This week’s edition of ‘KOTW’ goes north of the border in honour of the Scottish referendum but does not concern one of the nation’s bigger clubs. Instead, we focus on a club that has popped up, vanished and reappeared again in several different guises – Clydebank.
Having reached the Premier League in the mid 1980’s, their zenith coincided with the emergence of a chirpy, blue-eyed soul beat-combo from the area by the name of Wet Wet Wet.
As the ‘Wets’ topped the charts and became one of the UK’s leading musical acts, they took the unprecedented step of sponsoring their hometown club for four years between 1993 and 1997. At the end of the 15 weeks that Marti Pellow and the boys spent at number with ‘Love Is All Around’ in 1994, The Bankies recorded their best win of the season – a 5-2 home win against Dundee.
Sadly, this era will remain forever remembered for the premature death of probably the club’s finest ever player; former Rangers and Scotland winger Davie Cooper, who was still registered at New Kilbowie and was a first team regular right up to his passing in March 1995.