The Rise and Fall of the Arches: How This Iconic Glasgow Club Found Success and Lost It.

The Arches was loved by many and known as a staple for a good night out, but after nearly 25 years of success, the club shut down. Read below to discover the history of the infamous venue.

(Pictured: The Arches venue. Photo credit to Becky Bucks at Mixmag)

The Arches was a popular way to spend a night out in the early 2000s. Located under Glasgow central station, the venue hosted many live music events, club nights, festivals and even doubled as a fringe stage. There was an option for everyone; the Victorian arches (as seen above) helped the venue pick its name and stand out from other clubs.

Daft Punk, The Chemical Brothers, Carl Cox and Jeff Mills are all famous DJs who performed in the venue back in its prime.

Antonio, who worked at The Arches for over 7 years told us, “I loved my job and I loved The Arches. It was an amazing time..they don’t make them like that anymore!”.

So how did this promising nightclub meet its end? Things started to go downhill when a young girl passed away after attending the venue in a drug-related incident. This resulted in police in Scotland wanting tighter restrictions implemented by the licensing board. This was the beginning of the end.

The Licensing board later decided that a midnight curfew should be implemented for the venue, resulting in shutting 3 hours earlier than usual. This is very early for a nightclub and caused people to seek other options.

Eventually, the venue shuts down after going into administration, locals are upset that a once lively, fun place has disappeared and many signed petitions in an attempt to save the club. Recently we have seen the venue reopen under the new name Platform, which has not reached nearly as much attention or media coverage as The Arches.

See our timeline below to know exactly what happened in The Arches 25 years of life.