ROCKPILE RECORDS - 1980'S

3 adverts for Rockpile Records published in local fanzines in 1982.

A neat wee shop, selling a mixture of new and second-hand records.

Very aromatic too I remember!

I never actually bought any records from there mind you, my visits were only when I was off-loading parts of my collection from time to time.

And, it was also the only shop in town who dared to sell bootlegs!

NICK AND SAINT NICK - 80'S

Top image is Nick Parkin mucking about outside the College of Commerce sometime in the late 80's.
He used to play synthesizer with one of the guys from Altres, Jeremy Bryning, although Nick himself wasn't in that band.
Many of you may recall Nick & Jeremy as the buskers who wore Santa Claus outfits in the mid 80's. Their patch was the Overgate and they made a wee fortune. Enough to keep them supplied with fresh electronic equipment!
With his brother Andy, Nick ran a recording studio for a while and formed bands called Love and Up 'n' Out.

Nick also managed a Dundee girl duet called Mix 'n' Match.
Nick then moved to London in the early 90's, working in a recording studio there.
His mate Jeremy, as I mentioned earlier, was a member of Altres and also made a cassette of solo recordings on the Altres label, Multi-Purpose Productions.
Sadly, Jeremy developed mental problems later in life and disappeared about 12 years ago. Nobody knows what has happened to him and still to this day he remains on Tayside Police's official "Missing Persons" list.

ALTRES DEMO REVIEW - 1984

This Deadbeat mag review dates from May 1984 and is for Dundee's electronic whizz kids, Altres. This was a 7 track demo cassette called "Rise" that they released on their own label, Multi-Purpose Productions. It was something a bit different from the usual alternative rock & pop the fanzine covered, Altres making dreamy hypnotic synth based instrumentals. The tape did get a thumbs up from the reviewer though, and reckoned there may be a future for them in TV soundtracks!
The cassette was available to purchase from Rockpile, JJ Records and Grouchos. Or you could have have got it direct from Kevin himself.

ALTRES - TAYSIDE BAR - 1983

Dundee's electronic explorers, Altres, sparked into life in 1983.
The band in full back then was - Kevin L Guthrie - Jeremy Bryning - Brian Hutton - Maurice Richardson - Joe Donnelly - Mike Nelson.
Locally, they played venues such as the Tayside Bar, Mr Dees & Cloisters, and they also ventured outdoors sometimes performing at places like the City Square and Baxter Park.
I'm fairly sure when I saw them in Cloisters they had a slide show projector to accompany the music too, but the main thing about them was all that great gear they had - a multitude of synthesisers, drum machines and effects equipment, all adding up to a rather addictive sound.
Another thing I liked was that they played unfashionably lengthy tracks. This was around the time when tunes longer than 3 or 4 minutes were still generally frowned upon, an attitude harking back to the old punk days. So here were Altres pumping out half hour tracks, mesmerising the locals with their trippy synth sequencers and pulsating loop patterns!
The band also made a few recordings back then, however, in 1985 they decided to pull the plug out and Altres was switched off for good. Or so it seemed, until that is, they were regenerated back to life in 2003, and have been powering onwards ever since - gigs and recordings aplenty.
You can catch up with the band's history and present day pursuits in more detail on their site at
http://www.altres.co.uk/
The sound sample below is taken from Altres first ever gig which took place at the Tayside Bar on 23rd February 1983. The picture above shows some of the band's gear tucked away in the corner of the TB lounge. Only 4 members played on this one, Kevin, Joe, Brian & Maurice.
The piece, just called "Set 1", was semi improvised and lasted around 30 minutes, but this here is only an 8 minute snippet to give you a flavour of the original Altres in full flow!

Thanks to Kevin and the rest of the posse.

FLUX CASSETTE - 1987

This is the Flux "In Flux" cassette from 1987.
The guys involved in the recording were - KL Guthrie - M Kane & E McDougall.
There are 10 tracks in total, and the one here below for you to sample is a number called "So Clear, It's So Clear", a short trippy ambient offering. This is the mellowest track on the cassette compared to the rest of the material, which is rather abrasive, but thought I'd ease you gently into their sound with this piece first, and I'll put one of their contrasting tracks up sometime later.
Although the track here was recorded in '87, it does hark back to the mid '70's in an Eno/Krautrock kind of way.
Thanx to Mike.

WHO'S ON THE TAYSIDE BAR?

A nice wee snapshot of the Tayside Bar noticeboard taken in Feb 1983. Not a particularly hectic week on this occasion but local electronic whizz-kids, Altres, were performing on stage that week, as were Portable People the following night.
Altres, as I'm sure most of you will know by now, are still going strong, gigging and recording regularly. Don't forget to check out the Altres website for more info and goodies, including original Tayside Bar recordings & photos - http://www.altres.co.uk/

Big thanks to Kevin & Brian.

BILLY PLATER RECORDING - 1985

This recording is a bit of a mystery to me.
It's by Billy Plater and called "Tay Bridge".
This review of it cropped up in a Deadbeat fanzine in August 1985.
For starters, I've no idea who Billy Plater is, never seen the name anywhere before.
Although the track title is "Tay Bridge", I don't know if the act is from Dundee or out of town.
The reviewer doesn't even know if it's a duo or a band!
A 10 minute electronic track means it's probably on cassette rather than vinyl.
Deadbeat didn't give it a thumbs up really, but I wouldn't mind hearing it.
Anyone know anything about it?

SOUNDS LIKE THE 60'S - #1

Being schoolboy age in the 60's lead to my generation having a superb music soundtrack to accompany that particular decade. Not only was there all that superior pop music on radio, but even when arriving home from school, switching the tv on to watch kids programmes had an amazing amount of memorable music on offer too. Whether it be catchy classical tunes on "The adventures of Robinson Crusoe" or the jazzy grooves of "Vision On", none of the music presented for school kids sounded infantile or patronising. 
Here below, is another 60's music genre that sounded great, a touch of experimental electronica from BBC's Radiophonic Workshop. The show is "Bleep & Booster" which was shown on Blue Peter in the late 60's, with nice cartoon artwork by William "Tim" Tymym.
The photo above is my wee brother laughing along with David Jacobs on TV, so it may have been Jukebox Jury that was on at the time.
It's as if he wants to grab a card with "Hit" or "Miss" on it..!!