The 1974 World Cup in Germany was the first time Scotland had qualified for the tournament since 1958, and so for those who were in my age group (16) it was the first time we were involved in the event too.
There was also the added bonus of there being local interest, with Dundee lad Peter Lorimer a regular in the team. In fact by this stage in his career he had become a bit of a Scottish superstar! Then there was Dundee FC goalkeeper, Thomson Allan, who was also in the squad.
There was a good buzz in town when all this was going on. Most folk had colour TV by this time and the team were getting plenty of coverage. It wasn't just the telly and the newspaper sports pages they were making themselves known, they were also heard blasting out of Radio 1..!!
The Scotland Squad released an album to coincide with the tournament, which not only included the voices of the players but featured a hotchpotch of Scotch talent - Gallagher & Lyle, Lulu, Bay City Rollers, JSD Band, Middle Of The Road and Junior Campbell.
From it, there were 2 tracks which were released as a single - A-side was "Easy Easy" and the B-side was "Scotland Scotland".
However, the LP also presented one of the unlikeliest offerings you're likely to encounter in music ...Denis Law sings Jimi Hendrix!!
Actually, the track itself is fine, the Hendrix track being "Angel" which was a hit for Rod Stewart a couple of years earlier. This version has Rod singing along with Denis and contains a lot of banter which kind of captures the fun the World Cup was having on the Scots.
Top picture is the album cover. The cover opens up into a gatefold centre spread, as seen underneath it, and below is "Angel" by Rod Stewart & Denis Law.
I've got that record! Think it's Montford at the start: "The referee looks at his watch...and, that's it...that is IT! Well done Scotland, well done boys!
ReplyDeleteTake it it's not particularly rare or valuable? Don't even have a turntable to play it on now.
Scotland were the only undefeated team in the 1974 World Cup!
ReplyDeleteI saw Rod Stewart at Earls Court a couple of years ago, dunno about his best years being behind him, he certainly still knows how to entertain a crowd.
ReplyDeleteI have loved seeing all the old world cup stuff Retro, brings back the memories of collecting the petrol medals....riches beyond belief to a wee boy.