NICK AND SAINT NICK - 80'S

Top image is Nick Parkin mucking about outside the College of Commerce sometime in the late 80's.
He used to play synthesizer with one of the guys from Altres, Jeremy Bryning, although Nick himself wasn't in that band.
Many of you may recall Nick & Jeremy as the buskers who wore Santa Claus outfits in the mid 80's. Their patch was the Overgate and they made a wee fortune. Enough to keep them supplied with fresh electronic equipment!
With his brother Andy, Nick ran a recording studio for a while and formed bands called Love and Up 'n' Out.

Nick also managed a Dundee girl duet called Mix 'n' Match.
Nick then moved to London in the early 90's, working in a recording studio there.
His mate Jeremy, as I mentioned earlier, was a member of Altres and also made a cassette of solo recordings on the Altres label, Multi-Purpose Productions.
Sadly, Jeremy developed mental problems later in life and disappeared about 12 years ago. Nobody knows what has happened to him and still to this day he remains on Tayside Police's official "Missing Persons" list.

ALTRES DEMO REVIEW - 1984

This Deadbeat mag review dates from May 1984 and is for Dundee's electronic whizz kids, Altres. This was a 7 track demo cassette called "Rise" that they released on their own label, Multi-Purpose Productions. It was something a bit different from the usual alternative rock & pop the fanzine covered, Altres making dreamy hypnotic synth based instrumentals. The tape did get a thumbs up from the reviewer though, and reckoned there may be a future for them in TV soundtracks!
The cassette was available to purchase from Rockpile, JJ Records and Grouchos. Or you could have have got it direct from Kevin himself.

ALTRES - TAYSIDE BAR - 1983

Dundee's electronic explorers, Altres, sparked into life in 1983.
The band in full back then was - Kevin L Guthrie - Jeremy Bryning - Brian Hutton - Maurice Richardson - Joe Donnelly - Mike Nelson.
Locally, they played venues such as the Tayside Bar, Mr Dees & Cloisters, and they also ventured outdoors sometimes performing at places like the City Square and Baxter Park.
I'm fairly sure when I saw them in Cloisters they had a slide show projector to accompany the music too, but the main thing about them was all that great gear they had - a multitude of synthesisers, drum machines and effects equipment, all adding up to a rather addictive sound.
Another thing I liked was that they played unfashionably lengthy tracks. This was around the time when tunes longer than 3 or 4 minutes were still generally frowned upon, an attitude harking back to the old punk days. So here were Altres pumping out half hour tracks, mesmerising the locals with their trippy synth sequencers and pulsating loop patterns!
The band also made a few recordings back then, however, in 1985 they decided to pull the plug out and Altres was switched off for good. Or so it seemed, until that is, they were regenerated back to life in 2003, and have been powering onwards ever since - gigs and recordings aplenty.
You can catch up with the band's history and present day pursuits in more detail on their site at
http://www.altres.co.uk/
The sound sample below is taken from Altres first ever gig which took place at the Tayside Bar on 23rd February 1983. The picture above shows some of the band's gear tucked away in the corner of the TB lounge. Only 4 members played on this one, Kevin, Joe, Brian & Maurice.
The piece, just called "Set 1", was semi improvised and lasted around 30 minutes, but this here is only an 8 minute snippet to give you a flavour of the original Altres in full flow!

Thanks to Kevin and the rest of the posse.

WHO'S ON THE TAYSIDE BAR?

A nice wee snapshot of the Tayside Bar noticeboard taken in Feb 1983. Not a particularly hectic week on this occasion but local electronic whizz-kids, Altres, were performing on stage that week, as were Portable People the following night.
Altres, as I'm sure most of you will know by now, are still going strong, gigging and recording regularly. Don't forget to check out the Altres website for more info and goodies, including original Tayside Bar recordings & photos - http://www.altres.co.uk/

Big thanks to Kevin & Brian.

TAYSIDE BAR - SEAGATE - 1980'S

Located at 176 Seagate ( the building no longer exists ), the Tayside Bar was a pub you may well have passed in the street without giving it a second glance. It was really an old man's pub, as basic and as spartan as they get. However, in the early '80's, Dundee's trendy youth hijacked it and used it as a live music venue.
Most of the time it was a showcase for the "alternative" music scene...and on the nights there were no bands playing, there would often be a DJ - the Cranked Up Disco!.
Local bands who gigged there were acts such as Altres, The Grip, AAGA, Waiter Waiter, Junkies, Scrotum Poles, The Blush etc etc...but as the venue became more known, acts from out of town would come in and perform too.
There always seemed to be something going on inside which is why it was such a good place to have a drink. I remember Billy Mackenzie used to hang out there as well.
The top photo shows the long narrow lounge area of the pub...where it all happened!!
Under it, is a photo of the pubs main man, Brian Sinclair, the guy who brought all the bands in.
One of the many acts I saw play there was AAGA, and I was in the crowd at one of their gigs they captured on film. Below is that very gig. Filmed in March 1984. AAGA live at the Tayside Bar with a track called "Back in the 60's".
Many thanks to Kevin, Mike, Brian and co from AAGA & Altres for the excellent footage and photo.
Meanwhile, enjoy the blast from the past, on the video below...
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Tayside Bar now has its own website - go visit Tayside Bar