VIEW MAGAZINE - 1978

This is the very first issue of View magazine, a free Dundee arts guide, published in 1978.

I've put up the foreword to give you the general gist of the mag content that outlines their coverage of local exhibitions and plans for the future.

Along with reviews of the main art centres in town, it also gives the lowdown on the 2 galleries shown above - the Dudhope Arts Centre and the Forebank Studios.

The Dudhope Arts Centre in St. Mary Place had workshop facilities for drawing, print making, painting etc, as well as it being a place putting on exhibitions, concerts, dance performances, that kind of thing. In addition, their coffee-bar area would be used for one-man shows.

The Forebank Studios in the Hilltown started up in 1976 when a group of local artists moved into what was an empty school at the time, and with a little help from the Scottish Arts Council, the Dundee Group (Artists) came into being.

The studios were both an artists workplace and exhibition space.

The exhibition advert for Forebank Studios was published in the Scottish press in Feb 1978.

There is also mention in View about a new film theatre that was due to open in 1979.

That was the Steps Theatre, which as we all know, opened AND closed down, ironically, because of the DCA springing up!

NHS MARCH - PART 1 - MID 80'S

Yes I know, there are a lot of photos to scroll through and I could have just plucked out a selected few to display instead, but I decided to post the whole caboodle because I reckon the people who crop up in them will not have seen them before, so thought I'd use this opportunity to include all the images I have for the participants and their families to see.

This NHS march was an "anti privatisation" protest that took place around 1986ish.

It starts off with the great gathering up at Dudhope Park (the DRI was still on the go back then) then from the Pleasance Bar on the corner of Gardeners Lane it snakes its way down Lochee Road heading for the city centre.

It was a good natured march with nurses leading the way, followed by fellow workers, unionists and family members. Even the police are smiling!

Some of the placards and banners are from the like of COHSE - NALGO - NUPE - TGWU etc...with a few home-maders too.

I will be putting a similar quantity up again tomorrow, so if you don't spot anyone you know in this bundle, perhaps you may have better luck with the second set.

To view the large versions, just give the pictures a click.

Photos by The Bear.

GOODBYE MID STREET - 80'S

It's not just only buildings that disappear, sometimes it's the entire street, and here we are in the 80's bidding farewell to Mid Street.

Mid Street ran from the Dudhope Street/Hilltown junction, through to Constitution Road.

Top pic is from the Hilltown fork, Dudhope Street off to the right, Mid Street being demolished on the left.

The other photo is from Mid Street looking back over at the Hilltown.

It was time for it to go to make way for the Marketgait tunnel.

Photos by The Bear.

DUDHOPE PARK BANDS #2

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Here are some more bands who were performing at the Dudhope do, only I haven't got the names of these acts. So if anyone can identify any of them, drop the info into the comments.
If you need a closer look, click them to enlarge.
Photos by The Bear.

DUDHOPE PARK BANDS #1

Here are some of the acts who were on stage at the Dudhope Park Fest in the mid/late 80's.
Top - BETTER BACKWARDS
2nd - LIXX
3rd - JOE PUBLIC
4th - JOE MACKAY
Joe is accompanied by a couple of guys out of Joe Public.
Photos by The Bear.

DUDHOPE PARK FESTIVAL - 1980'S

Just wondering if David Cook had a hand in the stage set for this outdoor do up at Dudhope Park around 1987, give or take a year? Painted brollies! It always rains at Glastonbury, but seems like it was decent weather for this one.
That looks like Alain Breitenbach AKA Legrand on stage. Can't quite make out the other guy with him.
I do know that a couple of members of Joe Public are strolling by. The guy with his sleeves rolled up, and the blonde lass, Caragh Mackay, the band's singer.
The guy on the left with the hat played on stage with Caragh's father, Joe Mackay, also on the bill.
Photo by The Bear.

PULSEBEAT PLUS ASSORTMENT

Pulsebeat Plus were an alternative band from Arbroath who played regularly in Dundee in the 80's. In fact, according to Brian Sinclair, they were the first band to play at the Tayside Bar during his reign.

The top 2 items are Cranked Up reviews of gigs they played in town in 1981. Still early days for Pulsebeat Plus, not quite getting their act together live despite the opinion that their music was really good. Sound problems and personnel changes.

The photo of the band was taken at an outdoor event up at Dudhope Park, sometime around 1986/87. In case you're wondering about the stage set, they're umbrellas daubed with paint!

So, seeing as they were the act that started off all the fun at the Tayside Bar, I think I'll allow them a guest spot on Retro Dundee.

Here's a demo track of theirs, from 1984ish, a catchy song called "Better By Miles".

Photo by The Bear.

Thanks to Al for the track.

DUDHOPE PARK CONCERT - 1960'S

This concert took place in Dudhope Park sometime in the early 60's.
It was actually part of the entertainment laid on during the 7 weekies.
No idea who the act is but if anyone wants to have a stab at who it might be, there are 2 guitarists, a drummer, a pianist and a female singer.