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 CRASH CREW - 1989

This is the full rave package..!!
The ravers - the DJ's - the 12's - the fashion - the smiley - the graffiti.
It's the Crash Crew in the summer of '89 in the Overgate.
Thanx to JG

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

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!

A WORD IN YOUR EYE...

Sometimes, what was on the outside of your school jotter was more interesting than the content inside.
We used to scribble our favourite pop groups and football teams in various styles. I can recall 3 lettering styles in particular we used in the late 60's at primary.
The top one has balloon-like letters, each one slightly hidden behind the next. They were often used in hippie designs such as albums & badges, or crop up in pop magazines like Fabulous 208.
The middle style needed a bit of working out. You started with blank squares - 6 in this example - then you'd fill them in using just a simple straight line to represent the gaps in letters. Some letters were pretty tricky to do though - T, P & Q - I didn't like them! This grid system was also used as a puzzle in some comics, like in Beano's "Teaser Time".
The bottom technique with the words bursting out from infinity, was seen in pop graphics too, such as The Beatles "Help" poster and a more psychedelic version in the Magical Mystery Tour film.
As for remembering the stuff inside the jotters - DUHHH!!!!!

80'S KINGSWAY GRAFFITI - JIMBO

This piece of work is by the AUA (Ardler United Artists).
The fact that it's part of a Kingsway flyover means it would be a pretty tough venue to get this done, having to avoid the volume of passing traffic. A couple of night-time commando raids needed to accomplish it no doubt!
The graffiti was put down around 1984/85, but after all that effort, in the end, the artist got busted for it!
Big thanks to Lyken.

OH FOR FOX SAKE...MORE 80'S GRAFFITI

Still up at the Kingsway flyover - mid 80's - and the Ardler United Artists with Fox On The Run.
"Scarper, it's Vixen of Dock Green!" (an old school joke!)
Thanx to Lyken.

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.

GANGS OF DUNDEE BOOK

This book, written by Gary Robertson, gives a terrific insight into Dundee's gang culture which was rampant in the 1960's/70's/80's. Detailing the background behind the rise of the first fully formed mobs in the 60's, recounting the bloody battles of the mental 70's and discovering the new casual crews of the 80's.
The book is loaded with city references from that era, the shops, pubs, football and of course the housing schemes, as ex gang members give graphic accounts (in broad Dundee lingo) of their involvement, such as the scraps at the Palais, the rumbles at Gussie Park, the futba violence and the turf wars. Plenty information on the cult clothing that was worn too...even a guide to jersey colours.
So whether you want to reminisce or learn about what the hell the Huns, Fleet, Toddy, Shams and the rest got up to, this is where you'll find out. It will make you cringe and laugh in equal measure as it uncovers this unique period in Dundee's history.

SCROTUM POLES GRAFFITI - 1980

Dundee's D.I.Y. funsters, The Scrotum Poles, made their own cassette covers & record sleeves, so I suppose advertising their own band name in a pend in Bell Street seemed quite natural.

Circa 1980.

DUNDEE GRAFFITI IN THE 60'S

Way before there was stylized graffiti as it has become today, and even before the abundance of gang graffiti in the 70's, Dundee was still being tagged upon.

In the 60's, chalk and stones were most commonly used for the swift tag, usually by those who were school aged.

For the older and more daring, a pot of paint and a brush were the tools used to get the job done. Gangs like SHIMMY (above), HUNS & COSMO were on the go, and I remember there was a huge MAFIA painted on Gussie Park wall.

Political slogans were also daubed in paint. I recall "NO POLARIS" and the "Ban The Bomb" CND symbol splashed on the walls in Exchange Street and under the rail bridge at Riverside (above).

Another method was to "etch" into a wall with something sharp.

There were examples of this technique along the length of the Riverside wall. Basic stuff like "We luv the Beatles", grooved like gouged tree trunks?

Anyway, by the early 70's when aerosols and felt pens were made commercially available, these took over, and are still the main gear used today.