters<br />
wanted to pay less, which put pressure on b<strong>and</strong>s to replace musicians with backing<br />
tracks <strong>and</strong> drum machines. The growth <strong>of</strong> line dancing also meant more competition<br />
for the b<strong>and</strong>s.<br />
The c&w scene in <strong>Glasgow</strong> has declined generally over the last few decades for<br />
a variety <strong>of</strong> reasons <strong>and</strong> the average age <strong>of</strong> those who still form the core group<br />
<strong>of</strong> fans has crept up significantly. However, there is still a vibrant scene, <strong>of</strong>ten in<br />
the smaller clubs far away from the <strong>Glasgow</strong> Gr<strong>and</strong> Ole Opry. These include the<br />
Phoenix Country <strong>and</strong> Western Club (cwc) in Yoker, the Tombstone <strong>and</strong> Kentucky<br />
cwc in Paisley <strong>and</strong> The Silver Spur in Linwood (‘we cater for gunslingers, line/<br />
partner dancers <strong>and</strong> those that just love country music’). The photographs included<br />
were from a charity night at the Phoenix where hundreds <strong>of</strong> fans dressed up as<br />
Western characters, danced to a b<strong>and</strong> <strong>and</strong> enjoyed a show put on <strong>by</strong> the <strong>Glasgow</strong><br />
Gunslingers. As <strong>Alan</strong> <strong>and</strong> I left, the whole club broke out into a bout <strong>of</strong> communal<br />
song singing, ringing in our ears as we stood in a dark car park surrounded <strong>by</strong> grey,<br />
silent suburban streets. It was easy then to underst<strong>and</strong> why c&w fans enjoyed living<br />
in a fantasy world <strong>of</strong> Americana, even if just for a few hours.<br />
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