The O₂ Academy Glasgow (formerly the Carling Academy Glasgow) is a music venue on Eglinton Street in the

Gorbals The Gorbals is an area in the city of Glasgow, Scotland, on the south bank of the River Clyde. By the late 19th century, it had become densely populated; rural migrants and immigrants were attracted by the new industries and employment opportun ...

( Laurieston) area of

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popu ...

. It holds 2,500 people. It was one of two Academy Music Group venues in Glasgow, until the O₂ ABC Glasgow closed due to fire damage in 2018. It was one of a group of music venues in Britain branded

Carling Academy Academy Music Group (AMG) is a leading owner-operator of music venues in the United Kingdom. They operate a number of medium-sized venues, the majority of which (until January 2009) took the name Carling Academy after their sponsor Carling. Som ...

, the best known including the

Brixton Academy Brixton Academy (originally known as the Astoria Variety Cinema, previously known as Carling Academy Brixton, currently named O2 Academy Brixton as part of a sponsorship deal with the O2 brand) is a mid-sized concert venue located in South Wes ...

and the O₂ Academy Birmingham. Since November 2008, the venue has been rebranded by network operator O₂ to its new name, following a new sponsorship deal with

Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American global entertainment company and monopoly that was founded in 2010 following the merger of Live Nation and Ticketmaster. The company promotes, operates, and manages ticket sales for live entertai ...

History

The venue is housed in the former New Bedford Cinema which underwent a £3 million refurbishment project to turn it into a 2,500 person

music venue A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from a small coffeehouse for folk music shows, an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. ...

. The venue opened on 26 March 2003 with the band

Deacon Blue Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow during 1985. The line-up of the band consists of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, keyboard player James Prime and drummer Dougie Vipond. The band released their debut albu ...

, Singer Bryan Ferry and girl group Sugababes after 10 years of the building being closed and in disrepair. On 6 November 2008, it was announced that

Telefónica Europe O2 (typeset as O2) is a global brand name owned by the Spanish telecommunications company Telefónica. The company uses the O2 brand for its subsidiaries in the United Kingdom and Germany. Since 2018, it is also used as an online-only flanker ...

(owners of the O₂ Network in the UK) had become the new sponsor of all Academy venues, in a deal with music promoter

. The deal, which lasts for five years, sees all venues rebranded "The O₂ Academy", in line with Telefónica's purchase of the Millennium Dome (now

The O2 The O2 is a large entertainment district on the Greenwich peninsula in South East London, England, including an indoor arena, a music club, a Cineworld cinema, an exhibition space, piazzas, bars, and restaurants. It was built largely withi ...

Events

Previous Events: *

The Killers The Killers are an American rock band formed in Las Vegas in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After going through a number of short-term bass players and drummers in t ...

' 2006 gig at the venue sold out in a record three minutes. This led to the band announcing a date at Glasgow's SECC Arena the following night. *

James Brown James Joseph Brown (May 3, 1933 – December 25, 2006) was an American singer, dancer, musician, record producer and bandleader. The central progenitor of funk music and a major figure of 20th century music, he is often referred to by the hono ...

played his last UK gig at the venue on 25 October 2006. *The venue hosted a prestigious O₂ Wireless Festival workshop on 10 May 2008. *During the annual

Glasgow International Comedy Festival Glasgow International Comedy Festival is a comedy festival in Glasgow, Scotland. The comedy festival started in 2002 and is held annually in March in venues across the city. The festival is supported financially by Glasgow City Council and sinc ...

, the venue is transformed into a comedy club with shows taking place every night.

Russell Brand Russell Edward Brand (born 4 June 1975) is an English comedian and actor known for his flamboyant, loquacious style and manner. Brand has received three British Comedy Awards: Best Newcomer (2006), Best Live Stand-Up (2008), and the award for ...

Jimmy Carr James Anthony Patrick Carr (born 15 September 1972) is a British-Irish comedian, presenter, writer, and actor. He is known for his deadpan delivery of controversial one-liners and distinctive laugh, for which he has been both praised and criti ...

and

Frankie Boyle Francis Martin Patrick Boyle (born 16 August 1972) is a Scottish comedian and writer. He is known for his cynical, surreal, graphic and often controversial sense of humour. A stand-up comedian since 1995, Boyle first gained widespread recogni ...

have performed at the venue. *The venue played host to The

Gigantour Gigantour was a sporadically organised traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth. The tour was founded in 2005 with dates across North America (see also Gigantour 2005), and the 2006 and 2007 line-ups also t ...

on 19 February 2008. *

hosts the record for the most shows played at the venue - a total of 14 - including six during 2008's Glasgow Comedy Festival.

References

{{Coord, 55.85057, N, 4.25912, W, type:landmark_region:GB, display=title Music venues in Glasgow Academy Glasgow Music venues in Scotland Gorbals