Skeets Boliver formed in Dundee around 1973 when 2 local acts, Hens Teeth and Mort Wriggle & The Panthers, fused together. This line-up consisted of Michael & Chris Marra - Brian McDermott - Stuart Ivins and Angus Foy.
The shot of the band above in 1977 has the addition of Peter McGlone (with the rollie-up).
This image of Skeets appears on the back cover of a single the band released in '77, a song called "Moonlight In Jeopardy". The front of the cover with them leaping up into the air is the one on the video screen below, where you can have a wee blast of the tune.
They did in fact release 2 singles in 1977, the first one was a song that was labelled as "Streethouse Door", but they actually sang "Shithouse Door!" - a track I've seen them play live a couple of times.
The shot of the band above in 1977 has the addition of Peter McGlone (with the rollie-up).
This image of Skeets appears on the back cover of a single the band released in '77, a song called "Moonlight In Jeopardy". The front of the cover with them leaping up into the air is the one on the video screen below, where you can have a wee blast of the tune.
They did in fact release 2 singles in 1977, the first one was a song that was labelled as "Streethouse Door", but they actually sang "Shithouse Door!" - a track I've seen them play live a couple of times.
On the subject of word based fun - I spotted these 2 misprints above in an Edinburgh gig guide dated September 1977.
The first has the band as STREETS Boliver - their setlist made up of middle-of-the-road tracks I suppose!
The other has their name as SHEETS Boliver - probably an evening of cover versions then!
They've even got 2 different dates for Monday!
Anyway, after that brief interlude - the following year (Sunday 8th January 1978 to be exact) the band even made an appearance on national television. The programme was called " I Can't See The Light" and it had footage of Skeets performing live at Laings, as well as having a wee chat with the guys.
The clipping is from an original TV guide page.
Skeets Boliver eventually split around 79/80 with the musicians going their separate ways - Michael obviously doing his successful solo projects, Peter joining Mafia and Brian later going onto work with Del Amitri.
I'm sure there will be plenty of you ready to enter your own Skeets Boliver trivia into the comments....so enter away!
Skeets Boliver eventually split around 79/80 with the musicians going their separate ways - Michael obviously doing his successful solo projects, Peter joining Mafia and Brian later going onto work with Del Amitri.
I'm sure there will be plenty of you ready to enter your own Skeets Boliver trivia into the comments....so enter away!
Very Gerry Rafferty.
ReplyDeleteWhen they did Shithouse door live, they did a run through of Dundee public toilets - "Not forgetting good old Seabraes"!
ReplyDeleteStuart Ivins was performing in a duo called "Bathtime" with a young lady, whose name escapes me, in the 80's. They used to play regularly in the bar in Castle Street, just down from Tindall's, that, once upon a time, was the United Bar and is now Kennedy's Diner but I can't remember what is was called at the time.
Brian also played with Danny Wilson and appeared on TOTP with Boy George, famously offering George a "buht o' choonie"
ReplyDeleteMike G.
The cover of the Skeets single. From left to right-- Peter McGlone, Brian McDermott, Stewart Ivins, Chris Marra, Michael Marra & Gus Foy at the extreme right. Pic by Peter Bailey shot in Seafield Rd off the Perth Road.
ReplyDeleteJohnnie Walker played this on the radio....I would like to have seen his face when the chorus was "I hear you bang like a streethouse door"!
ReplyDelete(Almost as bad a judgement as when the People's Journal reviewed the Drive's single "Jerkin'" and thought it was about a jacket!)
Sunday night in Laings was an institution around 77/78. They were great entertainment. Not sure but the mystery girl in Bathtime might have been Pauline Rourke.
ReplyDeleteSunday night in laings was the disco with Chris the engineer from Otis.
ReplyDeletein 76 Thursday was band night 50p a ticket and you got a plate of stovies.
the original skeets bolivar comprised: Jonathan Ogilvie on drums. mike marra on bass, chris marra, gus foy and stweart ivins on guitars. brian mcdermott came after jog left the band. pete mcglone also came later.
ReplyDeletethey did form in 1973. mick, chris, gus and jog were all in hens teeth. stewart played in mort wriggle,as did jog.
at a few gigs, they played as both, first as skeets then change into teddy boy gear and play as mort wriggle. that way they got paid twice.
Just bought "Streethouse Door": it's fantastic.
ReplyDeleteI remember Thursday nights in Laings hotel very well, one in fact was the 7/7/77 as commented by Stuart. Excellent band still got Streethouse Door somewhere!!!
ReplyDeleteAnyone know the chords?
I still have both singles at home.
ReplyDeleteWill never part with them. Knew all the boys when growing up and woke up one morning upside down in Peter McGlones bed when he stayed in Lambs Lane. I should have stayed of the Whisky when younger :) Anyway, time to gae mincing it wi Charlie
I remember seeing these guys four or five times at a Hewlett and Packard Social Club in South Queennsferry - they may have had a mate who worked there. I thought that hey were brilliant.
ReplyDelete'I'll be up you like a rat up a drainpipe,
Im hear you bang like a shithouse door'
Have got quite a few of Micheal Marra's albums based on seeing them
Just classic. To the commenter who bought it -where from?
Kenny Beveridge
Any idea what brian the drummer is doing now?
ReplyDeleteSunday nights from 75-76 at Laings was Skeets night with Mike Marra singing a good octave higher than he can manage now! Jog, sadly, no longer with us...
ReplyDeleteI wish I was old enough to have seen them live. Bad really, 'cause I'm f*cking 47 already. BTW, Is it Peter Ballie or Peter Bailey you mean?
ReplyDeleteThe photograph was taken by Peter Baillie who was a good friend to the band.As well as taking a load of superb photos, Peter designed our logo and all our publicity stuff. Peter went on to form Baillie Marshall Advertising and then founded Vis. One of the good guys.
ReplyDeleteThanks for all the added extra info, Stewart.
ReplyDeleteGreat stuff!
Saw them a few times in the HP Social Club in South Queensferry from '75/'76... then in around 1981 I went to see Barbara Dickson in the Hexagon Theatre in Reading and Michael Marra popped us as the support act...
ReplyDeleteI remember Peter McGlone's brother Alan who worked part time in the hi-fi shop where I was manager. He brought in the master tape of Shithouse Door and asked if I could dub/copy it onto a cassette tape for the band. I made a spare cassette and a week later when Alan came into work I had it playing in the background. Alan asked where I had got it from and I said it was played on the John Peel programme the night before; I really had him believing it for a while, but eventually came clean and erased the tape.
ReplyDelete