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Friday, 8 July 2011

BRUCE'S RECORD SHOP AD - 1978

Another great record shop doing brisk business in 1978 was Bruce's in Reform Street.
I've already got a few items relating to Bruce's in the Retro archive, so because I've covered the basics, there's no need to repeat it here.
Something I haven't mentioned before is, in 1978, Bruce's main man, Jim Stewart, had a stint as DJ down at the Sands, playing a wide variety of sounds. Some of his selection would have been the latest hot imports, because as you can see in the ad, they were the only importers in town at the time.
The shop wasn't huge but they did cater for just about everyones tastes and I can even remember buying comedy records out of there. In fact I can rattle off 3 I got in 1975 for example - Billy Connolly "Cop Yer Whack For This" - Richard Pryor "Was It Something I Said" - Bill Barclay (remember him?) "Almost Live".
Mind you, I've no idea who the funny looking fella in the ad is, holding up the vinyl.
Mark Knopfler?
at

14 comments:

  1. Vince8 July 2011 at 05:42

    I remember buying the fanzine "Sniffin Glue" from Bruce's.

    I also remember listening to the latest singles in the listening booths. Wonderful days

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  2. charlie8 July 2011 at 09:13

    I knew jim well i used to spend a lot of time in bruces and jj records in union st jim was a big football fan

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  3. Stoo8 July 2011 at 10:09

    I loved Bruces too! A great shop, remember buying Never Mind the Bollocks, New Boots and Panties, Exodus, Electric Chairs, Radio Stars, The Valves... got a single signed by the Cimarons there too! Sniffin Glue and various other fanzines All taken home in the famous "I Found it at Bruces" bag.

    You have made me spring clean my iphone and fill it with nostalgic sounds GG.

    Did the guy that own it not own Zoom Records and manage Simple Minds in the early days.

    ReplyDelete
  4. RETRO DUNDEE8 July 2011 at 11:19

    The Cimarons on the iphone gets my thumbs up!
    Yeah it was Bruce Findlay.
    If you backtrack to the Retro 2008 archives you can see a picture of the day Bruce and Rod Stewart opened the shop in Reform St in Dec 1974, causing a bit of a stir!
    Bruce himself told me the round window design in Reform St was based on a boutique in Paris!

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  5. Craig8 July 2011 at 11:26

    Bruce Findlay managed Simple Minds for ages. I remember seeing them at Samanthas supporting 999 and spoke to Jim Kerr after it. He was a very strange man but friendly.

    Shuttle forward to me working for Amnesty International in the 80's and I met up with him again when they did the Once Upon a Time record. He was so taken with a bit of artwork that I had uncoverd that he used it as the cover for the single. I said to him that I had spoken to him years ago and he remembered. He was very strange then too and friendly.....

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  6. RETRO DUNDEE8 July 2011 at 12:17

    Can you elaborate on the artwork aspect. Do you mean this was a piece Jim had done, or was it something else?

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  7. Anonymous9 July 2011 at 08:04

    The guy holding the album- brian Johnson ac/dc

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  8. Anonymous9 July 2011 at 12:57

    I gave the guitarist of the only ones " i found it at bruces badge" He wore it on album cover and seemingly got asked loads about it..

    happy days as Vincenzo already says, pay packet in the hipper and a new elpeeee. pint in the pillars Bar then mosey on up to the Bowling alley for a night o fun and annoying Brian " doon the toon" to play tracks aff the new Elpee :)

    lesley g.

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  9. 197710 July 2011 at 05:59

    The guy I remember most of serving at Bruces in Reform Street was John, long hair and a beard ... he loved the punk scene at the time and I remember him letting you listen to anything in the wee booths. The Clashs 'Complete Control and Slaughter and the Dogs 'Cranked up really high' were 45's bought there in that wee cavern of delights. They used to let us take the posters and paraphanalia away free of charge ... long gone now, of course. Pity !

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  10. Brian Wilson11 July 2011 at 01:53

    .
    Hi Lesley.

    Were we all young and foolish at the time?

    "Fools, never learn
    You play with fire
    You gonna get burned"

    8=)

    ReplyDelete
  11. Anonymous11 July 2011 at 05:15

    john mcqueen was the guy who worked for bruces. he got me tickets for one of my first "punk" gigs- the jam at the maniqui (i think) in Falkirk, must have been 78?- bruces ran a bus through.

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  12. Craig12 July 2011 at 12:05

    retro

    it was a piece of artwork that Amnesty had already made into a poster. He stared at it for ages and asked if he could use it for a single release. Its at http://www.jayfan.com/uploadimg/201101/28/215241226.jpeg

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  13. Anonymous12 July 2011 at 23:56

    I went on the Bruce's bus to The Jam at the Maniqui in Falkirk. July 1977. Support band was the Subway Sect (I think - or was it The Jolt, please correct...). Vic Godard (or singer) in his punk-style writhings put his finger in the neck of his beer bottle and got it stuck!
    Jam were just too good(?!)with no interaction...could have stayed at home and listened to the record. Cheered up though..as you could buy chicken-in-a-basket! Hooray!

    ReplyDelete
  14. RETRO DUNDEE13 July 2011 at 07:10

    OK Craig, thanks for the link.
    I've never seen that image before.
    I kinda lost interest in Simple Minds after the "New Gold Dream" LP, when they, like U2, began the stadium rock game.
    So just trying to catch up with a few things I missed out on.

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