Brief History of the Gorehounds Glasgow
by Gordie
The second generation Gorehounds, I think, started approximately 17 years ago, that'll be 1989, when Fitz, Tom Brown, Dex, Andy Thompson and various people from Menstrie, Stirling and Bridge of Allan started meetings under that name in that wee pub in Tullibody.
Myself and my missus, Apryl, used to come up and visit while we were still part of the Glasgow Vespa Club, and when the GVC split (someone bought a Lambretta and there was a big fall out) we joined up officially, I think, 1990.
Meetings continued in various Stirling pubs, particularly the Bistro in the main street, and that ice-cream place at the Causewayhead roundabout.
Then there was a big splurge of Stirling uni students joined, including Luke O'Curry, and loads of folk whose names I canny remember, but who Phil Fitzgerald (Fitz's wee brother) should be able to help me list for you, as he joined about then too.
A year or so after that, several key members either moved to Glasgow, got jobs in Glasgow, or got girlfriends in Glasgow, and the club became a two-centre affair, with the Stirling members coming down to the big smoke most weekends to go out to various mod or soul club nights ‹ things like 'Helter-Skelter' upstairs at the Garage, 'Parklife' down on Oswald St, and, later on, 'Goodfoot' on Woodlands Rd, which ran for 5 years or so, and became our real stamping-ground.
By this point, we were meeting weekly the Partick Tavern, in church street, which was great cos it was cheap and had a real fire. When it got re-fitted as a style bar, we moved meetings to Wintersgills, in Gt Western Rd, a pub owned by an ex-Celtic defender guy.... Jim something ..... roundabout this time, mid-90s, the membership was up in the high 20s.
These numbers enabled us to organise dances, usually at the Westerner pub/club down near George Square, two a year, one in spring, one around about halloween, which became fancy dress.
At the rallies at this time, we associated closely with the Animals Fae Namboombu, a kind of similar cut-downs, matt blacks and drinking club from Paisley, and the Spectrum, a bunch of lambretta-restoring original skinheads from Springburn/Kirkintilloch. We occasionally organised full-size coaches to Edinburgh dances, and took these clubs along with us.
Towards the end of the 90s, there were some within the club who let ambition get the better of them, with the result that we took in some refugees from various Airdrie / Coatbridge / Motherwell clubs, taking our numbers yet higher. This led to several 'best turned out' trophies, but I remember at the time thinking that I didn't know who half the club were.
Inevitably, there are communications difficulties you get with a big club spread from Bannockburn to Bothwell, and meetings began to get fraught with minor niggles and "so-and-so didn'y phone us about such-and-such" kind of arguments.
After several public power struggles, a few fights at dances, and some completely out-of-order behind the scenes shenanigans by people who should have known better, a bunch of folk left, I think in 2000, maybe 2001, to form The Senators, a new club based out towards Airdrie (who lasted about three years before falling out with themselves), while several others just drifted away to the next fashionable thing.
This was, in the end, for the best, as it left a happy wee core of Gorehounds in Glasgow ‹ myself, the missus, Phil, Stan, Liz, Big Baz, Willie, Liverpool Michael, Berni, Fiona, Silly Gordy and Magz, plus a bunch of ex-Animals, ex-Spectrum associates that, while not official members, have been going to rallies with us for 10 or more years and are, ultimately, far closer friends than some of the people who had briefly been 'official' members during the over-expanded years.
In this form, we've quite happily trotted along for the last five years, attending the usual round of events ‹ Millport, various Farmyard Parties, Kelso (or whatever Scottish national), the Bridlington custom show, Whisky Galore down Dumfries way, plus the predictable winter calendar of Glasgow social gatherings ‹ Globetrotters dances, Animals dances, the new Goodfoot, and (rather regular) gigs by SLF, the Pogues, Madness, The Amphetameanies (the club ska band, featuring me and stan) and various Jam / Clash tribute bands.
The Amphetameanies, featuring current 'hounds meself and Big Stan, and ex-hound, wee Helen.
