SCOTLAND'S FIRST MULTIPLEX

In 1965 plans were drawn up for Odeon Renfield Street, the busiest Odeon outside London, to become Scotland's first multiplex and by October 1970 the original circle had become Odeon 1, the stalls Odeon 2 and the stage Odeon 3, with a separate entrance in West Regent Street.

Promoted as "the biggest cinema occasion in Glasgow in years", the opening night featured a parade from Blythswood Square to the Odeon and included three bands, a "bevy of beatiful girls in dazzling Ziegfeld costumes", Disney characters, Hammer stars Ingrid Pitt and Julie Ege and "gaily decorated floats".

Shortly after the opening of the Odeon Film Centre, Rank closed a number of theatres including The Gaumont and Peter joined his brother John at Renfield Street They worked shifts from 9am-4.30pm or 4.30pm-11pm, a 35 hour week, which set the working standard for other industries at the time and was a vast improvement on the 48 hour week which had been the norm when they started in the business.