r/Glasgow Tools

Title
Author	LexyNoise
Comment	A few people have already answered with parts of the story. I spent a lot of time in Hellfire during its heyday. It was a great source of band T-shirts for less-well-known bands you wouldn't find in other places, and all the staff were lovely. Being allowed into the basement unsupervised by staff was a privilege. Hellfire changed hands a few times over the years and had a couple of different owners. The person you're describing was the owner during 'peak Hellfire' when there were two shops - one on Queen Street and one on West Nile Street. The story behind the person you're referring to is a little complicated and I don't know 100% of the story - that's why I'm being vague with pronouns and haven't used their original name - I don't want to be disrespectful. Before drag became a mainstream thing in Glasgow, they moved with a lot of the underground drag crowd. They eventually transitioned full-time and adopted the name Tequila Star. They started making a lot of custom jewellery and selling it in Hellfire, but eventually sold Hellfire and moved to LA. After Tequila sold Hellfire, it started to go downhill. It wasn't entirely the fault of the new owners - the emo/goth/alternative thing declined in popularity in the early 2010s. West Nile Street closed, and the Queen Street shop moved to a different building further down the street. It was a shadow of its former self and mostly sold brightly-coloured tutus and things like that. The bald guy you're talking about was the owner during this era. They eventually closed the Queen Street shop entirely and now only sell stuff online. I haven't walked past Hellfire in a while, but last time I did there was a cheap halloween shop in there. They still had the Hellfire sign above the door, which was a bit cheeky. Aside from Tequila (and their lovely tiny dog Pi), there were two other staff that I really liked. There was a big, friendly guy with a shaved head, and a skinny punk dude called Barry with spiky hair and eyeliner. If anyone knows what happened to either of those two dudes or what they're doing now, I'd love to know.
Reddit Link	https://www.reddit.com/r/glasgow/comments/l2x9pu/whatever_happened_to_hellfire/glld2df/
Created	Mon 1st Feb 2021 12:53pm
Status	normal ()

A few people have already answered with parts of the story. I spent a lot of time in Hellfire during its heyday. It was a great source of band T-shirts for less-well-known bands you wouldn't find in other places, and all the staff were lovely. Being allowed into the basement unsupervised by staff was a privilege.

Hellfire changed hands a few times over the years and had a couple of different owners. The person you're describing was the owner during 'peak Hellfire' when there were two shops - one on Queen Street and one on West Nile Street.

The story behind the person you're referring to is a little complicated and I don't know 100% of the story - that's why I'm being vague with pronouns and haven't used their original name - I don't want to be disrespectful. Before drag became a mainstream thing in Glasgow, they moved with a lot of the underground drag crowd. They eventually transitioned full-time and adopted the name Tequila Star. They started making a lot of custom jewellery and selling it in Hellfire, but eventually sold Hellfire and moved to LA.

After Tequila sold Hellfire, it started to go downhill. It wasn't entirely the fault of the new owners - the emo/goth/alternative thing declined in popularity in the early 2010s. West Nile Street closed, and the Queen Street shop moved to a different building further down the street. It was a shadow of its former self and mostly sold brightly-coloured tutus and things like that. The bald guy you're talking about was the owner during this era. They eventually closed the Queen Street shop entirely and now only sell stuff online.

I haven't walked past Hellfire in a while, but last time I did there was a cheap halloween shop in there. They still had the Hellfire sign above the door, which was a bit cheeky.

Aside from Tequila (and their lovely tiny dog Pi), there were two other staff that I really liked. There was a big, friendly guy with a shaved head, and a skinny punk dude called Barry with spiky hair and eyeliner. If anyone knows what happened to either of those two dudes or what they're doing now, I'd love to know.