When dancers in Dennistoun raised an eyebrow or two

IT’S almost like a more vibrant version of Edward Hopper’s famous New York painting Nighthawks. This though is the Dennistoun Palais in Glasgow in April, 1954, as thirsty dancers queue for a coffee or orange juice.

I’m told that the Dennistoun Palais – isn’t it great bringing a little bit of French glamour in the nametotheeastend–didnotsell alcohol which is why soft drinks were sought after.

And look at these eyebrows. “Are you surprised to see me?” would seem the obvious question to ask these ladies.

But it must have been thirsty work, as someone calculated that 10 circuits of the dancefloor at the Denny Pally, one of Britain’s largest dancehalls, was near enough a mile.

The Palais originally opened in 1922 but closed after a fire and reopened in 1938 with a capacity of up to 1,800 – surely not all on the dance-floor at the same time.

It closed in 1962, became the site of a supermarket, but it too has gone and is now an area of flats.

It was immortalised in the song Cod Liver Oil and the Orange Juice with the lines “Does this bus go to the Dennistoun Palais. Oh ho, I’m lookin’ for a lumber.”

Can’t get the tune out of my head now.

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