Budda gives Helensburgh an injection of style

By Paul English

Details Bar Budda  41/42 West Clyde Street  Helensburgh  Dunbartonshire  Scotland      01436 674252 With a view that looks out onto the Clyde coast and an interior like a trendy Glasgow bar, you could be forgiven for being a little bit confused when you visit Bar Budda. To throw a bit more into the mix, the most stylish bar in Helensburgh - let's face it, the competition isn't exactly stiff - is home on a Tuesday night to DJ Paul Shields, who had to quit playing football in the mid -'90s after falling off a bus and dislocating his elbow. But the ex-footballer is soothing the pain of that broken dream with his Back 2 Roots night, which is slowly wrapping its tendrils around the minds of alternative music-loving pub-goers here, at Loch Lomond and in Glasgow. For some reason, many hostelries make the mistaken assumption that all people want to hear over the boozer's sound system is bursts of faceless muzak. Conversation is drowned out, any originality is squeezed out and alternative music is just left out. Not, however, at Budda - well, not on a Tuesday anyway. It's then that Paul pedals the kind of alternative sounds that you might hear punters talking about across the land, if pubs would only turn their Now Dance compilations down a notch. Ryan Adams, Free, Crosby Stills and Nash, Counting Crows, Buffalo Springfield, Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, The Rolling Stones and The Jayhawks are the sounds at the seaside in Budda on a Tuesday, and how wonderful it is. On the outside, the bar has the same trendy look that its big brother Budda in Glasgow does. On the inside, it's the same again - a sort of dimly lit cavern, with earthly-coloured tassles, a big Budda, stained-glass lamps and an overall eastern Asian/Northern African feel. If this is your thing, then you'll be pleased to know that the Budda chain is set for world domination with outlets in Clydebank, Dumbarton and Glasgow's Southside opening soon. On the night of our visit, Helensburgh's Budda seemed to be overrun with Geordies, which led us to conclude that the neaby Faslane Naval Base on the Gareloch must be employing loads of Newcastle lads. Subsequent investigation revealed that to be a bizarre one-off, despite the fact the barmaid and a local taxi driver also sounded like extras from Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. However, the staff were keen to point out, ladies, that visiting sailors often berth at Budda looking to satisfy their desires - for the good ol' sounds of home, presumably. Open: Monday-Thursday, 11am-midnight; Friday/Saturday, 11am-1am; Sunday, noon-midnight Drinks: £2.20- £2.50 Music: Paul Shields DJs at Pivo Pivo in Glasgow, Fri/Sat and Duck Bay Marina, Loch Lomond, Sun.