DC THOMSON'S TAYTEL - 1982

Before the arrival of the internet, the basic concept of providing an interactive information system on screen commenced in the UK in the early 80's. BT came up with PRESTEL, a public viewdata service. A modified TV receiver in the home was linked by your telephone to a main computer database that connected various Information Provider companies. Subscribers could view thousands of pages on TV featuring items such as weather, travel updates, sport etc, as well as send messages or order goods.

DC Thomson was Dundee's IP and they called themselves TAYTEL 263 VIEWDATA.

The screen visuals were similar to present day Ceefax & Teletext with images made possible using the square block method.

The image above you should be able to figure out, it being the DCT building at Meadowside, and below are some of the original Taytel/Prestel on-screen graphics from 1982.

CHRISTMAS MESSAGE

In keeping wi' abody else, I'm gonna have a wee xmas break. So no more posts till January.
A big THANKS for all your comments. Good to know you're enjoying looking back at Dundee life during the 60s,70s & 80s.
Any newcomer to Retro Dundee who is not too sure of the layout, here's a wee guide:
When you visit the blog, not all the material will be on view, you will only see a few of the most recent posts on the page. To view ALL the items, go to the "BLOG ARCHIVE" to the left of the posts and click on any month to view that months material and scroll through them.
If you want to leave a message, there is a small "COMMENTS" feature at the bottom right of each post, again just click onto it if you have something to say.
Those of you who are regulars, my break might be a good time for you to backtrack over the older posts again to read the comments. There are a lot of amusing ones as well as many with added extra info.
I've still got loads of stuff to put on...so stay tuned and I'll be back in full flow early January.
CHEERZ GG

BILLY MACKENZIE'S XMAS SONG - 1984

Better get yer hankies oot..!!
As a special wee treat for Christmas, here is Dundonian, Billy Mackenzie singing a weepy festive song called "The little boy that Santa Claus forgot".
Billy was in The Associates, and it was 24 years to the day that the band performed this song at Londons top jazz venue, Ronnie Scott's. This is the actual recording from that session on 9th December 1984, along with general footage from the gig in the video below.
The song itself was composed way back in the early 50's.

TELEPHONE HOUSE MURAL - 1976

I was always impressed with this piece of work every time I saw it.
The 30ft long Dundee Panorama Mural was made from cut-out copper panels and hung in the foyer area of Telephone House in Ward Road.
It was created by John Shields and Joe Millar who were lecturers in Design at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art.
These 2 images, taken on 7th April 1976, show the full panorama in the top picture and a close-up of the central section below it.

THE MUSEUM IN THE 60's

When in town in the 60's, I used to like to pop into the Albert Museum (as it was called then) before jumping on a #26 bus back home.

The entrance was on the corner of the Museum nearest to Commercial Street.

Some of the exhibits on show were, McIntosh Patrick's famous "Tay bridge from studio" painting, a weird ethnic shrunken head, lots of stuffed animals & birds, dugout canoes, a mock up of 2 old Victorian house interiors, a scale model of the old city centre/Overgate area, crystals & rocks ( with ultra violet light ), and of course, the Tay Whale skeleton hanging from the ceiling.

CRAIGIE HIGH SCHOOL UNIFORM - 1970's

Craigie High School's uniform didn't appear on the scene until many months after the school opened it's doors in 1970.

It was actually a team of teachers from CHS Art Dept who helped design it.

We got to see the school badge artwork develop as "work in progress" during its design stage.

I remember head art teacher, Mr Higgins, explaining that the school badge image consisted of the Law Monument to represent Dundee's highest point, the River Tay, representing Dundee's lowest level and both connected by an abstract "Tree Of Knowledge".

There were also 2 different shades of green used for the blazer - a dark version which was the more deluxe option, and which tended to be worn by kids who used a briefcase rather than a schoolbag.
The example above was the economic version, and although it was a more lurid green, it was the most common.

The uniform wasn't compulsory back then and I reckon less than half of the pupils chose to wear it.

The clash of colours was interpreted light-heartedly by pupils at the time as Green for Catholics and Orange for Protestants.
Back then it was a mixed religion school and we all got on fine.
Then they built St Saviours in Whitfield and so triggered an exodus of Catholics.
Religion not being part of any learning process!

BAY CITY ROLLERS - J.M. BALLROOM - 1970-74

 

The top cutting is from a "What's On" page in the Dundee Courier  - an ad for the Bay City Rollers playing at the J.M. Ballroom in the Marketgait on Sunday 12th April '70.
Interesting to see they were gigging in Dundee 4 years before they became famous. In fact The Rollers actually made a promo film in the J.M. in 1970, complete with hired screaming girls! I wonder what has happened to that footage?
The 2nd cutting is from an NME and they continue to be playing at the J.M. This one dated Monday 18th December 1972.
The 3rd cutting is from a Melody Maker music paper and in the gig guide section it has the Bay City Rollers playing at the JM on Monday 29th April '74.
So the band were still active in Dundee even in the year they hit the big time!
Other acts on in 1970 were, The Camera and Pat'r 4 + Three.

FLEETWOOD MAC - DUNDEE 1970

Here's an advert that appeared in the Courier in April 1970 for a gig by Fleetwood Mac at the Caird Hall.

The dearest seats were 25 shillings (that's £1.25) with tickets available from the Andy Lothian Organisation in Exchange Street.

There is a footnote on the ad that says main man, Peter Green, was to be leaving the band, but not until AFTER this gig.

Although the support act is displayed as being The John Dummer Band, the group had actually cancelled their appearance by then.

SLADE - CAIRD HALL - MAY 1974

The first gig I ever went to was Slade at the Caird Hall - on 1 May 1974 to be exact.

The band were at their peak, I was still at school, and there was a great buzz around the playground with the thought of the band playing in Dundee.
At the Caird Hall there was also fair bit of commotion in amongst the audience as Slade dazzled the fans into a teenage frenzy, so it didn't take long for the crowd to leave their seats and rush to the front of the stage.
This side of it actually made the newspapers next day, as you can see in the cutting above.
Great hearing all their hits live, and the band were so incredibly LOUD...my ears were hissing for days afterwards!
A fantastic introduction to the live music scene.
Also, during the concert they had a "look-a-like contest". 3 guys were plucked out of the crowd and paraded up on stage. The one who got the loudest roar from the audience, won - but the winner was such a spitting image of Noddy Holder, the other 2 didn't stand a chance!
The pictures above are from that very Dundee gig.
The top one has Noddy wearing his familiar disc covered top hat and hooped socks of course, and although Dave Hill is half hidden in the shadows on the right, you can see his "Super Yob" guitar shining bright!
The other shot of the band in Dundee appears to show Noddy having just clapped eyes on the photographer!
I am also somewhere in the crowd near the front but can't pinpoint exactly where!

LET'S GO BACK

The idea behind Retro Dundee is to take a look back at Dundee, Scotland, during the 1960's - 1970's - 1980's, this being the time period I lived in town.

I have amassed lots of photos & ephemera from this era and will be putting as many as I can on view here. Many images of the city never seen before, covering various subjects like - school, shops, music, fashion, fads, events, pubs, sport, etc.

So if anyone went to school in Dundee in the 60's & 70's, and spent their youth in town during the 70's & 80's, this will bring back a few memories. Should be a good laugh too!!

I'll go set the time-machine for the 60's to get things started...

Photo by DC Thomson.Tints by GG.