THE SNOWY SEVENTIES

3 shots here that'll make you want to snuggle up in front of a coal fire - all from the 70's, and maybe even the same winter.

Not sure if the guy in the top image is someone in particular, like a well known skier, but I have a feeling that he was an ordinary member of the public who came up with the idea of skiing to work. Which ever it is, he was stopped in his tracks by a photographer up beside the Morgan.

Middle picture, taken along Meadowside, has the traffic sliding tentatively passed the museum.

And the view at Samuel's corner shows that it might have been a better idea to have had a cosy day in that day!

Photos by DC Thomson.

MORGAN ACADEMY'S HMS PINAFORE - 1968

Dundee High School did Gilbert & Sullivan in the 60's, as did the Grove, and joining them was Morgan Academy who performed HMS Pinafore in their school hall in 1968.

Everything seems to have gone alright on the night, and along with the review of the show above, there are quite a few of the pupils named in the write-up too, so you may even be able to spot an old shipmate in there!

Click the review pages to read the enlarged versions.

MORGAN MAGAZINE - LYNN GRANT - 1970

I really like the minimalist cover of this 1970 edition of Morgan Magazine. It certainly has visual impact.

The same high standards are maintained in the magazine's creative content - poems, short stories, graphics, photos and so on.

I spotted this nice full page illustration which I thought I'd showcase as an example of what's going on inside the 78 page mag. It's drawn by Lynn Grant and was used to accompany a poem by John Nicoll called "Sitting In The Park". Great pen work on the gnarled trees.

There were 2 Art Editors involved on this issue, Gordon Mill, and Gordon MacDonald, the pupil who designed the cool cover!

EVELYN SMALL - MORGAN MAGAZINE - 1974

I have a few arty items I thought I'd cobble together over the next few days to present a wee showcase of amateur and professional art associated with Dundee.

So to get the exhibition started, here is the 1974 Morgan Magazine, a school publication made by the pupils. The mag's content is an assortment of poems, graphics, short stories and academic updates. Although there is a wide variety of work to choose from, I've plucked out one contributor as an example to use here, namely, Evelyn Small, who as well as being the mag's Art Editor, also designed the cover and supplied many of the illustrations inside. Her graphic above, of an abstract burst of ink accompanies a neat little piece of creative writing by Alan Stewart.

The magazine's material does display a surprising maturity for school kids, so much so, it got me wondering if any of the pupils from this era went on to make a living as artists or writers?

You may need to click on the bottom image to read the large version.

EDWYN COLLINS DUNDEE YEARS #2

Here we have the thoughts of young Edwyn, (the "i" spelling is a typing error) published in the Morgan school magazine in 1974.
This humorous piece of work gives a glimpse into how he viewed the music biz. He was in class 3G1 at the time (3rd year), so he would have been around 14/15 years old when he did this article.
Click the image to read the large version.

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!