THE WEE RED BOOK - 1973

They still do the Wee Red Book every year as far as I know, but here is one I kept from the 1973 season. It's stuffed with all things to do with Scottish football, but I reckon the reason most people buy one is because they have the forthcoming season's fixtures list.
Why I still have this one as a souvenir is because '73 was the year Dundee FC won the Scottish League Cup. It's fair to say though, I've had no need to keep any since!
The 2 Scottish football legends on the cover also have Dundee links.
Jimmy Johnstone, who was absolutely brilliant for Celtic, joined Dundee in the mid/late 70's. He was however past his peak by then and only played a couple of games for the Dee.
The other Johnstone is Derek, who was actually brought up in Dundee and went on to become a bit of a Rangers superstar. He supported Dundee United as a kid and even had a short stint at Tannadice in the mid 80's. Like wee Jinky though, his best years were behind him by then.

MORE PLEASE!

Some of you may think that just before I tucked into my meal on Christmas day, I snapped this picture of it on my mobile, but no, this spread of Scottish cuisine dates back to 1984.
Tasty treats on offer include Keillers marmalade, butterscotch sweets, OVD rum, pies plus a few other delights in the mix.
This leads nicely into the fact that it's time once again for me to whet your appetite and serve up a feast of goodies on Retro, with lots of Dundee morsels placed tantalizingly before you to chew over! Some of the items on show may make you want a second helping and the odd one might induce bile, but at least there will be the usual variety brought over to you on the Retro platter.
Having said that, 2011 will be my final year dishing up the local fare. Fun that it is, I haven't actually got a bottomless pit of material to delve into, and having made a recent assessment, I reckon that the quantity I have remaining will run out this year. I definitely do have loads of stuff to keep going for many months and will likely go beyond summer before I reach the end of the line.
Retro Dundee will of course remain on the net, so all the items that are on will stay on for you to rewind over, as and when you fancy.
For now though, better get back into the time machine and set forth on another weird & wonderful journey into our past!!

Happy New YEEEEEEEEAAAaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr....... (enter time warp portal for 1980's).

SCOTLAND v ARGENTINA - 1979

I mentioned in yesterday's post about Dundee ref John Gordon, that he was one of the officials who was chosen for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. So whilst on that topic I thought I'd drop this little feature on Retro from a year later when the newly crowned 78 World Cup champs, Argentina, paid a visit to Scotland.

This was a friendly match at Hampden, and surprise surprise Scotland got beat 3-1, however, the game has gone on to become quite a famous one because this was when a young kid called Maradona scored his first ever goal for his country. He was still in the under 20's youth team in 1978, so this full international encounter helped him on the path to being known as the worlds best footballer throughout the 80's, and some say, ever!

There were 2 Dundee United players in the Scotland team that day, Dundonian, David Narey, and the guy in the photo, Paul Hegarty.

Thanks to Ali Strachan.

ARDLER UNDER CONSTRUCTION - 1960'S

This picture taken in the 60's, shows Ardler still in the process of being built.
Plenty of work to be done yet at this stage by the look of it, with the pipes, cement mixer and so on lying around.
Although the multi's appear to be complete, Turnberry Avenue took many years to finish off, even going through into the 70's. In my 1970 Dundee Directory, Turnberry Ave had reached up to house number 385, but by the time the 1974 Directory was published, the Avenue had extended to number 1255!
And talking of Turnberry Avenue - does anyone remember the Nisbet's at number 21? Well in 1967 quite a few people in Scotland knew of their whereabouts. The slideshow below contains a sound clip from Radio Scotland (still a Pirate Station back then) featuring a request for Margaret Nisbet at #21. It cropped up on the Ben Healy show, who's voice incidentally, resembles Mike Smash from Smashie & Nicey! It's all rather fab & groovy with mentions of Monkees T-shirts and Union Jack T-shirts on offer.
Anyway, there are 3 Ardler shots from the same photo session to accompany the radio clip.
Images from Mike & Laura

THE SCOTTISH FOOTBALL "SCRAP" BOOK

Back in the good old, bad old, ugly old days of football in Scotland (referring mostly to the 70's here), battles inside grounds were commonplace. There was often no segregation, drink was allowed in which meant cans & bottles were chucked about willy-nilly, and bovver boy culture was in full flow. All these ingredients in the mix went on to create the matchday scrap! Although much of it was pretty horrendous, most fans just kind of took it for granted that battles would break out and it was all part of the spectator experience. For those of us who survived it all, we can sometimes look back at the trouble with a dark sense of humour, finding certain aspects of it rather amusing now, the opposite of how it was at the time! "Shit happens" as the saying goes, and retaining a sense of humour can help you get through it.
So having a look back at the pickle the human race got itself into over a game of futba, I've taken my cue from the guy in the photo above, collapsing, as if hit in the back by an arrow, and have given the slideshow below a light-hearted "Wild West" theme.
This kind of thing happened at Dens & Tannadice for years, but the images on show are from other locations around Scotland.
The final picture in the sequence is quite surreal, which brings to mind a surrealist proverb that goes - "When reason is away, smiles will play" - and that's why absurdity can induce laughter!
Photos by the Scotsman

SCOTLAND - 1974 WORLD CUP - #4

The Wonderful World Of Soccer Stars "World Cup 1974" picture stamp book, was an alternative to the packs of football cards with bubbly.

You got packets of 8 for 3p out of newsagents and the players photos were referred to as "stamps" - glossy paper rather than card.

There should have only been the 16 qualifying teams represented in the book, but as the book went to press, the Spain v Yugoslavia play-off had not yet taken place, so both teams got in the book, ending up with 17 in total. (Yugoslavia won)

This is actually my wee brother's book who gave it to me for safekeeping, and he did pretty well collecting the stamps, with only a few missing. The good news is he managed to get the full set of Scotland squad stamps. So if you want a reminder who some of our star players were back then, click on the team picture to view the large version, and I'm sure you'll spot a few legends in there!

The 1974 tournament has been Scotland's most successful World Cup to date, returning home undefeated, on goal difference only.

West Germany won it 2-1 v Holland.

SCOTLAND - 1974 WORLD CUP - #3

Germany was still divided back in 1974, but all of Scotland was united when we travelled over to the West to take on Brazil, Yugoslavia and Zaire.

Roaring us on, was the official Scotland mascot, as shown on an original patch in the top picture. I think it may have been nicknamed "Roary", but I really can't remember now.

To hold some of your essential knick-knacks for the trip, you might have had a bag designed like the one above. Very popular they were in the early 70's. We used similar styled ones at school, usually with football team crests on them. The one in the photo, however, shows the Scottish Bus Group logo, which would have been doing a roaring trade back then, shifting Scotland supporters to airports.

And below, you can view a very short film clip from 74, of Scottish fans greeting the team at an airport in Germany.

 

SCOTLAND - 1974 WORLD CUP - #2

Remember Larg's in Whitehall Street used to sell sheet music downstairs? Well here's 2 from 1974.

The Scotland World Cup Squad with "Easy! Easy!" and "Scotland! Scotland!".

Words and music by Bill Martin & Phil Coulter, who composed quite a few hits for the Bay City Rollers around this period.

SCOTLAND - 1974 WORLD CUP - #1

The 1974 World Cup in Germany was the first time Scotland had qualified for the tournament since 1958, and so for those who were in my age group (16) it was the first time we were involved in the event too.

There was also the added bonus of there being local interest, with Dundee lad Peter Lorimer a regular in the team. In fact by this stage in his career he had become a bit of a Scottish superstar! Then there was Dundee FC goalkeeper, Thomson Allan, who was also in the squad.

There was a good buzz in town when all this was going on. Most folk had colour TV by this time and the team were getting plenty of coverage. It wasn't just the telly and the newspaper sports pages they were making themselves known, they were also heard blasting out of Radio 1..!!

The Scotland Squad released an album to coincide with the tournament, which not only included the voices of the players but featured a hotchpotch of Scotch talent - Gallagher & Lyle, Lulu, Bay City Rollers, JSD Band, Middle Of The Road and Junior Campbell.

From it, there were 2 tracks which were released as a single - A-side was "Easy Easy" and the B-side was "Scotland Scotland".

However, the LP also presented one of the unlikeliest offerings you're likely to encounter in music ...Denis Law sings Jimi Hendrix!!

Actually, the track itself is fine, the Hendrix track being "Angel" which was a hit for Rod Stewart a couple of years earlier. This version has Rod singing along with Denis and contains a lot of banter which kind of captures the fun the World Cup was having on the Scots.

Top picture is the album cover. The cover opens up into a gatefold centre spread, as seen underneath it, and below is "Angel" by Rod Stewart & Denis Law.

 

ROD STEWART - CAIRD HALL - 1977

Rod Stewart was back in town for a 2 night performance on 7 & 8 January 1977.
The Caird Hall looked as if it had been freshly whitewashed for the concerts, with the large white backdrop drapery, white stage, white piano and PA system to match!
It made the colourful chiffon and satin of the band's outfits stand out even more so.
As you can see in the photos, which were taken on the 8th, Rod certainly seems to be enjoying himself.
Incidentally, the impressive drum-kit belongs to well known rock musician, Carmine Appice.
And don't worry, the guitarist in the last shot hasn't been airbrushed out, he is in fact hiding behind the drapes!

Photos by Derek High.

UNIT 47 MAGAZINE - 1980'S

Unit 47 was a Scottish music magazine that sprung up in 1984.
It covered the alternative music scene mostly, but also made room for a touch of jazz and rock.
Although there were a few pages given to well known English acts, the magazine's main focus was Scottish bands, as indicated by Fiction Factory & The Cocteau Twins on the covers above.
Lots of space was used spreading the word about unknown bands, including making room for demo tape reviews.
It also had stuff like gig reviews, fashion, cinema and special features such as the lowdown on recording studios.
One of the contributors was Dundee music journalist, Bob Flynn, who managed to get a full page feature on the Tayside Bar, as well as an interview with boss, Brian Sinclair.
Unit 47 also gave away a flexi with one of their early issues.
The 2 above are dated April & June 1984.
I'm uncertain how long the mag lasted however.

WORLD CUP VINYL FEVER - 1982

Here's a bundle of records that came out when Scotland were involved in the World Cup in 1982, hosted by Spain.
Most of you will probably be familiar with the "official" Scotland record that was released at the time because it actually got into the national charts, was played on Radio 1 and even cropped up on Top Of The Pops.
That record was called "We Have A Dream" and was a B.A. Robertson song, but it isn't in with this lot.
These ones here, I've never heard, and don't want to hear either!
I didn't go to the '82 World Cup, although I did tour Spain in 1981, visiting Madrid, Cordoba, Seville, Malaga and suchlike, so I did get a preview of the footballing locations.
Anyway, back to this crap - first up is The Krankies with "We're Going To Spain". Yeah, Benidorm!
Next is a 4 track E.P. by Sydney Devine and includes the highly original title of "Scotland Forever". This record had actually been deleted by Phonogram but unfortunately was brought back to life!
Fran and Anna's effort is called, wait for it - "It's Scotland For Ever". The duo no doubt very knowledgeable about Scottish football too.
The final ad has 3 records mentioned - starting with Andy Cameron's gem "We're On The March Again", which sounds like an anthem for the beer-bellies to sing along to!
Following that it's The Tartan Lads and they put a lot more thought into theirs which is titled "Scotland Evermore". Well it's certainly a touch more creative than "Scotland Forever"... Yawn!!
Finally, there is a compilation album called "World Cup Souvenir Album - Espana 82". This not only had Scottish dirge, but English and Irish as well!! Wonder how many oddballs bought that one!
After the tournament, I imagine all this vinyl was melted down into ashtrays.

ALP RECORD ADVERTS - 1966

These 3 ads for Andy Lothian's ALP Records were all published around summer / autumn in 1966.
The releases were kind of split into 2 categories - the pop/blues/folk/jazz stuff and the traditional Scottish material.
Some Dundee acts were involved needless to say - The Poor Souls, Peter & Alison, John Huband and Andy Lothian too.
ALP hooked up with Polydor Records and got a good deal with them running the behind the scenes activity - management, promotion, publicity, advertising, distribution etc.
The first record put out on ALP was by The Red Hawks which got to number 1 in Radio Scotland's pop chart, and it also made it into Radio London's top 40.
At the time of the adverts, the latest ALP release was by trendy Glasgow band, Studio Six.

PALAIS INTERIOR - 1970

A snap of inside the Palais, captured in 1970.
Taken from the stage, it looks over towards the balcony, bar and entrance area.
This was a private function, which is why they were all in evening-wear, rather than the fashion of the day.
The band in shot was the Emerald Showband, who later morphed into Wichita, the Palais resident band during the 1972-74 period.

PETER & ALISON'S TAY BRIDGE RECORD - 1966

To coincide with the opening of the Tay Road Bridge in 1966, Dundee duo Peter & Alison, released a single called "Highway O'er The Sea".
It came out on Andy Lothian's ALP record label.
For the record cover photo-shoot, it seems they got the brand new bridge all to themselves!
The advert for the single was published in a national music paper in August 1966.
To read a bit about them and the record, you can click onto the article above which dates from September 1966.

THE BALLINARD GOES PUNK! - 1977

Many of us know about Dundee's early punk gigs that took place at The Ambassador Hotel in 1977, but here's a gig list that was published in Cripes in October '77 showing that the Ballinard Hotel were trying to get in on the act too.
The Jolt playing on a Saturday night followed by a punk disco on Sunday!

DUNDEE RELATED FANZINES - 70'S & 80'S

Some of the above fanzine titles may be familiar to a few of you who indulged in keeping track of Dundee music action in the 70's and 80's.
Some of the above fanzine titles may not be so familiar due to the short lifespan they had when they were on the go.
I'll supply the lowdown on them anyway as I have a few in my collection.
Most are Dundee based, but a couple are Dundee / Edinburgh combos.
Going down from top...

THE VOICE - started up in 1982 as a kind of splinter 'zine when Cranked Up ceased. At least 3 issues.
CRIPES - started up in summer 1977 as a newsletter for Bruce's Record Shop with over 110 issues.
LE SINISTRE - started up in June 1981 and ended in July 1981 after only 2 issues.
FALLING AND LAUGHING - started up in 1983. Unsure how long it lasted but 5 issues at least.
SWEET TV TIMES - started early 80's to promote the activities of The Junkies. Unsure how long it lasted.
MEN FROM SOYA - started and ended in 1981 after only 1 issue (as far as I know).
PROCESS - started and ended in 1981 after only 1 issue.
VEX [VEKS] - started around early 80's mostly to promote Vex's own band(s) and opinions. Unsure how long it lasted.
CRANKED UP - started up in July 1981 and ended in July 1982 after 18 issues.
DEADBEAT - started up in August 1982 and ended in 1986 after 33 issues.
S'PUNK (It's Punk) - started up late 70's. Unsure how long it lasted but 13 issues at least.
HERE COMES EVERYBODY - started up around 81/82. Unsure how long it lasted but 4 issues at least.

Also - did Bob Flynn get his fanzine called "Hard Copy" up & running? This was in 1982.
Another local fanzine planned in 1982 was "The Buck Stops Here" (or There). Issues published?

If anyone knows of any other Dundee based fanzine (or fanzines where Dundee was mentioned regularly) feel free to pass the info on.
Should anyone like to share copies they have, again, feel free to get in touch.