Photos: Mike Bishop

and Ian Single as an antidote to some of the more staid and less glamorous traditional entertainment available at the time, Club Noir has become an iconic institution with an international reputation.

“We felt that there were no nights running in Glasgow that suited our tastes, or that matched the glamour of the scene in London,” said Warren who claims the initial aim was to amalgamate all the elements she and her friends enjoyed about clubbing.

“We wanted something unique, mixing burlesque, cabaret and fetish, a little circus, rockabilly and vintage, with a bit of gay club vibe.” So, just your average nightclub, then (not!).

Back at the turn of the 21st century 54 August 2015

Burlesque was enjoying something of a revival spearheaded by entertainers such as Dita Von Teese and Immodesty Blaize, among others. It was a fresh approach to a tried and tested concept - a heady mixture of glamour, humour and titillation, harking back to a different age through sparkly rose-tinted glasses.

“We felt that there were no nights running in Glasgow that suited our tastes, or that matched the glamour of the scene in London.”

:Tina Warren

The glitzy world of dancing girls draped in crystals while waving around strategically placed feather fans was conceived by Vaudeville theatre owners in the United States, desperate to cling on to audiences during the dawn of cinema. Stage shows were full productions, oſten involving circus acts, musicians,comedians and dancing chorus girls.

The girlie show which has come to dominate Burlesque was initially only one part, albeit oſten the most titillating and memorable one, of a bigger variety performance.

As the popularity of cinema and later television grew, live variety performances began to lose their atraction. Audiences driſted away; it seemed the time had arrived for Burlesque to hang up its collective G-string and accept its