Around 1980, local band, Grey Approach, started to make inroads into the Dundee music scene. The original trio of Jim Low, Colin Warden and Cresta, were generally described as sounding like a synthy Joy Division.Although the photo is a tad overdone on the Xerox machine, the band posing in amongst the Dundee debris does reflect the kind of imagery those Manchester bands were so good at conjuring up back then. Sombre cityscapes made trendy!
One notable gig they did was at the Art College, along with Dundee's most cutting edge acts, the evening's line-up being Grey Approach - Strange News - Boo Hooray - Erasmic Superfoam. That sounds like a good night!
Even though later members included Ray Manston, Dave Fehilly, Guy Gayford and Marion Achfeld, the band didn't seem to last very long. In fact I think they may have reached a dead end before 1982.
marion was affiliated to the band on account of her fathers history, in the wehrmacht, gooey gayford was ejected for left wing leanings and a liberal sexuality.
ReplyDeleteNone of the guys in the picture look like Fanta !!
ReplyDeleteI was at the Art College gig and do remember them coming across as "serious artists" but if you knew them you , well....Jim always was an actor !
mike
that's me on the left, fanta.
ReplyDeletewe were pompous gonks, not serious artists, and yes jim and myself formed the raunchy guys, a buttrustlin country outfit, mp3's available
Now I might be wrong here but didnt a few of GA form a band with Jackie McPherson (Jackie Bird) called Just Little Boys????
ReplyDeletei really can't remember if we did, i don't think so but i wasn't really paying attention, we didn't have any musical talent and we were pals who would have had difficulty playing with anyone with any ambition or talent. fanta/cresta.
ReplyDeletedid do something with knobby/jih, called tiny girls
Remember the idea of tiny girls with knobby never thought it came to anything other than a title , Knobby always wanted to be Iggy !
ReplyDeleteI do remember you (fanta) me and ali H "rehearsing" VU 's "the gift" in your flat in Court Street and various other projects You , ali , Vince and Knobby used to dream up !
and yes..musical talent never came into it , just if you owned an instrument you where in !
mike kane
Sounds like some sort of reunion is in order!!!
ReplyDeleteWhere's Colin these days? Wasn't Jim Cairns also in this band?
ReplyDeletecolin manages the olympia leisure centre, jim cairns wasn't in band
ReplyDeleteIs Jim Low some sort of beekeeper these days?
ReplyDeleteno, he's a butcher in coventry, makes award winning sausages
ReplyDeleteWas Stu Firm in this band?
ReplyDeletenah, firmy wasn't a member, pity cos he was more than competent and a good laugh too. fants
ReplyDeleteAre there ant mps3 of Grey Approach? Would like to hear if they are as pompous as they sound.
ReplyDeleteno recordings that i know of, we were full of our own self importance, turgid and aloof, like total pooves
ReplyDeleteJim Low has got a fine head of hair in that photo. He used to brush it quite vigorously when he was a teen.
ReplyDeleteIt's The Captain again here.....
ReplyDeleteI was shown a video (VHS format tape) back in the early 80's of the follow on band from GA - Fanta was still in there I think - could be wrong? - anyhoo - I have never really recovered from seeing it (lol) - in the vision we had Jim riding around in a cirle in a badly lit dingy room on a kiddie's trike and kiddie's cowboy outfit doing a cover version of the Gene Autrey (30's/40's b&w movie cowboy singing star) classic 'Back In The Saddle Again'..... yippie-ih-oh.... yippie-aye ayyyy.......
Seriously disturbing stuff........ and living proof that the drugs don't work ---- LOL! Luv it
i think the song you refer to was "johnny cash's boots" by the raunchy guys, jim low; al hendrickx and fanta. i will submit an mp3 to the site for your listening pleasure
ReplyDeleteIf anyone has that cowboy video clip converted to dvd format, feel free to send it in!
ReplyDeleteWhere about in Dundee are the guys posing by the way? Westport?
somewhere off hawkhill, probably where the wellcome building now stands, we rehearsed every sat pm in the gate fellowship hall, by rehears i mean running up and downstairs throwing balloons fulla pee at each other and climbing amongst the organ pipes, for a pee.
ReplyDeleteWere you influenced by Slash?!!!
ReplyDeleteIf this footage actually exists, get it on!
ReplyDeletewhen grey approach disbanded did jim low go on to form lixx with jo doll and jim robertson?
ReplyDeletemr fiction
No. He joined Severed Arm, a sub-Bunnymen type of pop outfit. When they disbanded, he went on to form Dirtbox with Fanta, Dave Mc and Rab "Moose" Hunter. They rocked.
ReplyDeleteWas that the band that supported the Junkies at the Bothy? I remember Jim Low fronting a band that night, but didn't know their name. They were pretty mental from what I can remember.
ReplyDeleteyep, that was us, dirtbox. we stank o elvis and piss.fants
ReplyDeleteElvis and piss! sounds like a pint of snakebite fae the bothy right enough. Dirtbox reunion on the cards some time soon? or just a dvd release?
ReplyDeleteA deluxe boxed set of 3 CDs with a live 7" single of the legendary "Pork & Beans".
ReplyDeletecan I order my cds here or do I have to go to Dock Street again?
ReplyDeleteS Clumpas
that boy in the middle looks like M Kane does he not
ReplyDeleteWe should have formed a band with Jackie Bird on vocals and totally humiliated her...we would have changed grampian history for the better....pity she got involved with the art college muso crowd....hey, neat Clumpas ressurection shuffle
ReplyDeleteColin Warden Jimmy Cairns names from the past I remeber all of these people hilltoon boys I'm suprised that you dont anything on the Lis D a punk band from 79 Zippy Ally Hendrix cant remeber the drumer at the moment a Sykes I think.
ReplyDeleteI can't do a feature on List D because I haven't got any memorabilia to accompany it. No photos, reviews or anything else.
ReplyDeleteIf anyone can remedy this, shoot what you have over to Retro.
Sykes = Mr Jim Grieves yes - List D, and I am old enough to remmember the "Quick Spurts" too. Ha Ha
ReplyDelete