Here's a candid domestic scene caught on camera in 1984.Filmed in Mike Kane's kitchen, it features Mike and Steve Grimmond having a bit of a blether about AAGA, while tucking into some nosh.
Serving up some tasteful tunes in the background is Bob Phillips, adding to the ambiance with a touch of classical guitar.
A few years earlier (1977) Bob supplied slide guitar on The Drive's single. He was also one of the participating guitarists in Boo Hooray.
You may remember he was advertised as Boab Philips in the Soul Kiss Club feature on Retro, when he was playing down at the Tayside Bar.
The Tayside Bar crops up during the chinwag by the way.
Those of you who are knowledgeable on classical music may enjoy playing "Name That Tune" while all the chatting is going on. One tune you will get is the "World In Action" theme!
Unfortunately, Bob is just about to give us a rendition of Joaquin Rodrigo's "Concierto de Aranjuez" when the video fades out after only 3 notes!
The scene was captured by Kevin Guthrie of Altres.
Thanks to Mike.
Mike, was that when you nearly had a deal with Factory and then you sent this video to them and then they said no thanks?
ReplyDeleteI vaguely remember but then it was a long time ago but Aaga were getting really good and I remember seeing this video and thinking that Steve Grimmond had become a wanker.
bet sg's delighted to see this online!!!
ReplyDeleteNow now kiddies, remember it's an item about Bob Phillips!
ReplyDeleteNow that Steve's name has cropped up though...he mentions Melody Maker's Ian Pye during the natter. That's somebody I forgot all about. I can recall finding it quite funny back in the 70's that he had the same surname as a record company (PYE records) and thought how apt it was he got a job connected with music!
Bob still plays under the name Rob Mackillop , its mostly Scottish lute music and here is a link if anyone is interested .http://www.rmguitar.info/
ReplyDeletehe has youtube channel also and strangely enough the video above does not appear on it !
and since craig mentioned it , to set record straight , Factory wanted us to go down to Manchester and play a showcase gig and we frankly could not be bothered so said no , we were young and lazy and manchester seemed a very far away place just for a gig and no guarantee , life is full of big mistakes !
mike
Sorry GG looking back my comment was a bit harsh.
ReplyDeleteI suppose what I meant was that given the stuff that Aaga were doing at the time, the video felt ill-advised and somewhat self-regarding. I remember saying to Mike at the time that I didn't like it.
I still regularly play Aaga music and, no, Steve Grimmond is not a wanker but I doubt if this video was his best moment...
If Bob had moved further along and sat on top of the cooker, he could have given us a blast of "Classical Gas"!!
ReplyDeletenae wonder boabs sae thin he never got anythin tae eat or drink.glad to hear hes still gigging he is also a lecturer in auld stringed things at Edinburgh Uni' maybe even a prof' by now? haveny spoken to him since he appeared at the Rep dundee guitar festival years ago where a got his album the flowers of the forest. very talented and freckley ;-)
ReplyDeletethe bear
if boab could only get them twa tossers to shut up it widve been better
ReplyDeleteif bob wanted us to shut up he would never agreed to play , it was meant to be light hearted , look at the date , how many other people were doing what we were doing then , don't see many other Dundee bands videos on this site that date as far back as this - that's because there are none , on hindsight it can been seen as just a self indulgence act by 2 young musicians , maybe it was , but at the time we never thought it would be open to criticism on something called the internet 26 years later , also anon , the words are spelled "Bob" "two" "would have" and tossers is spelled "geniuses"
ReplyDeletebut seriously , check out the link I added to listen to Bob without us
mike
Scrotum Poles "video" is older of course but done on Super 8.
ReplyDeleteI still think though that it was ill-advised and perhaps as Mike says, self-indulgent.
As I said before, Aaga were getting really good then and this video destroyed the mystery and aura around them. The group had a good sense of humour - their breathtaking "covers" show proved that. They also had insight and context - their "brief history of music"(I think it was called that)at the Steps was courageous and naughty, and their regular Tayside Bar gigs were always "occasions".
But, being young, you get every thing bloody confused. I, for my sins, tried to get the Scrotum Poles to move to Edinburgh when patently nobody wanted to do so, thus splitting up that band. And Aaga, just at that point of maybe doing "something" fell on their own swords too. Nothing ever seemed quite as special after that video.
I've been lucky that Mike sent me a whole series of tapes of Aaga at their height and I can tell you it is great stuff.
My wife always says why do musicians have to talk?
therefore not a video :)
ReplyDeletemike
Technically, sir, you are correct.
ReplyDeleteWhere did the video camera come from? Blagged from DRCU or the Grey Lodge, or Joe Murray or Joe Jordan? Bet it wisnae the property of anyone in that clip!
ReplyDeleteGeniuses?!?! Best thing that happened to the Dundee music scene was when Mike Kane moved into the Dundee catering scene.
Hi Anon (seems to be a lot of anon can no one remember their own names)
ReplyDeletehired from granada video in the old overgate £25 for 2 days , camera was separate from the recorder and very bulky, well before the days of joe murray and his precious "nobody gets to touch it but me " grey lodge equipment , edited with 2 vcr's joined together and using pause button , the whole hour long video was me and steve discussing AAGA songs over lunch with bob playing and then we cut in the actual songs as they were talked about, this is obviously just a short snippet of the whole thing ..the blog is not about AAGA its about Bob playing !
the worst thing I ever did was moving into catering and did you not get the humour in the "geniuses" bit !!! I was being sarcastic !
fucking hell you would think I was a mass murderer not a guy who just played in a few bands , get a fucking life
p.s. I have not left it yet and the phrase is "was not"
mike :)
Great footage and good to see it up here. Ive noticed of late, Retro Dundee now seems to now attract a lot of anons who have much to say about local bands and people involved with the Dundee music scene - THIRTY YEARS AGO! Maybe they are jealous they didn't do anything themselves back in the day. Just a thought...
ReplyDeleteDear the Historian,
ReplyDeleteI dare say you have a point.
However any of us who did do "something" in those days wanted to do it and did it anyway. I frankly don't care whatever anybody thinks of Pigs are Cute or the Scrotum Poles because it is in the past. As Mike says we all made mistakes.
And as much as I cringe at what the Anons of the world say, I'd rather that they had the opportunity to say it than not.
Bloody hell that sounded a bit pious.....
Don't really know about all the foregoing blogging/ bitching.But I knew "the artist formerly known as Boab"( now Rob Mckillop-and you really should listen to the 16thc lute/guittern he's now doing to appreciate the talent he has and how far he has moved on!
ReplyDeleteAround 1980 I got a call from Boab asking me down to Manchester to play bass in a proposed band with linder from ludus and Arthur Kadman.We were to be recording in Central Sound Studios in Manchester -Joy Division/ Martin hannett.
We had a flat in Sale.Christine Beveridge also lived there as did John Mcqueen ( may remember him from Bruces record)
The drummer was a guy called Toby who went on to play
with the slits I think.Linder didn't show up but we did some demos with Arthur.Manchester was happening at the time and guys like Pete Shelley were around the band.As usual things didn't work out - main culprit wasn't " musical differences" I think the band really kicked - I won't embarrass anyone with the reasons.
Rob then took himself through some pretty rigorous musical education - degrees/ study on the continent / played with Scottish chamber orchestra etc etc etc.
Couple of years back he was staying in Tayport and we got back together with Johnny cappuccino on the drums and did some blues r, n, b stones stuff and played a gig( by the way if you read this Rob I 'm sorry for being such a lazy
bastard and Ive found your CDs!!)
Rob had been offered, no ,promised the job of musician in residence with Dundee City Council but at the last minute a.n.other applied and got the post.I don't know enough to comment but Rob was real angry and was genuinely let down.The real losers were Dundonians.
Do what the earlier post said and check out what he's doing now and if you're honest I think you have to admit that he was one of the few genuine musicians to come out of that era- as opposed to "artistes" whose script was the nme and image was all - and as was said looks pretty naff 30 years on.
Onyweay it wiz fun!
Boab Fillups here, aka Rob MacKillop. Great to see myself in my formative year as a classical guitar player, and great to see Mike and Steve in their prime, pushing boundaries of what bands did then, which is commonplace now. Thanks to JM for the previous post to this one, reminding me of times I’d expunged from my memory! I hope you are all well and thriving! Rob
ReplyDelete