The Grip are probably the only reggae band to have come out of Dundee, well certainly during this era anyway. I can remember catching them play a few times around town in the early 80's.
This single, "Keeping The Peace" they recorded over in Edinburgh in May '82 with well known producer, Wilf Smarties.
Band line-up is - Ronnie Chalmers, guitar & vocals - Neil Forbes, sax/percussion/vocal - Dan Stewart, trumpet/percussion - Ross Ramsey, bass - Jim Grieve, drums/percussion and Kenny Blair, keyboards.
On the back of the record sleeve in amongst their "thanks to" list are J.T.Forbes music shop, and Brian Sinclair who ran the Tayside Bar, one of the venues The Grip played.
I have picked out the B-side of the single, an instrumental track called "Musicland Part Two". Reason I opted for this is because near the end they indulge in a bit of dub, which I'm particularly partial to. Dub is usually considered being a mixing process done in the recording studio, but The Grip used to be able to do this live on stage using a combination of copycat loop machines, drum machines, echoplex pedals and bunch of other gadgets & gizmos. The wilder it was the more I enjoyed it!
Give it a wee listen and get a taster of summer in Dundee in 1982.
hail the god brian sinclair !!! he needs to be remembered in dundee big time, ask all the bands
ReplyDeleteany chance of hearing the a side? i remember them, were they not mental?
ReplyDeletethat's a collectors item you know, it was a limited edition, one went for £50 on e bay last year
ReplyDeletei remember dancing in the tayside bar to that very song (15 mins) the band used to give out all their percussion instruments and it would end up a free for all party,they were very clash/ruts influenced i think, great times , thank you .
ReplyDeleteDubdee! Great stuff.
ReplyDeleteI have been trying to place the wee logo on that single, is it "oily" records from Aberdeen? i had a single by Aberdeen band APB, one of John Peel's fav's and it looked very similar. Also saw them in the Tayside bar once, a three piece if i remember correctly. Wonder what the link is there?
ReplyDeleteYeah it is OILY, but it's Oily Publishing rather than Oily Records. The single is on Gripping Youth Records.
ReplyDeleteAPB have also played up at the Union. They were support act but I can't remember for who. Off the top of my head it may have been Bow Wow Wow.
i remeber them playin in the "rollerama" i'm not sure if folk were rollerskating at the time tho :) anything on the rollerama ?????
ReplyDeletei was at the rollerama gig, no skating allowed that night, hope that helps
ReplyDeletewas the drummer with the grip the same guy who played in list d and rokotto?
ReplyDeleteJim Grieves is the guy you're on about.He played drums for The Grip and also played in List D. He runs the Reading Rooms club up Blackscroft.
ReplyDeletethat would be "Sykes" then ? cheers
ReplyDeleteWhat a great tune, sorry i never saw them live in my very young days
ReplyDeleteThey seem to be making a comeback, Hooly has them on "song of the month" on Hoolywood Productions! I agree Drumbo , great wee tune, i was too young to see them though, still, that's what a retro site is for . cheers retro dundee
ReplyDeleteNeil Forbes inspired me to take up the sax when I was 17, where is neil forbes now as that was 25 years ago and I would love to say Hi, his sound was awesome. I met him when I was busking with the Guitar in the underpass, just before the start of the Perth Rd. We went busking together and I introduced him to My older brother who teamed up with neil on many busking occasions. Those where the days of free spirit and youth, a great time and fantastic memories. Sadly I have not been to Dundee since 1990, as I moved to Glasgow, then to London. Maybe I should come back soon and look for neil forbes and talk about growing up in Dundee.
ReplyDeletejust heard that for the first time in many years. never really got it before, "sarcasm" oh yeah yeah !!! got it now though, sorry lads , too little too late :=)
ReplyDelete