Sub Club owner delves into 30 years of Glaswegian nightclub history in new podcast

Dumbfounded young clubbers were ‘appearing at nightclubs with McDonald’s in hand’, not understanding why they were being refused entry, as the night time industry was hauled back to a ‘ground zero moment’ in the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic.

That’s the claim made by the owner of the world’s longest-running underground dance club, Mike Grieve who, after 40 years in an industry that’s, ‘in his blood’ says there ‘will always be an appetite’ for clubbing and music that’s ‘part of our human existence’.

At the helm of Glasgow’s renowned Sub Club for three decades, Mike, and fellow late night industry heavyweights have seen a change in behaviour among young people, ‘stuck at home for nearly two years’. Mike claims they missed out on learning how to act in venues from ‘older friends and siblings’.

‘Predicting’ these ‘behaviour patterns’ is a ‘challenge’ that Mike is ‘still trying to navigate’.

He opened up on the ‘innumerable challenges’ of running a nightclub – one that’s survived a fire and the explosion of rave music as well as a global pandemic – on The Human First podcast.

Hosted by financial planner and CEO of Murphy Wealth, Adrian Murphy, the podcast delved into Mike's incredible career in the industry that is ‘in his blood’ and an ‘obsession’ rather than a passion.

Adrian discusses life, money, motivation, and family with some of the most prominent and recognisable names in Scottish business, music, and public life. After more than 19 years in business helping thousands of people unlock their true potential and enjoy life to the fullest using money as a tool, Adrian is ready to share his secrets too.

On the ‘new influx’ of somewhat uninformed clubbers, Mike told Adrian: “During the pandemic it was almost like a fire break when people were stuck at home for, in our business, nearly two years. When particularly the young student population had to stay at home, it restarted and there was an influx of people getting into clubs, maybe for the first time.

“People had nobody to learn behaviour from like older friends or siblings. Young people were appearing at clubs not really knowing what to do. We had young people appearing at the door trying to get in with a McDonald’s and when we said no – they couldn’t understand why.

“Clubbing is peer-led, led by oldest siblings or friends. That all went. So we experienced this ground zero moment with nightlife. I think that’s what we're still trying to navigate.”

While some punters in their late teens needed educating on how to conduct themselves in these venues, Mike feels those who are a little older might have become accustomed to staying in at the weekend, with the term J.O.M.O (joy of missing out)becoming more and more commonplace.

He added: “Then you have people in their mid-to-late twenties. Maybe, they have gotten used to staying in. Maybe, now, they don’t feel the same pressure to go out.”

The club owner feels a shift in working patterns could be partly to blame.

“The numbers are quite stark when you see them, how people’s behaviour has changed,” he said.

“They show how many people got into the way or working from home. Hybrid working has become much more commonplace. Mondays and Fridays are by far the preferred days for most people to work from home. People have gotten used to building their lifestyles around that and that has profound effects on the city centre, not just retail, but hospitality businesses as a whole. That’s had a really massive impact on Glasgow city centre in general.”

But Mike maintains people will forever gravitate back towards the joy that comes from clubbing. And a little bit of ‘adversity’ doesn’t scare the dance-scene mogul.

He said: “I always think there is going to be an appetite for nightlife. This goes so far back into human existence, listening to music and dancing. I think it will always be there. I think trying to predict what the behaviour patterns are is our challenge going forward.”

“This industry is one of these things that’s in your blood. It’s something that I’ve taken a lot of pleasure from and developed a skill set in - that’s come from the adversity. As with a lot of things, you don’t learn something from having an easy life.”

An ‘easy life’ is certainly something Sub Club stalwart Mike, who moved from the Aberdeen night scene to help run iconic Sub Club in the early nineties, cannot relate to.

Moving to Glasgow from the granite city in 1992 and having met his wife Lynne in the Sub Club, Mike was offered the Sub Club gig in 1994 shortly after the birth of his daughter Lily. Mike’s expectation was that this job ‘would only last a year or two’ before the new dad would ‘get a grown up job’.

But his ‘obsession’ with the scene led to more years at the city centre venue before a fire in the post office next door gutted the building, resulting in Sub Club’s three-year closure, ‘catapulted’ Mike into an ownership role. The rest he says is history.

“Sub Club dominates any kind of conversation that I might have,” it’s in my blood,” he added.

“There are very few establishments that have strayed true to their beliefs and stayed pure to that dance music ethos that have lasted that length of time without becoming more commercial and ‘selling out’ as we would say. I’m very proud to have been a part of that.”

Hitting retirement age, while allowing legendary Mike to reflect upon years gone by, isn’t stopping him any time soon.

He said: “If someone told me I’d still be doing this at the age of 65 I’d have laughed. I don’t know if I’ll ever be retired as such, but it’s not really physically possible to keep the pace up at night and day. I can’t envisage a time when I’m not involved in it in some way. It’s always important that there’s a younger energy coming through.”

The Human First podcast is a new series from Murphy Wealth CEO Adrian Murphy, in which he discusses life, money, motivation, and family with some of the most prominent and recognisable faces in Scottish business.

The five-part series, which launched this August, includes interviews with guests including former Scotland and Glasgow Warriors international turned entrepreneur Adam Ashe; celebrity architect and Scotland’s Home of the Year judge Danny Campbell; and Scots entrepreneur and TAG Digital founder Laura Davidson.

You can find out more about Murphy Wealth and the financial advice services the firm offers by clicking here, and you can listen to the 30 minute podcast in full by searching for Human First on all major platforms, including Spotify and YouTube.