BILLY CONNOLLY - CAIRD HALL - 1982

This item from Deadbeat fanzine, is a review of a Billy Connolly gig that took place at the Caird Hall on 30th November 1982.

No shortage of laughs it seems - the only thing lacking during the evening, according the the reviewer - was alcohol!

BAXTER PARK FESTIVALS - 1980'S

In July 2010, I put an article up on Retro about the "Peoples Festival" that took place at Baxter Park in 1981.

This was coordinated by a group of Anti-Nuclear organisations who went under the banner of No Nukes Music.

The review I posted back then came from Cranked Up fanzine, but it didn't really contain much info about the bands who were playing.

The review above, however, was published in the Courier and gives an account of the same event, including naming some of the acts who were performing.

So there was - RB's - Gypsy Joe - The Shoplifters - Alternative - Toxic Effects - Blaise - plus a few others.

There are also a couple of words from those in the crowd who give their opinion of the event - which appeared to get a thumbs up in general.

The other item is for another Baxter Park festival, this time celebrating International Youth Year - which was 1985.

Some of the bands taking part in this do were - AAGA - Chilli Peppers - Life Support - Plastic Surgery - plus others.

This article appeared in Deadbeat fanzine.

You'll need to give the Courier item a click to read the enlarged version.

IMMACULATE FOOLS GIG REVIEW - 1985

Well here's a gig review that's a wee bit different from the norm.
This was put together by Deadbeat contributor, Hilary. It seems the Immaculate Fools appearance at the Dance Factory in March 1985 was so bad that she couldn't muster the usual kind of account of a live performance, so she just went around some of those who were in the crowd asking for their assessment.
Turned out they had the same opinion!
Amongst the Dundee critics were Ged, Kit & Gary from Danny Wilson, music journalist Bob Flynn, DJ Dave Calikes plus a few others who shared similar viewpoints.
Clearly the band should have presented a show that was a bit more foolproof!

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.

WATERGATE STUDIOS - 1985

The ad at the top dates from March 1983 and gives the lowdown on recording session costs at the Watergate studio in the Seagate.
Later in 1985, Hilary, from Deadbeat mag, popped along to the Watergate studio to have a chat with boss, Phil Ramsay.
He gives a bit of background info into the kind of gear the studio had available, as well as a quick word about the musicians who dropped by to use it.
Click on item to enlarge.

ST ANDREW & THE WOOLLEN MILL - 80'S

Formed in 1979, Saint Andrew & The Woollen Mill were regulars on the Dundee music scene by the time these 3 articles were written about them in the early 80's.

They stood out from your average local band because they specialised in humour, with plenty of well known tunes getting the comedy mash-up treatment in their set, along with their own quirky material.

You may get an idea of their silliness from the list of influences they mention - Kenny Everett, Dolly Parton, Patrick Wayne, Rolf Harris...etc.

I remember them doing their version of "Close Encounters" at the Tayside Bar and The Bothy - one of those hand held Casio mini keyboards was used for the famous UFO encounter tune bit, I think it then burst into a kind of disco groove!

They also had a few songs in oor oary local lingo.

The line-up in 1981 was - Andy "St Andrew" Pelc, vocal - Stewart Ivins, guitar - Eddie (Chris?) Marra, keyboard - Gus Foy, bass and Glen Jones, drums.

The band have released quite a few records over the years and I'm fairly sure St Andrew still performs from time to time.

So, the 2 items above...

Top, is an interview in Deadbeat, which the band did just before their gig at the Tayside Bar on 22nd December 1982 - and also includes a short review of the show.

Below it is a brief, light hearted introduction to the band taken from a 1981 Cranked Up.

Click them to bring up the large versions.

DEADBEAT - FIRST ISSUE - 1982

It's good fun looking back at "first issues" to get a reminder of how they once looked before they became more established, and so here's #1 of Deadbeat fanzine, given away free in August 1982.

The mag's debut was printed out of just one A3 sized sheet folded into quarters, but eventually it became available in a 20 page A5 sized magazine format, which later would cost a whopping 10p!

It's lifespan was 1982 - 1986.

Although it was distributed around the country, the mag's content was generally based around the Scottish alternative music scene, with Dundee getting sizeable coverage.

One reason why Dundee was represented so often was because Deadbeat's main contributors, Alan McEwan (aka Vinny Bee) was at St.Andrew's University and so would often socialise in Dundee and Hilary Smart (previously featured on Retro), went to Art College and lived in town.

They still had to do plenty of whizzing around Scotland to collect material mind you!

An example of how well known Deadbeat had become around the UK, was the time when it was runner-up to Viz on the John Peel show in a feature on alternative publications!

So getting back to the first issue, one Dundee related item in it was the article above announcing the cancellation of The Associates tour. The piece didn't quite fit the xerox machine properly as you can see, but these wee teething problems were soon sorted and later they went on to have one issue which gave away a free flexi-disc, then afterwards there was a series of compilation cassettes featuring demo recordings made by Scottish bands.

Alan has quite recently started up a blog documenting Deadbeat which can be found at this link - http://www.deadbeatfanzine.blogspot.com/

The blog's content is accompanied by lots of amusing "behind the scenes" stories, with, needless to say, Dundee getting a mention quite a lot.

He's also gonna put all those rare recordings that appeared on the cassettes, up on Youtube, so's we can all catch up with them after all that time.

There is even talk of a Deadbeat party later this year to celebrate 25 years of it's death!!

So plenty to keep your eye on throughout 2011.

The good news for Retro is that Alan sent over a few original issues of Deadbeat, so watch out for some more past items on the local music scene cropping up here too!

Big thanks to Al.

HEY! ELASTICA - DANCE FACTORY - 1982

Here's a nice close-up shot of Hey! Elastica playing at Dundee's Dance Factory in 1982.

The venue for the Dance Factory back then was Teazers, at the Royal Hotel in Union Street.

Under the photo is an article from Deadbeat fanzine detailing their debut single which had just been released at the time - and although it mentions the gig date as being the 15th, the gig actually took place on the 14th October '82.

Thanks to Al McEwan.

HILARY - PUBS AND PUBLISHING - 80'S

Many of you who socialised around town in the 80's will recognise this colourful lass - it's Hilary.

I remember her from pubs & clubs like Chequers, Slickers, Tayside Bar, Fat Sams...actually, come to think of it, she was a right wee boozer!

As well as being a regular in the drinking dens of the city, she was also a familiar face on the local music scene. In fact, Hilary was involved in Deadbeat fanzine, contributing lots of articles and artwork.

The photo above is of Hilary at the Bowling Alley, circa '84, there to see local band Circus Of Hell.

Below it is her feature on the band in Deadbeat mag, including her skilful sketch of the guys.

She managed to get an amusing quote from Steevo in her piece - he says of COH "We're going to put the plooks back on the face of music" - charming!!

By the way, the 2 lads with Hilary on the photo are unknown, so if anyone knows who they are, feel free to reveal all in the comments.

You may need to click on the COH item to enlarge it if you can't read it as it is.

Thanks to Joe Ogilvie

WE ALL FALL DOWN - 1982

Here's a dinky little interview with Dundee band, We All Fall Down. This was the name The Blush changed to when they decided to start all afresh with new material and better equipment. 3 members, Steve, Bloke & Eddie discuss the new music and their plans to showcase it.
They mention a single they released as well as a 10 track tape. I haven't got/heard any of this stuff. Anybody got any copies they'd like to share on Retro?
The article is taken from a 1982 issue of Deadbeat fanzine.
Click image to enlarge.

STIFF LITTLE FINGERS - UNIVERSITY - 1982

Another Deadbeat review, this time featuring Stiff Little Fingers, who played Dundee University on 30th October 1982.
I wasn't at this gig, but judging by the write-up, it seems it was quite a lively affair - including a bit of band/crowd aggro!
Apparently, well known bass player, John McCoy was there to see this one!
Click image to enlarge.

AZTEC CAMERA / SWING CLUB - TEAZERS - 1982

From the pages of Deadbeat comes this review of a gig that took place at Teazers (Royal Hotel), in 1982.
This venue (complete with candles on the tables) was the main home of Dundee's "Dance Factory" nights, before Fat Sam's opened.
I was at this gig, the headline act being Aztec Camera, from East Kilbride. Main man, Roddy Frame, who was still a very young whippersnapper at the time, was quite a flashy guitarist I recall. Not in a Jimi Hendrix way, but it showed through in his choice of chords and his solo runs. Quite sophisticated for bright & breezy pop songs. I mean, goodness knows how many chord changes there are in their chart hit "Oblivious"?!!!
Anyway, it was an enjoyable evening of upbeat sparkly tunes which began with support act, Dundee band, The Swing Club.
No need for me to describe their performance, for it is they who are the subject in the above review.
If you can't read it as it is, just click on it to enlarge.

DEADBEAT FANZINE - 1982

Early 80's fanzine, Deadbeat, covered the alternative Scottish music scene in the main, so the Dundee stuff was competing with Edinburgh, Glasgow & Aberdeen for mag space, although our local bands and gigs were well represented.

The wee mag was loaded with music articles, gig dates, gig reviews, band interviews, record releases, nightclub details, and so on. In fact Deadbeat is a great reminder of just how much Scotland was buzzing with homegrown talent back then.

When it came to bands from down South visiting Scotland however, Dundee didn't always get the cream of the crop, which is why a bit of an effort was needed to catch the acts perform in other cities. I didn't do too bad as I was a member of Edinburgh's Nite Club for a few years, so saw heaps of acts live there that never set foot in oor toon!

I just loved going through to the Nite Club - one of my favourite places ever!

Thanks to DD