SHIRLEY BASSEY'S DUNDEE DATA



"A magnificent audience. A magnificent hall & magnificent acoustics.

My first time here. I hope it will not be the last"

This is what Shirley Bassey wrote in the Caird Hall visitors book on 19th May 1972.

Then on the next page we have...

"Here I am again as promised" - yes Shirley returned the following year and signed the book once more on 20th November 1973.

Shirley Bassey also has a creative connection with Dundee, when back in the 80's, Associates singer, Billy MacKenzie composed a song for her.

The recording was called "The Rhythm Divine".

This was a classy slow moody groove with a polished production and was made in Switzerland by Yello.

GOODBYE BILLY MACKENZIE

Something a little bit different now from the usual kind of Retro item.

On 28th March 2007, London's Shepherds Bush Empire hosted an evening of music in tribute to Dundee's Billy Mackenzie.

Lots of acts turned out and put on a very entertaining concert that lasted around 5 or 6 hours.

Many of the artists who performed had worked with Billy at some stage, the majority being from the 80's era. Most bands did 3 or 4 tunes of their own material and also 1 song from the Mackenzie/Associates back catalogue.

First up on stage was Howard Hughes, Billy's former piano accompanist.

Next was a contemporary band called Mower, followed by an act Billy had actually named, The Subterraneans. This included an appearance by an emotional Christine Beveridge (Billy's old flat mate in Lyon Street).

Then on came Billy's old friend and collaborator, Paul Haig, this being his first live stage performance since the late 80's.

Moving onto a duet featuring ex Propaganda singer, Claudia Brucken and pianist Andrew Poppy. Claudia then reappeared a little later with an act called One Two, alongside Paul Humphreys from Orchestral Manouevers In The Dark.

Incidentally, in between all the band changes, The Associates & Billy's solo work was blasting out the PA together with promo videos and photos of him beamed onto a screen above stage.

Next was a newer band called Electric Soft Parade, followed by another electric act, B.E.F. (British Electric Foundation) - an offshoot of Heaven 17 and the Human League. They did a really cool version of Party Fears Two, turning it into a slow moody waltz!

Lastly, rounding the evening off was Apollo 440, who powered their way through to the final whistle.

I was there, and can tell you a great night was had by all.

Apart from all the music played, what I think would have appealed to Billy too was the fact that the Empire was where they used to make Crackerjack every week, hence my wee link in the previous post!

Also in the crowd, clicking away down at the front of the stage, was famous photographer, Peter Ashworth, who spent all evening documenting the event. Peter was the guy who did the iconic Sulk album cover.

I teamed up with Peter to make this video slideshow of the concert, not only to show how the night went, but because it was a charity concert, all proceeds going to Sound Seekers, a charity organisation for deaf kids and who get a mention at the end of the vid.

If any of you are in a generous mood, check out their website to find out how to donate.

A reminder too that there are a few videos on Youtube capturing not only some of the music, but also includes interviews with one or two of the acts.

To have London put on such a top notch occasion, says a lot about Billy's talent and influence.

He would have been well pleased!

Incidentally, I took the photo of the Empire above - it's not one of Peter's!

STRANGE NEWS - HUNGRY LOOK - 1980

Although The Associates had only been in existence for a year or so at the time, in 1980 Billy MacKenzie got involved in a little side project with a few friends that ended up a short-lived outfit called Strange News.
Billy, vocals - Steve Reid, guitar - Andy Sturrock, bass - Gavin (surname?), drums.
They must have liked the sound they were making because it lead to them recording a couple of tracks in Edinburgh.
Here's a wee blast of one below, a song called "Hungry Look".
Check out Steve's guitar in it. Wicked! The driving chords of the main tune sounding like John McGeoch of Magazine, while a 2nd layer of plinky plonky notes are sprinkled about randomly in the background.
This tune also appears to be a precursor to Club Country, lyrically at least.
I don't have a photo of the Strange News line-up, but I do have this rather strange news item (above) from the same year - 29th April 1980, to be exact. A quirky wee feature from the Record Mirror telling of the time when Billy missed out on getting a cut of Howard Hughes billions!
Bit of a strange picture of him too as a matter of fact...bathing with his beret?!!

MACKENZIE THE MODEL #3

A couple of quirky images to end the MacKenzie sequence.

The top photo is from 1971, and has Billy standing alongside the St. Michael's under 15 football team.

He was obviously a bit streetwise at this young age, as he is wearing a black Harrington, Wranglers and bovver boots. A typical Dundee teenager look back then!
Finally, I'm not too sure what style the bottom picture is supposed to be. I can't remember the Russian goat herder look!!

Looks cosy though!

MACKENZIE THE MODEL #2

The top picture is the "image" Billy MacKenzie is most known for, the beret wearing, cultured European look. Although the photo is from the 80's, I've no idea where he would have got those slip-ons from back then - they are exactly the same kind I wore at primary school in the 60's!

Style magazine, The Face, got Billy to do a bit of modelling for a summer fashion feature in August 1982. This is him posing with fellow Associate, Martha Ladley, getting everyone in a holiday mood.

Funnily enough, I went on a 4 week tour of France for my holiday that year and did indeed travel around with my white breeks rolled up, as in the photo.

I wouldn't have worn a shirt like that one though!

MACKENZIE THE MODEL #1

Everyone knows Billy MacKenzie was Dundee's most high profile pop star in the 80's. I think it's safe to say he was probably the nearest thing Dundee had to having a fashion model back then as well. He did wear a lot of cool gear, and he wasn't exactly camera shy!

He did of course know a bit about the subject, what with him owning his own fashion boutique, The Crypt, a shop that specialised in both vintage clothing & designer clothing. Not the kind of stuff found in your run-of-the-mill High Street stores.

Both of the above items are from 1982. The ad for his shop, and Billy posing inside. He seems to have chosen a 50's crooner look for this shot...although not in his footwear preference!

EDWYN COLLINS DUNDEE YEARS #1

Although Edwyn Collins was an Edinburgh lad, he was actually educated in Dundee. His father moved his family to Dundee in 1965 when he accepted a post as lecturer at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art. So Edwyns early schooling began at the Demonstration school in Park Place (off Nethergate) with his secondary years spent up at the Morgan. His creative talent back then leant more towards art, however he did show an interest in music too. From an early age he sampled a few violin lessons, but once he heard David Bowie, he tried to join a local rock band called Onyx. 2 reasons why the band didn't let him join - firstly, he was only 13 - secondly, he only had a ukulele!! Even after he offered to attach a pick-up to the instrument to electrify it, he still didn't get in, but I'm sure this little episode helped him develop his sense of humour!!
He did eventually get a band together once he moved to Glasgow in the mid 70's - kicking off with the Nu-sonics, who later, turned into Orange Juice in 1979. The rest, of course, is well documented history.
I was a big fan of Orange Juice from day 1 and saw them play a couple of dazzling shows at Edinburghs Nite Club around 1980.
Below, is a rare piece of footage from my vaults. It's of Dundonian, Billy MacKenzie, introducing Orange Juice, which comes from a show that featured Billy's favourite pop videos. The programme was broadcast around the early/mid 80's, with Edwyn & co first on his list!

BILLY MACKENZIES VOCAL EXPERIMENTS

Mentioning Ken Hyder's global collaborations yesterday reminded me of the lesser known fact about Billy Mackenzie when he too dabbled in musical cross-fertilisation in the mid 80's.

I have an album by Holger Hiller on which Billy guests. Holger was in German post punk band Palais Schaumburg. However, this recording session was completely different to what either had done previously, resulting in some very avant garde, experimental, unconventional slices of contemporary composition. It took me a few plays to familiarise myself with the content, but once acquainted with the material, it is a real treat.

I've had this LP since 1986 and it's called "Oben Im Eck".

As well as Billy, there is Holger Hiller & Moritz Von Oswald, from Germany, and Izu Mi Kobayashi & Kaori Kano, from Japan.

The track below from the album is called "Whippets" and has Billy vocalising like you've never heard before, sounding something like a ninja battling it out with Godzilla!!

The images here haven't got anything to do with the LP recording, I just thought the photos of The Associates playing in Japan in 1985 fitted the "global" theme.

Actually, there is a wee connection, Moritz Von Oswald who played on Whippets, was the drummer for The Associates in Japan.

Previously he too was in Palais Schaumburg, but now Moritz is more known for running the brilliant Techno/Dub label - Basic Channel, in Berlin.

THE CRYPT DOOR - 1982

"Doors, lead to other doors" ... so sang Billy Mackenzie ... and in the case of the Crypt (Billy's fashion shop in Princes Street) it's quite literally true.

For although this is obviously a photo of Billy at the door of the Crypt...all is not what it seems!

You see, when this photo was taken in May 1982, the shop had changed it's name to "Plan 2" and was now being run by his brother John.

Therefore the image here is of the retained Crypt wrought iron outer door, leading to Plan 2's inner shop door...!!

THE ASSOCIATES ON JOHN PEEL - 1982

Below is a recording taken direct from the John Peel show which was broadcast in October 1982. This is a "session" track The Associates did, it being 1 of 4 tracks played on the night.
I've always liked Billy's inventive and amusing vocals on this one, as it swerves off in unexpected tangents.
Title of the song - "A Severe Bout of Career Insecurity".
There are 2 Dundee bands mentioned here - Peely at the end of the track says that Billy was in the middle of recording an "LP" with Orbidoig. Anybody any idea if this project was completed? If it was, it must still be tucked away in the vaults of some record company, awaiting to be discovered!!

STEVE REID ON GUITAR

In the mid 70's, local guitarist, Steve Reid, used to get a bit of practise in up at Ardler Community Centre where he was joined by Kirkton High School kids, Murray Tosh (later with Street Level) and Allan McGlone (later with Skeets Boliver). These get togethers were purely instrument work-out sessions rather than group rehearsals, as it were, they didn't actually form a band together.
Steve started off in a bunch of punk rascals called, Bread Poultice and the Running Sores. Billy Mackenzie would check out the band from time to time and eventually the two ended up mates. They also played the occasional experimental gig together, just before Billy moved on to form The Associates with Alan Rankine. By this time, Steve & Billy shared a flat along with a few others in Lyon Street.
In 1981 Steve teamed up with another Lyon Street flatmate, Christine Beveridge, and they became an outfit called Orbidoig. They released a couple of singles as Orbidoig in the early 80's, both featuring Billy. Then when Billy & Alan went their separate ways, Steve was called upon to play in The Associates for a while. As a matter of fact, Steve ended up co-writing half of the songs on The Associates 1984 "Perhaps" album.
Tracking back to Orbidoig though, below you can hear Steve in full flow on the B-side of their "Ice Cream Factory" single, a frantic post punk instrumental called - "Excursion Ecosse en route Koblenz via Hawkhill".
A trip we've all made...!!

BILLY MACKENZIE AT THE DOCKS - 1984

On a snowy winters day back in 1984, Billy Mackenzie was interviewed for TV down at the docks. The show was "The Tube" and Leslie Ash was the presenter.

There were 2 boats used in the 10 minute feature. The one where the interview took place was on a tug boat called Castlecraig, and the other boat was the Unicorn (above) where he performed a song.

Although it was a feature solely on Billy Mackenzie, the song was still by The Associates, and the track was the single "Waiting For The Loveboat".

I reckon the Tube video (below) is much better than the official promo video for the single, which does make me cringe a bit.

Photo by the Scotsman.Tints by GG

.

THE ASSOCIATES - FAT SAMS - 1985

Sometime around the start of 1985, The Associates played live on stage at Fat Sams.
Above is a review of that very gig, written by local journalist, Bob Flynn.
It was a gig I was at too. Absolutely choc-a-block I recall.
A couple of wee extra details I can remember are - on 2 or 3 of their songs they brought on backing singers dressed in black polo necks - they were called Die Zwei, from Germany.
I can also remember occasionally glimpsing part of the show on the in-house TV screens. They had TV monitors in the back room so you could still catch the act when nipping through for refreshments. I wonder now whether the show was ever recorded onto video? If anyone out there has a copy, feel free to get in touch..!!
I do, luckily, have an audio recording of the Fat Sams gig.
So here below is a reminder of that sweaty evening in South Ward Road.
The vid contains a short piece of film of Billy Mackenzie in Fat Sams at the start, but it's not from this gig, it's only the music that's from Fatties. The rest of the visuals are stitched together from various sources.
The track is "The Affectionate Punch".

ANGUS HOTEL #3 - 1980's

On the Angus Hotel reception desk they used to have a visitors book for guests to sign and an additional separate book for celebs autographs.

Being Dundee's top hotel for 3 decades meant that it did contain quite a few famous names. In there were the likes of Maggie Thatcher, David Bowie, the Queen, Peter Ustinov, Rod Stewart and so on, page after page.

In March 1985, The Associates booked in for the night when they were in town for a gig at Fat Sams.

A while afterwards, I managed to get the page from the celeb book the band had signed that night.

I also attended the gig too and I'm gonna give that a mention on Retro Dundee next. Stay tuned..!!

Incidentally, on the other side of the page was the signature of songstress, Susan Maughan. She had a couple of hit records back in the 60's (remember 'Bobby's Girl'), and she was performing at the Whitehall Theatre in April that year.

BILLY MACKENZIE'S XMAS SONG - 1984

Better get yer hankies oot..!!
As a special wee treat for Christmas, here is Dundonian, Billy Mackenzie singing a weepy festive song called "The little boy that Santa Claus forgot".
Billy was in The Associates, and it was 24 years to the day that the band performed this song at Londons top jazz venue, Ronnie Scott's. This is the actual recording from that session on 9th December 1984, along with general footage from the gig in the video below.
The song itself was composed way back in the early 50's.

PAUL HAIG - FAT SAM'S - 1986

This is an NME review of Paul Haig's gig at Fat Sams - the gig taken place in August 1986.

I was at this one, me already being familiar with Paul live, having seen him play with Josef K in Edinburgh a few years before.

I can't recall too much from the Fatties set list other than he did perform all my favourite tracks from "The warp of pure fun" album (which I've still got on vinyl).

Staying on the fun theme...although this was a Paul Haig gig and NOT a Haig/Mackenzie gig, needless to say Billy Mackenzie did make an appearance and sang a couple of tunes. In between tracks, Billy pointed to Pauls fluffy cropped hairstyle and commented "He's got a head like a squeaky ba'" then pretended to squeeze it. Pure fun...and a good night had by all.

To read the review, click on the image to enlarge or download.

DUNDEE DEMO #2 - THE ASSOCIATES

Before it became the polished piece of pop that appeared in the charts in 1982, here below is how "Club Country" sounded in its raw demo format. A much rougher and edgier performance. Singer, Billy Mackenzie even changed the wording from "Glad to see that you're suffering" in the demo, to "Sad to see that you're suffering" in the finished version. Although it was a pop tune that everyone used to sing along to, most people probably didn't realise how dark the subject matter was. The lyrics are in fact about Liff Hospital, which was a large psychiatric institution on the outskirts of Dundee.

LYON STREET IN THE 80's

This is how Lyon Street looked back in the 1980's. A typical Dundee street that you would pass without giving it a second glance.
In the early 80's, however, something was brewing at number 39.
A wee social gathering of creative musicians were busy producing acts who would go on to record some classy alternative pop music. This is where Billy Mackenzie & Alan Rankine of The Associates were living back then, along with a few others. In amongst the others were Christine Beveridge & Steve Reid who went on to record as Orbidoig, releasing a couple of singles.
A cross-pollination of The Associates & Orbidoig then created a 3rd act called... 39 Lyon Street. They too released a single - "Kites" - which was a cover of the Simon Dupree hit from the psychedelic 60's.
The article under the photo is the band getting a debut mention in an NME dated June 1981.
Below, is rare footage of Billy singing an acoustic version of "Kites" on French TV.
The original vhs tape was a bit mashed, but it's well worth watching anyway.

THE CRYPT - PRINCES STREET - 1978

Opened in the late 70's, the Crypt was a fashion boutique run by Billy Mackenzie.

As its name suggests, the shop had a dungeon-like theme which was evident on the inside as well as the outside decor.

There were coffin shaped changing rooms & dead animals indoors (stuffed, of course), with a wrought iron portcullis on the doorway & window outdoors.

The gear was a mix of classy retro clothing and modern designer garments.

The shop then changed to "Plan 2" in the early 80's when Billy's brother took over.

Below is a short film clip of the shop doorway with Billy saying a wee word about it.

Photo by DC Thomson.