AWB ON OGWT - 1973

Here's some behind the scene shots of the day Average White Band made their debut on the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1973.
The top one is the episode board with the countdown timer and the info stating that it's AWB's 1st take.
The middle photo is the band in full flow in the studio.
The third image is the control room where programme producer, Mike Appleton, is keeping an eye on the monitors etc.
AWB performed 2 tracks and shared the show with other acts, but a few years later, AWB got the show all to themselves when OGWT broadcast them live in concert.
Talking about behind the scenes, when AWB were recording their debut on OGWT, Dundee drummer Robbie, said he'd had enough and he wasn't doing the show.
The reason was that they were told they had to mime the tracks, which meant the drum-kit had to have plastic cymbals fitted and foam pads placed on the drums.
They did manage to tape the show after a couple of takes and everyone was pleased, except Robbie that is, who had to be led away pretty pissed off!

AAGA - HEY WHAT'S HAPPENING - 1984

A fine example of the underground sound of Dundee from the early 80's up next.
This is AAGA performing their 1982 track, "Hey What's Happening", a bright, catchy wee groove, with a touch of edgy nervous energy!
The live line-up below is - Mike Kane, guitar - Steve Grimmond, vocal & bass - Scott Wilkie, guitar and Neal Mitchell on drums. Accompanying them on backing vocals are Soul Sisters, Audrey Krawec & Joan Woodsford.
The action was caught on film by Kevin Guthrie on location at a cosy, intimate venue in 1984.
The b&w photo above was taken around 1982.
Big THANX to Mike Kane.

SCROTUM POLES IN MUSIC PRESS - 1980-81

A few bits and pieces featuring The Scrotum Poles in the national music press during 1980-1981.

1st item is from the local press actually. This was The Scrotum Poles debut gig, at Dundee College of Education on 1st May 1980. The Strutz were the main act and the other band on the night was called Just The Job.

2nd item, the same gig but published in the national music press.

3rd item is another gig in town, this time it's for 3rd June 80 and is at the Unemployed Club.

4th item is their gig at Dundee University on 4th Oct 80.

5th item is a fun piece which sees The Scrotum Poles on a list of bands who have amusing names!

6th item is an ad that was published in Dec 80, and is for the band's EP release "Revelation", which includes the address from where to purchase it.

Getting hold of an original copy nowadays will cost you much much more than £1.25..!!

7th item is a review of the Revelation EP published in the national music press in April 1981

Click on the items to enlarge.

JACK HUTTON'S MUSIC MAGAZINES

Dundonian, Jack Hutton, came into music journalism by combining his 2 interests - music & journalism - as simple as that.
Jack worked at DC Thomson's, and during this period developed an enthusiasm for jazz. After taking up the trumpet as a pastime he went on to form the Dundee Jazz Club around 1950. He moved to London in 1953 and got work with music paper, Melody Maker, which eventually lead to him becoming Editor in 1962. Needless to say, his time at MM had him rub shoulders with everyone from Miles Davis to The Beatles. He was even with the Rolling Stones on their 1964 USA tour, in which he was present at their famous "Chess" recording session. Jack also managed to sneak the underage Stones into a few jazz clubs along the way!
JH was also involved in another music paper called, Disc, near the end of the 60's, but while at the top of his profession he decided to quit MM and start all afresh with his own publishing company. Around 1970, he started up, Sounds, a youthful rival to Melody Maker. Another mag he launched was, Popswop, catching the pop & glam rock scene in the early 70's. Lastly there was Kerrang!, a magazine specialising in rock & heavy metal, which actually started off as a free supplement in Sounds around the early 80's.
Out of all those music publications JH has been with, only Kerrang! survives today.
I've included here an example of Jack's journalism - a review he did in May 1967 when jazz legend, Count Basie, played at the Caird Hall.
(click on to enlarge)
JH retired in 1987, having a big do at Ronnie Scott's jazz club in London, with Jack ending up jamming on stage!
After a 5 year illness, JH died in August 2008.

FACES - CAIRD HALL - 1972

 

Here's a couple of items about a gig Rod Stewart and the Faces played in Dundee on 7th December 1972.
The top cutting is the announcement of the tour with Dundee getting a mention, and the other 2 were published after the Dundee gig.
The reason the show grabbed the attention of the national music press was because the Caird Hall was the first venue that started off this particular tour and so generated a lot of media interest.
Dundee didn't disappoint either, with a large enthusiastic turnout that helped create a great buzz on the night.
In fact, the crowd got a bit carried away because by the end of the show, the audience who rushed to the front stage area, ended up destroying the first 3 rows of seats!
Anyway, after a bit of a dodgy start with sound problems, it didn't take too long for the Faces to get going in full flow and keep the good vibes going for the rest of the night.
The music was a mix of raunchy r&b album tracks and melodic pop hits, with the likes of "Maggie May", "Stay With Me" and "Angel" being the more familiar chart singles that got the crowd singing along.
And being Rod Stewart of course, there was a lot of clowning about on stage which ended up with him kicking footballs into the audience!
You can get a good sense of how the concert went by reading the gig review above - give it a click to bring up the large version.
Incidentally, Scottish rock singer, Maggie Bell was also present at the gig, she being one of the VIP's who attended.
The support act was a band called Stumble.
I was 14 years old in 1972, and although I had 2 Rod Stewart albums in my collection, my going to gigs had still not begun yet, so unfortunately, it's not a show I was at.
I do, however, have a recording of the gig, and so below you can have a listen to their well known hit  "Stay With Me" - featuring a bit of vocal interaction with the Dundee crowd!

 

WARNING - PAINFUL SMOKING STORY!

 

My brother took this photo around 1973ish - Embassy Tipped and Younger's beer being very common around that era.

The picture was actually taken at home so I can only assume the ashtray was nicked from a pub!

I'd only be 14/15 years old back then, so I hadn't started to indulge yet. However, some of the tuff-nuts at school the same age as me were already hooked. Embassy Tipped & Embassy Regal were their favoured fags. They used to keep their fag packets in the chest pocket of their Ben Sherman shirts or their gang jerseys, in class without the teachie knowing!

One day, when we were all making our way back home from Craigie High, a few of the Toddy guys were mucking about in Ruthven Road. One was absolutely GASPING for a fag and kept nagging his mate who only had twa left in his packet, so kept refusing the guys gasping pleas. In desperation the guy who was pleading ended up saying - "I'll let ye punch iz in the puss fir ain!".

"A'right then" was the reply.

So the one who was about to be punched had his hands held behind his back by a 3rd guy to prevent him guarding himself - then WALLOP!!! - he got a crack in the jaw from the one who had the fags!! He never even flinched. He was given his ciggie and off they all went up the road together, as if nothing had happened.

So let THAT be a real health warning!!!

GARNET WILSON AT CRAIGIE HIGH

Garnet Wilson officially opened Craigie High School on 11th December 1970. Although CHS had opened it's doors for the first time that summer, much of the construction work was still going on for a few months after. Eventually though, the building was deemed complete and GW was one of those on the Assembly Hall stage to declare the school "officially" open. Of course there were only us 1st years there to witness it!
The main entrance to CHS is at the end of a wee road called Garnet Terrace, and you've guessed it, it is named after Sir Garnet. This area was, and probably still is, for staff use only.
I can also remember a portrait of GW hanging up in reception, so he did leave his mark on the school.
This photo of Craigie High was taken in 1969 when it was still being worked on, and is from the Garnet Terrace end of the school.
Photo by DC Thomson.

GARNET WILSON'S MEMORY BOOK - 1970

This is the 500th item posted on Retro Dundee, and with the idea of RD being about looking back at the past, I thought I'd mark the occasion by dipping into a book by Garnet Wilson called "Overspill" which is his second memory book of anecdotes and activity. It came out in 1970 and was printed by Winter's in Dundee. As you can see, mine is a signed copy!

I suppose GW could be seen as being a bit of a bigwig in the city, what with his family's department store G.L. Wilson, his roll in local government, his stint as Lord Provost, was also President of University College, and not to mention being the main player in attracting NCR to Dundee.

He was quite elderly when he did this book but lived to the ripe old age of 90, dying in 1975.

So, nicking one of his quotes from the book, this one above about a persons memory, I'm rather fond of, and kind of suits Retro Dundee.

SOUTH TAY STREET - OCTOBER 1969

I was going to put this picture up sometime later but thought I'd post it now to tie in with yesterdays photo. South Tay Street running from Westport on the right to Nethergate on the left, with Marketgait circle bottom left.
Mac mentioned Tay Street Public School. Well you can see the gap of the school entrance/playground area near to the Westport junction, with the car park across the road from it. Yesterdays gable end shot is the building beside the playground on the right. Although the school building is in the photo, it had shut down when this photo was taken in 1969. The building to the left of the playground, in the 80's would have been the pub, Slickers, but in 1969 was a hairdresser call TC Machir.
I think you should be able to figure all that out without the need for arrows pointing to them.
You could also see Tay Square, before the Rep moved in.
Click the image to enlarge.

GABLE END ADVERT - WESTPORT

This photo is from around 1984ish when a lot of the Westport area was being pulled down. The ad was actually on the side of the former premises of Young's in South Tay Street, where the new buildings on the corner of Cross Lane now are. That means at the time I was taking the photo I would have been standing at the gap next to Slickers, looking over towards Marketgait.

John Young was still there in 1970 , and were present at this location for quite a few decades up to then. Looking at the phone number, I'd say the building ad is probably from around the 1930's period.

ST.PETER STREET MURAL - 1984

I took this photo around 1984, so the paint would still be pretty fresh.

It's the St.Peter Street mural showing various scene's associated with Dundee, such as the Tay whale, Dundee docks, DC Thomson, Tay bridge, plus a few other local references.

It's quite literally got Dundee stamped all over it.

The only thing is, it was painted by...er...the Edinburgh Artists Collective..!!
Glad they didn't sign it!!!

 

(Not that slaughtering whales makes us feel proud..!!)

DUNDEE DEMOLITION IN THE 70'S

My brother took this amusing picture in the mid 70's. There was a gap in the fence where the demolition was taking place and he spotted this old guy sitting reading in amongst the rubble.
On the white wall in the background, there is some gang graffiti. It has the Kirkton Huns on, but the word Kirkton has a line sprayed across it and Y-Toddy written above!
I don't know what buildings they are but I'm assuming the location is the old Wellgate area because my brother took a bundle of pictures there when it was being bulldozed.

COWGATE TO MEADOWSIDE

This black & white photo of the Cowgate corner area was taken in early/mid 70's. The same junction crops up in colour in a piece of film from 1980, below. As well as the Cowgate, there are views along Panmure Street and Meadowside. Still in their place in 1980 were The Odeon, the original Wellgate Centre facade and the pub, Foreigners. The footage only lasts 25 seconds so you'll probably need to view it a couple of times if you want to go sightseeing!

HOSIKAI RESTAURANT - ST.ANDREWS ST

This 1985 ad for the Hosikai in St Andrews St, claims to be the first traditional Cantonese restaurant in Dundee. Not knowing the difference between Cantonese cooking and Chinese, I did some research, and there is indeed a difference in the "regional" foods and ingredients used. Apparently there was a surge of "new" Cantonese restaurants sprang up in the UK in the 80's as a large influx of people from Hong Kong came over to settle during that period and brought their dishes with them!
So that ties in nicely with the ad.
If anyone knows what "Hosikai" means, or can read the 3 Chinese symbols (is it Ho-Si-Kai?), feel free to pass it on in the comments.

SHISH MAHAL ADVERT - 1979

This ad for the Shish Mahal Tandoori Restaurant in Commercial Street is from 1979.

Not sure whether the sales pitch in it is supposed to be tongue in cheek or if it's a result of an over the top translation, but it makes pretty funny reading.

Click on the image to enlarge if needed.

THE ORIENTAL GARDEN - COWGATE

Next door to Millet's in the Cowgate was The Oriental Garden, a Chinese restaurant that sprang up on the scene in the mid 70's.
I remember me and a couple of mates went through a wee phase for a few weeks that had us popping into this place every Saturday lunchtime. This was when we just left school and had a couple of months spare in summer before we got work. So not having much dosh, we'd sit down at the table, look through the menu, skip the main course and just go straight to the dessert.!! We always got pineapple fritters or banana fritters covered in syrup. It only cost around 50p which is about all we could afford, and the routine also appealed to our sense of humour - going to a restaurant only for dessert!!
A precursor to the Scottish fad of deep-frying sweet products, many years later.
The photo was taken in 1978.

HEATHER RIPLEY IN CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG

This is Dundee lass, Heather Ripley, on set for the filming of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. She was one of the main characters in the movie, alongside the likes of Dick Van Dyke.

This was a one-off film for Heather as she didn't take up acting as a career, choosing instead, a life of an artist and eco warrior.

The film had a royal premier in London in December 1968 and I saw the film in the Gaumont when it went national in 1969.

The ad above is dated June 1969.

It was quite a lengthy film and I recall it having an interlude halfway through, during an exciting bit too - just as the car drove off the edge of a cliff and was falling towards the sea, the screen suddenly went blank, and the word INTERMISSION popped up. Once everyone had expressed their annoyance, there was a mad dash down the aisles to grab a choc ice before it restarted.!!
Not only that, but I also had the Corgi model of the car hanging by 2 strings from the ceiling above my bed. Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in full flight!

THE 10 BOB NOTE

I may not have got any 10 bob notes out guising, but I do remember getting them in birthday cards.
10 shillings in the mid/late 60's would get you the bus fare into town, a 7-inch single, a comic and still plenty left over for sweeties.
The perfect shopping spree for a primary school kid..!!
For the younger ones amongst you, the 10 bob note was later replaced by the 50 pence piece when the UK changed to decimal currency in 1971.
Below is a public information film from 1970 explaining the changes.
NCR must have been doing loads of overtime during this period updating all their tills..!!

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.

QUINK INK

If there are any old pen pushers out there, you may remember this product - Quink.
The one in the photo is an original I bought out of Burns & Harris in the Nethergate in the mid 80's. I've had it all that time and it still has loads of ink in it. I got it for doing BLOOD SPATTER in my cartoons, but me not being much of a gory person probably explains why the pot today is half full yet!
You can still get Quink these days, but this particular jar & packaging above is now considered "vintage"..!!