 Local Glasgow newspapers, the "Evening Times" and the "Evening Citizen", of 23 March 1970 stated the fire started after a 'Battle of the Bands' contest had been held in the nightclub and it was likely someone had left a cigarette burning in the attic as it was primarily the roof space that had burned resulting in the decision of the Fire Brigade to pull down the two domed towers for safety reasons the following day.The cafe owner's German Shepherd dog died of smoke inhalation but no humans were injured.Despite the outer walls of the building remaining intact and the damage confined largely to the roof area, the decision was taken by the then Glasgow Corporation not to undertake repairs and instead to completely demolish the building.