IT HAS played host to Pink Floyd and The Smiths across decades of entertainment in the Scottish capital.
Now a last-ditch attempt is under way to save the Picture House on Lothian Road in Edinburgh as a music venue with the issue being raised by politicians in the Scottish Parliament.
More than 12,500 people, including 19 MSPs, have signed a petition pressing for the venue to remain a music hub. However, it looks likely the shut-down premises will be re-opened as a pub.
JD Wetherspoon has lodged an application with Edinburgh City Council to re-open the Picture House as one of its prime locations in Edinburgh, a few hundred yards off Princes Street.
Callum Mouat, who worked at the venue and raised the petition, said the building had been an institution among music fans.
He said: "The last thing this city needs is a key music venue, as well as the Edinburgh music scene, to be tarnished.
"The Picture House has a musical history stretching back three decades and has brought the best international acts to the Scottish capital with acts as diverse as Franz Ferdinand to Amadou and Mariam having graced its stage.
"During the 1970s and 1980s it was known as The Caley Palais and hosted gigs by some of the biggest name artists of its generation including New Order, The Smiths, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Orange Juice, Queen and AC/DC.
"I refuse to stand by and watch decades of live music history be tarnished all in the name of a burger and a pint for £6."
He added: "Without the Edinburgh Picture House, that band you've waited ages to see will be through in Glasgow, resulting in increased costs for music lovers who now have to leave events early in order to catch the last bus or train at ridiculous o'clock for around £10 or £15 extra."
Edinburgh Central MSP Marco Biagi has also opposed the move.
He said: "I raised the issue of the large number of Wetherspoons applications in particular in Parliament with the minister for public health, and his message was what my message would be: we have to pay attention to the experts here, and the experts in both health and anti-social behaviour, the police and the NHS, have argued against additional licences in that area in the past."
He wrote to MSPs that the Parliament should note the recent purchase of the Edinburgh live music venue, the Picture House, by JD Wetherspoon.
He asked Holyrood to consider the Picture House is a much-loved venue and a key part of Edinburgh's music scene.
He pointed out that the loss of the capacity to host musical performances would be a cultural and economic loss to the city.
He also asked that MSPs understandsthat a petition urging the new owners to retain the Picture House as a venue for music had attracted more than 10,000 signatures.
He urged JD Wetherspoon to preserve the place of live music in its plans for the Picture House.
A spokesman for JD Wetherspoon said: "We didn't close it down. Wetherspoons bought the building after it was closed. In terms of the music, it's not on the agenda, but things could change.
"The plans are in and anyone who wants to look at the plans can. It is totally transparent."
Dr Evelyn Gillan, chief executive of Alcohol Focus Scotland, said Edinburgh already faced high levels of alcohol-related health and social harm that cost the city more than £221 million per year.
She said: "It would be a real cause for concern if a large capacity pub is opened in an area where there are already so many licensed premises."
Supporters include DJ Vic Galloway who said: "Edinburgh needs music venues and not more pubs."
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article