The Vogue dominated the junction of Langlands Road and Crossloan Road and featured so much neon that it was visible from planes approaching the then Abbotsinch airfield, as George Singleton recalled, "I flew up from London in 1939...I was so proud to see my cinema glowing down below."

The Vogues, like all other cinemas in Glasgow, showed the mainstream films of the day but Singleton also had a keen interest in specialist and foreign films and impressed by the specialist Academy Cinema in London he became convinced that Glasgow could sustain an ‘arthouse’ of its own and together with Charles Oakley, a founder member of the Glasgow Film Society, he created the concept of the Cosmo.

Described at the time as "a glorious adventure", The Cosmo, designed by James McKissack and William Anderson opened in May 1939 with a showing of the French film Un Carnet de Bal. Also on that first programme were and two animated versions of The Fox Hunt, animation was to play an important part in the cinema's programming, Disney's Fantasia was a

favourite over the years and became the Cosmo's final presentation in 1973.

Singleton played an active role in cinema beyond his own circuit. In 1957 he became the UK President of the Cinema Exhibitors' Association and between 1965 and 1967 he was a member of the Lloyd Committee, which led to the establishment of the National Film School. For his services to cinema he was awarded a CBE in 1967.

On his retirement in 1972, the Cosmo was sold to the Scottish Film Council and became the Glasgow Film Theatre. Singleton’s retirement, however, did not mean an end to his association with cinema. He remained prominent on the Scottish Film Council and the Films of Scotland Committee. In addition, he sat on the board of the Scottish National Orchestra and was one of the founders of Glasgow’s Citizens Theatre.

George Singleton, the man who brought 'arthouse' films to Glasgow before the term was invented and who was responsible for some of Glasgow's finest cinemas died at his home in Edinburgh on the 4 April 1995.

The Vogue, Govan in 1939.
Photograph Scottish Screen Archive Collection.