BROOKE BOND CARDS #2

Here's a wee nosey inside the Brooke Bond books to give you a reminder of the layout.
Picking a page out at random from the motor cars one, we have 3 cards featuring a Mini Minor, Rover BRM and Ferrari P4. The illustrations are an XK Jaguar and a Citroen.
You should all be familiar with painting on the card from the book of ships - yes it's the Discovery. Back then in the 60's it was berthed in London, way before there was any notion of it being a Dundee icon!
Click the image for the enlarged version.

BROOKE BOND CARDS #1

I reckon most of you who were kids in the 60's will remember collecting Brooke Bond picture cards. This was when tea packets contained loose tea rather than tea bags, and we needed a tea caddy & sieve to make a cuppa.
There were a variety of subjects cropped up on the cards as they changed from one set to the next. Some I can recall are, wildlife, space, famous people and butterflies, but there were only 2 themes I managed to collect the complete set of, motors cars and ships.
These were hard earned too, having to go around the primary playground trying to find swaps with the doublers!
The 2 books above are from around the 1968/69 period and not only contain the full set of cards (50 in each) but they also had a lot of illustrations and extra info on the subjects.

MENZIESHILL MULTI'S IN THE 60'S

This image of the Menzieshill multi's was captured around the mid/late 60's.
The view from Dickson Avenue, running along the left, shows that a lot of the nearby ground was still a building site at the time, while the multi's and their circular garages had been completed.
The same area was also caught on film around the same time.
Below you can see the junction/corner area of Balgay Court and the comings and goings of everyday life, albeit briefly.
A great view of the circular garage from above, the design of which really does look so 60's, in fact I'm always half expecting to see Emma Peel drive up in her Lotus Elan every time I watch it!!

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!!

LAND O' CAKES IN CRAIGIE

This was probably one of the lesser known Land O' Cakes shops in Dundee - the Craigie one in Huntly Square. These shops were built in 1962/63 and Wallace's were one of the first to move in.

The top picture was taken in December 1963 and as you can see, shows the full window display. However, it was a very short lived stay because by September '64, when the other picture was taken, it had a "Closed Down" sign on the window and nothing but empty doilies inside.

The sign also informs everyone that the nearest branch can be found in Baluniefield Avenue, but they meant Baluniefield Road!

Photos by DC Thomson.

WALLACE - LAND O' CAKES

Well I started this recent food theme with Wallace's pehs, and so I'll bring it to an end with another one of Wallace's gastronomic gems, their Land O' Cakes shops.

These 2 ads are from the 60's, with the top one showng an image of their main bakery HQ up at Stobswell.

Their most well known shop was probably the one in Crichton Street, but they did have lots of others dotted around town - Dura Street, Hawkhill, Hilltown, in fact we even had one in Craigie!

The last time I looked, the Stobswell Bakery HQ in Eliza Street had been demolished, and their adjoining shop on the corner of Dura Street was lying empty, although a large Land O' Cakes sign was still on the side of the wall.

LUNCHTIME IN DUNDEE - 1982

Once again, Egon Boney is our guide on a jaunt around a few city centre eating places, this time searching for a decent lunchtime meal.
His findings were a bit hit & miss from what was on offer in 1982.
The pubs & cafes listed are - ARCTIC BAR - CHEQUERS - STUDENTS UNION - THE EXECUTIVE - WINSTONS - SINATRA'S - GENNAS - TINDALLS - THE BISTRO - YMCA CAFE - BOTHY - LADYWELL - FREWS.
Click the image to enlarge and have a wee read.

WILSON & GORDON RESTAURANTS

The original Restaurant Wilson in Union Street was destroyed by a fire in 1956 - and so this picture here is how it looked after it was restored and modernised for the 60's.
Restaurant Wilson is listed in my 1966 Dundee Directory, however, by the time the 1970 Dundee Directory had been published, it had changed into the Gordon Restaurant.
The ad above is dated March 1977 and as you can see there was wining, dining & dancing - and on this occasion the music was supplied by an act called Pastel Colours.

DUNDEE SUPPLY COMPANY

This ad from 1965 is for the Dundee Supply Company who were located a couple of doors up from DM Browns in Commercial Street.

I must admit, it's a shop I knew nothing about until I saw the advert for it. Mind you, I would still have been at primary when the shop was on the go, so it wouldn't be a place I'd visit by myself anyway.

Judging by the photo, it appears to be quite a sizable store, well stocked with fancy foodstuff.

It seems it didn't quite make a century being in biz though. As you can see, it was established in 1873, and although it is listed in my 1966 Dundee Directory, it doesn't show up in my 1970 one, so sometime in the late 60's the shop closed it's doors for good. Same goes for their Ferry branch.

DUNDEE'S CONTINENTAL CUISINE - 80'S

2 restaurant ads from the mid 80's featuring the Mediterranean flavours of Italy and Spain.

Easy to figure out which one is which by their names - Bruno's, in Meadowside, being Italian and Miguel's in the Ferry, the Spanish one.

The images were taken at the opening of Miguel's in the mid 80's, with local celeb, George Duffus, doing the ribbon cutting honours.

Photos by The Bear.

DUNDEE RESTAURANT GUIDE - 1981

A reminder of some of the eating places on the go in 1981 can be found in an overview presented in Cranked Up, with Egon Boney taking us on a youthful guide to dining out in Dundee.
For this food tour, EB lists the following - KOH-I-NOOR - GUNGA DIN - HIMALAYA - BALAKA - HIGHLAND STAR - GULLISTAN - BRUNO'S - PIZZA GALLERY - FORTE'S COFFEE HOUSE - RAFFLES - PENTHOUSE - DEEP SEA.
I remember Raffles in the Nethergate/Perth Road got a rave review in Punch magazine in the early 80's. This was when food critic & MP, Clement Freud was doing a weekly food column in the publication. The reason he ended up in Raffles was because he was in Dundee for the Liberal Party conference. He had of course previously been Rector of Dundee University from 74 to 80, so he was well acquainted with the Perth Road area.
He gave Raffles a really good write-up and commented on how cheery the staff were...and Clement wasn't easy to please!
Not only that, but in the mid 80's, Raffles actually achieved an award from the real Egon Roney and got a mention in his 1985/86 publication "Just A Bite Guide".
To find out the ratings by our own Egon Boney, click onto the image to read the large version.

THE RESTAURANT - REFORM STREET

The not very imaginatively named, "Restaurant", was on the corner of Reform Street and Bank Street.
You may remember it was next door to Betty White's fruit shop.
Although this photo of the Restaurant was taken in the early 70's, by 1974 it had changed into the Corner Coffee House.

THE UNICORN - REFORM STREET

The Unicorn in Reform Street was part of the DPM (Dundee Pasteurised Milk) Company who had quite a few dairy's scattered around town in the 60's/early 70's.
This restaurant was located across the road from Bank Street, approximately.
When the Unicorn/DPM closed down in the early 70's, the premises became Cathie McCabe's record shop.

THE HOWFF RESTAURANT

The Howff Restaurant was part of the Breadalbane Arms in Constitution Road. The Howff at #33 and the Bread/Bothy at #35.
I'm sure there was a door inside that connected the 2, to enable you to have a wee drink at the bar before nipping through for some nosh. The restaurant was quite a popular place to have a work's do.
Although the Bread is still there today, the Howff has since disappeared.
The illustration dates from the 70's.

THE AULD DUNDEE PIE SHOP

I'm gonna have a food theme running over the next few days featuring local cuisine and restaurants galore - and so where better to start than with one of the city's most famous names - Wallace's.

These 2 ads from the 60's are for The Auld Dundee Pie Shop (Wallace's) in Castle Street, now no longer with us.

In the top ad it mentions that the original shop was situated in the Vault area of town before moving to it's permanent location in Castle Street, a shop I'm sure every Dundonian our age has been to.

Now I'm no expert, but I would mark their pie and bridie pastry 10 out of 10, but would only give them 1 out of 10 for the peely-wally clump of gristle inside!

Hope that doesn't make me seem disloyal, because I did feast on them for many years.
Then in December 1977, Reo Stakis stepped in and bought the lot for £75,000.

Below is a short clip of local celeb, Frank Gilfeather, indulging...!!

THE DUNDEE MUSIC SCENE - 1981

 

You may have noticed the media like to look back over past events when the year ends, and so from the pages of a Cranked Up festive issue, here is an account of what was going on in the local music scene during 1981.

Click on the image to view the large version and read about bands such as - THE MEGAZONES - SCROTUM POLES - STREET LEVEL - ALIEN CULTURE - MAFIA - ST ANDREW & THE WOOLEN MILL - LONDON BROADS - THE GRIP - THE BLUSH - PARADES - VEX - WAITER WAITER - NO FIXED ABODE - PUSH - MISBEHAVIN' - SYNTHETIC DREAMS - PULSEBEAT PLUS - PHOTOGRAPHIC MEMORIES - STRUTZ - ALL THE PRESIDENTS MEN - APB - THIRTY BOB SUITS - NEW LONDON - FRENZY - JAZZ TOO - STREET URCHIN - BLIND PEW AND ASGARD.

Phew!...and they even managed to squeeze in a Rockpile ad as well..!!

A salute to "The Major" for getting all that info down in print.

CHEERS!

"Hello Hello, I'm back again" - so sang another GG back in 1973, and now is a rather fitting phrase for the return of Retro Dundee.
For those of you who didn't get enough booze over the New Year period, here is a reminder of the glamour gals they used to put on tins of Tennents lager in the early 70's, a common sight at parties and around football grounds.
So, from Heather, Shirley and myself, a drink to your health, and all the best for 2010. GG

RETRO'S WINTER BREAK

Time to have a festive break now.
I'll be gone from Retro Dundee for about 3 weeks but I'll still be beavering away behind the scenes getting things ready for 2010.
Thanks once again to all of those who have been in touch to contribute material, much appreciated. Thanks also to those who have supplied info & opinions in the comments. Apart from the odd bout of hair-pulling, they have been a joy to read.
Anyone new to Retro Dundee, you can catch up with all the previous posts (over 500) by clicking on the dates in the Archives down the left-hand side of the page layout. Or if you are trying to find something in particular, you can use the Retro search box.
Meantime, hae yersels a belter of a Christmas, and if any of you ever want to contact me, I'll still be around to reply to your messages.
So feel free to use the RD address above, and just like the Johnny Seven....fire away!

THE GIANT TUBE OF SMARTIES

Just like selection boxes, the giant tube of Smarties was something you only saw at Christmas time.
This is how they looked in an ad from 1966.
You probably all did that thing with the ordinary sized tube, when the contents were finished, you'd put the lid back on the empty tube, give it a hard wallop with your fist, and the lid would shoot off across the room like a pop gun!
Well you couldn't do that with the giant one because it was too robust, so you'd have to put it on the ground and stamp on it, then it would go off like a grenade launcher!

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IN 1983

Most of you retro tech heads will recognise the items featured in these 2 ads from December '83. They were on sale in shops such as Dixons, John Menzies and a few others scattered around town.

Product names listed are - CASIO - COMMODORE - SINCLAIR - ORIC - SHARP - TEXAS.

Click images to enlarge.

THE JUSTICE XMAS AD - 1965

The last of the ads from '65 is this one for Justice, the housefurnishers store who used to be on the corner of Whitehall Street and Whitehall Crescent.
I have no memory of visiting this place, but I do like their ad with the piece of festive string tied around the finger reminding you that it's present time!
Click image to enlarge.

XMAS SHOPPING IN REFORM STREET - 1965

2 Christmas ads from '65 for 2 shops that were next door to each other.

Cairds providing Gift Vouchers and Meldrum's offering gifts for all the family.

POTTER'S CHRISTMAS AD - 1965

Furry baffies...just like gran used to wear!

GEORGE BEST FOOTBALL BOOTS - 1969

I always wanted a pair of Georgie's side lacers, but never did get them.
Boo hoo..!!
They just seemed so modern and different to what else was in the shops at the time. I can remember only about 2 guys in all of my primary school owning a pair, but I'm not sure if it was because they were more expensive than your ordinary boots or if they were just more difficult to find in Dundee shops.
Anyway, the Stylo Matchmakers ad comes from a 1969 Rover comic, and if you need to read the small print, just click the image.

TIMEX CANTEEN - MILTON - 1973

When Dundee FC won the Scottish League Cup in 1973, some of the players went on a wee tour of the Timex factories, flaunting the trophy and signing autographs.
Above is Bobby Wilson & Dave Johnston doing the biz in the canteen at the Milton of Craigie factory in December 73.
Not sure whether the ladies are from a particular dept or if they are the canteen girls, but hopefully someone may recognize a face and pass on the information.
There are also a couple of photos on the Timex Reunited website gallery of Jocky Scott & Gordon Wallace visiting one of the other factories.
Photo by DC Thomson.

2 TIMEX ADS

The top Timex ad is from the late 70's and is for a Quartz - the watch that didn't need winding!

The ad below is from the late 60's and reminds you how water proof & shock proof Timex watches were!

The Timex factories in Dundee used to have sales on around Christmas time, which had employees queuing up to grab last minute bargain stocking fillers!

 

CHRISTMAS SHOPPING IN ARNOTTS - 1973

Arnotts was the large department store located on the corner of Commercial Street and the High Street, taking over from DM Browns in the early 70's.
This ad shows some of what was on offer in their store in December 1973.
Bit of a mixed bag really, clothing, kitchen equipment, home accessories and electronic goods.
The 2 items illustrated are the Ronson Rapide hair dryer and the Jones Carousel cassette recorder, a fine piece of kit for it's day, responsible for many a home recording session, not to mention the occasional live bootleg album!!
Click image to read the large version.

DOLL PRICES IN 1973

From the same Sunday Post as yesterdays books advert comes this price comparison test featuring 4 of the top selling dolls of 1973.
The dollies involved were - TRING A LING TRUDY - ACTION GIRL - WANDA - BUSY MISSY.
The 3 Dundee shops on trial were Cairds, Arnotts and Boots, with Boots offering the cheapest prices and Cairds being the expensive store to avoid!
Click image to enlarge.

BOOKS FOR GIRLS - CHRISTMAS 1973

This advert for DC Thomson products appeared in the Sunday Post on 16th December 1973.
The four 1974 annuals are - DIANA - BUNTY - MANDY - JUDY.
And I didn't get any of these in my stocking that Christmas!

DRAFFENS PERFUME COUNTER - 1968

Here's a place that would be doing a roaring trade this time of year - the Draffens Perfumery and Cosmetics Department (it's posh title).
The photo was taken in 1968, so lots of Coty and Yardley on display no doubt.
Of course, not being a regular visitor to this part of the store, I've not got much to say about it - shopping for Christmas gifts probably the only time I was there.
I can remember being there in December 1973 when all the counters were lit up by candles because there was a power cut! That was during the 3 day week period, industrial disputes and strikes galore!
Draffens is also the only place in town that I can remember having revolving doors.

FAVOURITE 60'S TOY - SPIRO-MATIC

Probably my favourite toy from the 60's was the Spiro-matic, a psychedelic art machine for kids. I got one for Christmas the year they first came out in 1969 and made many a masterpiece on it!!
I actually have the original toy (that's mine above) and it is still in perfect working order with all the bits & pieces that came with it.
Much to my amazement, however, when I was looking to see how much info there was on the net about the toy, I could hardly find any references to it, and absolutely no images. So, because I thought there ought to be some kind of source on it readily available on the net, I decided to start my own wee blog dedicated to it a few weeks ago, called SPIRO-MATIC GALLERY. That has lots of images of the toy itself as well as examples of the artwork.
Some of you may know that in recent years, Spiro-matic artwork inspired Damien Hirst and David Bowie to do large scale versions of the idea. They were called spin paintings and I ventured along to the Saatchi Gallery in London a few years ago to see the Hirst display. Huge they were and they did bring a big smile to my face, especially with the thought that I was dabbling in this form of art way before Damien!
Anyway, if anyone is interested in viewing some original 60's efforts, here is the link http://spiromatic.blogspot.com/

THE TOY SHOP - WHITEHALL CRESCENT

I'm not sure how long The Toy Shop was at this spot in Whitehall Crescent, but I do have a photo of it there in the 1940's and the above picture was taken in 1982, so it had been on the go for around 4 decades at least.
The decade that was of interest to me though as a primary school kid, was the 60's, the age of Scalectrix, Lego, Action Man and a whole heap of other classics. Having said that, because we usually got our major toys at Christmas, my only visit to The Toy Shop, apart from window shopping, would be to get small items like a Corgi car or suchlike. I do remember getting a Gyroscope from there. Once you got one of them spinning, you could get it to balance on anything. It was like having magic powers!!
Photo by DC Thomson.

JOHN MENZIES RECORD DEPT - 1983

John Menzies moved out of their Commercial St/Murraygate corner position in 1983, and relocated further along Murraygate to the empty premises that was once Woolworth. This is a shot from the new location of their record department, taken in December 1983. The record racks were placed diagonally at first, as above, but by the next year they changed the layout of the racks to run parallel with the wall (see December 2008 Archives for comparison).
It's quite interesting to see the large display above the door advertising the very first "Now That's What I Call Music" album...the series being on volume 74 at present!!
And so, with this image, I will now fade out from the recent music theme and crack on with a couple of weeks of retro Christmas shopping!
Photo by DC Thomson

BRUCE'S TOP TWENTY - 1977

Influenced by the punk DIY fanzine craze that began in '76, Bruces Record Shop started up their own in-house publication called CRIPES, given away free at the shop counter. The contents consisted of blotchy xeroxed graphics, record info, gig updates and ads.
So what we have here is a page from Cripes showing their top twenty singles for week ending 27th August 1977. What might surprise some of you is the sight of Dundee's NRG outfit, The Drive, up there at #3.
Bruces back then was at 33 Reform Street, with Jim Stewart running it.
The shop was always buzzin'!
Click image to enlarge.

THE SCROTUM POLES NEW ALBUM

A new release by The Scrotum Poles has arrived. The album called "Auchmithie Forever" is a collection of rare and previously unreleased material from 1979/80. The tracks, taken from stoory old tapes, have been given a wee clean and can now be heard in all their original D.I.Y glory. The homemade lo-fi sound is part of their allure of course (a bit like slipping into your favourite old grungy jeans), with the tracks on it done in a bedroom in Balunie Drive and at rehearsals in the Coffin Mill.

The fact that the Scrotes original recordings are pretty impossible to track down these days, makes the album good value, being able to have a large batch of their songs at not too much expense. And that's not hype...I watched a copy of the SP "Revelations" ep fetch a price of £134 on Ebay 2 weeks ago.

There is a vinyl LP version (which has almost sold out) and an MP3 version available, with no plans for a CD. 

The LP, having a gatefold cover, has the added bonus of lots of photos, notes and lyrics.

The Scrotum Poles are particularly popular with the present generation of young American dudes, making main man, Craig Methven, in demand with the music press in the States right now!

Yes, the retro sound of punky Dundee is selling very well, and a track from it called "You Can't Say Anything Nowadays" is one for you to tune into.

Don't forget to crank up the volume!!

Big THANX to Smeg.

JOHN McLEVY ON TRUMPET

Although Dundee trumpeter, John McLevy, was of the older generation, he was still very much active in the 60's, 70's & 80's, a period I'll get back to shortly.

Before that, he first began playing trumpet as a teenager, soon finding work locally, and around other parts of UK. His early work consisted mostly of hotel bands, and mostly in London. He did venture back home to play too, teaming up with the local Joe Gibson Band, then nipping over to Glasgow for some casino work.

London called again though and not before long he was in the line-up of the BBC Show Band lead by Cyril Stapleton. Included in his London years was a lengthy stint at the Savoy Hotel with bandleader, Francisco Cavez. JM also found time to record numerous albums with Max Bygraves...well they do say he did have a good sense of humour!!

The 70's was probably John at his peak, an era that had him play alongside jazz legend, Benny Goodman, and tour all over Europe.

He still continued playing right through the 80's, albeit in smaller bands and smaller venues, but eventually deciding to retire in the 90's.

John McLevy died in 2002.

Here is a link to one of his performances with Benny Goodman, taken from one of the 70's European tours

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GNo1N88ougE

The track is called "My Dear Mr Shane", a number which, after many decades, Dundee's present top jazz outfit, Havana Swing, play as part of their repertoire!!

AAGA - CELL CASSETTE - 1983

In contrast to the bright and breezy AAGA track I put up a couple of weeks ago, on this outing AAGA take us all on a trip to the dark side.
The CELL cassette was done in 1983, and although all the material is untitled, I think I will call this one "Council Scheme Nightmare" ...for rather obvious reasons.
It's not a tune you're gonna be whistling along to, oh no, in fact you better go find some health & safety gear for protection.!!
It starts with a piercing shrill, a noise that undulates throughout the full 7 minutes like somebody grinding a piece of corrugated iron in a manic workshop. The pace is kept at a slow steady pulse by a menacingly hypnotic rhythm created on a drum machine, and then slicing their way through it all like a circular saw on overtime are the scathing lyrics, dissecting the ugly scenes encountered.
A bit of a tour de force I reckon. Dare you check it out?
Thanks to Mike Kane.

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.