PETER USTINOV IN THE NETHERGATE

Here's a fine shot of Peter Ustinov having a wee chuckle to himself in the Nethergate.
The 2 shops in the background are the Civil Service Stores and Patterson's shoe shop.
Peter Ustinov was rector at University of Dundee from 1968 to 1974, the era the photograph was taken.
It's quite an amusing image because Peter was really world famous at the time, what with his numerous film awards, his plays, books, his witty one-man shows etc etc etc - a gigantic list of achievements and a colossal all-round entertainer - and here he is in the city centre with a bench all to himself, none of the locals aware of his presence!
Photo by DC Thomson.

POSTERN GATE AD & PHOTO

The Postern Gate was a pleasant wee arty gift shop in the Nethergate in the 70's & 80's, run by Edith Cunningham.
It had all sorts of craft styled goodies as you can tell from the advert.
I used to pop in quite regularly to top-up my art postcard collection!
The ad is dated 1977 and the photo was taken in 1985.
They changed the intrusive traffic light into a quaint lamppost for the illustration too!

CRAFT CENTRE ADS - 70's

Here's a couple of ads from the 70's for The Craft Centre in the Nethergate.
They specialised in arty gifts made from a variety of materials.
The basic top ad with just the shop name on it is from 1978.
The one underneath with the Beatrix Potter style mouse, is dated 1977.

GATE MICROSYSTEMS AD - 1984

An ad from 1984 for computer dealers, Gate Microsystems, who were based in the Nethergate.

That typeface they used is called DATA 70, and still looks futuristic despite it being decades old!

THE WORKSHOP AD - 1988

An ad for The Workshop in the Nethergate from 1988, a place I know absolutely zilch about.

If any of you can do the biz on this one - the comments section is all yours.

RICKSONS ADS - 70's/80's

A couple of adverts for Ricksons in the Nethergate.

Top one is from 1979 and the one underneath, 1980.

Two well known local hairdressers who were doing their apprenticeship at Ricksons at the time of the '79 ad, were Graeme Merchant and Norrie McDicken - but in 1980 both moved to Salon 51 to finish their training there.

Norrie now has his super-duper place in Reform Street - Salonori.

No idea how long Ricksons itself lasted.

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.

NICOLL & SMIBERT - NETHERGATE SHOP

Here is a photo of the Nicoll & Smibert shop in the Nethergate, taken sometime in the late 60's.
Big thanks to Peter.

NICOLL & SMIBERT - NETHERGATE ADS

Another bakers in centre of town offering snack/restaurant facilities was Nicoll & Smibert who were in the Nethergate.

The top ad is dated 1968 and the red one is from 1974.

Nicoll & Smibert had baker shops all over Dundee back then, and the ones listed in the 1974 directory are as follows - Overgate, Union St, Hilltown, Albert St, Strathmartine Rd, Lochee Rd, Princes St, Craigowan Rd, Lochee High St, MacAlpine Rd, St Giles Tce, Blackness Rd, Fintry Rd, Whitfield Dr, Whitehall St, Clepington Rd and Brook St in the Ferry.

CHEQUERS ADVERTS - MID 80'S

Top ad is from 1984, and the ad below it is dated 1986.

So, we used to go to Chequers quite regularly in the early/mid 80's era, but I can recall one evening we didn't get in.

Sometime in the early 80's there was this do up at the Silver Cage or someplace like that - and it was a "Punk and Tarts" themed fancy dress night. We all got togged up, me with pink spiky hair, chains & safety pins, slashed t-shirt with slogans, the works, and off we went around all our regular pubs in the city centre first before heading up to the party. It was all a good laugh until we reached Chequers and the guy on the door said "You can't come in like that".

Thinking he was joking we said "It's us"

Him "You're not getting in"

Us "It's only fancy dress"

Him "I'm not letting you in dressed like that"

Us "We're here every week"

Him "Can't allow you in here"

So despite us being Chequers customers, we had the door slammed in our face!

We got a good laugh about it afterwards mind you when normal service was restored on our next visit.!

TIFFANY'S AD - 1970'S

Here's a typical ad for Tiffany's, the kind that would crop up in the Entertainment pages of the Tele regularly back then, this one here being from 1972.

I see their Tuesday private function was on till 1 o'clock in the morning, while their normal weekend business hours stopped at midnight or earlier. Strange!

And who were Force 6 - a local band?

CITY CENTRE POINT DUTY - EARLY 60'S

This is policewoman, Sarah Christie, on point duty at the junction of Nethergate & Union Street in the early 60's.
I can remember the police in the 60's directing the traffic at Arbroath Road/Princes Street crossroads and Seagate/Commercial Street junction, so I'm guessing these were occasions when the traffic lights weren't working. Or unless it was before traffic lights were introduced?!!
So just as Sarah brings the traffic to a halt, it's time for me too to put the brakes on the present car topic that's been running the past few days and prepare for a different kind of trip - a journey back in time to the terminus of Dundee's music scene!

MILLARS AD - 1971

I don't know anything about Millars, who were based at 115 Nethergate on the corner of South Tay Street in 1971.

I'd have been 13 in '71 and so didn't venture as far along as this when shopping in the city centre.

Judging by the ad, they seem to have been a typical gents tailors rather than a place for teenagers anyway.

Meanwhile, their shop in Gray Street in the Ferry also catered for the ladies.

2 DRAFFENS ADS - 1971 & 1966

As you can see in the top item, by 1971 the store had technically become known as Draffens & Smiths, but everyone, as far as I know, still continued to refer to it as good old Draffens.

Although the store retained it's old traditional feel, it also tried to keep pace with what was happening in the world of fashion, and so on the first floor there was a department called "Best Of Both Worlds" which catered for the fashion-conscious female. Then on the 2nd floor they had a place called the "Style 71 Boutique", a shop for young trendy teenage girls.

Meanwhile, back in 1966, the date of the other ad, as well as supplying more general info about Draffens, they also feature a couple of dress designs as examples of what their fashion departments had on offer.

I forgot all about Guinea's until I saw their prices - the Hardy Amies cocktail dress on the left cost 24 Gns, and the blue lace chiffon gown was 23 Gns.

Click on the ads to read the large version.

OBLOMOV ADS - 1988

Oblomov's in the Nethergate, opened in 1987, which means I just missed out on frequenting this place, having departed Dundee the year before.

On a return visit however, I remember popping into the pub for a wee nosey, because I used to go to it's previous incarnation, Chequers, quite a lot. Chequers was typically done up in 80's bright green, but I think Oblomov opted for a black, white & red colour scheme. I was only in for around an hour or so, so can't claim to be an expert on the place. I do remember there being a few trendy types when I was in though.

These 2 ads are both from 1988.

The top one is just basic stuff about it's hours of biz.

The one below it is advertising a gig by local outfit, Big Blue 72.

DUNDEE SHOPPERS #3 - 1985 & 1986

The top scene looking along the Nethergate was taken from Burton's doorway and is dated 13th April 1985.

A couple of things I spotted in the City Square - there seems to be some kind of petition going on with stuff laid out on a table, although can't make out what for.

The other thing is the yellow poster with "The Man" on it. I thought it may have been for a play at first, but I couldn't find any info about a play from 85 with that title. So a couple of other possibilities - there was a band on the go in 85 called Happy The Man, it may be a gig poster. Or, Elvis Costello released a best of album in 85 called "The Man", perhaps it's an advert for that.

The other colourful image below it was snapped on 2nd June 1986 and has some locals taking a wee break from shopping, down at the Steeple grounds.

Photos by Neale Elder

RIGHT AS RAIN UP THE HACKIE

1st October 1982 : After leaving the Tav, blootered, me, Paula & Marian, decided to go for some grub along the Nethergate. It was raining, but we cared not a jot. Giggling and staggering about trying to negotiate the wee side streets beside the University, one of us suggested that we all change clothes. It seemed like a stoopid idea, so needless to say we all agreed. We found an alcove in one of the buildings where we proceeded to exchange togs. Luckily for me they weren't wearing anything too girly! Now that the 3 of us looked complete idiots, the laughter increased. Further down I spotted this overflowing ronepipe gushing like a waterfall, so we all dashed over and stood under it until we were absolutely drenched. It was all rather hysterical by the time we reached the Nethergate, but we managed to get to the Chinese takeaway. We trooped in like drooned rats, with the girl behind the counter looking a bit concerned. Off the top of my head I ended up telling her that we were over in Tayport, missed the last bus and so had to swim back across! Just for a couple of seconds she actually believed it, till we burst out laughing and gave the guff awa'..!!

OVERGATE PHASE 3 - 1960'S

This photo, taken around the same time as yesterdays air shot, shows what was known as "Phase 3" of the Overgate redevelopment, in full flow.
The 1st Phase was the Angus Hotel & Marketgait side, Phase 2 was the central 2-tier shopping zone & car park, and this stage in the photo, the final part, included Littlewoods and the tunnel region.
I couldn't help notice the one-man bus in the picture. I didn't realise they went as far back as the 60's. I've always thought they were introduced in the early 70's.
You, can't always rely on your memory!!

DUNDEE RESTAURANT GUIDE - 1981

A reminder of some of the eating places on the go in 1981 can be found in an overview presented in Cranked Up, with Egon Boney taking us on a youthful guide to dining out in Dundee.
For this food tour, EB lists the following - KOH-I-NOOR - GUNGA DIN - HIMALAYA - BALAKA - HIGHLAND STAR - GULLISTAN - BRUNO'S - PIZZA GALLERY - FORTE'S COFFEE HOUSE - RAFFLES - PENTHOUSE - DEEP SEA.
I remember Raffles in the Nethergate/Perth Road got a rave review in Punch magazine in the early 80's. This was when food critic & MP, Clement Freud was doing a weekly food column in the publication. The reason he ended up in Raffles was because he was in Dundee for the Liberal Party conference. He had of course previously been Rector of Dundee University from 74 to 80, so he was well acquainted with the Perth Road area.
He gave Raffles a really good write-up and commented on how cheery the staff were...and Clement wasn't easy to please!
Not only that, but in the mid 80's, Raffles actually achieved an award from the real Egon Roney and got a mention in his 1985/86 publication "Just A Bite Guide".
To find out the ratings by our own Egon Boney, click onto the image to read the large version.

DRAFFENS PERFUME COUNTER - 1968

Here's a place that would be doing a roaring trade this time of year - the Draffens Perfumery and Cosmetics Department (it's posh title).
The photo was taken in 1968, so lots of Coty and Yardley on display no doubt.
Of course, not being a regular visitor to this part of the store, I've not got much to say about it - shopping for Christmas gifts probably the only time I was there.
I can remember being there in December 1973 when all the counters were lit up by candles because there was a power cut! That was during the 3 day week period, industrial disputes and strikes galore!
Draffens is also the only place in town that I can remember having revolving doors.