Iconic Glasgow venue The Vic, which was host to dozens of famous bands, actors and poets in its heyday, is to be brought back to life.

Due to reopen in late November after more than two years of renovations, The Vic - the students' union at Glasgow School of Art - is set to resume its role as one of the most influential venues in Glasgow.

As part of the relaunch, a project is under way to explore the history of the building, from its beginnings as the Assembly Building in 1930, through the Second World War when it hosted various fundraising balls, and up to the present day.

Organisers are urging Art School alumni to come forward with photographs, stories, videos or posters from when The Vic bar/café was first created in 1976.

Alex Misick, entertainments convener at the Glasgow School of Art Students' Association, said: "It became incredibly important to arts and culture in Glasgow and the emergence of many bands, DJs and musicians, which primarily came about in the 70s, 80s and 90s."

In the 1950s, the building became the architecture department for a period of around 15 years, before it was later handed to the students.

They built The Vic by stripping out The Victoria Cafe on Victoria Road, which was closing down, and reinstating it at the Art School.

Many now-famous names were involved in the project, including Scottish broadcaster and journalist Muriel Gray. Two refits since then have involved students.

Throughout the decades, the venue has been a melting pot of talent and a launch pad for many future stars, including classic ­Glasgow band Orange Juice. In 1986, The Clash played an impromptu gig there, and Franz Ferdinand, who have strong associations with The Vic, played there in 2002.

Three members of Travis - Fran Healy, Andy Dunlop and Dougie Payne - attended Glasgow School of Art and met at The Vic. The fourth member, Neil Primrose, worked in the bar and befriended them.

Misick said: "The Vic is a fairly undocumented part of Glasgow's music and arts culture. I don't think it is any coincidence that there was an emergence of it as a dance venue during the emergence of dance and electronic music in Scotland. It had a huge role to play in it.

"At the same time, there was a generation of artists coming through in the early to late 1990s from the environmental art department who went on to win the Turner Prize. That's where they all hung out, that's where they met each other and fell in love."

Among the historic items already collected are videos of talent show and photographs from the Art School's own archive.

Misick said: "We would like to put this body of material together to tell its story. There is a huge amount of nostalgia in the place and there is a huge amount of history."