I remember seeing the Bow Street Runners name crop up quite a lot in the "Entertainments" pages of the Tele back in the 70's, however, the original band of 5 brothers actually started out by calling themselves Annie's Boys.
2 of the brothers were well known Hulltoon Huns members and were always getting into trouble throughout the early 70's, but by the mid 70's they tried to get away from their life of gang wars and run-ins with the police, by forming a band. I'm sure their eventual choice of band name, Bow Street Runners, was decided on with a touch of ironic humour!
A typical ad of the kind I was referring to is the example above taken from an old Tele I have dated March 1977. It's for a gig along at the Quarter Gill.
So, they ended up swapping their tiffs for riffs, gigged locally on a regular basis, and toured around the UK too.
What I'd like to know is - did they use HH amplifiers?!
Hulltoon Huns lol..they were from Kirkton mate..Hooky the ginger ain we the one hand was the singer..Brian extreme left we the porn tash was the keyboard player, the drummer ended up playing we Del Amitri, and Alan is a fat bald dodgey music agent operating in Dundee.
ReplyDeleteI understood it was Brian Mcderrmot who joined del amitri, after a fine gig with Skeets
DeleteYeah you're right, the lads originally hail from Kirkton, but I was concentrating on when they moved to Hilltown, and their gang days which resulted in them forming the band in the first place.
ReplyDeleteBeing based in the Hulltoon area, I suppose they could have called themselves the Bowbridge Runners!!
Hulltoon Huns lol..they were from Kirkton mate..Hooky the ginger ain we the one hand was the singer..Brian extreme left we the porn tash was the keyboard player, the drummer ended up playing we Del Amitri, and Alan is a fat bald dodgey music agent operating in Dundee.
ReplyDeleteSorry but that doesn't look like Brian McDermott to me ...he played with Michael Marra and Danny Wilson before joining Del Amitri...great debut single for him "Nothing Ever happens"..nae or very very little drums
Early 70's there was a Diaspora of the Kirktonites in the area known as Hulltoon.
ReplyDeleteCan't remember if this was through choice or eviction, though to be evicted from Kirkton you would need to be a right toe rag.
Hooky was infamous at the time and was regularly stitched up by Tayside's finest.
Be interesting to know what these guys are up to now.
The Bow Street Runners were a fairly good clubby band and yep, that isn't Brian McDermott.
Dave from Aquisisitions
Brian and Alan play as part o The Sidekicks every now and then
ReplyDeleteFrom someone that has seen that very pic and been told the told the line up during that time by a relation from what is written on the back of that picture as well as fro members of the family the line-up is George, Allan, Billy, Andy & Brian.
ReplyDeleteThey look like the resident band from Life On Mars - classic photo!
ReplyDeleteha,ha,they actually did use HH speakers or amps,although the guys did originally live in kirkton billy is and has always been a hulltoon man at heart,there is a book out in dundee called "gangs of dundee" written by gary robertson and billy and andy were interviewed as part of their involvment in the gang days.
ReplyDeleteSon of a runner
Stop bad-mouthing my daddy and my uncles, they were great in the day!!!! LOL
ReplyDeleteThey played gigs at caird hall and even made a film in london :)
What film would that be?
ReplyDeleteSome other info on the band I have was that the band were offered a recording contract but after a discussion away from the record company people because there wasn't a total agreement that everyone wanted to sign the contract they didn't. Family ties obviously being stronger than the lure of a record contract. The band have also appeared on a BBC TV programme when it was in Dundee and I have also heard of them being part of a film but can't remember what it what it was.
ReplyDeleteAs for the first Anon saying that Alan is a dodgy agent having worked for this agency on a few occasions there is nothing wrong with it. There are other dodgy ones but I'm not in the habit of name calling publicly under anonymous.
That is brian mcdermott but not the one from del amitri brian is on the far rite then andy then billy (hookie) alan then goerge brian and alan are in the sidekicks so think i shood no a good bit since im brians son cheerz.
ReplyDeleteHookie and the rest were great fun, Hilly from Kirkton used to help them with the gear and I helped him out a couple times at gigs I always remember one gig in Brechin getting into a fight on the dance floor and the band played on.
ReplyDeleteGreat memories of Dundee in the 70s
X Kirkton boy many moons ago.
The film they made was called rock N roll is here to stay.
ReplyDeleteSon of a runner