Plaza Ballroom - Glasgow Jan 1981
Here are the young men a weight on their shoulders. And that was just the damp and heavy trench coats on the hoards who flocked in memorium to New Orders first Glasgow gig since their unexpected formation some six months earlier. It was cold, so very cold, both outside and inside this bizarre venue. A venue known to Glaswegians for their entire lives for its folklore and mythological grab a granny nights, and almost fittingly, an enigma to most of its inhabitants tonight. The New Order finally crack the breathy, frozen air of anticipation, encased in a round glass tomb and ice blue light. The sound is crap, things don't work, Barney struggles to sing and be heard but the crowd stay still, with awe, with delight, with tears in their eyes. Like rows and rows of terracotta warriors frozen in time. Here are the young men a wait off their shoulders.
