DUNDEE PINTA PEOPLE - 1960'S

In the early 60's, the Milk Marketing Board had a very catchy advertising slogan on the go that went - DRINKA PINTA MILKA DAY. It was used on TV, bill boards, magazines etc and in fact, the actual word pinta has since gone on to become part of everyday language.
The photo of the city centre above dates from the early 60's too, the entire square being used as an outdoor cafe, complete with wooden chalet and serving area, and on top of the stripy canopy it has the very same slogan.
As the 60's progressed, so did the advertising concept, developing variations on the pinta theme such as introducing Pinta People (Pinta Girls, Pinta Men), the idea being that if your were one of the Pinta People you'd be healthy, cool & trendy, in keeping with 60's swinging London!
They later came up with a similar slogan to the original which can be viewed in the TV ad below, which dates from around the mid/late 60's. This time they have it as - A PINTA PER PERSON PER DAY.
Photo by DC Thomson.

WHAT'S ON THE TELLY? - XMAS 1973

The photo was taken at our house in Kemnay Gardens in December 1973. I'd be 15 at the time so still at Craigie High.

I can at least tell you what was physically on the telly anyway.

The Xmas decoration is a red reindeer with a wicker sleigh filled with baubles. It used to belong to my gran. We still have it in our family to this day, and it gets put out on display each Xmas.

Our groovy fibre-optic light wasn't part of the Xmas decor, it was just one of the everyday house items. It was very modern at the time of course, but now it looks quite kitsch!

We were on our 2nd colour tv by '73 but I haven't got a clue what programme is on in the picture. Wouldn't mind knowing after all these decades. Anybody think they know what it could be?

To help you drag your mind back to that era, underneath the photo is the tv listing for Sunday 16th December 1973. It's from the Sunday Post. You may need to click onto the image to read the larger version.

No 24 hour tv back then, BBC 2 not starting till middle of the afternoon!

There are quite a few of these shows on Youtube. For example you can relive the intro to Elephant Boy...(KALAAAA!!)... or catch Barbara Streisand singing a song from her show.

One programme which would be of interest to many Dundonians that day was Scotsport. This hour & a half edition featured highlights from the Scottish League Cup final - Dundee winning the trophy beating Celtic 1-0.

Not only was I at this game, I now have some footage from that very edition of Scotsport in my own personal collection!

LOWLAND FOLK AND THE MEDIA #2

2 items relating to the release of Lowland Folk's single - "Discovery".

The top one is a review which appeared in the Courier's "Pop File" on 18th December 1986, and tells you a bit about the record and it's link to the Dundee Heritage Trust.

Below it is a letter written by band member, Anne Brown, which was sent to the Producer of the Derek Jameson Programme on BBC Radio 2, and dated 26th January 1987.

It contains details about the single along with the fact that it was getting plenty of airplay on Scotland's radio shows, and so felt that if it was to be played on national radio, the extra publicity would help raise funds to go towards the ship's restoration.

It also adds that Lowland Folk were to be performing at London's Royal Albert Hall in March that year.

A bit of a jump from the Woodlands Hotel!

Click items to enlarge.

DUNDEE REPORTERS v GLASGOW BBC - 1967

Here's an account of a football game that wouldn't have made the headlines next day!
It was a media challenge match between a Dundee DC Thomson's squad and a team from Glasgow's BBC TV & Radio.
The battle took place in 1967 at Maryhill with Dundee running riot in a 7-2 victory.
DCT wore classic DFC strips and the Beeb were in Celtic's colours.
Mary Marquis was doing the "fair play" honours!
Click on the image to view the large version and read all about it.
The full DCT squad is named.

GRAMPIAN TV IN DUNDEE

Grampian TV's first presence in Dundee was in October 1965 when they opened up their premises next door to the Angus Hotel in the Marketgait. They remained there until the mid/late 70's and then they moved to a grander location at Albany House in Broughty Ferry.

When at Albany, they became the first Independent TV studio in Britain to change from film to video, that was around 1978/79.

Here's 2 ads...

The top one is from the late 70's and the one below it is from the mid 80's and has the 2 main presenters - Ron Thompson & Alan Saunders - it also includes some of their colleagues who worked behind the scenes.

Grampian TV's name ended when it came under the general banner of STV just a few years ago.

Click on the images to view the large versions.

AWB ON OGWT - 1973

Here's some behind the scene shots of the day Average White Band made their debut on the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973.
The top one is the episode board with the countdown timer and the info stating that it's AWB's 1st take.
The middle photo is the band in full flow in the studio.
The third image is the control room where programme producer, Mike Appleton, is keeping an eye on the monitors etc.
AWB performed 2 tracks and shared the show with other acts, but a few years later, AWB got the show all to themselves when OGWT broadcast them live in concert.
Talking about behind the scenes, when AWB were recording their debut on OGWT, Dundee drummer Robbie, said he'd had enough and he wasn't doing the show.
The reason was that they were told they had to mime the tracks, which meant the drum-kit had to have plastic cymbals fitted and foam pads placed on the drums.
They did manage to tape the show after a couple of takes and everyone was pleased, except Robbie that is, who had to be led away pretty pissed off!

MYSTERY SCHOOL PICTURE #1

I have 2 Dundee school photos coming up next, both needing a bit of extra information to make the pictures complete. I've got some of the details, but will require some assistance from you knowledgeable ones out there to help piece them together. 1 photo each from the 60's & 70's, starting with this one from the 1960's.
The info I have so far is that this is Kirkton parading the "Top Of The Form" trophy.
Most of you should remember the Top of the Form quiz show, where 2 secondary school teams battled it out. There were 2 versions of the show, one on radio and one on TV. The BBC TV archives have an episode listed - a Quarter Final round featuring Kirkton v Tavistock (Devon), dated December 1967. This photo is dated 1968, so I guess it could be the same team having just won the final of that particular series. Anyone got any definite facts to accompany the photo?
To jog your memory, below is the TOTF theme tune.
Photo by the Scotsman.

Since writing this caption above, the mystery has been solved. The photo is indeed Kirkton with the "Television Top Of The Form" trophy.

The tall guy parading the prize is pupil, Gordon Cobban.

The other teamsters are - Michael O'Rourke, Fiona Anderson & Morag Smith.

RADIO TIMES - 18 AUGUST 1966 #3

Some of the other shows on that night were, Top of The Pops with Pete Murray. One of the rare episodes I missed out on. I can tell you though that The Beatles were at #1 at the time with their double A-side single "Eleanor Rigby/Yellow Submarine".
I remember I used to watch Adam Adamant Lives, the Victorian swordsman living in 60's swinging London! It has since gone on to achieve the "Cult TV" tag.
Dusty Springfield had the Dudley Moore Trio on her show, a jazz act with a touch of humour I recall.
The Radio Times back then only covered BBC programmes in the magazine so I've no idea what ITV had on offer.
Click image to read large version.

RADIO TIMES - 18 AUGUST 1966 #2

So a little look at that days tv schedule...
The Tay Road Bridge live coverage was on from 11:35 to 12:30, with another half hour of edited highlights broadcast after the teatime news. Tom Fleming was doing the commentary.
I never saw any of the evenings telly because as I explained yesterday, I was away having a very slow trip across the bridge and didn't get back until after 10pm!
Click on image to read large version.

RADIO TIMES - 18 AUGUST 1966 #1

Somebody mentioned in yesterdays comments that they remember watching the Tay Bridge opening ceremony on tv. Well it was indeed televised and as you can see the event made the front cover of the Scottish edition of Radio Times.

EUROVISION - PEELY & HUTCHIE FAE DUNDEE

Another John Peel memory with a wee Dundee link I can recall, comes from the late 80's.
Peely was involved in covering the Eurovision Song Contest for radio which this particular year was the turn of Switzerland or Sweden to host.
During the programme he interviewed a guy called David Hutchison, who, although I can't remember his exact role, was one of the main organisers of the event. As the interview went on, I suddenly had the feeling that I recognised the voice, and thought it sounded like "Hutchie", a guy who used to live around the corner from me in Craigie, and who was in my class at Balerno as well as Craigie High. I remembered my mum knew his mum, so I asked her, the next time she saw Hutchie's mum, see if she could confirm it was David on the radio. It turns out it was him and he had been involved behind the scenes in the Eurovision contest for quite a while. His mum also revealed the extra info that David got paid £24 a minute for the Peel interview. A nice little earner!!
If you happen to read this, David, feel free to drop some details into the comments.

THE POOR SOULS - LIVE - MID 60'S

Dundee band The Poor Souls formed in 1964.
Band line-up : DOUGIE MARTIN bass - CHICK TAYLOR guitar & keyboards - JOHNNY "Hudson" MORAN guitar - JOHN CASEY drums. All 4 did vocals.
Locally they played at venues such as the Chalet and the Palais but often the band would be based down South, where the above photo was taken.
In addition to recording 2 singles, one on ALP and the other for Decca, the band also appeared on the TV pop show, Stramash. The TV guide above, dated January 1966, shows it was broadcast at 6:30 at teatime.
They performed 2 songs, and I have an exceedingly rare audio recording taken from that very show.
So below are the lads on Stramash, getting the crowd going with a track called "He's Just a Playboy".
Big thanks to Mac & PH.

APRIL FOOL OR RETRO FACT?

In the early 70's, a bunch of Dundee school kids organised a protest march across the Tay Road Bridge one Saturday afternoon.
So what triggered these youngsters to make banners and come out in force to demonstrate their grievance? An increase in schooling hours? Too much homework? The cost of school dinners?
Nope, the culprit was Scooby-Doo, or rather, the removal of the TV series from their television screens. In true Dundee cartoony tradition, the main issue on kids minds was why the powers that be had taken their favourite TV show off the air! Needless to say, this unique event made the local papers, and it is probably the only time that the famous cry of "Scooby-Doo, where are you?" has actually been heard in real life!

To find out if this is an April Fool or Retro fact, click the comments link.

RADIO TAY'S JAZZY GRAPHIC

This funky little jazz band illustration was to be found on Radio Tay's envelopes back in the early 80's. If you were lucky enough to win tickets in one of their competitions for example, you'd receive them in an envelope with this artwork printed on it. I don't think all of Radio Tay used it, I reckon it was probably only Alan Steadman who did. This is who the above one came from anyway.
Alan's show "Jazz Waves" has gone on to become Scotland's longest running jazz programme.
Unfortunately, I can't make out the artist's signature, so don't know who drew it.

LOWLAND FOLK FOUR with BRIAN COX - 1966

This is taken from the Radio Times, dated 17th August 1966. A 40 minute documentary on BBC1 featuring an unusual Dundee double act... music performed by local band Lowland Folk Four and narration supplied by a budding young actor called Brian Cox.
I was only 8 years old when this was broadcast. Unfortunately I have no memory of the programme, but from what I gather the content consisted of a tour around Dundee, old and new, set to music. If anyone remembers anything about it feel free to drop the details into the comments. Or, if someone out there has an actual copy of it, do let me know.
Click on the image to enlarge it to read.

CUT MAGAZINE - LATE 80'S

Cut mag cropped up in the magazine racks in 1986.
It was a Scottish based publication - a tabloid sized paper rather than an A4 glossy magazine.
Youth culture was its content, with most of it being music related.
So it covered the alternative/indie scene in the main, together with a touch of pop, jazz, dancefloor and world music in the mix.
There were record reviews, interviews, live gig reviews, new Scottish acts to watch out for, a gig guide and charts.
The other topics it indulged in were cinema, books, art, theatre, fashion, politics and a wee dash of sport.
Glasgow & Edinburgh were it's main focus needless to say, but Dundee got a look-in too.
The snippets I've put up are the kind of local info the mag supplied - for example, features on Dundee bands such as Plastic Surgery, Sweden Thru The Ages, Let's Evolve, My Brilliant Obsession, Sandflowers and The Poison Boyfriends.
There's also a typical review of a gig that took place at Fat Sams, with local act Wildhouse and guests The Hook 'n' Pull Gang.
Cut unfortunately, had a fairly short shelf life, as it ceased publication in 1989.

RADIO TAY'S FIRST DAY - 1980

Radio Tay began broadcasting across the local airwaves on the morning of 17th October 1980. The station's opening announcement was made by Gerry Quinn who also had the honour of playing the first ever record.
Here below is that very first introduction to the new station, complete with debut jingle!

DUNDEE DEMO #3 - DANNY WILSON

The 3rd in the wee series of demo's from Dundee is taken from a 10 inch ep conveniently called "The Dundee Demo's", by local band, Danny Wilson. This was a limited edition released in the late 80's, each one individually numbered. There is 1 remix on it and 3 original demo recordings, and I've chosen the demo track "Steam Trains To The Milky Way" to accompany a little video I stitched together featuring some old moody footage from around the city.

LYON STREET IN THE 80's

This is how Lyon Street looked back in the 1980's. A typical Dundee street that you would pass without giving it a second glance.
In the early 80's, however, something was brewing at number 39.
A wee social gathering of creative musicians were busy producing acts who would go on to record some classy alternative pop music. This is where Billy Mackenzie & Alan Rankine of The Associates were living back then, along with a few others. In amongst the others were Christine Beveridge & Steve Reid who went on to record as Orbidoig, releasing a couple of singles.
A cross-pollination of The Associates & Orbidoig then created a 3rd act called... 39 Lyon Street. They too released a single - "Kites" - which was a cover of the Simon Dupree hit from the psychedelic 60's.
The article under the photo is the band getting a debut mention in an NME dated June 1981.
Below, is rare footage of Billy singing an acoustic version of "Kites" on French TV.
The original vhs tape was a bit mashed, but it's well worth watching anyway.

RADIO TIMES COVER - Nov 1983

The Caird Hall made it onto the cover of the Radio Times when the film "An Englishman Abroad" was broadcast on BBC - 29th Nov 1983. The cover also shows Alan Bates who played the role of spy, Guy Burgess, in the play written by Alan Bennett. The film was directed by John Schlesinger. They also filmed some scenes inside the Caird Hall and around Exchange Street.