SP&S RECORD WAREHOUSE - 1970's

 

The SP&S record warehouse opened in Coldside Road in 1975.

It specialised in vinyl & tapes that had been deleted, but were all brand new, not second-hand.

This was specifically for the retail trade, not general public, and they supplied shops all over Scotland, not just Tayside.

The business didn't last too long, however, as the Dundee depot didn't get beyond the 70's.

These 2 ads date from 1975 & 1976.

If you want to read the ad info - just click them to enlarge.

ROCKPILE RECORDS - 1980'S

3 adverts for Rockpile Records published in local fanzines in 1982.

A neat wee shop, selling a mixture of new and second-hand records.

Very aromatic too I remember!

I never actually bought any records from there mind you, my visits were only when I was off-loading parts of my collection from time to time.

And, it was also the only shop in town who dared to sell bootlegs!

DESPERATE DAN x STEELY DAN - 1974

The sight of 2 well known Dans teaming up together for an advert, cropped up in the national music press in March 1974.
Yes it's Dundee's Desperate Dan carrying an album by U.S.A.'s Steely Dan.
It could be interpreted as Dan stealing the LP, giving it a visual pun (stealy Dan), especially as it may also be a rogue Dan (bolts in the neck?!).
Anyway, it's quite amusing, and I remember buying Pretzel Logic too.
If I incorporate a 3rd Dan onto the scene, Dundee's Danny Wilson, some of you will know that they were somewhat inspired by Steely Dan's music.
In fact, they even released an EP in the late 80's which gave a bit of a nod to Pretzel Logic - cheekily calling it Strepzil Logic!

JJ RECORDS - UNION STREET - 1984

JJ Records was a rather short-lived little independent record shop that opened for business around 1983/84.
It was located in Union Street and was run by Jim Stewart, ex Bruce's manager.
I also have a memory of Rob Adams from Forbes working there too alongside Jim, but not sure if he was there full-time or if he was just helping out temporarily.
I remember buying the odd record from here as well as getting tickets for gigs and such like.
Don't recall how long exactly the shop lasted but I don't think it went beyond the mid 80's.
The photo above was taken in 1984.

The advert is dated 1986 and is an example of JJ's getting involved with the local Northern Soul Scene.

UNIT 47 MAGAZINE - 1980'S

Unit 47 was a Scottish music magazine that hit the racks in 1984.

In fact it actually described itself as half magazine half fanzine and covered the alternative music scene mostly, but it also made room for a touch of jazz and rock.

Although there were a few pages given to well known English acts, the magazine's main focus was Scottish bands, as indicated by Roddy Frame, Fiction Factory & The Cocteau Twins on the covers above.

Lots of space was used spreading the word about unknown bands, as well as supplying demo tape reviews.

It also had stuff like gig reviews, fashion, cinema and special features such as the lowdown on recording studios.

One of the contributors was Dundee music journalist, Bob Flynn, who managed to get a full page feature on the Tayside Bar, including an interview with boss, Brian Sinclair.

Unit 47 also gave away a flexi with issue 1.

The 3 above are dated Feb/Mar, April & June 1984.

I'm uncertain how long the mag lasted however.

ALP RECORD ADVERTS - 1966

These 3 ads for Andy Lothian's ALP Records were all published around summer / autumn in 1966.
The releases were kind of split into 2 categories - the pop/blues/folk/jazz stuff and the traditional Scottish material.
Some Dundee acts were involved needless to say - The Poor Souls, Peter & Alison, John Huband and Andy Lothian too.
ALP hooked up with Polydor Records and got a good deal with them running the behind the scenes activity - management, promotion, publicity, advertising, distribution etc.
The first record put out on ALP was by The Red Hawks which got to number 1 in Radio Scotland's pop chart, and it also made it into Radio London's top 40.
At the time of the adverts, the latest ALP release was by trendy Glasgow band, Studio Six.