SUPERCHARGE - BOWLING ALLEY - 1978

Below, is a rare live recording of a gig that took place at the Bowling Alley - AKA the Students Union in Marketgait.
This was the first of 4 visits by Supercharge, captured on reel to reel on 21st April 1978.
Supercharge were a decent funky disco band, but this track here called "She Moved The Dishes First" is something completely different to the rest of their musical output.
For some reason they thought it a good idea to include a comedy cabaret routine into their set, but I really don't think they did themselves any favours with this mix of soul doo-wop, laced with student rag mag humour. I suppose after 12 pints it might have been amusing - it seems to have gone down well with the crowd anyway - and the band did return to the venue 3 more times after this.
Anyway, after playing all those shows here , there's bound to be someone who can recall something of their visits to Dundee.
We'll wait and see..!!
Thanx to Brian Wilson - Bowling Alley DJ.

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.

BRIDGE DAY - ANGUS HOTEL - 1966

Here's a couple of photos from completely different vantage points, but both captured at around the same time.
The Royal entourage were in town for the opening of the Tay Road Bridge in August 1966 and stopped off at the Angus Hotel, inevitably drawing a large inquisitive crowd.
Although the photographer in the crowd was suffering from a touch of camera shake, you can see the 3 cars are in the same position as the image above it.
Quite a coincidence that these are the only photos I have of this moment, and the two of them appear to have been taken almost simultaneously!
In addition, I have film footage of the moment the Queen Mother departs the Angus Hotel and gets into a waiting car.
The "doorway crowd" footage is very wobbly, but you can make out what's happening.

STOUTS IN MARKETGAIT - 80'S

Stout Brothers garage & showroom was in the Marketgait in the 80's and the above items date from then.
The advert is from January 1988 and is basically letting it be known that the new Peugeot 405 won the "Car Of The Year" title.
The photos were taken in 1985 and remind us that Stouts were also Talbot dealers.

BOB MACKAY'S - WESTPORT - 1960'S

Officially, this pub was called The Great Northern Bar, but the locals who drank there just referred to it as Bob MacKay's.

The photo was taken in the 60's at a location that no longer exists - the corner of Westport & North Tay Street.

For those of us (like me) who didn't socialise until a little later in the 70's, this spot here was the big car park space beside the Barracuda.

At the time of the photo however, it was the JM Ballroom that was just a few doors up from it, so needless to say, despite it being considered a bit of an old mans pub, the young set would often pop in for a couple of pints before nipping along to the JM.

The pub, along with the rest of corner area, was demolished in 1968.

Photo from Gordon C.

SAXON - MARKETGAIT GIG - 1979

Saxon's debut gig on Scottish turf took place on 21st September 1979 and the venue was the College of Technology Union in the Marketgait - or the Bowling Alley as we all called it.
The show was recorded by resident Bowling Alley DJ Brian Wilson and he has passed on this rare track to me from the gig, featuring the vocal delights of the Dundee crowd as an added bonus!
So here are the heavy metal rockers going back to the old style rock 'n' roll days with a song called "Bop Shoo Wop"...and getting all interactive in the process!
A lively wee beastie!
Big thanks to Brian.

J.M. BANDS - 1970's

The photo is the JM Ballroom, and a reminder of its location in North Tay Street, later renamed Marketgait.
Hundreds of bands played there throughout the 60's and early 70's, so the 2 ads here are just a tiny example of who was on.
The first advert is dated May 1971 and the bands that were on over this particular period were - PENDULUM, HOROSCOPE and MAXIS TAXI.
Local act, PAT'R FOUR were also doing the biz.
The other ad is dated January 1972.
The 2 main bands in this one seemed to be doing battle with each other to see who could come up with the most macho band name - STALLION and STAG.
Wow, bet they made the lassies go weak at the knees!
The support act on both nights were Dundee based act, FIVE IN A BUSH.
You can also check out the Dundee Gig Time Machine website to view a larger list of JM bands.

ANGUS HOTEL - THE END

POTS ARE FORMED FROM CLAY,

BUT THE EMPTY SPACE WITHIN IT

IS THE ESSENCE OF THE POT.

WALLS WITH WINDOWS AND DOORS

FORM THE HOUSE,

BUT THE EMPTY SPACE WITHIN IT

IS THE ESSENCE OF THE HOME.

Words by Lao Tse

Photo by Neil Menzies

ANGUS HOTEL INTERIOR - #3

The top picture is the Dining Room.

The bottom picture the Ballroom.

That serving dish is made to look very large in the top shot!

And that grand piano is made to look very small in the bottom shot!

My wining & dining back then was normally something a little less ostentatious.

One night in the early 80's, steamboats as usual, I nipped into the Chinese Takeaway in the Nethergate, after a really good night up at the University for the Bow Wow Wow gig. Tucking into my meal on the way back to my flat, I was passing the Angus Hotel entrance area when this mini bus rolled up outside. Who should who step out it but the band. I spotted the singer, Anabella, straight away, a wee honey she was, looking great with her new mohican hairstyle. As she crossed my path, instead of being all star-struck letting her know I had just seen her perform, thought the gig was wonderful and all that, I shoved my chicken & chips under her nose and said "D'ye want a chip?". "No thanks mate" she replied in her Cockney accent, as she toddled off into the hotel.

And that was it!

She certainly didn't want to "Go Wild In My Chinky" that night!!

Photos by the Scotsman

ANGUS HOTEL INTERIOR - #2

The top picture is the Coffee Lounge, where I bet many business deals have been discussed.

The lower picture is the Cocktail Lounge, where I bet many businessmen have been pissed!

The hotel, of course, wasn't just for the pleasure of out-of-towners, we locals had a bit of fun in there too. I've been to quite a few gigs at the Angus, as well as an occasional private function.

Disco action too, catering for varying tastes, with the likes of The Neoteric Disco, Mike Short's Disco, and even the Cranked Up Disco has rattled the Angus Balcony Bar!

Bottom pic by the Scotsman

ANGUS HOTEL INTERIOR - #1

I have some pictures from inside the Angus Hotel I'm gonna put up over the next couple of days, but before I plough on, just another reminder of how the hotel looked on the outside back in the 60's (as shown in the top image) where everything is all neat & tidy and shiny & new.

So to get the ball rolling with the black & white picture, here's the main stairway with a piece of artwork by local artist, Ian Eadie, who you may recall also did the Overgate mural.

The piece in the picture is called "Night and Day"...(the artwork, not the female!)

B & W photo by the Scotsman.

THE ORIGINAL BOWLING ALLEY - 60's





When Dundonians of my generation talk about the Bowling Alley, it's usually on the subject of drunken nights out at the Tech Students Union disco, or discussing the bands we saw play there, but it's sometimes forgotten that the reason it was called that in the first place is because the premises was once an actual Tenpin Bowling Alley.

You can see in the photo above, taken in the 60's, that the original Bowling Alley premises was in the exact spot as the Students Union we used to visit in the 70's & 80's - the same doorway and stairwell on the corner of Guthrie Street.

The advert showing the interior, appeared in the Tele on 18th August 1966, a significant date because that's when the Tay Road Bridge opened, hence the references in the ad.

From the image, it seems to have been a popular place in its time, and although I have not been to this version of the Bowling Alley, I guess that it could be the same floor space which later became the disco dancefloor in the 70's.



GRAMPIAN TV IN DUNDEE

Grampian TV's first presence in Dundee was in October 1965 when they opened up their premises next door to the Angus Hotel in the Marketgait. They remained there until the mid/late 70's and then they moved to a grander location at Albany House in Broughty Ferry.

When at Albany, they became the first Independent TV studio in Britain to change from film to video, that was around 1978/79.

Here's 2 ads...

The top one is from the late 70's and the one below it is from the mid 80's and has the 2 main presenters - Ron Thompson & Alan Saunders - it also includes some of their colleagues who worked behind the scenes.

Grampian TV's name ended when it came under the general banner of STV just a few years ago.

Click on the images to view the large versions.

SOUTH TAY STREET - OCTOBER 1969

I was going to put this picture up sometime later but thought I'd post it now to tie in with yesterdays photo. South Tay Street running from Westport on the right to Nethergate on the left, with Marketgait circle bottom left.
Mac mentioned Tay Street Public School. Well you can see the gap of the school entrance/playground area near to the Westport junction, with the car park across the road from it. Yesterdays gable end shot is the building beside the playground on the right. Although the school building is in the photo, it had shut down when this photo was taken in 1969. The building to the left of the playground, in the 80's would have been the pub, Slickers, but in 1969 was a hairdresser call TC Machir.
I think you should be able to figure all that out without the need for arrows pointing to them.
You could also see Tay Square, before the Rep moved in.
Click the image to enlarge.

WESTPORT IN THE 60'S

Gonna be out & about around the Westport area over the next few days.

So to start with, here's a reminder of the general area I'll be covering, the photo dating from October 1969.

To help you get your bearings, The Globe Bar is in the centre, with Hawkhill going North to the top of the picture and the Blackness Road forks off to the right. South Tay Street is bottom left and North Tay Street (now Marketgait) bottom right, with the JM Ballroom beside the car park.

That should help set the scene for the following set of photos which are from the 70's & 80's, and will probably have you backtracking to this shot for reference purposes, because you wont be able to refer to the area as it is now!

THE GRILL & GRIDDLE - MARKETGAIT

Sandwiched between Robinson Rental's and Brown the Optician in the Marketgait, there was a cafe called The Grill & Griddle.
I remember visiting it from time to time - a good wee place for a quick cuppa and a chinwag.
It had an amber coloured plastic sun blind on the window that turned the interior golden. When you stepped back outside though, it took a little while for your eyes to readjust to normal daylight again!

The photo dates back to the late 60's.

END OF THE ROAD

Well I told you a month ago I had loads of music related items to put up, and although I've still got plenty more, I'm going to fade the music theme out for now in order to crack on with other Dundee stuff.

So, to play us out in the traditional way, here is a pipe band my brother captured in the mid 70's. They have just reached the end of the Nethergate and are about to negotiate the Marketgait roundabout.

His memory is blank as to what the occasion was unfortunately!

DANNY WILSON IN DUNDEE - 1980'S

Collectively they were known as Danny Wilson, individually they are (L to R on photo) Kit Clark, Gary Clark and Ged Grimes. This image of the band signing autographs in the Coconut Grove in Marketgait was taken in December 1987. Getting the bar all to themselves, just a perk of the job!

The band's first small step began by busking around Dundee in the mid 80's, and it was quickly followed by the giant leap of charting around the globe in the late 80's.

Although the band called it a day in the early 90's, all 3 are still involved in music today. Gary, who now lives in Los Angeles, is a composer & producer working with a variety of well known recording artists. Kit is doing his thing with his band, The Swiss Family Orbison, and Ged composes music for computer games as well as playing bass in the present Deacon Blue line-up.

 

Getting back to 80's Dundee, below you can hear a recording of the band at a gig in the Caird Hall on 16th September 1989. The track, their hit single, "The Second Summer of Love".

Big thanks to Eddie and the DW3.

Photo by DC Thomson.Tints by GG

TECH COLLEGE UNION AKA BOWLING ALLEY



This building on the corner of Marketgait & Guthrie Street, once had a real tenpin bowling alley in the 60's. So later, when it came to be a Students Union in the 70's, us lot who went there still generally referred to it as the "Bowling Alley".
The students in this case being from the College of Technology rather than University.
It's heyday was the mid 70's to mid 80's period, and was always a really good buzz.
Card carrying students got in free and they could each sign in 2 paying guests.
I remember you had to be signed in before 11:00 pm - then the doors closed! This often lead to a rush of people vacating the pubs between 10:30 & 11:00 for a mad dash along the Marketgait to make it on time, otherwise they'd be locked out.
The rooms were upstairs, 3 areas all on the same floor.
A wee recreation room with darts, pool table & table football to chill out in.
Then the main hall itself that had the disco and bar (see 2nd photo above).
Finally, a back room with a stage area where bands played.
The DJ was Brian Wilson, who played a diverse range of music, an aspect that made visiting the Bowling Alley such a big draw. The original name was Deepwater Disco and then it later became known as Brian's Disco.
The Bowling Alley also had the comfiest seats in town, so much so that sometimes you were reluctant to get up off them to dance!
Quite often at the end of the evening there would be an amusing beer fight. Typical student fun really, never any trouble.
Along with the disco and cheap beer, the other attraction was live music.
Like the University circuit, this was a good place to catch an act at the beginning of their career...
The Sex Pistols, Dire Straits, Simple Minds, Motorhead are just 4 of the acts who performed there before going on to greater things.
Rock, punk, pop & new wave were all represented, with the likes of Saxon, 999, Joe Jackson, XTC... too many to mention really.
Needless to say it was a hot venue for local bands too, e.g. Colossus, Friction, Skeets Boliver...and on it goes.
Examples of the venue cropping up in the music press back then are displayed in the above cuttings...
The first one is from an NME and shows Lemmy's Motorhead there on Saturday 9 October 1976.
The one under that is from the Melody Maker and the date XTC performed there was Friday 27 January 1978.
The last one is from an NME and has the Dire Straits gig dated as Wednesday 21 June 1978.
The place then had a bit of a make-over (UV lights etc) in the early 80's which is shown on the 3rd & 4th photos above.
Although the building is still there today, it has since gone through further transformations - but not necessarily an improvement made to it!.

Thanks to DJ Brian Wilson for first interior photo.
Thanks to David Pentland for the other two interior images.
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The Bowling Alley now has its own website - go visit Bowlin' Alley

ANGUS HOTEL #2 - 1970'S

This photo of the Angus Hotel zone was taken in 1973.
The road layout reminds you it was in a perfect spot to catch travellers from all points on the compass.
There were a couple of small business premises to the left of the main entrance canopies. Grampian TV was next door. Next to them was a jewellers, office supplier and a car rental. Later, one of those premises was occupied by 2nd-hand record shop, Groucho's.
The 2 businesses across the road in the same Nethergate building next to the roundabout were, J.D Brown Photography Studio (the window with the net curtains) and next to it is the Bangladesh Restaurant, where David Bowie & Co once bought meals to bring back to the Angus Hotel after their gig in '73.