He cut hair for rock stars, ran one of Glasgow’s most infamous club nights and helped launch the careers of some of Scotland’s best-known comedians.
Chris, who lived for nine years with a brain tumour and later bowel cancer, died at home on Saturday January 3.
His family said he faced his health worries with unfailing optimism.
“Throughout that whole journey, he never, never lost his personality,” his wife, Elaine, said. “He didn’t get down at all. He was still making people laugh, and still having a huge impact in everybody’s life.”
Born on July 15, 1956, Chris moved to Glasgow from England as a young man. He began his career in hairdressing in the late 1970s, working at the Steiner’s salon, including its branch at Glasgow Central Station.
It was here that he met David Bowie, ultimately befriending the pop star and securing tickets to the Aladdin Sane singer’s concert, a story the superfan dined out on for years.
Chris also wrote about music, including a number of articles for Smash Hits. He interviewed stars, like Ian Dury.
He was also a talented photographer, often taking pictures of the models whose hair he had cut.
In the 1990s, he became involved in Glasgow’s club scene, running the popular “Broom Cupboard” night at The Tunnel nightclub, a monthly event that drew large crowds and saw him profiled in a TV documentary on single men in their forties navigating work and social life in the city.
In a post after his death, the venue described him as “one of The Tunnel’s most recognisable characters” and “one of the originals”.
“That leather waistcoat, always worn with confidence, and the unmistakable Tunnel ‘T’ pendant — sometimes one, sometimes more than one worn — catching the light as he moved through the room and held court at the bar, when it used to be in the centre of the room.
“You could spot him instantly, and somehow that made the room feel right, complete. We were in for a good night.”
Chris Broomfield outside the State Bar (Image: State)
Chris opened Broomfield’s Hairdressers in Glasgow’s Renfield Lane, where he operated for years.
The salon became a fixture of city life, with clients returning for decades. He also cut the hair of a number of stars, including Belinda Carlisle.
After relocating, the business now operates above The Tunnel nightclub on Mitchell Street — a coincidence that delighted him.
Chris was a gifted communicator with a natural flair for storytelling, which made the leap to stand-up comedy in 1999 easy.
He went on to win a major comedy competition just a few years later and then, in the Liverpool heat of the BBC New Comedy Awards, he came runner-up to John Bishop.
Shortly after, Chris took over the running of the comedy night at The State Bar in Glasgow, one of the city’s longest-running gigs.
Hundreds of comics would grace the stage in the pub’s basement during his time, many of whom would go on to become household names.
Mark Nelson described him as “one of the nicest, kindest men you will ever meet with a heart as big as his personality”.
“His strength over these past years has been unbelievable,” he added.
“Chris gave me some of my first ever gigs, trusting me beyond my skills, and I will be forever grateful to him for all his support. The State Bar gigs are responsible for all of the Scottish comedians you see now.”
“He gave so many Scottish comics their first paid gigs at The State Bar. Outwith the stage time and the bank notes in your back pocket, Chris gave his time, his advice and his love for making people laugh. There are few like The Ram,” said Jay Lafferty.
Christopher McArthur-Boyd added: “His gig at The State Bar was where I did my second-ever set, where I did my first-ever paid set (with money from Chris’s own pocket), where I first ever died on my arse, and where I met and got to know so many of my good pals in comedy at the infamous State Bar gong show.
“He was so, so supportive of new acts, and I know for a fact my life wouldn’t be the same without him and what he did for the Glasgow comedy scene.”
Scott Agnew and Chris Broomfield (Image: Scott Agnew)
Scott Agnew said: “As a comedian he was pretty unique in that he beautifully straddled different styles and eras of comedy. He’d grown up loving The Goons, loved the campery of 70s sitcoms, adored the 80s alternative comedy movement and was finally prompted to take to the stage by the maturation of the scene in the 90s.
“So when you watch Chris – you got a bit of all of it, character comedy, voices, impersonations, observational, gags, word play – and he wasn’t scared to mix the trad with the new – like a comedy DJ.
“He just loved comedy in all its forms and was so passionate about keeping grassroots comedy alive and supporting others – he made Comedy at the State a safe space for comedians to learn and experiment.
“Because after you’d had a deaf guy compere a room and get nearly every detail wrong about the people in the audience – making himself the butt of the joke – you felt free to try anything.
“As a man – he was a better friend and father figure to me than I probably ever deserved.”
Chris met his wife Elaine while they were both working as hairdressers, and the two were colleagues and friends for more than a decade before becoming a couple in 2000.
Friends were surprised when the once high-profile bachelor settled into family life, said Elaine, but, she added, he embraced it fully.
He was a devoted father and stepfather.
In 2024, his daughter Sancia produced an exhibition as part of her degree show at Glasgow School of Art centred entirely on her father, documenting his life and work through photographs, recordings and interviews.
The show was hosted at the site of the original Broomfield’s Hairdressers on Renfield Lane, which is now one of Glasgow’s most highly regarded venues and arts spaces, The Old Hairdressers.
Following surgery for his brain tumour, Chris had to relearn how to walk and adapt to daily life. When illness prevented him from working, he found new ways to support his family, including teaching himself to cook so he could prepare meals at home.
Elaine said that even the most ordinary tasks became achievements he approached with determination and humour.
At home, he was a voracious reader, a collector of books, and a passionate lover of music and cinema, particularly classic black-and-white films.
Chris is survived by his wife Elaine, his children Elaine, Sancia, Zara, Max and Drew, and his sister Claire.
