And a funky night had by all, with a full house dancing the night away in the theatre!
Dundonians like to claim AWB as their own of course, but the fact is they are from all over Scotland, with only 2 of the original members hailing from Dundee when they formed in 1972. Robbie MacIntosh, the Dundee drummer, died in 1974 so that just left Roger Ball, from Broughty Ferry, as Dundee's representative, birth-wise. Molly Duncan and Alan Gorrie went to Dundee Art College with Roger, but Molly was born in Montrose and Alan, Perth, the others, Hamish & Onnie are from the Glasgow area.
Dundee trivia-wise - AWB once played at The Ambassador in Clepington Road.!!
Their mate, Dougie Martin, whose band Mafia, were playing there that night, and needless to say, by the end of the evening both acts ended up jamming together on stage.
This Ambassador event was also captured on film by a BBC tv crew who were doing a documentary on AWB at the time, following the band around, showing how the group spent their time when back home, away from life in USA.
The programme (see above) was broadcast on 31 March 1979.
The footage below is not from the documentary but is from the 1979 tour, although not the Glasgow gig.
The track is "I'm The One", a song of theirs that, along with a bucket load of other AWB tunes, has since gone on to be sampled by dozens of hip hop acts!
I was at ambassador clepington road remember being filmed have never seen footage, sure it was august 1977
ReplyDeleteally
I first heard Roger Ball and Molly Duncan at the Dundee Jazz Club in Reform Street (Liberal Club) in either late '65 or early '66 just before I went to Art College (DofJ CofA) in September '66. I seem to remember they were called the Dundee Horns but that might be romanticising on my memories part. They were both Architecture Students. Molly's mum by that time live off the Perth Road in Strawberry Bank and worked in the Art School materials shop. Molly's younger brother also went to the Art College but did Interior Design.
ReplyDeleteYears later i met up with Molly in London at the height of the AWB fame and spent a night drinking and smokin' in his flat before seeing him at the Hammersmith Palais. That was in 1975 or '76. It was all a long time ago. I never saw him again but his pals Fred and Pam Smith (who went with my wife and I to see them in London) occasionally fed me bits of news such as when he road managed Annie Lennox.
I heard them playing for 1st time live on BBC Radio 1 in mid 1970s and still have tape recording of one track.
ReplyDeleteI bought 1st album "Show Your Hand" and still have it.