GATHERING WINTER FUEL ITEMS

Continuing with the fuel theme (minus coal) here's a few bits & pieces from the past you may remember.

First up is a 1968 photo of the Shell & BP Scotland depot down at the Stannergate. This was a modern installation at the time and had a total storage capacity of 9,000 tons. 8 delivery tankers could be filled simultaneously. Not a place to visit if you smoked!

"High Speed Gas" was a slogan used by the Scottish Gas Board, with the ad above dating from 1968, and a reminder that the Dundee showroom could be found in the Overgate.

You didn't need to have coal to have a fireplace of course, and by the mid 80's, imitating real coal fires was a popular alternative. The next 2 ads competing with each other selling these effect fires are both dated 1986 - Dundee's Fireplace Boutique in North Street and the Fire Surround Centres in Arbroath Road & Broughty Ferry.

Finally, yet another alternative fuel was paraffin, and this badge of mine goes way back to the 60's. No idea if the wee earless elephant creature had a name, but the freak didn't seem to put people off buying the pink stuff!

THE OVERGATE SILHOUETTE

A scary tale for Hallowe'en...
I was told this story in the 70's from the girl it happened to, but to be fair, she was tripping on drugs when it occurred!
You remember how the 70's Overgate between Dixon's corner and Boots was often like a wind tunnel - well this one time, because of her hallucinatory condition, the scene had become really exaggerated, and so in her mind she thought she was battling against a powerful storm as she made her way through the passage.
She then spotted a hazy image of a guy in front of her, silhouetted against the light at the end of the tunnel.
As she got closer, she could hear a metallic jingling sound with every footstep he made, and this became louder and louder the nearer she got to him.
By now she had conjured up the image of a Frankenstein monster type of creature, one that had shackles & chains attached to his ankles.
Then when she got right up beside him, that's when she made her horrific discovery!
Here below is a recreation of what the poor lassie was going through - with the real explanation.
Sleep tight..!!!!!

BRAHMS AND LISZT AD -1988

This creepy ad from 1988 is for Brahms and Liszt who were based in the Overgate.

They sold a mixture of greetings cards, posters and fun novelty items.

C&A FASHION - OVERGATE

 

The photo at the top is a wee reminder of how C&A appeared back in the mid 70's - this being the upper level of the Overgate.

In the early 70's, C&A was not exactly a cool shop to go shopping compared to what they had in trendy boutiques. The gents clothing dept for instance sold rather standard stuff - safe, sensible and somewhat boring.

They then came up with a concept in the mid 70's to make them be more hip - "Man At C&A" was their slogan - but the look was still the same corny style stuff in the main.

In the 80's, they did manage to become a bit trendier, the guys had "Avante" and the gals had "Clockhouse", and these ideas did at least catch onto what was going on in street-style fashion.

The first advert is an example of the Man At C&A gear which dates from 1973.

The second is for Clockhouse and is dated 1984.

The third is for younger teenage lassies called Girls In Style, and is dated 1986.

Definitely an improvement on their 70's dreary-wear!

FUN IN THE OVERGATE - 1973

It's that Overgate sculpture again!

You may recall I put a couple of pictures up on Retro last month of the same piece of work, but because those photos were taken in the mid 80's, the structure was a bit drab looking and the surrounding shops nearing the end of their lives.

Well in comparison, here's what it was like when it was still kinda fresh - the artwork being put to good use by wee Leigh and co back in 1973.

The b & w shot below them was also taken in the mid 70's and shows the whole structure..

Although it's the work of Dundee artist, Iain Eadie, there's a hint of Ben Nicholson about the design!

According to my 1974 Dundee Directory, the name of the shop in the background was Brentford Nylons - but as you can see, it's actually just Brentfords. The company was technically called Brentford Nylons, so not sure why Dundee ended up with a shortened shop name.

Their slogan at the time was "Quality With A Conscience" - which makes it sound like you'd end up feeling guilty if you bought one of their expensive blouses!

Photos from Leigh, via Marky.

THAT OVERGATE SCULPTURE - 1985

This concrete piece of 60's abstract public art also doubled as a climbing frame for kids to play on. Not sure if that was the original thinking behind it but it seems like an obvious additional use.

It was the work of Dundee artist, Iain Eadie.

The other thing about the 2 photos is you'd never guess they were taken on Christmas Eve!
There's no sign of any festive decoration at all.

The images were captured on 24th December 1985 by Neale Elder.

BEAUJANGLES ADS

I used to think that when Mr Beaujangles opened in the Wellgate in the late 70's, they vacated their shop in the Overgate. 

However, as the above ads prove, both stores were on the go at the same time. Not only that, but they had introduced a 3rd shop in Commercial Street by this time too.

Mr Beaujangles had a good run in the 70's, being the fashionable young stud in town, but by 1980 he got himself a lass and they became an item - "Beaujangles" - they done away with the word "Mr" in the title as a consequence of adding a female clothing range to their stores.

Wonder if it's Beau Derek in the ad?!

The 2 ads are dated 1980 & 81.

Going back to the 70's though when Mr B was still unattached, the shop also advertised on screen, and below is one such ad - featuring a caged go-go dancer!

CATCHHAND ADS - 1970's



The top ad is dated 1973 and the one below it is from 1977.

Catchhand and 1973 went together well. Their shop in Kirk Style was doing a roaring trade with certain urban types who liked to be seen wearing Ben Sherman shirts, Sta-Prest trousers and Harrington jackets. A young teen street-wise crowd in fact.

I think they were struggling a bit with their slogan mind you!

If you were "With It", it meant you were trendy, up to date with the latest fashions - but the way they've worded it does seem rather clumsy.

Anyway, you get the gist of it.

1977 next and time to grab a bargain in the sales with their £3 reduction offer on Brutus and Jet jeans.

HOT POTATO HOUSE AD - 1984

An ad from 1984 for the Hot Potato House in the Overgate.
Yeah I remember staggering into this place a couple of times at 2 o'clock in the morning!
I seem to recall it was located approximately opposite the Marketgait/Overgate steps.

THE CRASH CREW - 1989

This is the full rave package..!!
The ravers - the DJ's - the 12's - the fashion - the smiley - the graffiti.
It's the Crash Crew in the summer of '89 in the Overgate.
Thanx to JG

THE OVERGATE - 1987

A nice summer shot of the Overgate, taken on 6th July 1987.
If you click onto the large version, you may even be able to recognise someone you know in amongst the shoppers!
Photo by Neale Elder

WILDCAT JEANS - 70's/80's

Here's an original badge from the late 70's for Wildcat jeans & jackets.

As well as their own denim products, Wildcat also had their own shops, and Dundee had one in the Overgate and one in Reform Street around the late 70's/early 80's.

The advert for their Overgate store is dated 1988 and highlights that they also stock Pepe denim products.

OVERGATE'S CLOTHES SHOPS - 1974

Here's the entire list of Overgate's clothes shops taken from the 1974 Dundee Directory.

 

Lower level - CLAUDE ALEXANDER - K.O. FASHIONS - BREAKOUT AT JACKSON'S - GREAT AMERICAN PANTHOUSE - STONE DRI - JOHN TEMPLE - DOROTHY PERKINS - SKIRT "N" SLACKS - SAMUEL PEPYS - VAN ALLAN - BOY MEETS GIRL - C&A.
Upper level - C&A - TIE & SHIRT GALLERY - KENDALL - VERNONS FASHIONS - BRENTFORD NYLONS - MR. BEAUJANGLES - VAN ALLAN.

 

Some fashionable, some not quite so!

 

The ads above are just 3 examples of shops on the list and all date from the mid 70's.

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!!

THE OTHER RECORD SHOP DISPLAY

You may remember the 2 photos I put up previously of The Other Record Shop in the Overgate. One was an exterior shot and the other an image of the interior. Well here is a close up of their window display which was taken on 23rd May 1984.
So if you were window shopping 25 years ago, you'd spot product by Duran Duran - Womack & Womack - Mel Brooks - Fad Gadget - Kiri Te Kanawa - Matt Fretton - Simple Minds - Wang Chung - Wham - Phil Fearon & Galaxy - Break Machine - The Smiths and probably the one with most street cred, Keith Harris & Orville!!
There are 3 items I can't identify, the female trio above the number 40, the record sleeve under the words "ALL TOP" (it looks like Bruce Springsteen with a beard), and the one with the 2.43 price tag is a mystery.
If anyone fancies doing a bit of homework on these, I'll let you be teachies pet!!
Click on image to enlarge.
Photo by DC Thomson.

OVERGATE TUNNEL

This view from the Overgate tunnel was taken by my brother around the early/mid 70's.
That bright shop sign on the Littlewoods side is "The ..... Room". Can't clearly read what it says, but could be Showroom or Tearoom perhaps. Next to the sign in the shadows it has the word "everything". So if anyone knows what it is, drop the info into the comments. I've just always thought it said Littlewoods until I recently zoomed into it.
You'll need to view the large version to see what I mean, so just click on the picture.

OVERGATE SHOPS

The shops along this lower stretch of the Overgate when this photo was taken (late 60's) were......

SCOTTISH GAS BOARD SHOWROOMS - BRITISH BATA SHOE CO - DUDLEYS OF DUNDEE - DIRECT RAINCOAT CO - GREENLEES EASIEPHIT FOOTWEAR - JOHN TEMPLE TAILORS - ROSS'S CARPET SHOP - DOROTHY PERKINS - MANFIELD - MACFISHERIES and PETER LORD SHOE SHOP.

OVERGATE VOX POP

Dundee fowk hae thir say....
I suppose, comparing it to the original Overgate, which was an ordinary street with shops and tenements that were a wee bit shabby, the 60's 2-tier Overgate must have looked spacious, clean and futuristic.
The footage below was filmed just as the "new" Overgate was near completion, and with most of the shops open for business, the locals get to express their opinion on the building.
Good luck with trying to spot someone you know!
Photo above by the Scotsman (1974).

SCENE ONE - OVERGATE - 1967

In June 1967, this groovy boutique called "Scene One", opened up in the newly built Overgate.

In fact, well known pop musician, Allan Clarke of The Hollies, got the honour of launching it.

It wasn't only a clothing boutique, it was also a disco, so not only did it stock all the latest fab gear from London's Carnaby Street (Mary Quant, Lady Jane etc) they also had a room spinning records and where bands played.

And if all that shopping and dancing made you feel peckish, they served up food too!

One of the female assistants (Helen) wore an eye-catching purple catsuit!

A great idea - all this happening under one roof, keeping in touch with the 60's scene at the time, but unfortunately Scene One closed down in less than a year.

The ad on display above is dated September 1967 and give it a click if you need to view the large version.

The photo shows Scene One's position in the Overgate.

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.