PETER USTINOV IN THE NETHERGATE

Here's a fine shot of Peter Ustinov having a wee chuckle to himself in the Nethergate.
The 2 shops in the background are the Civil Service Stores and Patterson's shoe shop.
Peter Ustinov was rector at University of Dundee from 1968 to 1974, the era the photograph was taken.
It's quite an amusing image because Peter was really world famous at the time, what with his numerous film awards, his plays, books, his witty one-man shows etc etc etc - a gigantic list of achievements and a colossal all-round entertainer - and here he is in the city centre with a bench all to himself, none of the locals aware of his presence!
Photo by DC Thomson.

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.

CAMPERDOWN PLAY PARK - 1985

One day in 1985, I went up to Camperdown Park with my camera with the intention of snapping some of the colourful autumn foliage on display. On my way there I passed this kids play area that I'd never seen before which seemed to be half adventure complex, half public art space.

The top picture has large ship shaped climbing frames in the background. I didn't discover until I read a Dundee guide book some time later that they represented the "Battle Of Camperdown". I've no idea who the 2 sculpted characters are supposed to be in the foreground but they look a bit on the depressed side to be in a kids fun zone!

Guaranteed to bring a smile though, were the leaping dolphin sculptures a bit further along - a couple of decades before the real thing started to re-appear in the Tay.

LOCAL GOLFING YOUNGSTERS

The top photo was taken in the early/mid 80's and has a bunch of youngsters trying out their golfing skills somewhere in Dundee. I'm not too sure which course it is they are on, Camperdown pitch & putt possibly. Anyway, if anyone can say for certain where the scene is taking place, or even recognise someone, feel free to pass on your knowledge.

The one below it I can definitely nail because that sporty looking chap is me! Yes that's yours truly in 1969 aged 11 playing on our championship course in our back garden. We turned the entire length of our lawn into a mini golf course, a 6 holer stretching from the side of the house, through the washing green and all the way down to the plot at the bottom lawn. It was mostly used for putting. One of the holes was located in front of a greenie pole which was like a giant flag pole and that allowed you to get great rebound shots!

For pitch & putt, some of the hazards were - the ball rolling under the shed, getting snagged in the hedge, rolling down the rockery onto the pathy slabs (out of bounds) or ending up in the plot amongst the rhubarb.

For real golf swing work-outs with a driver, being surrounded by housing, we had to use a plastic practise ball for obvious reasons. However, the inevitable happened one day when our mate had a go and gave one a full wallop, but he made the mistake of ignoring the guidelines and used a real golf ball - then it was CRASH..tinkle, tinkle - straight through the kitchen window!

Needless to say, golf was banned on our course for a short while afterwards.
That said, I didn't take up the sport at all - I've never set foot on any golf course!

The other image next to me is a toy my wee brother got for xmas, early 70's - Arnold Palmer's Pro Shot Golf. This was a great invention that had a miniature golfer on the end of a club handle, which, when you pulled a trigger mechanism, made the player swing and hit the ball. It came with various items such as sand traps, putting green, score cards and a set of clubs. Great fun.

By the way, the image of me and the toy box are not to scale..!!

WHITEHALL THEATRE AD - 1970

Let's find out what was going on at the Whitehall Theatre in April 1970...
First up was "The Lex McLean Show". Lex, you may recall, was a Scottish comedian/actor, full of Glasgow patter, who cropped up on the telly quite a lot around this period. Looks like he had a sizeable team with him for the Dundee performance.
Next was a musical called "Viennese Nights" featuring Marion Studholme.
A crime drama followed it, one entitled "Meet Mr Callaghan". This starred Neil McCallum who was in the TV series "Vendetta". Was he the brother of U.N.C.L.E. agent, David?
Final week had a local production running, "The Student Prince", an operetta presented by the NCR.
This ad appeared in the Courier on Saturday, 11th April 1970.

LAW TUNNEL LARKS - 70'S

You're guess is as good as mine as to whether these 2 lads are law-breakers up to no good, or law-abiding citizens doing some research on the Dundee to Newtyle railway line - whichever it is, this image of the pair was taken at the bricked up entrance of the Law tunnel, around the Kinghorne Road area, in the early 70's.
2 ghost train-spotters possibly?!

FUN IN THE OVERGATE - 1973

It's that Overgate sculpture again!

You may recall I put a couple of pictures up on Retro last month of the same piece of work, but because those photos were taken in the mid 80's, the structure was a bit drab looking and the surrounding shops nearing the end of their lives.

Well in comparison, here's what it was like when it was still kinda fresh - the artwork being put to good use by wee Leigh and co back in 1973.

The b & w shot below them was also taken in the mid 70's and shows the whole structure..

Although it's the work of Dundee artist, Iain Eadie, there's a hint of Ben Nicholson about the design!

According to my 1974 Dundee Directory, the name of the shop in the background was Brentford Nylons - but as you can see, it's actually just Brentfords. The company was technically called Brentford Nylons, so not sure why Dundee ended up with a shortened shop name.

Their slogan at the time was "Quality With A Conscience" - which makes it sound like you'd end up feeling guilty if you bought one of their expensive blouses!

Photos from Leigh, via Marky.

WILDCAT - BONAR HALL - 1988

Wildcat theatre company received this rave review in local mag, Street Life, in November 1988.
The show they put on at the Bonar Hall was for Wildcat's 10th anniversary, and they really went to town with their production of "Fancy Rappin'".
It was a storming satirical rock drama filled with a variety of music styles and the main theme being a typical 80's youthful pastime - putting the boot into Thatchers loadsamoney society!
Meriting a well deserved round of appaws..!!
You'll probably need to click on the image to read the large version.

BETTY & BOABY'S MACBETH - REP - 1988

There was a wee twist on The Scottish Play when Betty & Boaby presented their version of "MacBeth" at Dundee Rep in Jan/Feb 1988.

Betty being Elaine C Smith, and Boaby played by Tony Roper.

Both Elaine and Tony are well known Scottish celebs now, but Tony has been acting on stage in Dundee since at least the 70's, appearing at the Rep when it was still in Lochee Road, in plays such as - A VIEW FROM THE BRIDGE - THE RECRUITING OFFICER and THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING ERNEST.

He also directed a play at Lochee Rep back in 1977 - AN INSPECTOR CALLS - so he's no stranger to the city.

Local mag, Street Life, managed to have a wee chat with Elaine when she was at the Rep doing B&B's MacBeth, and the items above were the first of a 2 part interview spread over a couple of issues of the magazine in 1988.

It also contains a review of the play - and judging by the write-up, it sounded a bit of a hoot!
The 2 top items are, an original ad published in the local press and the original theatre programme.

Click on the images to read enlarged versions. 

MORGAN ACADEMY'S HMS PINAFORE - 1968

Dundee High School did Gilbert & Sullivan in the 60's, as did the Grove, and joining them was Morgan Academy who performed HMS Pinafore in their school hall in 1968.

Everything seems to have gone alright on the night, and along with the review of the show above, there are quite a few of the pupils named in the write-up too, so you may even be able to spot an old shipmate in there!

Click the review pages to read the enlarged versions.

JOANNA LUMLEY AT THE REP - 1980'S

Leaping forward a couple of decades from the old Rep in Nicoll Street to their purpose built theatre in Tay Square, here's a couple of plays featuring Joanna Lumley.

The first one is from March 1985 and is the Ibsen penned play - "Hedda Gabler".

The photo was taken at the Rep and has Joanna with actor, Richard Clews.

The second play is by Chekhov - "The Cherry Orchard" - and was running at the Rep in March 1989.

The review was written by our local cultural guide, Jock Ferguson, who seems to have found the pace of the play - Absolutely Ponderous!

Click on review to enlarge.

REP THEATRE - OUTSIDE & INSIDE

1st pic - This was the main entrance to the original Rep Theatre in Nicoll Street. It had been here since 1939 until a fire in May 1963 completely destroyed the interior, forcing the Theatre Company to move into new temporary premises in St Columbus church in Lochee Road, a picture of which can be seen in the January 2009 Retro archives.

2nd pic - This is part of a mural commissioned by the Rep and painted by the guy in the photo, Richard Demarco. It's called "The Spirit Of Culture Descending Upon Dundee" and features a selection of local landmarks compressed into a kind of semi abstract skyline of the city.

This was actually thought "lost" in the 63 blaze, but apparently it was rescued and stored away until as recently as 2004, when it was rediscovered!

3rd pic - This then is the aftermath of the '63 Rep fire. Not much remaining inside. The gal sitting in amongst the charred debris is a student member of the Rep, Norma Longmiur.

PHOTO FINISH REVIEWS - 1963

Not only was the original Rep programme for "Photo Finish" kept, but here are the original reviews too.

Top one is a photo taken at the Rep of the play in full flow which appeared in the Tele on 26th April 1963.

Under it is a caricature of 4 of the actors in the play, published in the Peoples Journal the same weekend.

Then 5 reviews for you to dip into, from the Courier, Scotsman, Tele, Glasgow Herald and Journal.

All the reviews have the exact same opinion of the play, giving it a big thumbs up, while sharing one wee criticism that they thought the play went on just a touch too long - running for 3 hours!

Click on reviews to read large version.

DUNDEE REP PROGRAMME - 1963

I have a few original 60's Rep Theatre programmes in my collection.

So plucking an example out for Retro, this one here is for a play written by Peter Ustinov called "Photo Finish", which ran for a couple of weeks in April 1963.

You may recognise a couple of the actors in the play who later went on to be well known faces on TV - namely Hannah Gordon and Glyn Worsnip.

Also, if you look closely, you'll see a young Brian Cox listed as being assistant stage manager.

The Rep Theatre back then was in Nicoll Street.

Talented all-rounder Peter Ustinov became Dundee University Rector a few years later in 1968, a position he held till 1974.

Then lo & behold, our very own Brian Cox was inducted into the same role just earlier this year!

Quite a versatile wee troupe!

You may need to click onto the images to read the large versions.

STOBSWELL FOOTBALL TEAM - 1972

Here's a typical school team photo dating from 1972. It's Stobswell Under 15's football squad.
The image is taken from a newspaper so it's not too sharp, but the line-up is, L to R back - McGill - McKenzie - Burke - Stuart - Holden - Stewart - Aitken.
front - McDonald - Grieve - Dyer - McGregor - Strachan.
Despite some of them being Douglas guys, I only recognise Dave McGill (top left) who I've had a few knockabout games of futba with around my area in the early 70's.
Not exactly sure who the headmaster would have been in 72, but 2 who were on the go in the early 70's were Mr Crowe and Mr McLeary.
There were also 2 different jannies during the same period, Mr Rothwell and Mr Stratton. Take your pick!
Thanks to Ali Strachan.

DRYBURGH PLAYGROUND - 1972

Dryburgh Primary School in Lochee, was visited by local journalist David Phillips in 1972.
He was informing the youngsters what kids from his childhood got up to for fun, including demonstrating the Gird & Cleek, a metal hoop toy that never made a comeback with later generations!
The school headmaster at the time would either be Mr Soutar or Mr Harvey, not sure of the exact year in the early 70's the change took place.
Same goes for the jannie, so it would either be Mr Kidd or Mr Simpson.
I have no names for the pupils, but I'm sure someone out there will recognise one or two!

GOING GUISING IN THE 60's

I remember going guising twice.
First attempt there was a big squad of us and so once the money was split we only made a few shillings each.
Next year, there was only 2 of us and we ended up making a few quid!!
The second year was the most interesting too because I took my guitar along with me. Although it was only me and my mate, we weren't a double act, we both sang different songs separately.
I chose a pop hit that was in the charts at the time - "Zabadak" by Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich. This was in 1967 when I was 9. The song started with a percussive intro, so to do that I played "bongo style" on the back of my guitar, and when the time came to burst into the music bit I quickly flipped the guitar back over to its normal position and proceeded to strum along!
My mates party piece was "Nobody's Child", going for the sympathy vote there!!
Anyway, a couple of hours around the block in Craigie and all that loose change became pounds by the end of the evening.

Should anyone be curious, here is a link to Zabadak - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEBFH9R3cg4

And if anybody wants to hae a wee greet, here's a version of Nobody's Child -http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tQ_j3FATQeo

As regards the night shot photo, well that's a view from my old bedroom window - 1973ish. It's Kemnay Gardens in Craigie looking over to Huntly Place.

ITCHY COOS

What was good about this primary school prank was, like the previous item, it was free, mithir nature provided the gear.

Pluck an itchy coo bud (real name Rose Hip), split it in half, remove the seeds (which were covered in fine fluffy fibres), and place down the back of your mates shirts. Watch them itch, scratch and squirm in class all day!!

BUZZ BLADES

This is something I'm sure everyone did when primary school age.
Get a large blade of grass, trap it in between the length of your 2 thumbs, then blow through the narrow slit between the thumbs. It makes a pretty good buzzing noise.
Best not to use sand-dune grass though. I tried it at Monifieth once and slashed my fingers trying to snap a blade off. As sharp as a Samurai sword!!

GUSSIE PARK CORNER - 1965

There is a picture of Gussie Park carnival in my October 2008 Archives from further up Fairbairn Street, this one here being down at the corner area.
Back in the old Teddy Boy days, they once held a Jivin' contest on the Dodgems floor! It took a little while for the city centre ballrooms to adjust to this young, rowdy, wild teenage scene called Rock'N'Roll, so Gussie Park was one of the first places in Dundee where you could listen to & dance to the music.
In the 60's, I remember there being a huge "MAFIA" piece of graffiti on the perimeter wall, but this corner area in the photo seems to have got off lightly. However, the building on the other side of the park, in front of the Tannadice stairs, has got a large "King Billy" painted on it's wall. Yes it was pots of paints in those days, not spray cans. You'll need to zoom in though.
When I went to the carnival in the 70's, there was definitely more stuff on offer than there is in this shot. It used to fill the entire area. Eh mind being on the Big Wheel for example.
Look at the overgrown shrubbery on the back slope at Tannadice. When you got fed up of the futba on the pitch, you could go look for birds nests..!!
Click on the picture to have a look around the large version.
Photo by D C Thomson.