Music stars line up to help Clutha helicopter tragedy pub
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Version 0 of 1. The owner of Glasgow’s Clutha bar plans to partially reopen the venue almost a year and a half after a helicopter crash left 10 people dead, boosted by support from some of the biggest names in British rock music. Stars including Muse frontman Matt Bellamy and Noel Gallagher of Oasis and High Flying Birds are among a growing number of musicians who have signed guitars to be auctioned off in aid of the Clutha Trust - a charity set up in memory of those who died in the tragedy. Organisers hope to attract the backing of other groups, including one with a famous connection to the city - the hard rock band AC/DC, due to play at Hampden later this year. Seven Clutha customers died after a Police Scotland Eurocopter suffered a double engine failure late on a Friday evening in November 2013, crashing through the building’s roof when the pub was packed with people watching a live band on stage. Two police officers on board the aircraft were also killed, along with its civilian pilot. But now the Clutha’s owner, Alan Crossan, has said he intends to open the doors once again in early May, while leaving the as yet unrepaired area ruined in the crash out of use: We can get people into the building through the Victoria Bar next door. We’re going to put a roof over the beer garden, but we’re not going to open up the part of the Clutha where the accident happened just yet. I think it would be very difficult to open the bar just as it was, considering what’s happened. But this way we can get the staff and musicians and punters back in. We’ll take things one wee bit at a time and just see how people feel as we go along. An appeal in the aftermath of the tragedy raised over half a million pounds for the injured - more than 30 people were hospitalised - and the families of the dead, Crossan said. While some of the money was raised by the pub trade, a substantial amount also came from benefit concerts organised by Glaswegian bands and music fans. The Clutha has a long-standing connection with Glasgow’s live music scene; a local ska band, Esperanza, was midway through its set when the Eurocopter crashed. The bar has hosted hundreds of bands and artists since the 1960s, when it was a favourite haunt of folk musicians including comedian Billy Connolly and Gerry Rafferty, writer of the hit ballad Baker Street. Now Crossan has established a fund - The Clutha Trust - to provide musical instruments and tuition to local children. People raised so much money after the accident, and I thought it would be good to channel that energy into something - to have something positive come out of a terrible situation, so we’re going to be helping disadvantaged kids move on in their lives through music. We’ll be holding concerts and things like that, and we’re also selling off some signed instruments.” He added that some big names had already lent their support to the effort. We’ve had stuff from The Who, Madness, Idlewild - basically anyone who comes to play in Glasgow seems to want to get involved. It was great getting support from Noel Gallagher. He wore out T shirt, he signed a guitar for us, he was really keen to get involved. The trust is currently accepting bids for Gallagher’s signed guitar by email. Crossan said the current highest offer was around £3,500. He said he was hopeful that other acts visiting the city would lend their support. The one person we’d love to have on board is Bob Dylan. His hero, Woody Guthrie, actually played just along the road at the Scotia bar when he was in Glasgow as a merchant seaman, so we’ll try to say that to Dylan when he’s in town. It’d be great to have him along. We’d also love to get something signed by AC/DC. We’ve got a guitar that’s the same model used by [the band’s lead guitarist] Angus Young, so it would be great if we could get him to sign that. One of the biggest names in hard rock music, Australian band AC/DC were founded by brothers Angus and Malcolm Young - originally from the east end of Glasgow. The band’s original singer, Bon Scott, was born in Forfar. He died aged 33 in 1980. The group is set to play Glasgow’s Hampden Stadium in June, when Crossan hopes to be able to approach them for their support. For the Clutha’s opening weekend, Crossan is planning a two-day mini music festival featuring a variety of local bands with proceeds going to the Clutha Trust. He also plans to erect a memorial to the victims of the 2013 tragedy. Memorial is a word I almost hate to use, because it’s just very sad. Clutha is an ancient name for the Clyde, so I’d like to put something by the river where people can remember - not just the people who died but the people who helped out that night. We had people from the archdiocese of Glasgow down the road, from the mosque across the river, people who were just passing by - for all this is meant to be a bit of a hard city, that’s the real spirit of Glasgow. People do what they can to help. Crossan was at home when the accident occurred. He said that when he arrived at the scene he’d found it difficult to comprehend the scale of the damage. I got a phone call saying that the roof had caved in. About thirty seconds later I got another call saying it was a helicopter that had come through the ceiling. I was just in disbelief. Even on my way down there I was just thinking: ‘A helicopter?’ I mean, what are the chances of that? But then I got down there and saw it, and it was just bedlam. The whole place was just surrounded by the emergency services, and obviously your first thought is just for the people who’ve been injured. Since the accident, Crossan has been in contact with many of the victims’ families. He said they had been angered by the slow pace of the official investigation into the crash. The emergency services took some criticism over how they handled things, which isn’t right. They were wonderful and they were working under very hard conditions. But the Air Accident Investigation Branch took a year and three months to come up with an explanation for what happened, and even now we’re still waiting for the full facts. The families need some kind of sign-off on this to get on with their lives. They say they’ll have the answers in mid-2015, but the speed they’re going at doesn’t seem very professional. He added that he was still undecided as to whether the main area of the bar - which would cost hundreds of thousands of pounds to repair - would ever reopen. People say: ‘Please open it.’ People say: ‘Please don’t open it.’ Some people think it should be kept just the way it was before the accident. But it can never be the same. I’ll do the best I can with the pub, and I promised that it will be back in some shape or form. But at the end of the day it’s just bricks and mortar. It was the people that made it the Clutha, and that’s something we’ll never get back. |