King Tut's was founded, in the former Saints and Sinners pub in St Vincent Street in the centre of Glasgow, by the DF Concerts boss Stuart Clumpas, who wanted to create a platform for promoting bands at club level, showcasing them with gigs seven days a week at a reasonable hour, after being unable to find such an establishment in the city centre's nightlife. The venue first opened its doors in February 1990, and has established a reputation for showcasing new talent and hosting many well-known bands' first Scottish appearances. This reputation was acquired early on in 1993 when The Verve, Radiohead and Oasis all played in the Glasgow venue in a two-week period and it was in this time when Oasis were discovered and signed by the record labelCreation. According to the venue's manager, Dave McGeachan, the band "bullied their way on stage" after discovering that they would not be allowed to play despite traveling the long distance from Manchester. Colin MacIntyre, the singer-songwriter from the Scottish indie band Mull Historical Society was reported as claiming "you haven't made it unless you've played Tut's". The appeal and popularity of King Tut's has been credited to "its consistency and dedication to bringing a cross-section of different styles to Glasgow's doorstep" Others who have played gigs at King Tut's early in their careers include Fiona Apple, Biffy Clyro, Coldplay, Beck, Blur, Crowded House, White Stripes, The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Skunk Anansie, Paramore and Travis, who played the live music venue regularly under their original name of Glass Onion. In 1999 King Tut's decided to branch out with the launch of a monthly comedy night where comedians, including the likes of Phil Kay, Lynn Ferguson and Fred MacAulay have taken to the stage, alongside some of Scotland's rising young comics. In February 2000, the ten-year anniversary of the Glasgow live music venue was celebrated with a series of one-off concerts, parties and surprise guests running over ten days. Due to the success of the event, a £25,000 refurbishment of the upstairs bar was completed. In November 2001, King Tut's was named Licensed Music Pub of the Year by the Scottish Licensed Trade News. It successfully applied for a 1am licence, which gave more time for performances. In 2005, King Tut's held "The Best Scottish Bands of All Time" night, which featured acts such as Snow Patrol, Idlewild, Eugene Kelly, and Colin MacIntyre. From 17 to 21 December 2008, Idlewild performed a series of live shows at the venue, playing each of their albums on consecutive nights. King Tut's Wah Wah Hut also played host to the Homecoming Scotland 2009 Finale Celebrations in conjunction with the Clyde Auditorium. In November 2017, the venue served as the location of the music video to former Oasis frontman Liam Gallagher's single "Come Back To Me".
Many famous acts have performed at King Tut's, including Amy Macdonald, Oasis, Rage Against the Machine, Biffy Clyro, Radiohead, Blur, Redd Kross, Travis, Pulp, The Verve, Crowded House, Wheatus, Average White Band, Goldfinger, Chuck Prophet, and Beck. Several performers have also praised King Tut's variety such as Paolo Nutini who said: "I’ve never actually seen a big band at King Tut’s, you know that? But it’s the kind of place you can see anything. One night they’ll have a really great band playing their ass off and the next there’ll be a nice acoustic thing on. One gig I remember seeing there is Matt Berry, from The Mighty Boosh and Garth Marenghi. That just shows what a range of stuff you can find in Tut’s.". In 2017 The View played a record run of six sold-out shows at the venue.
Album
In 2011, singer-songwriter Tom McRae released an extended live album entitled Tom at Tut's featuring songs and banter from his gigs on two consecutive nights in November 2004.
