King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
Coordinates: 55°51′47″N 4°15′54″W / 55.863°N 4.265°W
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Glasgow live music venue King Tut's Wah Wah Hut |
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| Location | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Type | Live Music Venue |
| Genre(s) | Rock 'n' Roll, Indie Rock, Alternative Rock |
| Opened | February 1990 |
| Renovated | 2002 |
| Owner | DF Concerts |
| Seating type | Standing |
| Capacity | 300 |
| Website | King Tut's |
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar in on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts.[1] With a capacity of only 300, King Tut's intimate atmosphere has helped it win many awards in its relatively short history including the title of "Best Live Venue" in the UK from Radio 1 in 2002. The live music venue also serves food, and features a monthly comedy night which has seen comedians like Phil Kay, Lynn Ferguson and Fred MacAulay perform. King Tut's also holds a 1AM license, allowing performances to go on much later than most other music venues in Glasgow.
The Glasgow live music venue takes its name from a club in New York, which hosted music, comedy and performing arts events in the 80s.
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[edit] History
King Tut's was founded, in the centre of Glasgow, by the DF Concerts boss Stuart Clumpas, who wanted to create a platform for promoting bands at club level, showcasing them with gigs seven days a week at a reasonable hour, after being unable to find such an establishment in the city centre's nightlife. The venue first opened its doors in February 1990,[2] and has established a reputation for showcasing new talent and hosting many well-known bands' first Scottish appearances. This reputation was acquired early on in 1993 when The Verve, Radiohead and Oasis all played in the Glasgow venue in a two week period and it was in this time when Oasis were discovered and signed by the record label Creation, while playing their song "Supersonic", which was to become their debut single.[3] According to the venue's manager, Dave McGeachan, the band "bullied their way on stage" when they discovered that Alan McGee, the founder of Creation Records was attending the venue that night. Colin MacIntyre, the singer-songwriter from the Scottish indie band Mull Historical Society was reported as claiming "you haven't made it unless you've played Tut's". The appeal and popularity of King Tut's has been credited to "its consistency and dedication to bringing a cross-section of different styles to Glasgow's doorstep"[4]
Others who have played gigs at King Tut's early in their careers include Biffy Clyro, Coldplay, Beck, Blur, Crowded House, The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Skunk Anansie, The Verve, Paramore and Travis, who played the live music venue regularly under their original name of Glass Onion.
The venue has been acclaimed by pioneers of new music in the UK, such as radio DJ Steve Lamacq, who praised King Tut's influence on music in Britain by saying "King Tut's has got everything I like about a music venue. It's a good size, with a good crowd, and I've had some really special nights there. I think bands feel comfortable playing there too."
King Tut's have launched King Tut's Recordings and a Your Sound event every month to help support unsigned bands become acquainted with the workers in the local music industry[5]
In 1999 King Tut's decided to branch out with the launch of a monthly comedy night where comedians, including the likes of Phil Kay, Lynn Ferguson and Fred MacAuley have taken to the stage, alongside some of Scotland's rising young comics.
In February 2000, the ten year anniversary of the Glasgow live music venue was celebrated with a series of one-off concerts, parties and surprise guests running over ten days. Due to the success of the event, a £25,000 refurbishment of the upstairs bar was completed.[6]
November 2001 saw King Tut's being named as the 'Licensed Music Pub of the Year' by the Scottish Licensed Trade News and the live music venue has also recently been successful in its application for a 1am license, giving even more bands the chance to play to the King Tut's crowd.
In 2005, King Tut's held "The Best Scottish Bands of All Time" night, which featured acts such as Snow Patrol, Idlewild, Eugene Kelly, and Colin MacIntyre.
From the 17th to the 21st of December 2008, Idlewild performed a series of live shows at the venue, playing each of their albums on consecutive nights.[7]
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut will also play host to the Homecoming Scotland 2009 Finale Celebrations, the Glasgow live music venue working in conjunction with the Clyde Auditorium to provide a weekend of celebration.[8]
[edit] Awards
King Tut's is seen by many as one of the best live music venues in the UK, and most certainly the best in Glasgow. It was named as 'Licensed Music Pub Of The Year' by the Scottish Licensed Trade News in November 2001. It has also won BBC Radio 1's UK Best Live Music Venue award three years in a row. It was also named as the Best Launch Pad Venue in 2000 by Radio 1, whose listeners voted King Tut's as the "most influential small music venue in Britain". The venue's manager Dave McGeachan said of the award "I think we deserve it, to be honest, as we're good at bringing through the smaller bands. There's a good buzz about the place when it's full and the bands respond to that."
[edit] T in the Park
King Tut's also runs a tent, aptly named King Tut's Wah Wah Tent, in Scotland's biggest annual music festival, T in the Park, hosting many big acts. King Tut's enjoy links with the festival through their founder Stuart Clumpas who now runs the festival. Over the years, acts such as the Manic Street Preachers, Teenage Fanclub, Snow Patrol, Doves, Primal Scream, Queens Of The Stone Age, The Futureheads, The View, Jamie T, and the Pet Shop Boys have all performed on the stage.
Manic Street Preachers dedicated a song on stage to King Tut's after lead guitarist and vocalist James Dean Bradfield stated that "King Tut's was the first venue to treat us properly and give us hot food on tour".[9]
[edit] Comedy
The live music venue has also diversified into stand up comedy, with a very popular monthly comedy night. Such acts that have performed on the Glasgow stage include Lynn Ferguson, Phil Kay and Fred MacAuley, alongside other less notable Scottish and Glaswegian comedians.
[edit] Notable Acts
Many famous acts have performed at King Tut's, including Oasis, Biffy Clyro, Radiohead, Blur, Travis, Pulp, The Verve, Crowded House, Wheatus and Beck. Several Performers have also praised King Tut's variety such as Paolo Nutini who said: "I’ve never actually seen a big band at King Tut’s, you know that? But it’s the kind of place you can see anything. One night they’ll have a really great band playing their ass off and the next there’ll be a nice acoustic thing on. One gig I remember seeing there is Matt Berry, from The Mighty Boosh and Garth Marenghi. That just shows what a range of stuff you can find in Tut’s.".[10]
[edit] Album
In 2011, singer-songwriter Tom McRae released an extended live album entitled Tom at Tut's featuring songs and banter from his gigs on two consecutive nights in November 2004. Two nights at King Tut's has become a feature of McRae's tours due to the intimacy of the venue and the friendly camaraderie of the crowd. The making of the album is described in McRae's blog.
[edit] References
- ^ DF Concerts "Official Site". http://www.dfconcerts.info/.
- ^ Dowling, Stephen (2009) "Spinner: Around The UK In 80 Venues". http://www.spinnermusic.co.uk/2009/08/15/around-the-u-k-in-80-venues-king-tuts-wah-wah-hut/.
- ^ Wikipedia (2009) "History of Oasis". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oasis_(band)#Formation_and_first_years:_1991.E2.80.931994.
- ^ Galloway, Vic (The Sunday Times, Sunday 20 February 2005) "King Tut and the legends of Wah Wah land". The Times (London). 20 February 2005. http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article515943.ece. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ The Midgie (2008) "King Tut's". http://midgie.list.co.uk/article/13105-king-tuts/.
- ^ King Tut's Official website (2009) "King Tuts History". http://www.kingtuts.co.uk/history.html.
- ^ Pia, Camilla (11th December 2009)"The List: Idlewild - King Tut's". http://www.list.co.uk/article/14804-idlewild/.
- ^ Homecoming Scotland 2009 Official Website"Homecoming Scotland Gig Dates". http://www.visitscotland.org/events-and-training/homecomingscotland.htm.
- ^ Bridgland, Fred (The Independent, Saturday, 13 January 2001) Bridgland, Fred (13 January 2001). "How King Tut unearths Britain's pop treasures". The Independent (London). http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/how-king-tut-unearths-britains-pop-treasures-702244.html. Retrieved 7 May 2010.
- ^ Pollock, David (10 September 2009) "Paolo Nutini review". http://midgie.list.co.uk/article/20866-glasgow-paolo-nutinis-top-spots/.
