BUILDING THE LEISURE CENTRE - 70'S

Back down town we go for the final construction image, with this one here of the Leisure Centre in progress in the early 70's.

The stone building to the right of shot is the old baths which they kept open until the new one had been completed.

It looks like a few volunteers from Douglas went down looking for work in 1972 to help out but obviously there wasn't anyone around at the time, so they just left a message.

A smashing bunch of lads!

Photo from Gordon C.

THIS IS HUNS LAND - BEWARE

Shifting from yesterday's Urban environment to another urban setting - the Hulltoon.
The scrawl on the wall says it all!
Photo by The Bear.

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

WINDMILL BAR - HILLTOWN 1975-85

The Windmill Bar was located on the corner of Ann Street at 113 Hilltown.
Some of you may remember it as being a place with a reputation for being "a bit rough!".
Well this wasn't just based on hearsay, it was well earned, so much so that it was actually officially documented in city council and police files!
In 1984, the pub was refused a late license because of the amount of incidents there was there. And in one infamous rumble, a policeman was knocked unconscious.
In their defence, the pub owners put in a complaint to local MP, Gordon Wilson, about the "continuing police harassment".
So the place could get a bit lively at times!
On the flip side of the coin to it's Wild West image, the pub was equally known as a live music venue for local talent.
Remember Dundee group, Thynglechyme - well their drummer, Mick Rafferty, used to run the Windmill at one stage, and that lead to many a late night jam session with the likes of Brian Reid, Willie Hastie and many others.
It even became a bit of a draw for the alternative music scene in the early 80's, with bands such as The Junkies, Street Level, Megazones and so on, all playing there.
The black & white photo was taken in 1975 when the pub looked rather grubby.
The colour photo was taken in 1985 after it had a wee bit of a facelift.

B&W by Hes

Colour by Neale Elder

ORIGINAL HULLTOON HUNS GRAFFITI

This fine old-school masterpiece was done using the ancient technique of "paint pot & brush"!

It dates back to the 70's, so it is an original from the gang wars era.

Actually, that should read was an original, we now need to talk about it in the past tense, because despite it having been there all that time, last year somebody came along and graffed over the top of it.

Tut tut..!!

Thanks to JG

PRINCE OF WALES GEAR - MID 70'S

A certain elite group of Dundee gang members (ie - those who could afford it!) indulged in wearing the above Prince Of Wales check pattern in their clothing. Suits, jackets and Crombie style coats mostly. They were expensive because you got them made to measure from places like Hepworth's in the Murraygate.

I can remember only a handful of Douglas guys at school who wore them.

It was a rather short-lived phase though, on the go in 1973/74, and then that was it.

I'm fairly certain this was just a Dundee thing, and not a fad that was wider spread, unlike the previous boot boy look which was a scene found all over UK.

It is a good example of posh cloth being hijacked by a young crowd and being turned into urban streetwear.

A more recent, and longer lasting example was the casuals with Burberry.

HARRINGTON AND CROMBIE - EARLY 70'S

If ever there was a look that reminded me of my secondary school years (1970 to 74), then it would have to be the Harrington and Crombie wearing urban bovver boy style.

This was as much seen in school as it was out of school.

The most common sight was when the coats were worn smartly with Ben Sherman shirt, Levi Sta-Prest trousers and Doc Marten boots, as in the top image.

A slightly rougher/tougher look was when they were worn with jeans and gang jersey.

In the middle picture, the 2 charming chaps in their Harringtons are wearing exactly the same gear Billy MacKenzie is wearing in the photo of him aged 14, I put up a few days ago!

The guy on the left of the shot has a dress blazer, clip-on braces and a rather severe razor parting in his skinhead! He must have went to Sweeney Todd's!!

The Crombie was often topped off with a red hankie poking out the top pocket!

Yeah, the 70's boot boys...they were everywhere!!

SKINNERS AND BRACES - EARLY 70'S

Around the 1972 to 74 period, Skinners ultra white parallel jeans were worn as an alternative to stone white Sta-Prest. Like the Sta-Prest, they were usually worn halfway up your shin to show off your Doc Martens or hooped socks.

There was a bit of a thing going with some gangs who wore Skinners to get a Clockwork Orange look.

The ad above is dated June 1973 and shows they were available in blue denim and white, and it was the white ones that were most popular. The girls wore them as much as the boys.

Around the same time, I remember buying white braces out of McGills. The most common type were the clip-on design, I however, got the button-down variety, as above, but it wasn't until I got home that I realised none of my jeans or trousers had any buttons on the waistband, so I ended up sewing some onto my Skinners just so I could wear the braces!!

THE STEVE ELLIS JUMPER

I'd imagine Steve Ellis is blissfully unaware that his name will forever be linked to Dundee gang culture.

Back in the good old bad old days (the 70's) when all of Dundee's gangs paraded around in, and did battle in their gang jerseys...these garments were referred to as your "Stevie Ellis" jumper.

The main design feature of a Stevie Ellis was that it had a high v-neck. This meant you could wear the jersey without a shirt underneath and it would still look smart, although most guys (and gals) wore Ben Sherman shirts with the jersey despite the fact you'd only see a wee bit of the collar poking out the top!

Being exclusively a Dundee concept meant you couldn't go and just buy one from a shop in the high street. They were customised to order. The best quality Stevie Ellis's were made at a shop called The Sewing & Knitting Centre, in Victoria Road. They'd gladly make a gang jersey for you in the housing scheme of your choosing!

You can find a few of the gang jersey colour variations in the Retro Archive, but the example above is the hooped colours of the Mid.

The top pictures are of the man himself wearing the jersey that inspired the cult clothing.

And for those younger ones who don't know who Steve Ellis is, he was the lead singer in a pop group called The Love Affair, who had a few hits in the late 60's.

WARNING - PAINFUL SMOKING STORY!

 

My brother took this photo around 1973ish - Embassy Tipped and Younger's beer being very common around that era.

The picture was actually taken at home so I can only assume the ashtray was nicked from a pub!

I'd only be 14/15 years old back then, so I hadn't started to indulge yet. However, some of the tuff-nuts at school the same age as me were already hooked. Embassy Tipped & Embassy Regal were their favoured fags. They used to keep their fag packets in the chest pocket of their Ben Sherman shirts or their gang jerseys, in class without the teachie knowing!

One day, when we were all making our way back home from Craigie High, a few of the Toddy guys were mucking about in Ruthven Road. One was absolutely GASPING for a fag and kept nagging his mate who only had twa left in his packet, so kept refusing the guys gasping pleas. In desperation the guy who was pleading ended up saying - "I'll let ye punch iz in the puss fir ain!".

"A'right then" was the reply.

So the one who was about to be punched had his hands held behind his back by a 3rd guy to prevent him guarding himself - then WALLOP!!! - he got a crack in the jaw from the one who had the fags!! He never even flinched. He was given his ciggie and off they all went up the road together, as if nothing had happened.

So let THAT be a real health warning!!!

POPARAMA - ICE RINK - 1968

 

The Poparama shows were the brainchild of Andy Lothian Jr.

He put on quite a few of these events around Scotland in the late 60's.

This advert here is for the one held at Kingsway Ice Rink in November 1968.

The Love Affair were top of the bill, with Jimmy James & The Vagabonds, Procession and The Herd being the other acts.

Stuart Henry was DJ for the evening too, which would have been an attraction in itself.

So a great night out I'd imagine.

Of course, some of us know that the Love Affair had a special someone who influenced Dundee's youth big time.

Namely, Steve Ellis, who inspired the Dundee gang jersey designs.

These jersey's were referred to as your "Stevie Ellis".

The photo was taken in Hawkhill and shows the Poparama poster for this event, alongside some Shimmy graffiti.

The 2 go together perfectly.

Click onto the images to enlarge.

ON THE BUSES #2

This bonnie mess may rekindle some pleasant trips for a few of you and unpleasant ones for the rest of you!
This was mostly an early 70's scene when gang culture was the thing.
With no bus conductors to watch out for anymore, out came the felt pens & knives. The green leatherette seat covers would be slashed, exposing the yellow foam stuffing. Sometimes it was so bad that often there was no seat padding remaining and you had to sit on the bare wooden board underneath. The slashed leatherette was used to sew patches onto jeans as a kind of gang fashion trophy!
Windows would either be panned in from the outside or kicked out from the inside (good to know there was a choice involved!!!). I can also recall a couple of journeys when the large emergency window upstairs at the back was opened and stuff got chucked out along the route, fag packets, cans, stuffing etc and of course the usual gang signs & chants presented to the passers-by in the street..!!
They introduced a driver periscope mirror to try and monitor upstairs, but 1 driver facing up to 20 gang members didn't stand much chance. Despite this going on for years, we all just seemed to take this carry on in our stride.
Shit happens!!
Although I didn't indulge in bus vandalism, I did have a way of leaving my mark. For I was..."The Phantom Window Scribbler"...!! Actually, what it was, was when the windows steamed up I would do wee doodles in the condensation, like most kids did. However, as I got older I took it a stage further and drew full cartoons on the windows. So subjects like having a pop at Maggie Thatcher & Ronnie Reagan would go up. A bit of satire to cheer the passengers up!! The cartoons really did get a laugh, so it was a good bit of practise for later in life.
A free blank canvas, some harmless fun and no damage done.
Better to knock the stuffing out of politicians than nick the stuffing out of seats!!
Incidentally, the above snap is only an artist impression of such a scene, not the real thing!

70'S BEN SHERMAN SHIRT

Those of you of a certain age and with a certain dress sense will instantly recognise this shirt - the Ben Sherman.

This design was particularly popular around the 1971-74 period. I wore them, as did my mates at school, but they will always be associated with skinhead fashion and the Dundee gang scene.

A reminder of some of the small details of the Ben Sherman are the button on the back of the collar, the tag on the pocket and the folded pleat down the back underneath a loop. 

This kind of check pattern is called "Gingham" and there was a larger variant and a small version of it, the one in the photo being the middle size and most common. There was also a short sleeved shirt alternative.

They were as equally popular with girls as they were with the boys... and still dead smart in my opinion..!!

A classic garment of its time.

You can also get a reminder of the original Ben Sherman box in my July 2008 Archives.

THE WHO - CAIRD HALL - 1971

38 years ago today, The Who were blasting out their sound live on stage at the Caird Hall.

I would only be 13 around this time so still a bit on the young side to attend this gig.

I did manage to catch them live a few years later in 1976 over in Glasgow at Parkhead.

One quirky connection The Who has with Dundee is that in the mid 60's, Dundee gang - SHIMMY - named themselves after The Who track "Shout and Shimmy". The gang even managed to get Roger Daltrey to shout "Shimmy Rule" over the mic at a gig in Perth they went to! This was when they were Mods, The Who being one of the few bands who have been both Mods and Rockers!

MID 70'S AIR SHOT - DOUGLAS

To end part one of the aerial photo sequence, we now fly over one of my old hangouts, Douglas.
Another 2 schools on show here that haven't survived the passing of time. Bottom right is Balerno Primary, my school. The wee hoose to the left of the school in Balerno Street belonged to the Janitor, Mr Bowman. He was a friendly chap. Always good fun when he picked you out to help carry the crates of milk around all the classrooms.
The other school, centre right, is the old St Pius.
At the middle left of the photo, you can make out the flat roof of the shops in Ballindean Road. Been on top of there a few times, mostly to get our ba'. Borzoni's chippie was one of the shops we most visited.
Although I lived in Craigie, a lot of my schoolmates lived in Douglas, and one quirky thing I can recall from Douglas in the early 70's when we were secondary school age, was Dundee's "Magic Circle..!!". A mob would pick out a victim (usually a mate!), the mob would encircle him...and then commence to rough him up. The victim wouldn't get his head kicked in, but he would be on the end of kicks up the backside, dead legs, knuckles on the head, that kind of treatment. Although it ached, the victim would accept his fate without a fight, then once the ordeal was over, he would dust himself down and join back in with the mob. I've been on the receiving end and have dished it out. Organised bullying, with no damage done!

DUNDEE GANG KARAOKE - 1973

The 2 karaoke renditions below are to the tune of "This Old Man".

These chants were heard regularly in certain areas of Dundee back in the early 70's when teenagers were "mental" - and yet ruled!

The first, by the Fleet, I can remember being sung in and around Dens Park on match days.

The Toddy version was sung upstairs on the 26 bus and in Craigie High School playground.

Incidentally, MP George Galloway used to be in the Fleet.

He said in a radio interview that he recalled spraying "Lochee Fleet" on walls.

Nowadays he makes headlines in Fleet Street and puts the boot into politicians..!!

DUNDEE GANGS IN THE 1960'S

This rare piece of footage below shows some of the gang names that were kicking around the city in the 60's.

It was filmed between 1967 and 1969.

The graffiti includes the Shimmy - Huns - Cosmo and the Fleet.

There is also an interlocking "TS" ( The Shimmy - The Shams?).

I noticed 2 sets of letters as well - RNB and YRB, but not sure if they pertain to gangs or a persons initials.

Anyway, the main thing is, the originals are documented for posterity.

PANDA CARS AND BLACK MARIA'S

When panda cars first hit the scene on trial in England in the 60's, they started off with black & white markings, hence the nickname. However, when the rest of the UK adopted the panda's, they changed the colouring to light blue & white, although the nickname stuck.
Dundee had a fleet of Morris Minors (as in above photo) and then in the 70's I'm sure they changed to or added Ford Escorts.
Craigie, where I lived, had a small local Police Station beside the shops so we always saw them passing by on a regular basis. Still, despite being familiar with them, when we were primary school age, every time we saw one approaching from a distance, we always ended up hiding behind hedges or running up closies, even when we were just only playing in the garden.
It was a good bit of practise I suppose for our teenage years when they would come looking for us and it was time to scarper over walls & fences!
Black Maria's were black Police vans. A bit more sinister and always on the scene when there was serious trouble to deal with. Most often used at football matches. They would open up the back doors and just chuck you inside!
By the 1980's, panda's became extinct as the cars and vans were replaced with the white "jam sandwich" look.
Photo by the Scotsman. Tints by GG

MONKEY BOOTS - EARLY 70'S

Following on from my previous post, I thought I'd put a picture of Monkey Boots up for those who may have forgotten all about them. Very popular with Dundee's streetwise teenagers in the early 70's. They were worn by girls as much as the boys, and sometimes were considered to be a cheaper alternative to Doc Martens amongst gang types.
It also meant shoe shops did brisk business selling tins of Kiwi Ox Blood boot polish!

SANTA IN THE 70'S

What Santa didn't like about Dundee in the 70's was, having to change his outfit in every housing estate he visited - just to be on the safe side!
Here he is during a trip to Fintry in 1973.