NME FASHION ADS - 70's/80's

On the occasions when you couldn't always find what you were looking for in Dundee shops (which was quite often) and you couldn't always afford to go to London to indulge, then the mail order pages in music papers were a good alternative.

The ones above are all from old NME's I have, so let's tuck in...!!

The top ad is dated 1978 and features gear with a distinctly early 70's look - rugby shirt, cheesecloth shirt, embroidered kurta, loons and smock top.

The next 4 ads are all from 1981 and include a mish-mash of punk, new romantic, rock, new wave and soul boy gear, items such as - PVC breeks, denim jacket, bomber jacket, patch jeans, hardcore punk vest, jack boots (with the ad saying that they make Dr Martens look like ballet shoes!), stud belt & wristband, deck shirt, colonial shirt, Syrian scarf, cavalry shirt, regency shirt, leopard print trousers, stripy jeans, Bowie suit, pirate shirt, boating trousers, army surplus, Hawaiian shirt, tukker boots, and plenty more examples in amongst them.

The last one is dated 1985 and already there seems to be a bit of a retro thing going on in their ad with their mohair jumper, bondage trousers, gas cape, ski goggles, buckle boots, creepers and such like.

I'm sure some of you will have spotted your particular look!

I used to send for the odd item using this mail order route. One from around the 1981/82 period being a "Dread At The Controls" T-shirt. It was pertaining to Mikey Dread's radio show - and I wore that for years!!!

I remember Joe Strummer used to wear one too.

So anyway, it seems quite appropriate to include it here.

Click onto the ads to have a closer inspection.

SOME QUICK SPURTS STUFF - 1978

"Dundee's most original New Wave band" - yes that's how The Quick Spurts presented themselves in 1978.

Those involved were Colin Ramsay - Gordon Walker - Forrey Rosscraig - George Barrie - with Gerry Mitchell taking over from Abe McIntosh.

The ticket for the Ardler Community Centre gig with Flux as support, took place on 14th April 1978, and the photos under it were all taken at this gig. You've got to smile at the stepladder being part of the stage decor!

At another Quick Spurts gig in St Andrews University, Gerry was dragged off the stage by some bikers and Colin waded in with his guitar to try rescue him! That's one way for your guitar skills to have an impact on your audience I suppose!!

The band split up soon after, the news cropping up in a fanzine called Kingdom Come, and Colin moved down to London where he joined Afflicted.

Big thanks to Colin Ramsay.

THE VOICE - ISSUE 1 - 1982

This is the first issue of Dundee fanzine, The Voice.

It started up after the demise of Cranked Up. In fact, this was supposed to be Cranked Up #19, but when Jock Ferguson stepped down as ed of Cranked Up at #18, he took the name with him, and so leading to the birth of The Voice.

It covered similar subject matter as Cranked Up, the local music scene, theatre, poetry, politics and so on.
However, the content of this first issue does solve one mystery which has cropped up on a few of Retro's comments in the past - "When did Club Feet open?". The answer - 1982.

I did wonder why Club Feet never got a mention in any of the Cranked Up's...but now I know...Club Feet appeared just as Cranked Up disappeared!

By the way, the TSB is the Tayside Bar - not the local bank!!

Big thanx to The Bear

THE GRIP - CLUB FEET AD

An ad from 1983 for The Grip playing at Club Feet.
Club Feet was part of the Tay Centre set up in Dock Street and was the upstairs nightclub previously called Junction 9, with the Club Feet transformation taking place in 1982.
Talking about 9 and looking at The Grip ad - 9 on stage must have been a bit of a squeeze!
Thanks to DD

PIGS ARE CUTE

Formed out of the spare ribs of The Scrotum Poles, Pigs Are Cute became part of Dundee's alternative music scene around 1982. Ditching the Scrotes punky sound they opted for a fresher, new wave presentation, both musically and in appearance. The 4 chaps hogging the limelight were - Craig Methven - Glen Connell - Neil Smillie & Kevin Devlin.
Typical gigs would be the Tayside Bar with Persian Rugs, or further afield in Arbroath with Pulsebeat Plus, a show that had Sounds music journalist, Johnny Waller in attendance.
They also managed to get 3 of their tracks recorded at Inner City Sound Studios, one of which you can hear below, called "Our Father", a tune that hints at the early 80's sound of moody Manchester.

THE FOUNTAIN - BROWN STREET - 1980'S

The Fountain Disco opened in November 1983, not long before rivals Fat Sams opened in fact.
It was a bit of a trendy place playing new wave, pop and disco.
This was the first club in Dundee to have lasers as part of the lightshow, and together with over-active dry-ice and bubble machines, made the dancefloor area a real visual treat when in full flow.
One of the DJ's was, Quincey McAdam, who used to DJ down at Londons Camden Palace.
Large video screens were up around the place, and with this being the era of over-the-top pop promo vids, they would show the likes of Duran Duran, Michael Jackson and Frankie Goes To Hollywood.
There were 2 lounges and 3 bars which meant there were areas other than the dancefloor to indulge in.
It put on the odd live act too. I remember seeing the brilliant Bristol reggae band Black Roots play here in 1984.

The ad under the photo is for when The Fall were also due to play here in '84, but the gig venue was changed to rivals Fat Sams!

The other ad is just a general one showing their extended weekend action and is from summer 1984.
It had a "No Jeans" rule on certain nights, and I recall on one unplanned visit, I was the only one in my crowd who was wearing jeans and so wasn't expecting to get in. I queued up anyway, and when the time came for me to step through the door the bouncer did his "Sorry, no jeans" routine. Improvising off the top of my head, I found myself saying "They're not denim, they're blue canvas". He stood staring at them bamboozled for a couple of seconds and said "Aye OK, in ye go!".
And that's how to outsmart the smart dress code..!!

STREET LEVEL ON STAGE - 1980

Dundee band, Street Level, played plenty of gigs on their home turf of course, but here's a snapshot that captured the band in action when they were playing in Crieff High School.
This was their second performance in Crieff in a month.
They were so popular first time out, they were asked backed, and when they did, it was reported as being a "triumphant return"!
Not an exaggeration - at the end of the performances, the locals mobbed the band, wanting autographs & photos, and the gigs made headline news too!
These 2 gigs took place in October & November 1980.

HEADBOYS AD & INTERVIEW - 1979

This full page advert in the music press is from November 1979,  and sees The Headboys album getting an epic promotional push by Our Price record shops in London.

The album went straight in at number 42 in the Our Price chart that week.
Dundee didn't have an Our Price store back then, so any locals interested in the stores offer would have to travel to indulge!

Underneath the ad is an interview with main man, George Boyter.

This was published in a Middlesbrough newspaper in Sep 1979.

Click items to enlarge.

THE HEADBOYS - SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME - 1979

So, formerly called Badger, The Headboys have now added Bob Heatlie (from Edinburgh) on sax to the line-up and once more commence releasing records. Their debut "The Shape Of Things To Come" came out in the Summer of 1979. It was a hit in the UK and USA becoming one of the many "new wave" records that were on the increase in the mainstream pop charts at the time.

You can watch the lads perform this single on Youtube.

They also released an album the same year and extracted another couple of follow-up singles from it, but they didn't receive the same amount of attention. Around the beginning of the 80's the band split, with Calum Malcolm going on to work with well know Scottish act The Blue Nile.

Here below is their summer single...

BLOOMERS IN 1979

Bloomers nightclub opened its doors in October 1978, following on from its short-lived predecessor, Samantha's, in South Tay Street.
Although it was a disco in the main, it also hosted a decent batch of gigs in 1978/79 when punk & new wave music were coming on strong.
Examples of some acts who have performed there are - The Scars, Valves, Monos, Skids, Shake, UK Subs, Radio Stars, Pallas, etc.
Other bands who have played there are the 3 mentioned in the items above, who cropped up in fanzines in summer '79.
July saw local outfit, The Visitors, perform. Unfortunately, although the band got a good review, the guy who came through from Edinburgh to see them was a bit disappointed with the Dundee crowd!
Also in July, Glasgow act, Zones, visited Bloomers. They had done a couple of radio sessions on John Peel's show by this time and had released singles too.
August then had London Zoo play there. They were an English band who were signed to Scottish record label, Zoom. They were on the same bill as Angelic Upstarts for this gig.
Bloomers closed its doors in August 1979, and 6 months later, the building was destroyed by fire.

DUNDEE RELATED FANZINES - 70'S & 80'S

Some of the above fanzine titles may be familiar to a few of you who indulged in keeping track of Dundee's music activity in the 70's and 80's.

Some of the above fanzine titles may not be so familiar due to the short lifespan they had when they were on the go.

I'll supply the lowdown on them anyway as I have a few in my collection.

Most are Dundee based, but a couple are Dundee / Edinburgh combos...

THE VOICE - started up in 1982 as a kind of splinter 'zine when Cranked Up ceased. At least 3 issues.

CRIPES - started up in summer 1977 as a newsletter for Bruce's Record Shop with over 110 issues.

LE SINISTRE - started up in June 1981 and ended in July 1981 after only 2 issues.

FALLING AND LAUGHING - started up in 1983. Unsure how long it lasted but 5 issues at least.

SWEET TV TIMES - started early 80's to promote the activities of The Junkies. Unsure how long it lasted.

MEN FROM SOYA - started and ended in 1980 after only 1 issue (as far as I know).

PROCESS - started and ended in 1981 after only 1 issue.

VEX [VEKS] - started around early 80's mostly to promote Vex's own band(s) and opinions. Unsure how long it lasted.

CRANKED UP - started up in July 1981 and ended in July 1982 after 18 issues.

HARD COPY - started in summer 1982 by local music journalist, Bob Flynn. Unsure how long it lasted but issue 1 exists.

DEADBEAT - started up in August 1982 and ended in 1986 after 33 issues.

S'PUNK (It's Punk) - started up late 70's. Unsure how long it lasted but 13 issues at least.

HERE COMES EVERYBODY - started up around 81/82. Unsure how long it lasted but 4 issues at least.

Another local fanzine planned in 1982 was "The Buck Stops Here" (or There). Issues published?

There was also word of another fanzine starting up in 1982 called "A Junk Bag". Issues published?

If anyone knows of any other Dundee based fanzine (or fanzines where Dundee was mentioned regularly) feel free to pass the info on.

Should anyone like to share copies they have, again, feel free to get in touch.

I made all the ones I have available online for download in PDF format.

You can find them all on a fanzine archive website called Word From Dundee.

Here's the link...

Dundee Fanzine Archive

GG