Stars back bid to create Scotland's Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

By

Scotland arts correspondent

Updated 1 hour ago

Some of the biggest names in Scottish music are supporting a bid to take over Glasgow's troubled Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) and revamp it as a Scottish Rock and Roll Music Hall of Fame.

The CCA closed earlier this year after a series of financial setbacks.

Now the group ScotsRock says it wants to take over the building in Sauchiehall Street and turn it into a hub which celebrates Scotland's contribution to global music.

Midge Ure, whose career spans Ultravox, Band Aid and Live Aid, has agreed to become the inaugural Patron of ScotsRock.

The project has also attracted the support of Lulu, Jim Kerr of Simple Minds, Travis and Del Amitri.

Plans for the venue would include:

a permanent exhibition and visitor experience

a live performance venue

educational and outreach programmes

a creative industries hub supporting emerging music and creative businesses

archive and heritage facilities

a year-round programme of permanent and temporary exhibitions, concerts, talks and special events celebrating both Scotland's rock music legacy and its current artists

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Midge Ure said: "This has never been done, and it should have been done.

"In hindsight, it's a major mistake.

"For a small country we punch way above our weight when it comes to global musicians.

"If you go to Cleveland, their Hall of Fame is very American, so I ask myself, why are we not doing the same in Scotland?

"We should be and I'm very proud to be part of it."

Ronnie Gurr, a former chief executive officer of the Scottish Music Industry Association, told the BBC's Radio Scotland Breakfast programme it was "a very ambitious project whose times has come".

Gurr, who would act as a senior curator of the proposed hub, said: "The key thing is the Hall of Fame honours the past but it should also help shape the future.

"So the plans is that it's not only a museum but also there would be a live venue.

"At a time when grassroots music venues are closing at a rate of knots, that's a welcome addition.

"That would be shaping the future of the country's music as well."

ScotsRock is the latest group to express an interest in the former Centre for Contemporary Arts.

The venue has endured a turbulent several years, having been first forced to close in 2018 after a fire destroyed the nearby Glasgow School of Art.

The CCA shuts its doors in January after the organisation went into liquidation with the loss of all jobs.

Creative Scotland – who own the building – say it is being kept safe and secure while the insolvency process continues and that they well shortly launch a formal process inviting expressions of interest in leasing or purchasing the building.

Among those who've made public their interest is a collective of theatre and dance companies including Vanishing Point, Groupwork, Shotput and Superfan who want to see the space used as rehearsal and performance space which would encourage international collaboration.

The fact that Creative Scotland intended to offer the previous occupants £1.28m a year, may also give hope to the idea that it could be retained as a cultural hub, in the spirit of the original Third Eye Centre.

Creative Scotland insist they have made no decision about the building, or endorsed any of the plans but welcome expressions of interest, particularly from cultural organisations or organisations intending to operate the venue for cultural use.