Cowboy image heading for Glasgow's Rotunda venue

The Stand comedy club’s iconic cowboy backdrop is to be installed in a rival venue.

Promoter Alan Anderson paid £7,500 for the 9ft by 8ft piece at a charity auction yesterday, and now plans to give it  pride of place in his Rotunda Comedy Club in Glasgow.

It was removed from The Stand’s Edinburgh site amid complaints that it was offensive and inappropriate to have an image of the baby-faced cowboy with a gun to his head.

Anderson, who trumped rivals including comic Daniel Sloss and London’s Museum of Comedy to win the bidding, said: ‘The Edinburgh comedy cowboy has become the second most iconic image in Scottish comedy after Billy Connolly’s banana boots.

‘The decision to remove the Cowboy, juxtaposed with Glaswegian Jerry Sadowitz's shows being cancelled in Edinburgh, illustrate that comedy is losing its cutting edge. A comedy club should not be a safe space for ideas. It is where comedians should shoot down both themselves and the establishment.

‘Glasgow is the real beating heart of the Scottish comedy scene. We will ensure that this beloved image remains intact at a Scottish comedy club to help inspire the next generation of comedians.’

The Stand will also be removing the gun image from its Glasgow and Newcastle venues to be replaced with a new image from original artist Thomas ‘Mac’ Macgregor showing the same cowboy with his arms outstretched showing empty palms.

Before the auction, general manager Mike Jones told Chortle: ‘Although the original cowboy image is a kid dressing up as a cowboy with a toy gun – and we’ve always said that the worst thing that would come out of the gun would be a sign saying BANG – we keep getting asked questions about why a gun features on our backdrop and in our logo.

‘Some people have found it offensive for different reasons and sometimes we’ve had to change the logo when we’ve done advertising campaigns. Not to mention the countless comedians who’ve made references to child suicide while standing in front of the backdrop.’

Anderson, who also runs the Scottish Comedy Awards, won the auction with a bid of £5,500 but added an additional £2,000 donation to the price as it was going to a good cause: The Stand’s new initiative to get primary school children involved in comedy, helping developing creative skills and self-confidence.

»  High Noon for The Stand’s cowboy

Published: 16 Aug 2022