Kippin' on a London floor with Orange Juice and Aztec Camera
In the 80s, Glasgow was a factory for young punk-rock bands cutting their teeth, ready to hit the bright lights of London. Aztec Camera, Orange Juice, The Dreamboys (the latter fronted by Peter Capaldi, decades before he appeared as a foul-mouthed politician's PR or the Twelfth Doctor.) All eyes were on the city, not for glossy international sporting events or Minaj-athon music awards a-la 2014, but for the raw talent coming from the depths of the oft-overlooked second city of the empire.
Even the city's maths teachers wanted in on Glasgow's burgeoning music scene. Harry Papadopolous, once more accustomed to deconstructing equations for school kids than photographing rock royalty, started selling his snaps outside the iconic Glasgow Apollo before ditching the classroom and packing up for London. Harry became a well kent face on London's music scene, offering floor space in his flat to fellow Glaswegians The Bluebells, Orange Juice and Aztec Camera when they rolled into town to make a name for themselves down south.
We spoke to Ken McCluskey of The Bluebells on Riverside Show about rolling out his sleeping bag on Harry's floor, the 300 lost negatives uncovered that will now become a Paisley exhibition, and just what the Glasgow scene was like back in the day:
You can catch it on the STV Player from January 14th.