Lou Reed, Chopin and Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin are three names that might - nay should - leap to the lips of anyone discussing the musical heritage of Glasgow, or so the beetle-browed bureaucrats of Unesco were told yesterday as the city made its bid for world City of Music status.

The mobilisation of the dead and distant aside, it was also pointed out by Glasgow's civic officials that five out of six national companies are resident in the city, a grand average of 129 concerts and performances may be heard there every week and the music business generates £74.6 million a year for the local economy.

The 64-page proposal was presented by Bob Winter, Glasgow's Lord Provost, to officials at the UN organisation's Paris headquarters last night, to the sound of a five-piece band from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama.

The bid document had more than a little je ne sais quoi for its French audience, also citing in support of the city's musical reputation international stars such as the founder of Scottish Opera the late Sir Alexander Gibson, the maturing songstress Lulu, and Frankie Miller, an old rock'n'roll growler. Or as Glaswegians might say, the bid was “pure gallus”, name-checking almost every great performer who has ever broken into song in the city as a backer of its bid to be enshrined as a musical destination of distinction.

Glasgow's pitch will now be considered by Unesco's creative cities organisation, who will consult with a range of experts before arriving at a verdict on whether it qualifies for City of Music status. If so - and the signs are very promising - within six months, Glasgow will be become the third such venue in the world, after Seville and Bologna, with a fourth, Ghent, likely to be awarded the title later this year. All of them form part of a wider, Unesco “creative cities” network, which encourages links and shared experiences amongst important cultural centres - and helps to boost tourism revenues.

“This is important because City of Music status is one of the devices we can use to draw all of Glasgow's music together in front of the world. It gives Glasgow position, it makes it a member of an exclusive club of cities which have a musical heritage and musical ambition,” said James Boyle, a member of the bid's management committee and the former controller of BBC Radio 4.

Making his city's case, Mr Winter himself pointed out that Frédéric Chopin, the great composer, is said to have taken his first train ride in Glasgow, while his contemporary, Felix Mendelssohn, had been inspired by the countryside nearby - or to be more precise, Fingal's Cave on the Island of Staffa, more than 100 miles to the northwest.

The bid document itself employed an unashamedly broad and colourful brush to the city's musical heritage. Vienna had Mozart and Beethoven; New Orleans had jazz; but Glasgow cites artists ancient and modern including Simple Minds, the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, Clare Grogan and (to the confusion of any Austrians at the Unesco reception) Franz Ferdinand. Some of those name-checked were only visitors to the city, including the Move (from Birmingham), Oasis (Manchester) and Lou Reed (New York).

Glasgow's Apollo theatre, which hosted many of these acts, was torn down in 1989, but even that venue is sentimentally evoked in the bid document, a place so beloved that “Robert Plant of Led Zeppelin sent £5 to the demolition company and asked them to pour a large glass of whisky over the site as a final goodbye”.

“We couldn't make this all about classical music and opera - we had to show there was breadth and depth to Glasgow. There are worlds of music out there which different generations don't appreciate, which are vibrant and attract people,” said Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale, who has chaired the bid's steering committee.

Mr Boyle agreed. “These are Glaswegians, and Glasgow supporters, people who have made a real contribution to the musical heart and soul of the city.”

If the bid is successful, a trust will be established to carry through City of Music plans, which will work to draw in local audiences and to market Glasgow as an international destination for music lovers. That would be the perfect outcome said Mr Winter, for a city in which “music imbues every sinew”.

Edinburgh was the founding city in the UN's creative cities network, when it was made City of Literature in 2004, and it is hoped that both Edinburgh and Glasgow will benefit from the international recognition of the other.

Linda Fabiani, the Culture Minister, wished the bid well: “I have absolutely no doubt it will be good for Scotland and good for Unesco,” she said.

Unusually for a Glaswegian - even by adoption - Lou Reed has remained enigmatically silent.

Analysis: Magnus Linklater writes -

Glasgow has always had “a guid conceit o’ itself,” manifested in the many titles, festivals, awards and events with which it has celebrated its achievements.

From the Great Exhibitions of the 19th century to the Empire Exhibition of 1938, which attracted 12.6 million visitors — easily outstripping the Festival of Britain in 1951 and the Millennium Dome 50 years later — it has never been backward in coming forward.

It staged a Garden Festival in 1988, became European City of Culture in 1990, was named as National City of Sport from 1995-99 and European Capital of Sport in 2003, won the title City of Architecture in 1999 from under the nose of an outraged Edinburgh, then went on to establish a range of festivals, from the World Pipe Band Championships to the immensely popular Celtic Connections, held every January. It even has its own national poet laureate in Edwin Morgan.

“Glasgow’s miles better” was the 1990 slogan. No one is allowed to doubt it.