Owner Michael Woods talks about creating a music venue at the Calton with Saint Luke's and establishing the bar and restaurants next door with The Winged Ox. Find out the backdrop to a decade of gigs and hospitality at a modern Glasgow classic.
00:00Hello, we're at Sip Lux. I'm joined by Michael Woods and it's 10 years since Sip Lux and
00:07the Wing Docks opened up here at the Carlton. Michael, when you think back to the start,
00:13what was the, when was the first time you saw this building and thought it might be
00:18something?
00:18Oh, for God. 2010, my brother took me around here to have a look at this. Never said a
00:25look to me. Come on and see this building. I went to see it and I said, look, this place
00:31is available. What do you think? I'm like, look at it. I'm like, nah, what are you talking
00:36about? You have to read. So I found the building and fell in love with it instantly. So it was
00:42just as soon as I could see it, it had to be. So what were we going to do with it at that
00:46time? No idea. It was just a, let's do this and we'll make something up basically. Yeah.
00:52Yeah. Bye. Did the music venue side of it, was that, what came first? Did you think you
01:00wanted to do a bar side of thing or do you think you wanted to do the music venue?
01:03It was a long process. So a lot of my friends of mine were betrayed. So I showed them the
01:09building and it was a good venue, a good bar. And it was just basically a venue, bar, restaurant.
01:16So it all came together, you know, one kind of fun. So it was, aye, it was a big ask.
01:24It's true. I mean, once you'd actually got through the work, I remember, I still remember
01:29the first time I came through and saw the main hall. And it's so atmospheric. And the
01:37fact that that exists, because you know, there's a, maybe a slight of a disconnect, in terms of
01:42like a really impressive building. You can drive past this and lots of people walk past
01:46this for years and don't really notice it. But once you come inside, there's a whole
01:49different world, right? Oh, definitely. It's, I mean, it's still on the inside. When we took
01:54over, it was still a working church, so pews were everywhere. I mean, it was, it was a mess
01:58right enough. I mean, there was pigeons moving next door, holes in the ceiling. And the outside
02:04of it was just an absolute disrepair. So you would walk past it and go, I don't want to stay
02:08that place, you know. But what's changed, didn't you? It's something that swam, it's
02:12where it exists. You know, you've been in many a times.
02:15Yeah. And then, so, the main venue itself has become a staple of Glasgow's music scene.
02:25You've also had weddings there, including my own.
02:27Yes.
02:28And then the bar, the Wing Docks, which kind of had a life of its own. And the thing that
02:33I like about the Wing Docks is as much as it's, you know, like there's people who come
02:38up here, there's destination dining, there's people who come up here and they go in here,
02:42they maybe go before a gig or something like that. I like the fact that it's basically a
02:45local for the people of the Carlton. Oh, definitely.
02:47And that's what you created, right? Oh, definitely. That was part of the biggest
02:50plan as well. This area was really downhill at the time. I don't know, a few boozers here.
02:56It was, oh, it was Bird's Bar. The Hoops was still there.
03:01The Emeralds. The Emeralds.
03:03The Emeralds.
03:04The EastEnders Squirrel, which is still there right enough at the moment.
03:08Yeah.
03:09So there was, that was all the kind of bars that was down here. So it was very put towards
03:14football crowds and it just wasn't right. So, throughout this area I needed, I think,
03:20it needed a good place where you can come, family place, dinner, and have everything at
03:25place. Basically, you know, part of the community, they came in and enjoy the, this beautiful
03:29venue. Yeah. When I, when I lived up in Denison, that was one, one of the things you'd come
03:34in on a Tuesday night, you'd see like entire, basically entire families in for dinner and
03:39a few pints. That, that sense of community, that's important to you and important to your
03:46family as well. Definitely.
03:47That connection to this area. Yeah, my dad had a plumbing company around the corner on Tobago Street.
03:52We worked in this area since I was six, even younger than that I would think, you know.
03:57So, my grandfather worked around the corner on Parmy Street. So, there was a big connection
04:01area and I've always worked here myself growing up. So, a lot of friends, a lot of family members.
04:06So, it's very, very important to have that community side there.
04:10Yeah. Can you remember the first gig that you had next door? What was that like?
04:14The first gig. That would have been Baby Strange, I think, played the first gig. It was fun enough,
04:19I had a 10th party all night and a chap at a Baby Strange in the first song. So, it was weird
04:2510 years coming in like that, you know. Yeah. But, I had to remember that first gig. I was
04:30absolutely buzzing with it and stressed and you name it, you know.
04:33There must be a real breakthrough moment having, you know, like reclaimed that space for Glasgow
04:37and then seeing all the people coming in. I mean, that's one of my most favourite things
04:42about this building. The many gigs we've had, you come in here and you just see people having
04:47a brilliant time, you know what I mean? It's just, it makes me so happy. Yeah.
04:50You see people sweating and smiling and jumping about and sweating and being sick at sight.
04:56I think you, I mean, you spend a bit of time kind of like talking to the actors and stuff like that.
05:02I certainly get the sense that this is a venue that musicians really enjoy.
05:07They do. Because it is so atmospheric. Oh, I mean, we get it all the time.
05:10Every musician in the venue has not been in here yet, but when can you play this
05:14and you get us in, you fit us in here and it's hard to fit them in. Yeah.
05:18But, even for the big artists, it's up down. They love it. I've never had a bad word
05:24cared about the venue. I know you liked your music, you still do, but, you know, like,
05:29in terms of like folk that you remember from growing up, like Damon Albarn and stuff like that,
05:34seeing people like that play your venue, is that a good feeling?
05:37That was crazy. I mean, sitting there and having a beer in the green room.
05:41It's a nice talk to you, Damon Albarn here. I used to sit and watch it. I mean, it's you, you know, it's crazy.
05:47I remember a pal of mine just popped into here for a pizza and the next minute,
05:50Bez from the Capi Mondays was wondering about buying people pints of tenants.
05:54Oh, it's nuts. It all happens in St Luke, right? It's nuts. I remember as well, Steve Craddock
05:59from Ocean Colour Scene. He was in doing a gig and the two of us were on the back
06:03and he was just jamming songs to me, having a few beers and I was like, this is crazy.
06:07This was kind of at the start as well. So, it was pretty much, it's not said in all the way,
06:12but it's amazing that I can sit and have that experience with these people. I mean, absolutely love it.
06:17Ten years in now, I was in for dinner the other night and you've kind of, it seems like you've gone full circle,
06:24almost back to the original concept, which was a lot of kind of like Americana influences and comfort food.
06:29And then you've got the smoker menu. Tell me a bit about the food and drink that you like here at the moment.
06:35Yeah, well, the smoke menu we're doing at the moment is changing up every week. We wanted to do that at the start.
06:41It was very difficult. It was not a big scene when we first opened up.
06:45So, trying to push that smoked barbecue scene in Glasgow at the time was tough.
06:50So, again, the menu evolved to sort of customers coming through the years there and it's a full circle.
06:57We've got these fantastic smokers at the back and people are really keen to get into this kind of cooking.
07:02So, yeah, it's pretty good and it's super tasty. We've tried it ourselves.
07:07Yeah. I've been writing about Glasgow for ten years this month as well.
07:14And one of the big things, one of the big changes that you can point to over the last decade is definitely around this area.
07:23Not just in terms of, you know, that the streets look better. There's a real energy now around the bars.
07:29But the amount of food and drink businesses that have opened up.
07:32Do you feel that this area is reconnected with the city centre like the rest of the city?
07:37Oh, definitely. A hundred percent.
07:39We were the first to move down. We were the first people to kind of open up as an established bar and restaurant, you know.
07:44So, it's the changing. I mean, we've got Holly Fook up in the corner.
07:48Bad, Van Winkle's, The Gate, 226.
07:52And for that, we've got to have this in the past and over the ground.
07:55It's good to see ten minutes walk through the city centre.
07:57So, it's a part of the city centre, kind of side of the field.
08:01Yeah.
08:02Do you have any, do you have any particularly really strong memories of, like, great gigs that you've enjoyed?
08:09Ah, many. Oh, jeez.
08:11But I can remember them really.
08:14ThunderCat was amazing.
08:16They were supporting Red Hot Chili Peppers in the gig that cancelled at Bellahousin.
08:22Right.
08:23They got a phone call up at ten o'clock in the morning and said, you can be fit ThunderCat in here tonight.
08:27I'm like, aye, easy.
08:29So, that was it.
08:30I had to go and pick the guys up to Winn-Devishill Garden.
08:33So, I had them in the back of the car and playing all their music in the back of the car.
08:37It was brilliant.
08:38But, yeah, that gig was on YouTube.
08:40It was just kind of surprising, as you know.
08:44So, it was a fantastic gig.
08:46What else has been brilliant?
08:48Ghostface Caller, the Wu-Tang Clan, he was unreal.
08:51Yeah.
08:52Yeah, yeah.
08:53The party in the back after that was not to be discussed.
08:56It was a bit wild.
08:58But, ah, there's been so many.
09:01David Wilburn was a brilliant one.
09:02Lewis Capaldi's first ever gig.
09:03Yeah.
09:04That was amazing.
09:05Yeah.
09:06Too many to name.
09:07Yeah.
09:08But, aye, that's a few of them.
09:09In terms of the music, they're very important to Glasgow.
09:13I think it's very important to the way that we define ourselves.
09:16It's one of our chosen ways of expression, expressing ourselves.
09:20Do you think it's important that we kind of protect that?
09:25You know, like, we can't take for granted the fact that we're very good at this.
09:30You know, like, we need to invest and we need to make it a place that bands feel that they can come here in love and that people that can play.
09:36Mm-hm.
09:37Do you feel very close to that, can I say?
09:39Oh, 100%.
09:40I mean, Glasgow is a music city.
09:41I mean, every bar you're going to, it's very music-led and it's always been a scene in Glasgow.
09:46And a lot of people don't know that in the UK and throughout the world, you know, to the amount it should be.
09:52But, ah, definitely, music is key for this area.
09:56Especially this area.
09:57The bar lands more than us.
09:58Yeah.
09:59It's like a week in a beautiful week quarter.
10:01It should be, it should be embellished.
10:03And, aye, it's very important to me.
10:06It's soul for this area.
10:08Yeah.
10:09When you think of, like, a decade of gigs and what your team's managed to be able to establish here, I mean, it's quite an achievement, really, to build something from nothing into something that's a really important and vibrant part of the music city.
10:25Are you very proud of all the efforts of your, your gang?
10:27Aye, that's really nice to see.
10:28Aye, no, the gang, I mean, it wouldn't have happened if it wasn't for the team of one place.
10:33Aye, I mean, with Alexander Richens, who's a crazy manager for everything.
10:38He's absolutely amazing.
10:39He loves a place, but I love a place.
10:42Aye, Alisson, who does our events, who does our weddings, who you know very well as well.
10:46These people really care about the business and care about what they're trying to create.
10:51So it's creative.
10:53If you had the chance to book any musician to play on your stage, who do you think you'd go for?
10:59I don't know.
11:00That's a tough question.
11:01Oasis might be around next summer.
11:03Aye.
11:04Might be.
11:05Might get a wee acoustic gig.
11:06I would love to get some more.
11:07I mean, I know if there's an acoustic thing in here, it'd be unreal.
11:11I would, yeah.
11:12Aye.
11:13Might have to wait 20 years.
11:14Aye.
11:15I know that.
11:16Well, you done a general doctor a few years ago, didn't you?
11:18Aye, there's just so many I'd love to get in here, you know.
11:22But as I say, all the bands love it.
11:24So I don't think it'd be a tough ask or a deal breaker to come here until, you know.
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