Many of
the scores of people inside the Clutha were watching Esperanza, a nine-piece
city band specialising in a genre made famous in Britain by 1980s groups like
Madness.
They
included musician and Evening Times journalist Fraser Gibson, the band's former
trombonist, who was in the venue to hear his friends for the first time since
he left the group.
Still stunned
by events of the evening - Fraser was lucky enough to be one of the first
people out of the Clutha when its roof came in - he has watched fans and fellow
musicians rally round.
He said:
"A lot of people in the ska community know each other - see each other at
gigs and festivals - and ska fans will know Esperanza, which will really bring
what happened home.
"The
band has played as far north as Inverness and the recent Knoydart Festival and
as far south as London and Dorset - where they have played at the Specialized
charity festival for the last two years.
"People
will know this group - even though this was the first time they had been at the
Clutha they had played practically every other venue in the city."
Support
has poured in to the band's website, from ska fans as far away as America.
Horace
Panter, bassist with Two Tone ska legends The Specials, was among those sending
best wishes.
"Thoughts
are with Esperanza, who were playing when helicopter dropped through pub roof
and some of their mates injured," he tweeted.
Fraser
said: "They made a lot of friends on their travels. The messages of
support are coming from all over, from the ska community."
Glasgow
Ska Train, a hub for the city's scene and the organiser of a monthly gig at pub
Pivo Pivo, led tributes in its own inimitable way.
The
group posted a picture of a white polo shirt, button-up, on its Facebook page.
On the
shirt were the words "Good night friends, until we dance again".
Fraser
said: "Ska is a unifying genre. It brings together people of all
nationalities and all ages. The Clutha on Friday had students and it had mums
and dads.
"Lots
of people were up and dancing and I remember saying just how well Esperanza
were playing.
"This
is music designed to make people happy. It is upbeat, bouncy, happy good-time
music to get people up to dance and have fun."
The
contrast between the music played by Esperanza and the events of Friday night
couldn't be greater. The band issued a statement through Facebook, saying it
had woken up to realise the disaster had been "horribly real".
It spoke
of its deepest sympathies last night as names of the dead and missing were
confirmed.
One was
Mark O'prey, a stalwart of the ska scene, who was well known on the gig and
festival circuit, always willing to share a trademark curry.
Fraser
saw Mr O'prey, a friend, on Friday night in The Clutha. The 44-year-old hasn't
been seen since.
Fraser,
34, who plays with Glasgow ska band Capone and The Bullets, had joined his
brother Scott, 30, in a far corner of the pub.
He said:
"I was probably in the safest place in the bar just because my brother
happened to sit there. I still feel that what happened was like a movie, the
roof folding in on itself, it hasn't hit home yet.
" I
just acted on autopilot and walked out with my brother. We had no idea what had
happened other than a big bang.
"We
just went to hear some ska on a Friday night."
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