CATHIE McCABE'S ARCADE POD - 70'S

Looking like a set out of "2001 A Space Odyssey" and using the Countdown typeface, you might expect this shop to be a hip, ultra modern retail outlet where the young trendy youth hung out, but no, quite the opposite, it was a family friendly place selling a strange mix of toys and rather mundane records.

This is Cathie McCabe's Record Shop at the Arcade in Shore Terrace - picture taken in the early 70's.

The shelving racks were interlocking octagons, a theme that also crops up on their ad, dated 1974 and their carrier bag underneath it.

If you zoom into the photo you'll find a combination of easy listening 8-track cartridges, a few toys scattered around, electrical goods and of course, vinyl records.

Here's the albums I've spotted in the picture -

Klaus Wunderlich - "Around The World".

The Alexander Brothers - "Let's Have A Ceilidh".

Bee Gees - "Best Of".

Various - "Total Sound".

Paul & Linda McCartney - "Ram".

Soundtrack - "Love Story".

And one of those stereo sound samplers called "Impact".

Doesn't really set the pulse racing!

The other item above is from the small ads in the Tele dated January 1972 and you can see for yourself the products they had on offer down at the pod.

In 1974, Cathie McCabe also had shops in Reform Street and Lorne Street Market.

Photo by DC Thomson.

ROKOTTO ON TV - 1970's

In 1977, Cathie McCabe's record shop organised a bus to go up to Aberdeen - and I was invited along.
The event was Dundee based funky disco band, Rokotto, perform in concert at Grampian Studios.
Joan McCabe and the band members were also on the bus along with us punters.
I remember the studio had a scaffolding gantry at the side of the stage, which is where I chose to watch the show from, but most of the studio audience were at the front of the stage dancing along to the band.
The TV series was called "The Entertainers" and showcased a different act every week. Rokotto played for over an hour in Aberdeen but each episode was edited down to 30 minutes.
The show was broadcast on 17 June 1977.
I got in touch with Grampian quite recently to see if they had this episode in their vaults but unfortunately, although some of the acts on The Entertainers were kept, the one with Rokotto on has since been wiped.
Also, as well as appearances on Top Of The Pops in the 70's, Rokotto were featured on another BBC show in 1979 called "Roadshow Disco".
This was actually recorded in Dundee - Kirkton Community Centre in fact!
So if anybody out there has a copy of these shows, feel free to get in touch.
Vocalist, Lorna Bannon, went on to sing with Shakatak, Simple Minds, plus a few other acts after Rokotto.
Anyway, for those who are not familiar with Rokotto's sound or would like a reminder, here is a track & slideshow to tune into.

CATHIE McCABE RECORD SHOP

 

Cathie McCabe's in the Murraygate wasn't exactly the coolest record shop in Dundee in the 70's, but I did find myself shopping there on a fairly regular basis - not so much for vinyl, but for concert tickets.

Cathie was an agent and could get you tickets for any gig in Scotland.

I ended up going to dozens of gigs in Glasgow & Edinburgh, sometimes as many as 3 a week. She would also run buses when a concert was particularly popular.

Many of the acts I saw never played in Dundee, for example - Bob Marley, Herbie Hancock, Roxy Music, Weather Report, Gary Numan, Rainbow, Brand X, Tangerine Dream, The Cure, Black Sabbath, The Eagles, Eric Clapton, Kate Bush, Bad Company, Camel, Bob Dylan, Talking Heads, Pink Floyd, Spyro Gyra, Devo, Uriah Heep, Undertones, Robin Trower and plenty others - so travelling out of town was the only way to catch them in action.

The advert is a typical example of the kind of event McCabe's were involved in. It's for the Loch Lomond Rock Festival in May 1979.

Anyway, one strange record I do recall buying from this shop in 1977 - strange in that, it was a totally unexpected find to see this piece of vinyl in amongst the mundane chart pop stuff - it was a 7 inch single by Planet Gong and called "Opium For The People", it being a rather unusual punky effort from the space rockers!! Goodness knows how that ended up in her shop - maybe a rep dropped it in the racks when she turned her back..!!

Underneath the ad is a reminder of the shop carrier bag, and the reason why there is a piano on it is because Cathie herself used to perform as a pianist back in the 50's & 60's and so collected all sorts of piano related memorabilia.

Some of you may recall that they also had a wee kiosk outside their Murraygate shop - this was where they sold scratch cards - little sideline they had going.!

The bottom advert is from 1972, so before the Murraygate shop.

It has the other store locations of the time - Reform St, Arcade and Lochee.

I remember being in the Reform Street shop in 1974 when she was bemused that another record shop was in the process of moving in right next door.

This was Bruce's, and ultimately it lead to the demise of her Reform Street spot which is what forced her decision to move to Murraygate.

The picture was taken in June 1978.

Photo by DC Thomson.