THE BARRACUDA GOOD LIFE - 70'S

The advert from December 1977 is one that cropped up in the Tele on a regular basis back then.

It was for local soulsters, Susan Childe & The Flamingoes, the band who got everyone up on the Barracuda dancefloor.

Hidden away under all the nosh details in the ad, you may be able to spot the Barracuda slogan - "The Good Life".

You will also be able to see the same slogan on the t-shirts the two Barracuda babes are wearing - the lassies posing for the camera in the nightclub in 1978.

Thanks to Yvonne and Marky.

SUSAN CHILDE AKA YVONNE J

Susan Childe was the stage name she adopted when she joined the Flamingos. As Susan, she also did lots of solo work including many TV shows in the 70's & 80's, in UK and abroad.

In 1984 she married and has since lived in Spain, Puerto Rico and USA where she is currently residing in Tucson, Arizona.

Known now as Yvonne J, she has continued her life in the music business getting plenty of recording sessions done, for solo work and backing vocals for others. She is still continuing with live gigs too, having worked with such soul artistes as Billy Ocean, Rose Royce & Eddie Kendricks along the way. On a recent trip back to Dundee she even managed to squeeze in a couple of gigs at The Bond!

All that achieved from just a wee night oot at the JM back in 1972!!

Oh yeah, and she also went to the same school as me, Balerno.

Yvonne J also has a website link (below) that is worth dipping into.

 

http://www.ourstage.com/fanclub/yvonnej

Big THANKS to Yvonne.

SUSAN CHILDE & THE FLAMINGOS - PART 2

Here's Susan Childe & The Flamingos doing the biz live on stage at their Mains of Claverhouse gig and as you can see, getting the locals up on their feet!
From the mid 70's onwards, SC&TF introduced various members into the band, changing the line-up as they evolved. Some of the musicians were - Lemont Sylvester - Calvert Ward - Jerry Bartholomew - Hugh Paul - Sandy Robertson - Rusty - Alan McKay - Ronnie Jack plus one or two others.
Although the band were locally based, playing various venues in and around Dundee, they also often went further afield touring all over the UK.
Their material was mostly popular chart hits with the emphasis on party vibes for the dancefloor. So they'd do lively performances of upbeat songs like "Young Hearts Run Free" & "Jimmy Mack" and then occasionally slow the pace down a bit with a tune such as "Misty Blue" to get everyone in a smoochie mood!!

Thanx to Yvonne.

SUSAN CHILDE & THE FLAMINGOS - PART 1

This promo shot of Susan Childe & The Flamingos was taken at the Barracuda, sometime before the disco first opened for business, so would be around 1975/76.
The Flamingos go further back than that though, to at least the very early 70's when they were known as Ray King & The Flamingos, and who originated from the West Indies. The line-up back then consisted of - Ray & Shirley King - Cleveland Walker - Lloyd Owen Wisdom - Howard "Bongo" McLeod - Calvert Ward & Jerry Bartholomew.
Dundee's Susan Childe got in on the act in 1972 when on a life-changing visit to the JM Ballroom to see the band play. On this particular night, singer Shirley King had to sit it out because she had a sore throat, so Ray King shouted out to the JM crowd asking if anyone wanted to get on stage to sing with the band - up stepped Susan Childe, who went on to perform "Puppy Love". After the show Ray asked Susan where she worked - which was Timex. That then lead to Ray visiting the factory a few days later to see her and ask if she fancied joining the band full time. Needless to say the answer was "YES" and so Susan clocked-out there & then and said ta ta to Timex!
After a couple of years, Susan left the band for a short while to live in London, and when she came back to rejoin the band in 1975, The Flamingos had split, with one half going on to form funk band, Rokotto. So the new band formation was now called Susan Childe & The Flamingos, as in the promo photo.

Big thanks to Yvonne.