Barrowland tattoo is sign of mum’s affection for iconic concert venue

Maureen Grant, 53, is at her happiest when enjoying a gig at the famous Barrowland Ballroom, in Glasgow.

Now she has made sure the venue will always be close to her...by having a design of its iconic neon sign tattooed on her arm.

It took Paisley-based tattoo artist Krystine Rice six hours to complete the permanent tribute.

It took six hours to complete the tattoo

And Maureen, who owns a dog grooming business in Johnstone, is delighted with the end result.

She said: “I have so many memories of friends, ex-partners, my husband, my kids at the Barrowlands. If you don’t feel it when you go to the Barras, I can’t explain it to you.

“It has been a thread through my life, from a teenager to 53.”

Maureen frequently travels to Glasgow for live music and has lost count of the gigs she has attended at the venue but a couple stand out in her memory.

Maureen Grant with her daughter Eilidh

“I went with my daughter to see Supergrass, caught the drumstick and gave it to her,” she recalled. “That was definitely a cool mom moment.”

A gig by British rock band Gene in the 1990s helped to rekindle romance with her now husband of 23 years, with whom she has three children.

“My husband and I had dated a few months and split up,” said Maureen. “A few months later, he asked me to this gig. The rest is history.”

Her most treasured memories of the Barrowlands are now conserved in the form of ticket stubs decorating her Vespa, which also carries the venue’s logo.

The Barrowland logo on Maureen’s Vespa

“I had a Vespa when I was a teenager and my husband is also into bikes,” said Maureen. “He bought a Harley several years ago, so during lockdown I thought ‘I’m getting one...I’m nobody’s pillion passenger.’

“Of course, I had to get it airbrushed with the Barrowland sign.”

Maureen admits lockdown was tough, as she was unable to attend gigs, but she was still able to get her ‘Barrowland fix’ by purchasing a painting of the venue from a fellow enthusiast.

“I really missed gigs,” she said. “I went to my last one before lockdown and went back to see Passenger and The Specials when it reopened. I’ve got Sam Fender in a couple of weeks.”