DUNDEE'S 70'S BRAINIACS

1978 saw Dundee University win TV's "University Challenge".
The winning team above for the 77/78 series were - Tom McGhee - Isabel Morgan - Alistair Thomson - Enid Anderson.
I'm fairly sure this was the Dundee team who had a captain (so it would be Alistair) that answered every single music question that cropped up. What was amusing about it was he always supplied much more information in the answer than Bamber had written on his card, so generating a more enthusiastic applause from the audience each time!

The other quartet underneath is the Craigie High School "Top Of The Form" team of 1974.
This, however, was not the TV version or the radio version of the show, but a general knowledge contest between local secondary schools organised by the Dundee police.
In the photo, L to R - John Muir - Rab Gordon - Richie Robertson - Craig Methven.
CHS got through to the final but were beaten by those pesky swots at Morgan!
The Morgan winning team were - Kenneth Millar - Alex McMichael - Gwendoline Bowden - John Todd.
Thanks to Craig for the CHS snap.

CRAIGIE HIGH SCHOOL MAGAZINE - 1981

Now some pages from a 1981 Craigie High School magazine.

This issue covers the period from the end of 1980 to the beginning of 1981, and because 1980 was the 10th anniversary of the school, the first couple of pages take a look back over the decade. It refers to things like the first 300 pupils to attend CHS back in '70 (my mob) and also has a reminder of the 4 Houses that were set up in the early 70's. However, for some reason, CHS didn't retain the House system for very long.

Also news about new teacher arrivals and a couple of retirements, including Mr Higgins, the art teacher who designed the school badge.

The next couple of pages are an interview with Radio Tay DJ, Graham Stuart, the chit chat conducted by Mandy McQuire & Karen Conway.

Lastly, it's party time at CHS - 3 different parties in fact - first being a Fancy Dress Disco for Hallowe'en, followed by their Christmas Masquerade Ball, complete with visit from Santa, and finally another good night was had at the St Valentines Day Disco.

A few photos of the pupils in costume too - just click onto the pages to view the larger size.

I can tell the DJ played The Gap Band's "Oops Upside Your Head" anyway!!

Thanks to Neale Elder.

TRAINEE CHEFS AT KINGSWAY TECH - 80'S

Thought I'd pop this picture up of trainee chefs trying out their recipes over at Kingsway Technical College, sometime around the early/mid 80's - just on the off chance that one of you can spot someone you know.
This was the place to go for further training in your chosen profession - or for the unemployed to have a bit of a skive - this was the era of the YTS Scheme after all!
Wonder how many of the cooks in shot went on to have a successful career in the trade?
Anyway, the other reason for the photo was to lead in to a couple of days worth of food related material.
Tasty old adverts - yum yum!

WELLGATE LIBRARY IN THE 80'S

No idea if the Wellgate Library still looks the same these days, but this is how things were back in the 1980's.

Top image is of the Childrens Library - and judging by the pencil case setting, I think the kids may have been having "The Borrowers" read out to them at the time!

The other photo is a view of the general lending area, which I remember had a brilliant book of Picasso Linocuts that I kept going back to over and over again. Must see if I can buy a copy now that this has jogged my memory.

The advert is dated 1988 and is for the Video Libary, located in the main foyer.

Membership was free and for over 18's only. The content consisted of Hollywood blockbusters, TV shows, music, documentary, old Dundee and hobbies, with prices ranging from 50p to £2 per night.

TESCO IN WELLGATE - 1980

Here's a photo from 1980ish, around about the time Tesco moved into their Wellgate Centre premises.

I used to pop in here for their garlic bread in the early 80's, but I have never set foot inside a Tesco since!

Photo by DC Thomson.

GROSSETT'S OPENING DAY - 1978

2 days ago I put up film footage showing Grossett's (next door to The Hap) being demolished in the mid 70's, well here is their other shop further along Arbroath Road at Craigiebank shops, preparing for their grand opening on 15th May 1978.
The shop is still going strong, although it has since had a bit of a facelift.
Photo by DC Thomson.

HAPARANDA DEMOLITION - MID 70's

I have put up a couple of items on Retro in the past showing the buzz there was at the Haparanda in Arbroath Road - the haven for Dundee's fashionable youth in the 60's.

Well here below is some film footage showing the moment in the mid 70's when the building was demolished.

The shop to the right of The Hap was Grossett the butcher and Andrew G Kidd was the baker on the left of it on the corner of Baffin Street.

The area has of course since been rejuvenated into...er...a car park!

SHOWING UP AT WITCH'S BLOOD - 80'S

The photo on top is of the bearded Alain Breitenbach (AKA Legrand) having a chinwag with the hair chewing Al Hendrickx.

This image was captured behind the scenes at Dundee's large-scale local play - "Witch's Blood".

Which "Witch's Blood" the picture was snapped at, I'm not sure, the original took place in 1987, but as you can see from the other item, a "Witch's Blood 2" happened in 1988.

The article itself is asking if anyone, ANYONE, is interested in mucking in, to get in touch.

 

Photo by The Bear.

EDDIE'S STYLE CHANGE - 80'S

This is the same Eddie as seen in yesterdays items, only this time modelling a totally different hairstyle, where he seems to have gone for a John Lydon kind of look.

I just put this image up to subtly flow from fashion to hair, and to kick-start a few days worth of retro salon action!

Photo by The Bear.

PERTH ROAD'S CANADIAN SHOP - 80'S

Those of you who frequented places like the Centre Bar, Club Feet and other youthful dens in town in the 70's & 80's will probably remember (Fast) Eddie Donnelly.

Well after his first trade went bust, he opened up this fashion shop in the Perth Road, the clothing on the racks being stuff he imported from North America.

The shop may have been called Dan Rivers, not 100% sure, although that's a name that crops up on the funky interior design.

Eddies co-owner was George Craigie, and Billy Shaw helped out in the shop - this was sometime around the mid/late 80's period.

Photos by The Bear.

FROM BOTH ENDS OF MURRAYGATE - 1970

A couple of views from either side of the Murraygate snapped around 1970, give or take a year.

Some of the shops can be identified and others are too blurry to make out, but here's a rough guide to what's in the 2 shots.

Starting from the top left with Miss Lewis Boutique - Dolcis - House Of Hearing - Burton - John Collier - Terleys - Grafton's, and then it goes all hazy beyond the Woolies area viewing it from the Commercial Street end.

So nipping over to the Wellgate end, on the right is Jackson - Hepworth's - goes fuzzy again after that but could be the Scotch Wool Shop and Jax - then it's definitely Dunn and Stead & Simpson before reaching Woolies which is out of shot in its wee enclave.

On the left hand side is H & J Wilson - Woodhouse - Easiephit - Richardshops, then can't really make out much after that but Markies and the bank are in there, and I think it may be Goldbergs near the end.

I wouldn't mind knowing what was on these red & yellow posters up underneath the scaffolding - they look a bit trippy..!! Zooming in on them just adds to the blur unfortunately.

Anyway, I'm going to take my cue from the content of the photos - ie, mostly fashion shops - so I'm about to indulge in a few days worth of local stylish delights for another flashback down the Dundee catwalk!

Click on the images to see the enlarged versions.

Photos from Gordon C.

FOOD ART ACTION

A photo of Pete Horobin with another nude model, this time under the title - Food Art Action.

I think that's a rabbit - or maybe a baby ET..!!

Courtesy of The Attic Archive

STREET LEVEL - SAMPLE TRACK - 1981

Street Level were a band who emerged on the local music scene at the start of the 80's.
Their style of energetic pop combined with a good sense of humour had the band generally well liked. They certainly played plenty gigs around town anyway, as well as do their fair share of shows elsewhere around the country.
Line-up was - Callum McHardy, guitar - Jackie McPherson, vocal and occasional keyboard - Murray Tosh, bass - Bob Butler, drums.
After a good run, they called a halt in summer '81, with Jackie cropping up a short while later in an act called Just Little Boys, before she then went on to become more well known as the TV presenter/newsreader AKA Jackie Bird.
Meanwhile, Murray headed off for life down in Oz around that time too - and both Callum & Bob have since gone on to play in an ABBA tribute band.
Reversing back to the 1981 period, the photo above is of Jackie doing her thang on stage, and you can just catch a glimpse of Murray as well.
Also around this time, Street Level managed to get some tracks down on cassette, a sample of which you can hear below.
The track is called "Security City", a lively wee tune that may very well take some of you back to the old Tayside Bar & Galleon days!
Big thanks to Derek.

CLIFF RICHARD - CAIRD HALL - EARLY 70'S

This picture of Cliff Richard on stage at the Caird Hall, probably dates from around the 1972-74 period, judging by the clothing being worn anyway!
He has been to the Caird Hall a few times, but on one of his early 70's tours, he had Olivia Newton John as his guest - not sure if this photo is from that particular show.

THE PRIMITIVES ON FILM - 1969

Elsewhere on Retro Dundee I have mentioned the various musical escapades of 2 local musicians who often worked together - keyboard player, Mike Fraser, and drummer Robbie McIntosh.

Well R&B pop outfit, The Primitives, was one such band in which Mike & Robbie teamed up with, this being after their stint in The Senate. Although The Primitives were a British act, it was in Italy where they were best known and where oor twa spent their time with them, the band having an alternating residency at the fab & famous Piper Club in Rome, a venue visited by top name bands.

It was during this groovy time in their life that Mike & Robbie ended up in a movie, an Italian film made in 1969 called "Pensiero d'amore", footage of which I have below.

But before that, a quick word on the above photos...

Top one is a film shot of The Primitives.

Next one down with all the dancers is another film shot.

Third image was taken at a live gig.

And the last picture is a general publicity shot.

So, settle down, cut yourself a slice of pizza and enjoy this rare movie scene below.

To see Mike on keyboards and Robbie on drums, you'll need to ignore singer Mal, all the dolly birds, as well as the Mafia, and just concentrate on the background action!

I don't recall this movie showing at The Gaumont!!

Big thanks to Mike Fraser and Mac.

MISBEHAVIN' - PUB BAND - 1980'S

I've scoured every page of every issue of Cranked Up looking for a live review or some other article about pub rockers, Misbehavin', but to no avail. They did get a couple of name-checks in the passing, but the band's brand of rock covers didn't invoke anything substantial written about them when they were doing the pub/club circuit in the early 80's.
In the line-up we have - Bill Higgins - Chris Taylor - Nigel Brodie - Pete Sillars - Scott Martin.
Chris Taylor, who was a painter, illustrator & caricaturist, died earlier this year.

4 MYSTERY ACTS - 1980's

Here we have a sequence of photos that were taken at various venues in town around the mid/late 80's period, the acts of which managed to slip through the net undocumented. So I thought I'd throw this one open to you lot out there to see if you can identify any of the above - whether from memory or by research.

The top one featuring somebody sporting the cowgirl look - both the act and the venue needs to be known. Any ideas?

Next one down with the female trio, was taken at Sessions. Were they backing singers or the main act?

Third image is also at Sessions, this time featuring a jazz quartet. Recognise any of the musicians?

Lastly, this picture of another group of jazz musicians was snapped at The Rep. Difficult to tell from the back but I was wondering if the saxophonist on the left might be a young Tommy Smith? Can't say for certain though because of the camera position. Do you know who's in the line-up?

See how you get on anyway.

Photos by The Bear.

THE MEGAZONES AROUND TOWN - 1980'S

Elsewhere on Retro Dundee you'll find features on The Megazones single and a gig review, so now it's time to unveil the guys in action!

Here they are strutting their stuff around various venues in town during the 1980-81 period.

The band consisted of - Jim Farrell, lead vocal & guitar - Cliff (Smith) McAulay, bass - Iain Carnegie, guitar - and they had 2 different drummers, Kenny Farquharson and Kev Devlin.

Top picture is at the Tayside Bar, Seagate.

Middle snap is The Windmill, Hilltown.

Bottom image is in the YMCA up the Conshie.

All photos were taken by Ken Cummings.

You can backtrack on the previous posts via the search box where both Cliff and Kenny have supplied further details about the band.

Many thanks to Derek.

MYSTERY AUTHOR - 1980's

I'm going to have to rely on your assistance for this one.

The Bear sent me these photos of an author taken in Dundee around the mid/late 80's period, but he no longer has the details of who he is.
All the info I have is that he has a connection with local historian, Graeme Smith, and he has been featured in the Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
Anybody recognise him?

BALDOVIE CURLING POND - 1960'S

There may be quite a few of you who didn't know about this little patch of Dundee - it's Baldovie Curling Pond.
It was situated near the junction of Baldovie Road and Drumgeith Road.
Not really cold enough for the sport when this picture was taken in the 60's however!
Photo from Gordon C.