WESTPORT AT HAWKHILL & BLACKNESS RD JUNCTION - 1970'S

A view looking up Westport in the other direction this time...up the Ha'kie and alang the Blackie...from the same period as the previous picture.
Most of the pubs and shops were still doing business during this period, even when some of the buildings around about were starting to be pulled down.
Yet despite it's grotty condition, it didn't influence the amount of fun we had when it came to drinking time!!

THE SMITHS - DUNDEE UNIVERSITY - 1984

The recording below is from a gig by The Smiths who were playing at Dundee University on 3rd March 1984.

Morrissey gets a bit stroppy on this as a result of someone in the audience splashing the stage with beer. The song "This Charming Man" was stopped and we pick it up as Morrissey gives the culprit a ticking off, and it being 1984, finishes by saying "The world is watching you, Dundee!" before giving the song a 2nd go.

So there, be on your best behaviour next time!

Incidentally, the Smiths badge of mine is just my wee joke, it has nothing to do with The Smiths.

Having said that, the track is a nice crisp recording!!

TECH COLLEGE UNION AKA BOWLING ALLEY



This building on the corner of Marketgait & Guthrie Street, once had a real tenpin bowling alley in the 60's. So later, when it came to be a Students Union in the 70's, us lot who went there still generally referred to it as the "Bowling Alley".
The students in this case being from the College of Technology rather than University.
It's heyday was the mid 70's to mid 80's period, and was always a really good buzz.
Card carrying students got in free and they could each sign in 2 paying guests.
I remember you had to be signed in before 11:00 pm - then the doors closed! This often lead to a rush of people vacating the pubs between 10:30 & 11:00 for a mad dash along the Marketgait to make it on time, otherwise they'd be locked out.
The rooms were upstairs, 3 areas all on the same floor.
A wee recreation room with darts, pool table & table football to chill out in.
Then the main hall itself that had the disco and bar (see 2nd photo above).
Finally, a back room with a stage area where bands played.
The DJ was Brian Wilson, who played a diverse range of music, an aspect that made visiting the Bowling Alley such a big draw. The original name was Deepwater Disco and then it later became known as Brian's Disco.
The Bowling Alley also had the comfiest seats in town, so much so that sometimes you were reluctant to get up off them to dance!
Quite often at the end of the evening there would be an amusing beer fight. Typical student fun really, never any trouble.
Along with the disco and cheap beer, the other attraction was live music.
Like the University circuit, this was a good place to catch an act at the beginning of their career...
The Sex Pistols, Dire Straits, Simple Minds, Motorhead are just 4 of the acts who performed there before going on to greater things.
Rock, punk, pop & new wave were all represented, with the likes of Saxon, 999, Joe Jackson, XTC... too many to mention really.
Needless to say it was a hot venue for local bands too, e.g. Colossus, Friction, Skeets Boliver...and on it goes.
Examples of the venue cropping up in the music press back then are displayed in the above cuttings...
The first one is from an NME and shows Lemmy's Motorhead there on Saturday 9 October 1976.
The one under that is from the Melody Maker and the date XTC performed there was Friday 27 January 1978.
The last one is from an NME and has the Dire Straits gig dated as Wednesday 21 June 1978.
The place then had a bit of a make-over (UV lights etc) in the early 80's which is shown on the 3rd & 4th photos above.
Although the building is still there today, it has since gone through further transformations - but not necessarily an improvement made to it!.

Thanks to DJ Brian Wilson for first interior photo.
Thanks to David Pentland for the other two interior images.
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The Bowling Alley now has its own website - go visit Bowlin' Alley

2 STUDENT'S UNION GIGS - 1980

Here are two of my Students Union ticket stubs that have survived the passage of time.

The promoters for these Dundee gigs were AIRLIE PLACE ENTERTAINMENTS - organised by Stuart Clumpas.

Peter Gabriel appeared there on 27 Feb 1980 and he began the show by making a surprise appearance at the hall's main door where the students enter, then made his way through the audience shining a hand held spotlight on the crowd as he advanced up to the stage.
The support act was Random Hold.

The Mike Oldfield gig took place on 13 Apr 1980 and I remember one local newspaper report describing the shows acoustics with the comment - "The sound was so good, it was just like listening to a giant hi-fi in your living room!"

801 GIG - DUNDEE UNIVERSITY - 1977



The Dundee University Student's Union in Airlie Place ( top picture ) put on a variety of interesting gigs during the 70's & 80's.

My first venture there was in 1976 to catch National Health play.

An example of some of the other acts I can recall seeing there were, Peter Gabriel, APB, Mike Oldfield, Misty in Roots, Bow Wow Wow, etc.

Plucking out one of the gigs I've attended to accompany the piece, I have chosen the 801 concert which took place in November 1977.

801 were a short-lived act created by Phil Manzanera & Eno when Roxy Music had a temporary break in the mid 70's.

They were quite an experimental, arty kind of band, using lots of electronic gadgets to achieve a compelling array of sounds.

I still have the original music press tour advert for the gig which I've included above.

McGONAGALL'S - PERTH ROAD - 1984

For those who indulged in pub crawls along the length of Perth Road in the 80's, you may remember McGonagall's, roughly the halfway marker.

The pub was really 2 in 1 because downstairs in the basement was "Sammy Cahn's", who funnily enough was another wordsmith, but from across the water...and I don't mean Fife!

Photo by DC Thomson.