The Shimmy Club was a nightclub in Glasgow that operated from 2013 to 2022. The club installed a

one-way mirror A one-way mirror, also called two-way mirror (or one-way glass, half-silvered mirror, and semi-transparent mirror), is a reciprocal mirror that appears reflective from one side and transparent from the other though this is an illusion and would ...

allowing viewing into the hand washing area of the women's toilets, prompting

Glasgow City Council Glasgow City Council (Scottish Gaelic: ''Comhairle Baile Ghlaschu'') is the Local government in Scotland, local government authority for Glasgow, Glasgow City council area, Scotland. In its modern form it was created in 1996. Glasgow was former ...

to intervene, forcing the club to temporarily close for a week to rectify the issue.

The club

The Shimmy Club was a nightclub that also hosted disco events for children, located at 25

Royal Exchange Square The Royal Exchange Square is a public square in Glasgow, Scotland. The square lies between Buchanan Street and Queen Street, opening out Queen Street, Glasgow, Queen Street and Ingram Street to the south of George Square. It is also easily ac ...

. It was owned by Scotsman Group, previously known as G1 Group.

History

The club opened on 3 May 2013 and included a one-way mirror enabling patrons in one of the £800-per-night private rooms to view into the hand-washing area of the women's toilets.

Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland The shadow secretary of state for Scotland is a member of the Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom), UK Shadow Cabinet responsible for the scrutiny of the Secretary of State for Scotland, secretary of state for Scotland and his/he ...

Margaret Curran Margaret Patricia Curran, Baroness Curran (born 24 November 1958), is a Scottish Labour Party politician. She served in the House of Commons as the member of Parliament (MP) for Glasgow East from 2010 and 2015, and was Shadow Secretary of S ...

called for the police and authorities to take action. Reports about the mirrors made news in New Zealand, Australia, the United States, Qatar, and Portugal. On 14 June 2013 Glasgow Licensing Board forced the club to close for seven days, to remove the one way mirror, and to provide equity training to staff.

Police Scotland Police Scotland (), officially the Police Service of Scotland (), is the national police force of Scotland. It was formed in 2013, through the merging of eight regional police forces in Scotland, as well as the specialist services of the Scottis ...

investigated complaints about the mirrors. In 2016, playwright

Adura Onashile Adura Onashile is a British actor, playwright, and director. She wrote and directed the 2013 play '' Expensive Shit'' and adapted it into a film in 2020. Early life Onashile is of Nigerian descent and was born in London, England. Career Ona ...

wrote the play '' Expensive Shit'' based on the events at the club. The play featured at the 70th Edinburgh Festival Fringe. On 30 March 2022 the club announced it was closing.

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Shimmy Club Nightclubs in Glasgow 2013 establishments in Scotland 2022 disestablishments in Scotland Music venues in Glasgow Electronic dance music venues Defunct nightclubs in the United Kingdom 2013 scandals Scandals in Scotland Sexual harassment in the United Kingdom