THE BARRACUDA GOOD LIFE - 70'S

The advert from December 1977 is one that cropped up in the Tele on a regular basis back then.

It was for local soulsters, Susan Childe & The Flamingoes, the band who got everyone up on the Barracuda dancefloor.

Hidden away under all the nosh details in the ad, you may be able to spot the Barracuda slogan - "The Good Life".

You will also be able to see the same slogan on the t-shirts the two Barracuda babes are wearing - the lassies posing for the camera in the nightclub in 1978.

Thanks to Yvonne and Marky.

SUSAN CHILDE & THE FLAMINGOS - PART 1

This promo shot of Susan Childe & The Flamingos was taken at the Barracuda, sometime before the disco first opened for business, so would be around 1975/76.
The Flamingos go further back than that though, to at least the very early 70's when they were known as Ray King & The Flamingos, and who originated from the West Indies. The line-up back then consisted of - Ray & Shirley King - Cleveland Walker - Lloyd Owen Wisdom - Howard "Bongo" McLeod - Calvert Ward & Jerry Bartholomew.
Dundee's Susan Childe got in on the act in 1972 when on a life-changing visit to the JM Ballroom to see the band play. On this particular night, singer Shirley King had to sit it out because she had a sore throat, so Ray King shouted out to the JM crowd asking if anyone wanted to get on stage to sing with the band - up stepped Susan Childe, who went on to perform "Puppy Love". After the show Ray asked Susan where she worked - which was Timex. That then lead to Ray visiting the factory a few days later to see her and ask if she fancied joining the band full time. Needless to say the answer was "YES" and so Susan clocked-out there & then and said ta ta to Timex!
After a couple of years, Susan left the band for a short while to live in London, and when she came back to rejoin the band in 1975, The Flamingos had split, with one half going on to form funk band, Rokotto. So the new band formation was now called Susan Childe & The Flamingos, as in the promo photo.

Big thanks to Yvonne.

THE BARRACUDA INTERIOR - LATE 70'S - #2

The 2nd image taken upstairs in the Barracuda shows one of the bars on the far side. This little corner just one of the many nooks & crannies scattered throughout the interior.
You can see other pictures of the Barracuda in my October 2008 Archives.
Photo by Nicholl Russell Studios.

THE BARRACUDA INTERIOR - LATE 70'S - #1

Here's a top notch shot of the Barracuda which I think should help revive one or two memories of nights spent there.
You see that big black spotlight on the balcony, top right of the picture, I remember a few of us, who were a bit tiddly by then, gathered around it and took turns to shine the beam on the girls dancing below, and because of the drink, we of course found this funnier than it actually was. Our fun was eventually stopped when the heavies came over and gave us a ticking off!
Been there dozens of times though, but very rarely went in on a Friday & Saturday, my visits always seemed to land on a Thursday, Sunday or Monday, when they either had students nights or bands on.
Photo by Nicholl Russell Studios.

EURYTHMICS - BARRACUDA - 1983

This was a gig organised by Dundee's Dance Factory, who used a variety of venues around town when presenting gigs before they eventually settled at Fat Sam's.
This one featuring the Eurythmics took place at the Barracuda in the Marketgait on 27th February 1983, a while before Fat Sam's opened.
Although I was at this one, I was too boozed up to remember much about it now. All I can recall is, because the venue was a disco, there was no stage for live acts to perform so the band were just tucked away at the side of the dancefloor. I can also remember Annie in her grey suit and cropped orange hair doing her robotic dance moves which was a bit of a fad at the time with clubbers!
The band line up: Annie Lennox, Dave Stewart, Clem Bourke (ex Blondie), Mickey Gallagher (ex Clash & Blockheads) and Eddy Reader doing backing vocals.
Click on the image to enlarge and read the other bits & pieces on the flyer.

THE BARRACUDA - MARKETGAIT

The location of The Barracuda in the Marketgait was probably the most well known and most visited disco spot in Dundee.

Previously called the J.M, the nightclub was transformed into the Barracuda in 1975 after £1/4 million was spent on it's conversion, and had a new look design that was extremely eye catching.

Both the outside & inside were "sculpted" to resemble cave-like structures.

The interior's theme was based around Jules Verne's submariner adventure "20,000 Leagues Under The Sea"

There were alcoves, recesses, cubbyholes and bay areas all over the place. Lots of stalactites and submarine parts too - riveted girders, periscope, portholes etc.

To go with this tropical underwater look, it also had aquariums containing piranhas!

There was also an upstairs balcony area with a desert island look, a shack, palm trees, totem pole, bamboo and such like.

The Barracuda was then sold to Rank Leisure in April 1980 and £35,000 was spent on their new lighting system.

Boss, Murdo Wallace Jr, went onto be a soul band promoter and the new Barracuda manager was now John Muir.

Barracuda then got another £1/4 million face-lift in January 1984 and re-opened in March '84 as Coconut Grove.

For a glimpse of the Barracuda interior, have a wee nosy at the slideshow below.

Photos by DC Thomson.Tints by GG.

THE GROVE - MARKETGAIT - 1980's

This well known disco location became the Coconut Grove in March 1984. Previously the Barracuda, it was renamed this when it came under new ownership and a £1/4 million face-lift.
After a couple of years they opted to drop the name "coconut" and it became known just as "The Grove", as in the above picture.
Photo by DC Thomson.Tints by GG.