Line of Duty stars bring daytime clubbing to Glasgow
- Published
The first Day Fever event in Scotland was held in Glasgow
It's not so much a smooth move on to the dance floor as a slow, nervous slide from the adjacent bar.
But within minutes, the lone couple showing their moves at the BAaD café in the east end of Glasgow is joined by a large group of enthusiastic women who appear to be line dancing to ABBA.
And all before tea-time. Welcome to the first Scottish edition of Day Fever.
The idea came from film-maker Jonny Owen and his friend, musician and DJ Jon McClure. They wanted to create a daytime version of the nightclubs they had visited in their youth.
The reaction has been enthusiastic. Not least from their own friends and family, who include Jonny's wife, Line of Duty star Vicky McClure.
"I personally don't have any desire to go clubbing till two, three in the morning," Vicky says.
"We get a lot of women who feel the same way. It's a really safe environment and they just want to let loose and have a dance and that's exactly what Day Fever is about."
Line of Duty's Vicky McClure, Craig Parkinson and Martin Compston led the dancing
This was the first Day Fever event in Scotland
The first event was staged in Sheffield in January. They have since staged sold out shows in London, Nottingham, Manchester and Merthyr Tydfil, with their biggest to date planned for Edinburgh at the end of May.
The daytime disco idea is not a new one. The DJ Annie Mac runs one, as does Edinburgh's Club Tropicana. But there appears to be plenty of demand from the now 50-something rave generation.
"There are lots of reasons people don't want to be out at night. There's shifts, there's children, there are so many reasons that day dancing is better for people of a certain age," Vicky says.
And it is not just the people on the dance floor. Jon McClure last played Glasgow in the neighbouring Barrowlands Ballroom, with his band Reverend and the Makers.
"Apart from singing, I used to DJ and I used to take myself incredibly seriously but I'm getting older now and I don't want to play the dance music I'd have played in Ibiza," he says.
"I try and play music that I think you might hear at a wedding or a party. It's like me mum's kitchen in 1996, after we've all had a few drinks. What's on the stereo? It's all the hits we've grown up with."
On a wet and windy April Saturday, it is the Weather Girls' hit It's Raining Men which prompts dancers to wave their umbrellas in the air. One of the many singalongs accompanies Runrig's Loch Lomond.
Clips of vintage TV programmes such as Hong Kong Phooey, The Incredible Hulk and Dallas are shown alongside adverts for long defunct products.
Glasgow's Martin Compston joined the event
Each event includes local guests from the worlds of sport and entertainment. In Glasgow, Vicky invited her Line of Duty co-star Martin Compston, who arrives buoyed by his team's win at Celtic Park.
He takes his turn on the DJ decks where he is joined by another Line of Duty cast member - Craig Parkinson, who played crooked detective Mathew "Dot" Cottan.
The whole event has the feel of a family celebration. There is even a chorus of Happy Birthday for Elaine Robertson, who is marking her 50th.
"We've heard lots of lovely stories," says Vicky.
"We've had people meet new partners at Day Fever, celebrate their birthdays. We had one lady, Irene, who celebrated her 80th with us and brought all of her family along."
Jonny Owen says he hopes the Glasgow event, like all their other locations, will become a monthly attraction.
"What's been great is that it's sold out," he says.
"People are spending money in the middle of the day. That's been really important for smaller venues like this."
"It's a different approach but that's no bad thing. It's not a good look for a man of my age to be carrying a kebab through Queen Street at two o'clock in the morning but at seven o'clock I could probably get away with it."
Martin Compston and Vicky McClure became friends while working on Line of Duty
Martin ends the evening being carried aloft around the crowd. Vicky has simpler plans for what remains of the day.
"Stumble home, get into bed, check my phone, watch telly, make a cup of tea. People say 'what are you doing after?' Nothing! That's the point of Day Fever. It's about having the evening left to chill out."