Friday 6 May 2011

DAVID BOWIE IN DUNDEE - 1973

Here's a good close-up of David Bowie performing live on stage at the Caird Hall on 17th May 1973.
That's Mick Ronson in the background.
This was a period when he already had a bucket load of classic tracks to choose from and a locker load of costumes to match!
Under it is a music mag ad with the tour dates.
At the start of this tour, the Bowie roadshow was accompanied by music journalists who reviewed the first 3 Scottish dates - Aberdeen, Dundee and Glasgow.
The snippet above is the Dundee section which gets a rave review!
There are also a couple of amusing after gig stories, one of which is discovering that Bowie & co had to get meals from the Bangladesh in the Nethergate because the Angus Hotel shut shop!
Click to enlarge.
For those of you who haven't yet found time to trawl through the Retro archives, there are more photos from this gig to be found in the November 2008 section...and in colour!

Photo by DC Thomson.

16 comments:

  1. Oh you pretty thing

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  2. i was there, hair cut by sweeny todd, emulatin a fotie fae some pop mag. pink flared, split knee, needlecord loons, dusty pink an a brushed denim budgie jacket, maroon wi a wine yoke an patch pockets, also black, slim fit, long sleeve embroidered tshirt, fae mr buyrite in carnaby street, spray in auburn hair dye too, i looked slick.

    the backing singers were rides and returned wi mick ronson within the year. it was ace, i aboot peed ma breeks.

    fanta

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  3. You can see by the crowd in the balcony that he attracted both the hippy fraternity and the glam rockers. Sounds like you were somewhere in between the two!
    I see a couple of gals wearing satin Bowie scarfs. These satin scarfs were popular with glam rock fans - T.Rex, Slade, etc. and often tied around the wrist.

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  4. This was the first concert (as opposed to gig) that I attended by choice. I decided quite late to attend and my ticket,which I still have cost £1.60......I was at the rear,upstairs....despite that I had a great view of the show that evolved. At least 6 costume changes,the picture in the main item was for "Rock N Roll Suicide"....I used the experience to fill in a few sides of foolscap for my O Grade English,which I passed . As I recall there was a female forced up onto the stage...who didn't last there too long before she was propelled back into the pit. An amazing experience,I hope a few more folk own up to being there...it was an iconic moment...

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  5. I was at Duncan of Jordanstone at the time. My mate Alan and I actually put on eye shadow and stuff. I was dressed much like Anon#2 apart from the hair dye. Just wish I could remember more about it apart from it being terrific.
    Did Bowie ever do any more gigs in Dundee?

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  6. Bowie paddles with both oars, sits on both sides of the bus, bats for both sides, butters both sides of his toast, likes a single pink puddin, is fond of the chocolate starfish and had really bad teeth before he eventually found a good dentist.
    Its also worth pointing out that his music has been shite for years.

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  7. Leap-frogging over the last comment to the one before it, Bowie, as far as I'm aware didn't perform again in Dundee after this 1973 gig, but he did play a Dundee College gig way back in April 1966 when he was touring as David Bowie & The Buzz.

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  8. What Bowie's sexuality has to do with this post i have no idea, but everyone is entitled to an opinion, albeit irrelevant. That was his only gig at the Caird Hall. Didn't know Mick Ronson played there a year later, i take it he was touring Slaughter on 10th Avenue? cheers for that, PS - nice leapfrog :)

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  9. 1974.04.16 Mick Ronson Caird Hall, Dundee Scotland

    fanta

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  10. Slaughter on 10th Avenue, a brilliant album, wish I could have been at either of these concerts! Brilliant times.

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  11. Cheers for that Fanta. I was "debating the date with my workmates" as per , i'm wrong :) wish i could have been there tho, he vas a VERY underestimated guitarist. Loved the story about Bowie bringing him down from up north and trying to get him to wear shiny suits and make up, but he wasnt keen being a "bloke" and all that, until when he did he was swarmed with females, then after that he was nicking Bowies costumes :)

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  12. Mick Ronson rocked big time.

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  13. I can't believe I missed this - had the haircut (Sweeney Todd on Princes Street if i recall correctly?) and all. Was so out of touch, I only found out about the "concert" next day at school when someone came in talking about it and all the costume changes etc. B*dard ! I was only 14, but Bowie was my hero at the time, irrespective of his sexuality.

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  14. My mate wanted to go to this gig but I wasn't keen. Had been to see Deep Purple and Rory Gallagher and couldn't see where the poof with the fancy hair do fitted in to this. He talked me into it and we bought our tickets the day they went on sale and were half way back just behind the mixing desk. Remember all the the people outside in the city square when we arrived and was thinking this is something different and when the music and light show started I was knocked out and became a huge Bowie fan on the back of this one gig. Was in fourth year at the Grove at the time and all the talk the next day was about this amazing event. Also went to see Mick Ronson touring Slaughter on 10th Avenue probably hoping that he was going to emulate the earlier Bowie gig but althougth it was quite good the Caird hall was only half full and never got near the electricity of the Bowie gig. Still reamains one of the best gigs i have ever been to.

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  15. RIP Ziggy
    I still have the memories of that concert

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  16. I first met and talked for ages to David Bowie in the Angus hotel after the concert. My girlfriend Joyce MacDonald and her friend the wonderful Lois Sharp, who were both in their final year at Dundee Art College were there with me. Happy memories of when Ziggy came to Dundee. RIP DAVID.

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