IRON MAIDEN - CAIRD HALL - 1980

A bit of a heavy metal extravaganza for this gig that took place on 12th June 1980 at the Caird Hall.

Top of the bill, Iron Maiden, supported by Praying Mantis, and although it has Colossus on the ticket, they didn't appear on the night.

Also keeping the crowd happy through the evening was metal specialist DJ, Neal Kay.

Thanks to Mark.

LOCAL RAIL TICKETS - 1980'S

Here's a nice wee collection of old BR tickets that were on the go in the mid 80's.
The large red & white ticket was probably the most common one in use back then for everyday city to city travel. Not only is the ticket a Dundee one, the machines that dispensed them were local too - the equipment being manufactured by NCR.
The white Excess/Travel slips were dished out by on-train staff in the days before they were given portable ticket machines for the job.
The wee pink ones were called Edmondson tickets and were issued at Broughty Ferry up until the station became unmanned in March 1985.
Big thanks to Neale Elder.

ELP - CAIRD HALL - 1971

On this day 39 years ago, Emerson, Lake & Palmer brought their show to the Caird Hall.
Not a gig I was at, so can't pass on any info as to how the evening went.
ELP are probably just as well known now for being the band who's name crops up most when used as an example of how prog-rock went way over the top in the mid 70's to earn the tag "pomp-rock", a term which derided this kind of music as being overlong, overplayed and overbearing!
This Dundee gig being a week before Xmas in 1971 reminded me that a little later on in 1975, Greg Lake's solo project released THAT Christmas song, which has since gone on to be blasted out every year since!
Santa's little hELPer.

SCOTLAND v ARGENTINA - 1979

I mentioned in yesterday's post about Dundee ref John Gordon, that he was one of the officials who was chosen for the 1978 World Cup in Argentina. So whilst on that topic I thought I'd drop this little feature on Retro from a year later when the newly crowned 78 World Cup champs, Argentina, paid a visit to Scotland.

This was a friendly match at Hampden, and surprise surprise Scotland got beat 3-1, however, the game has gone on to become quite a famous one because this was when a young kid called Maradona scored his first ever goal for his country. He was still in the under 20's youth team in 1978, so this full international encounter helped him on the path to being known as the worlds best footballer throughout the 80's, and some say, ever!

There were 2 Dundee United players in the Scotland team that day, Dundonian, David Narey, and the guy in the photo, Paul Hegarty.

Thanks to Ali Strachan.

NANA MOUSKOURI - DUNDEE - 1973

Exactly 37 years ago, singer, Nana Mouskouri, brought along her Athenians to the Caird Hall to entertain the masses with her cosy brand of easy listening.
Although she had her own TV show, and guested on many TV variety shows back in the early 70's, I can't recall off the top of my head, any records she had in the singles charts back then, so I think her popularity stemmed from her regular appearances on the telly rather than any particular musical contribution at the time.
She had a pleasant enough personality mind you, and although I wasn't at this concert, I've been told she allowed some of her Dundee fans to meet her backstage for a chat and to sign autographs. All harmless fun I suppose!
Talk about popular - Nana has since gone on to sell 300 million records along the way. She must be loaded! About time she dipped in to help out Greece's current financial crisis!!!
Thanks to Gillian

ROCK-IT TRAVEL AD - 1981

In the 70's, Cathie McCabe's was the main shop in town to visit to get concert tickets for gigs in Edinburgh & Glasgow.
By the time we reached the 80's, other outlets in town were getting in on the act and this 1981 ad for Rock-It Travel reveals that they were also becoming a wee bit more adventurous, with buses running to shows in Leeds & Birmingham.
Advance bookings for the 1982 World Cup in Spain were up for grabs too, which I'm sure many of Dundee's Tartan Army members took advantage of!

WISHBONE ASH - CAIRD HALL - 1980

On this day 30 years ago, Wishbone Ash were in town.
This outfit would have been considered very unfashionable in 1980, being in with the groups from the early 70's era labelled as old dinosaurs, but me not being afraid to venture into the Jurassic period from time to time, went along to the Caird Hall to see them in action, and an evening of bluesy melodic rock is what I got.

RORY GALLAGHER - DUNDEE - 1977

On this day, 33 years ago, Rory Gallagher was on stage at the Caird Hall.
What you got was not glitz or pyrotechnics, but just him with his sleeves rolled up, his battered old Strat strapped on, his band pumping out their own particular brand of blues-rock, all putting in a good 2 and a half hour shift!
It's fine to just keep things nice & simple sometimes!!

JOHN MARTYN - BONAR HALL - 1984

25 years ago today, the Bonar Hall was the venue for an evening with John Martyn, singer, songwriter and guitar maestro. His laid back singing style and the things he could do with effects pedals were a joy to behold. He had released a few classic albums by the time this gig came about, so there was plenty material to dip into from his back catalogue.
He kept his career going in fact, right up to his death in January this year.

BOOMTOWN RATS - CAIRD HALL - 1979

Another one of my old ticket stubs - and exactly 30 years ago today, the Boomtown Rats were the band on stage at the Caird Hall.
Quite a lively gig I recall, because by this time they had notched up a few chart hits, and so got a good response from the audience.
The support band on the night were fellow Irishmen, Protex.
After the gig, Bob Geldof was spotted in the Chinese take-away in the Nethergate.
Fast forward a few more years to 2002 and Bob was back on the Caird Hall stage, only now it was a Dundee University ceremony, where he received an Honorary Degree.

ON THE BUSES #1

These Dundee bus tickets go back to the early 70's. Old money was still in use in 1970 hence the 8d one.
In the era of bus conductors, I remember a wee schoolboy prank we'd sometimes try. When passengers got off as you went on, they'd sometimes leave their used ticket in the back frame of the seat in front of where they were sitting. So just before the moment came for the conductor to ask for your fare, you'd grab the ticket from the seat frame and flash it to the conductor to indicate you had already paid. It has to be said though, as scams go, this one had a low success rate!
There was a also jokey quip about conductors doing the rounds back then. It was about how they would confuse passengers by shouting "Come on, get aff!".
Another function conductors had was to stamp their time-card at the bus clocks that were dotted around the routes, and the short clip below shows that very aspect in action.
Conductors were eventually phased-out in the early 70's when the one-man/driver only buses came into operation.

ROLLING STONES - CAIRD HALL - 1965

44 years ago today, The Rolling Stones were on stage at the Caird Hall.

Not once but twice, playing 2 shows on the day. The ticket here being for the 2nd performance.

Stones gigs were pretty notorious back then as a result of their frenzied fans causing damage to the halls. I know Edinburgh's Usher Hall got smashed up on the same tour, although I'm not too sure how the Caird Hall fared on this particular visit.
I do know, however, and as you can read in the cutting, that the Marryat Hall was used as an improvised medical centre to treat all the lassies who fainted!

The band were on a roll in '65 with hit singles such as "The Last Time", "Satisfaction" and "Get Off Of My Cloud" all released that year.

And it was 15 shillings to get in - 75p..!!!

THE WHO - CAIRD HALL - 1971

38 years ago today, The Who were blasting out their sound live on stage at the Caird Hall.

I would only be 13 around this time so still a bit on the young side to attend this gig.

I did manage to catch them live a few years later in 1976 over in Glasgow at Parkhead.

One quirky connection The Who has with Dundee is that in the mid 60's, Dundee gang - SHIMMY - named themselves after The Who track "Shout and Shimmy". The gang even managed to get Roger Daltrey to shout "Shimmy Rule" over the mic at a gig in Perth they went to! This was when they were Mods, The Who being one of the few bands who have been both Mods and Rockers!

THIN LIZZY - CAIRD HALL - 3RD MAY 1980

29 years ago today, Thin Lizzy were letting rip their famous riffs along at the Caird Hall. Thin Lizzy found the knack of keeping a faithful "rock" following as their fan base while at the same time, having commercial success in the "pop" charts. A pretty neat trick, as they had many hits throughout the 70's and early 80's.
There was a guy in Dundee (who's name escapes me now, but he used to drink in the Bread and Perth Road pubs), who was a roadie for well known bands, and Thin Lizzy was one of those who he roadied for. He became friends with the band's main man, Phil Lynott, and before this Caird Hall gig, he brought Phil into Foreigners (the rock pub in Meadowside) for a couple of swigs before the concert. I was a bit disappointed to observe that they didn't serve Phil's whiskey, in a jar!!

THE GRIP AT BLAZERS - 1982

Another reggae night at Blazers organised by Gripping Youth and this time featuring The Grip.
Not quite sure why it says "Leather Jackets Not Allowed". Don't recall any Hells Angels running amok in the city in 82!
Blazers opened in 1981 but was only in business for a couple of years despite having a licence up to 1985.
Did you know that in it's former life the place that became Blazers used to be a Masonic Lodge? It's full title was - "The Ancient Order of Buffalo's Meeting Rooms".
I remember being in there in the mid 60's too for a Christmas party, a works do organised by Charlie Gray. I got a book about Cowboys & Indians from Santa!
Cue - Buffalo Soldier!!
Thanks to DD.

GENESIS IN DUNDEE - 1977 & 1980

2 tickets - same band - same place - different dates.
Starting with the 13th January 1977 gig...
When the tickets went on sale for this show around November '76, a photo of the queue at the Caird Hall made it into the local papers. Fans started to form the queue around 9.00pm the night before, and the image of them with their sleeping bags, flasks and good humour was used along with the story of this rare sight.
The concert sold out within a couple of hours next morning.
This was the Genesis "Wind & Wuthering" tour, and like most prog rock bands in the 70's, the light show became part of the act, so there were plenty of lasers, strobes, dry ice and so on.
The photos were taken at this '77 gig, right from the front of the stage.
There is a recording of this show doing the rounds too....unofficially like!
The movie ad under the photos dates back to March that year and is from an old Evening Telegraph I have. This was another time I saw Genesis in Dundee in 1977, as the ABC were showing a double film feature on this occasion - "White Rock", which had a soundtrack by Rick Wakeman, and to accompany it, "Genesis In Concert".
I had to be alert to catch it mind you, as it was on for only one day!
On 24th April 1980, 29 years ago today, the band were here again, this time on their "Duke" tour and introduced 2 new band members, Daryl Stuermer who replaced Steve Hackett on guitar, and Roland....the drum machine! The new Genesis sound by this time was more lightweight as they ditched the idea of the 10 minute track in favour of the 3 minute pop-rock tune. As a result, they featured in the singles charts rather a lot in the 80's. On stage though, they still managed to squeeze in the occasional old classic from their back catalogue.
I remember Phil Collins name-dropped "Keiller's" during the intro to one of their songs! 

Photos by Alan Weston

DEEP PURPLE - CAIRD HALL - 1974

On this day 35 years ago, Deep Purple were in town.

There was a real buzz around the Dundee gig because this was the first night of a brand new UK tour after having a huge success touring the States prior.
Deep Purple also had 2 new members making their British debut live on stage, David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes.
This in turn attracted the attention of the national music press, the show ending up receiving major coverage in both the NME and Melody Maker the following week.
Both music papers go into a lot of detail behind the scenes while following the band around. Interviewing them in the Tay Hotel for example.
I've chosen to showcase an edited extract from the MM write-up which concentrates just on the gig itself.
You can click on the review above to read the enlarged version.
Both Deep Purple and the Dundee crowd are highly praised on the night!
Incidentally, support band from New York, Elf, were also making their UK debut on stage.
Although I wasn't at this concert, word next day in school was that Deep Purple were so loud, chunks of plaster fell from the ceiling!
I do remember buying their single "Fireball" in 1971 when I was 13, after seeing them perform on Top of the Pops.
You don't usually think of such monsters of rock having been in the pop charts!
The singer in Elf was Ronnie James Dio, who a year or so later teamed up with Deep Purple guitar legend, Ritchie Blackmore to form another rock outfit, Rainbow, who I did manage to catch live at the Glasgow Apollo.

NAZARETH - CAIRD HALL - 1980

29 years ago, Nazareth were rockin' the night away in the Caird Hall.
This Jock-rock band from just doon the road in Dunfermline were regulars in the singles & album charts back in the early to mid 70's period.
However, when you think of all the post punk and new wave acts that were on the go at this time in 1980, this gig would definitely be deemed as "old school". Nothing wrong with a couple of hours of loud rock music blasting in your ears though and with the addition of guitarist Zal Cleminson from the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, this gave the Naz sound a little bit extra bite.
In true rock cliche tradition, Dan (Naz singer) shouted out at the end of the show - "Thanks Dundee, we'll be back!" - but I'm not so sure they did return!

EDDIE & THE HOT RODS - DUNDEE - 1978

Another one of my Caird Hall ticket stubs, this time from 31 years ago this very night.
Eddie & the Hot Rods cropped up on the scene around the time punk was surfacing and so they kinda got chucked in with them. Their brand of rock-pop was fast & energetic, but they were more of a no nonsense rock band, than punks. Having said that, their 1977 hit single "Do Anything You Wanna Do" did sound like a record The Jam could have made, so they were pretty close to producing punk music. There was some pogo-ing near the stage when they were on, I recall.
2 support bands on the night.
Radio Stars leaned more towards a new wave/pop sound. They had done John Peel sessions by this time but they hadn't really cracked the charts in a big way. They always seemed to be just bubbling under the current scene without bursting through, a bit like their position on the bill.
Squeeze were the other band performing on stage. This was around the start of their pop career, and out of the 3 acts on stage, they were the ones who went onto be most successful. They hadn't released many records up to then but their excellent single "Take Me I'm Yours" was the one that everyone in the crowd knew. Jools Holland used to smoke large cigars while playing his keyboards back then. He also always stood up to play keyboards, not like nowadays, sitting down all the time. It's only a matter of time before he switches from cigar to pipe!! Only joking!!
Anyway, a pretty good value evening, working out at 50p per band!!
The other item is a full page ad from a 1978 NME that contains the tour dates.
And as far as I am aware, all 3 acts are still gigging today.

GALLAGHER & LYLE - CAIRD HALL - 1978

31 years ago today, Gallagher & Lyle were in town.

Now, I went to see rock bands, jazz bands, punk bands, prog bands, pop bands, reggae bands, pub bands, new wave bands, the lot, but I think this was the nearest I got to experiencing an easy listening band. I don't mean that in a corny Foster & Allen kind of way, I mean it was an evening of relaxation, nice laid-back music to get you settled comfy in your seat. No rushing to the front of the stage for this gig.

The duo did write good tunes mind you, both as G&L and in their previous band McGuinness Flint. The biggest cheer of the evening came when they did their 1976 hit "Heart On My Sleeve".

I remember there was a joke doing the rounds at the time about a guy who went into a record shop and asked for "Tart On My Sleeve by Tate & Lyle"..!!

That's my surviving ticket stump at the top accompanied with an ad for the album they were promoting along with tour dates which appeared in an issue of NME back then.