The Admiral

72A Waterloo Street, Glasgow, G2 7DA.Tel: 01412217705

The Admiral was opened in 1969.

The landlord then was Frederick Joseph Grome.

This mock Victorian pub attracts many of the office workers in the area.

The Admiral 2007.

Thank to Steve Blaney for the above image, 1969.

Email: My name is Steve Blaney. I was the first person to play on in the Admiral when first opened in 69′. The lounge was a classy old galleon ship style with first class fittings, brass port holes, beautiful red lounge seating etc.

I played the electric accordion with my drummer George Picken. We were there for about a year and knew “Freddy” the manager well. I have been in Canada for nearly 40 years and anytime I am in Glasgow I visit the old pub. I was there last month Oct. 2011.

Email: Hi! John,
Notice the Admiral behind us on stage, this was the theme of the lounge. Like I was saying, Watney’s, you know the Red Barrel people, I believe were the first company there, put a lot of money into making this place very classy. The figure I was given was £30,000 for the lounge. Beautiful brass fittings (port holes and rails) with deep red sofa’s with wood paneling on the walls, to give the atmosphere of being inside an old style ship.

One story was, a patron asked, who was the guy behind the band (the Admiral on the wall), I was not sure to believe this or not, but then again, it was a pub. The accordion I am playing is a Farfisa Transicord bought from McCormack’s on bath street sadly now closed. It was state of the art back then at a cost of £300 pounds. George and I used to practice in the lounge on a Saturday afternoon (the lounge was closed then), we played there Friday’s and Saturday’s. After our practice Freddy the manager would give us lunch upstairs you know, steak, mushrooms ect. the good stuff.

He was a very nice guy and we got along well and he looked after us like son’s. The lounge back then was a place where married couples or couples wanting a nice quieter night out would come and listen to George and I play some Pop music and a few type classics, you know like a lounge you would be in on holiday at that time. I got married shortly after, to my wife Linda Geddes (still my wife) and moved to Canada here.

George played around Europe very successfully and eventually settled back in Scotland where we would meet up anytime I was back (home). He bought his new wife over to Canada for a holiday/honeymoon in Niagara and stayed with us also. We met for the last time this October in Scotland when I was there as he was dying of Cancer. He died four days after I left, he was 61. Always a nice, clean living guy, we knew each other for over 40 years. So, before I left Scotland this October (2011) he asked me to go to the Admiral and have a drink for us.

I did. The lounge now is geared up for a more busy? crowd? who have a little more exercise than we used do down there LOL. Still nothing stays the same, as long as it’s still open and people are having fun. I still have a music room in my house here in London Ontario with Guitars and sill have a Transicord accordion. I am 60years of age now and still love Scotland (my first home) and anytime I am there I always go to the Admiral for a wee drink and a lunch, good stuff. Anyway that’s part of the story. Like everything else I could write a book, maybe I will someday about all the nice people who used to work there and frequent the place……and they still are great people. So all the best.
                                                                                   
                                                                               Maybe we will meet sometime,
                                                                                                 Steve Blaney, (First to play in the Admiral).

Cheers! Steve.

END.