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It is nearly two decades since Glasgow was crowned European City of Culture. The rest of the world may have sneered but Clydeside was about to give other urban centres a master class in how the arts could help ease the choppy passage into the post-industrial age.
Now Glasgow is revelling in its latest accolade as it is named a world centre of music by Unesco, the United Nations cultural organisation.
The former shipbuilding capital has long celebrated its ability to produce the best in musical talent. In the world of popular music, few cities, excluding perhaps Liverpool or Manchester, can claim to have churned out such a glittering array of stars.
In the 1960s, Lulu topped the charts at the tender age of 15 with Shout and now aged 60 is still performing. In 1970 there was the Sensational Alex Harvey Band and in the 1980s there was Orange Juice and Del Amitri.
Today Franz Ferdinand (singer Alex Kapranos pictured), Travis, Belle and Sebastian and most recently Glasvegas have confirmed the city's musical heritage.
The annual Celtic Connections festival has become an acclaimed fixture in the folk and traditional music calendar, drawing fans from around the world.
Glasgow now bills itself Scotland's "classical powerhouse" as home to the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Scottish Opera, the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra and the National Youth Orchestra.
Scotland is now the only nation in the world with two Unesco Creative Cities - Edinburgh became City of Literature in 2004. The title is expected to bring a major boost to tourism and business when events begin in 2009.
- INDEPENDENT
