RONETTES RIOT - DUNDEE - 1964

In 1960, there was a riot in the Caird Hall during a Gene Vincent / Eddie Cochran gig that lead to rock 'n' roll concerts being banned for a couple of years.
That gig has now become quite well documented as a consequence.
This gig here, however, seems to have been completely forgotten about.
It took place on 24th January 1964, again at the Caird Hall, this time the headline act was an all female group, The Ronettes, from USA.
With the Vincent / Cochran gig, you could understand that there would be rockers & teds in the crowd, which may explain the aggro.
A crowd fighting on stage when a girl group is performing?
That is a bit embarrassing!
The Ronettes still managed to sparkle through the riot, so well done them for ignoring the numbskulls.

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.

ROD STEWART - CAIRD HALL - 1977

Rod Stewart was back in town for a 2 night performance on 7 & 8 January 1977.
The Caird Hall looked as if it had been freshly whitewashed for the concerts, with the large white backdrop drapery, white stage, white piano and PA system to match!
It made the colourful chiffon and satin of the band's outfits stand out even more so.
As you can see in the photos, which were taken on the 8th, Rod certainly seems to be enjoying himself.
Incidentally, the impressive drum-kit belongs to well known rock musician, Carmine Appice.
And don't worry, the guitarist in the last shot hasn't been airbrushed out, he is in fact hiding behind the drapes!

Photos by Derek High.

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.

PINK FLOYD - DUNDEE - 1968

Here's an interesting gig that took place in Dundee back in the psychedelic 60's.
The venue was Dundee College Of Art.
The date was 12 December 1968.
The occasion was the students Christmas Revels Ball.
Each year, students decked the hall during the festive period, and in '68 the "theme" was the medieval surreal art of Hieronymus Bosch.
The entire hall was covered with replications of his artwork, topped off with a stage set that featured one of his creatures with a giant mouth.
The bands played in its mouth!
Not only were the students in fancy dress, they also supplied the projector light show - these well known multi-coloured displays of moving liquid patterns.
Top of the bill was none other than Pink Floyd, who were starting to become a major draw by this time, even although main man, Syd Barrett, had left the group by then.
Other bands playing on the night were, Spontaneous Combustion, Gethsemane, Rock Tonsils & The Sleaz Band and Sleepy People.
The above image is my own wee arty recreation of what the stage set may have looked like!

DAVID BOWIE - CAIRD HALL - 1973



A few months ago, my brother unearthed a batch of photographic slides he took at a David Bowie concert in the Caird Hall on 17th May 1973.
It wasn't a gig I was at but I do remember a few Craigie High schoolmates went to it.

This was a period when Bowie haircuts were very popular in school at the time too!
I did make up for missing out on this event a few years later, going to his 1978 gig at the Glasgow Apollo.
Anyway, the above colour images are the very ones from Bowie's '73 Dundee appearance, with quite a variety of costume changes during the concert as well, as you can see!
His backing band on stage were of course "The Spiders from Mars" and featured Mick Ronson on guitar, Trevor Bolder on bass and Mick Woodmansey on drums.

Click onto the photos to bring up the enlarged versions.

GREENS PLAYHOUSE SHOWS - 1960's

A small glimpse into some of the entertainment taking place at Greens Playhouse in the Nethergate during the first half of the 60's.
May 1961 saw Adam Faith top the bill. Along with him were The John Barry Seven (pre James Bond soundtracks), Gerry Dorsey, The Honeys, John Le Roy and Dave Allen.
May 1963 had Frankie Yawn ...er, I mean, Frankie Vaughan and the V Group as headline act, but it doesn't state who the supporting cast were.
April 1964 was a real mixed bag of talent with the Deep River Boys being the main act. Sharing the stage were Charlie Sim, Dundee's own Hammy & The Hamsters, Johnny Battersby Showband, Eileen Keggan and strangely, Stratford Johns from Z Cars. No idea what Stratford did - perhaps remind the crowd that they have the right to remain silent..!!