SANDS ADS - 1977

Those of you who liked to boogie on down at the Sands, had this typical disco action to choose from back in 1977.

Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights were straight forward disco stints.
You may recall that you got in at half price on Sundays if you reached the doors before 8:30 - an offer we often took advantage of regularly!
Not sure what the Wednesday event in the top ad was though - Discorama with DJ Charlie Chuckles? Sounds more like a circus act than a night of clubbing!
The other ad mentions a new Friday resident - DJ Alex Soutar, with regular, DJ Ed Sweeney, doing Sunday nights.
And of course, Saturday lunchtimes had the jazz sessions in full flow with Jimmy Deuchar.

These changed in the late 70's to Sunday lunchtime sessions.

For the more serious jazz fan, the Sands was the chosen venue for a performance by legendary saxophonist, Dexter Gordon.

This gig was on 28 Feb 1977.

ANDY LOTHIAN ORCHESTRA - LIVE - 1960'S

In March 2009, I put a record up on Retro Dundee by Andy Lothian. This was a traditional Scottish tune that featured his violin skills.

Andy, however, was equally known for his big band sound, his orchestra being the resident band at the Palais for over 3 decades. In fact, he ended up owning the venue!

We are talking ballroom dancing music styles here, the orchestra supplying the tempo for the dancefloor with a mixture of latin, jazz and pop.

In 1946, his band was heard all around the UK when his orchestra was broadcast live from the Palais on BBC radio a few times.

Andy kept the big band going in the Palais up to around 1970, then bowed out to make way for the start of the disco era.

Below is a rare recording live at the Palais itself, from the mid 60's and showcasing the full orchestra sound - no lead violin.

The line-up includes - J. Couper - D. Gold - J. Croft - R. Bronson - G. Cully - B. Cooper - C. Fotheringham and C. Coats.

So go grab your partner and swirl around the room to this track below - Duke's classic..."The A Train".

Many thanks to Carolyn.

SAMANTHAS ADS - LATE 70's

Samantha's in South Tay Street was quite a short lived discotheque, on the go from 1976 to 78, so these ads above are a bit of a rare sight.

The first 2 are from the Dundee Telegraph and are dated December 1977.

The top one is a general ad emphasising their weekend disco action.

It also mentions the Stage Door Bar - that was the pub at the back of Samantha's in the Marketgait that had a connecting doorway taking you to the disco. It saved trekking around the block to the main entrance.

The second ad is for a midweek event, the visitor being Richard Searling.

I remember Richard's name cropping up every week back then in music mags such as Black Echoes and Blues & Soul. He was a DJ specialising in soul music, both the Northern Soul variety and the more up-to-the-minute dance tracks. In fact he was quite an influential DJ, not only was he a Wigan Casino regular, but he was the guy who brought the original "Tainted Love" to the attention of clubbers.
Another well know disc-jockey who appeared here was Radio 1 DJ, Paul Burnett. This was on 15 January 1978.

Just a bit of general background info to give you an idea of the entertainment on offer at the time.

An example of the kind of bands that performed here are shown in the next 3 items.

Firstly an ad that appeared in NME in October 1978 featuring tour dates for punk band, 999, who had Samantha's as a venue on 22 October. To go with it is a gig guide showing the same date, with Simple Minds also on the bill.

The last item shows that Ultravox played at Samantha's a couple of weeks earlier on 8 October '78.

Many thanks to Yvonne for the Telegraph ads.

DUNDEE BREAKDANCER - 1987

 

This is Russell Headridge, a two year old toddler from Fintry, displaying his breakdance skills at a contest in the Angus Hotel in October 1987.

DEATH CULT - TEAZERS - 1983

Before the Dance Factory made it's nest in Fat Sams, it used to roost at Teazers (Royal Hotel) in Union Street.

Here's an ad for a gig they put on there in August 1983 featuring Death Cult.

This was the bands' in-betweeny phase - first starting off as The Southern Death Cult, then shortening their name to this version, Death Cult, before finally in 1984 chopping it right down to The Cult, and that's when they then went on to be chart bound around the globe.

The gig was actually the live UK debut of the band under this name. Word of it reached journalists, leading to a gig review in the national music press!

You may recall Vex did a gig at the Tayside Bar in 1982 calling themselves Death Cult, but they reverted back to Vex after this lot here became known.

DANCE FACTORY BANDS #2

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Moving on to the 2nd selection of images of unknown bands playing at Fat Sams in the mid/late 80's.
A couple of the acts in this lot look familiar to me but I just can't quite put a name to them.
If you're not so sure who they are either, you may have better luck spotting someone you know in the crowd.
Photos by The Bear.

DANCE FACTORY BANDS #1

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Next up is a big bundle of photos spread over 2 days featuring bands who played at the Dance Factory in the mid/late 80's.
Unfortunately, the bands in the pictures weren't catalogued, so although the reason I put them up was because they are a fine set of images in the first place, if you think you can identify any of the acts, that'll be a nice added bonus.
Some bands have 2 pics, some just 1.
See how you get on.
Photos by The Bear.

IMMACULATE FOOLS GIG REVIEW - 1985

Well here's a gig review that's a wee bit different from the norm.
This was put together by Deadbeat contributor, Hilary. It seems the Immaculate Fools appearance at the Dance Factory in March 1985 was so bad that she couldn't muster the usual kind of account of a live performance, so she just went around some of those who were in the crowd asking for their assessment.
Turned out they had the same opinion!
Amongst the Dundee critics were Ged, Kit & Gary from Danny Wilson, music journalist Bob Flynn, DJ Dave Calikes plus a few others who shared similar viewpoints.
Clearly the band should have presented a show that was a bit more foolproof!

ENERGETIC FAT-FREE SAMS - 1980'S

Not an explosion in a paint factory but Dance Factory!

This is local band, Better Backwards, jamming on stage with artist David Cook, sometime around the mid/late 80's.

A nice bonnie outburst it is too. Kind of half Celtic half Aboriginal. Very tribal. I like it!

Photos by The Bear.

GIGS GALORE - EARLY 80'S

Time to catch up with a few gig reviews at various venues from the first half of the 80's.

Starting with Nassau, and a gig that took place at the Tayside Bar in January 1982. This was a funky Glasgow band who were basically refining their set prior to being support act to a couple of well known acts. The review cropped up in the national music press.

Moving onto Jih, also at the Tayside Bar, a gig near the end of '83. Not sure if this was the band's debut gig but it was definitely one of their earliest. However, it turned out to be a night that didn't go down very well with the reviewer!

Another Tayside Bar gig next, this time from mid '83 and featuring Crucial Xylophones who gave us a performance that triggered dancing in the pub. A rare sight for the TSB!

Moving along to the University, with Bow Wow Wow the main attraction, and one I went to. They were very well known by this time and had a packed hall for their lively stage show. This gig was at the end of '82.

A Dance Factory event next and a performance by Talking Drums, early '85. Although the band put on a decent show, it was the Dundee crowd that upset the reviewer (Hilary) on this occasion.

Rounding things off with Plastic Surgery who were doing the biz at Beez Neez in January '85. This time Hilary is well pleased with what she saw!

Click items to enlarge if need be.

DANCE FACTORY ACTION - 1988

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Rolling off the Dance Factory conveyor belt were these bands, who all played at the Fat Sam's venue in 1988.

Pics 1 & 2 - THE RHYTHM SISTERS - 22 May 1988.

Pics 3 & 4 - STUMP - 7 Feb 1988.

Pic 5 - THE McCLUSKEY BROTHERS - 27 Mar 1988.

Pic 6 - SWAMPTRASH - 14 Feb 1988.

Pic 7 - THE WILD SWANS - 21 Feb 1988.

Pics 8 & 9 - YARGO - 28 Feb 1988.

If you can recall anything from these gigs, then tell us all about it in the comments.

Photos by The Bear.