THE SENATE'S DUNDEE CONNECTION

In the late 60's, The Senate were one of the finest soul bands to come out of the UK. The outfit was made up of some Glaswegians, a Fifer and a couple of Dundonians - namely, Robbie McIntosh and Mike Fraser.

Robbie joined The Senate in '67, toured extensively and recorded a couple of live albums with them. The band had such a good reputation, they were often chosen to back top r&b singers from the USA when they were on tour in Europe. One such name was Ben E King, who, as a consequence of working with the band, ended up writing & producing a single specifically for The Senate. It was called "Can't Stop" and was released in '67.

The 2 live albums were

The Senate - "Sock It To You One More Time"

Garnet Mimms - "Live" (as his backing band)

Mike Fraser, who was keyboard player in local bands The Syndicate and The Vikings in the mid 60's, teamed up with The Senate in late '67. When he was with them, the band were based in Italy for a while and they made a further 2 albums - not particularly Senate-like material however. For contractual reasons, they had to do 2 sessions of pop song covers - not the sort of thing they were known for, but the albums were released in Italy.

Despite sharing the bill with popular acts such as The Spencer Davis Group, The Senate split around late '68.

To follow the path Robbie took after The Senate, you can read yesterdays item.

Mike Fraser went on to join Mal & The Primitives, and has since worked with many international artists - such as, Chuck Berry, David Sanborn, Garnet Mimms, Duane Eddy, Ben E King, Amii Stewart, AWB, and soundtrack genius, Ennio Morricone. Wow...hows about that then!

Mike decided to live in Rome, and is still there working in the music biz today.

The top photo is Robbie & Mike at Glasgow railway station in 1968, making their way down to London.

The other 2 are The Senate in action in Italy in 1968. Robbie on drums, Mike on keyboard.

But that's not all - there was a 3rd mysterious Dundee guy in The Senate. When the band's singer/guitarist, Alex Ligertwood, left, in came Dundonian Jim McAra to replace him. It was only for a short stint though, and unfortunately, I don't have any info on Jim as to what he did after that, other than later on, he was in Mafia back in Dundee.

To give you an idea what The Senate sounded like on their own, here below is the opening track from their live album. A track titled "Sock It To 'Em JB" - where James Brown meets James Bond!

Big thanks to Mac and Mike Fraser

ROBBIE McINTOSH ON DRUMS - 1950-1974



 

It could be said Robbie McIntosh was born with a touch of star quality, because in his case, he was the son of an American movie actor called Bonar Colleano. The film star was on location along at Barry Buddon, had a wee fling with one of the local lassie's, and 9 months later - Robbie!

He was brought up in Broughty Ferry as a youngster, then moved to Kincardine Street up the Hawkhill in his mid teens.

He took up drumming while at school (Harris) and found himself gigging locally while still aged 15. He was in The Sapphires and The Syndicate, but it wasn't long before he was attracting the attention of the big boys, which lead to the next step up, a residency across at The Auld Hoose in Tayport. He was also with local acts the East Coast Jazzmen and The Poor Souls, for a short time.

Robbie's first major move was when he joined Scotland's top soul band, The Senate, in 1967, an outfit that were in demand across UK and abroad.

He then followed that up with a short stint in The Primitives, and then afterwards was drumming for a French group called The Piranhas in a casino in Nice. It was when he was with them, he was spotted by ace r&b organist, Brian Auger, who promptly got Robbie to join his band, Oblivion Express, a period of time which included recording 3 albums, some TV appearances and plenty live gigs,. Robbie then left that band around 1971, and after doing some session work with the likes of Steve Marriot of the Small Faces and Chuck Berry, he teamed up the the guys who would become the Average White Band in 72. Robbie is mostly remembered for his time in AWB, a time which was still relatively short, because as a consequence of downing a spiked drink at a party in L.A., he died, on this very day in 1974.

AWB's story is already well documented on the net, so no need for me to go any further.

Robbie's gravestone (above) is in Barnhill Cemetery.

The top photos are of Robbie in full flow with Brian Auger's Oblivion Express taken at the Roundhouse in London.

I have a couple of AWB tracks running elsewhere on Retro, so thought I'd delve back to the 60's when he was in The Senate. As well as going down a storm as a band in their own right, they were often called upon to back visiting r&b singers on tour from the States. One such singer was Garnet Mimms, who ended up recording a live album with the band, from which this single, below, was released in 1967, when Robbie was only 17.

It's called "As Long As I Have You", a record which has gone on to be a bit of a collectors item with the Northern Soul fraternity!

Big thanks to Mac and JG

SOUL KISS CLUB - 1986

The Soul Kiss Club used to put on music events along at the Tayside Bar on the first Sunday of every month, and to let everyone know what was going on, they brought out their own wee mag.

The one here is for Sunday 2nd Feb 1986 when they had 3 live acts to showcase - the bands on the night being - The Finks - a mystery female trio and The Shebang Sisters.

There was also to be a SKC "special event" later in Feb featuring Boo-Hooray and Cattle, but this show was scheduled to take place at the Rep.

Some of the other acts who have appeared under the SKC banner have included - Bob Phillips - The Brothers Wine - Alison Burns - AAGA - Joe Public - The Ashen Heart - Steve Knight & Chris Marra - Gary Clarke's Country Extravaganza, and many more.

One of the bands they had in store for their March shindig was Immortalised In Plastiscene (deliberate wrong spelling?).

Anyway, plenty of performers there to test your memory!

There is also an ad for a midweek fashion show happening at Fat Sams on 12th Feb, organised by The Wardrobe shop in Whitehall Crescent and Jack & Irving Hairstylists in Commercial Street.

Lots of other info tucked away in there, so if you fancy a proper read, just click on the items to enlarge.

Many thanks to Drew Ramsay

PIGS ARE CUTE - TAIWAN - 1981

When Pigs Are Cute recorded 3 tracks down at Inner City Sound studios in 1981, 2 of them ended up on the Dundee Compilation Cassette the following year.
This song below called "Taiwan" was the missing 3rd track and hasn't been heard since it was recorded.
There is a kind of uneasy feel to the song, a hint that someone evil is looming over you - just the same as when countries don't get on.
This was also the big track the band used to close their set with.
So see what you reckon to this rare moody PAC opus.
Many thanks to Craig

SAVAGE PENCIL v VOCIFEROUS BIRO - 1980

Following on from yesterdays Scrotum Poles poster where I mentioned the work of Savage Pencil (Edwin Pouncey) - I managed to track down an example of his cartoon strip in an old Sounds mag I have from 1980. It was based around the weekly antics of his weird music biz creatures and was called "Rock N Roll Zoo".

Below it, however, is a parody of the strip by mystery cartoonist Vociferous Biro, also drawn in 1980, and appeared in the very first issue of Dundee fanzine, Cranked Up. This one was called "Rotten Roll Zoo", and in it, exposes the strange goings-on along at Radio Tay!!!

Click on images to enlarge.

SCROTUM POLES FAREWELL GIG - 1981

The Tayside Bar was the place to be on 19th June 1981, as this was where the Scrotum Poles played their final gig.

As well as the band live on stage, they also presented their short film "The Epitaph".

And if that wasn't enough entertainment, there was Major Longhorn on DJ duty.

The item underneath the poster also refers to the farewell gig and gives a brief overview of the band's history. It appeared in local fanzine, Le Sinistre.

Getting back to the poster - see the cartoon characters - well they are a take-off of creatures drawn by Savage Pencil (aka Edwin Pouncey) who had a cartoon strip in music paper, Sounds, at the time. You can tell it isn't a Savage Pencil original though because Oor Wullie is stuck in the middle of the freaks looking as if he wants out of there!!

Thanks to Drew Ramsay

A SHOT IN THE DARK - 1980

Here's a rare wee Dundee band relic, with an amusing twist.
This is an original ticket to a Scrotum Poles gig at Dundee College of Education in Gardyne Road, dated 9 Oct 1980.
However, the college wouldn’t let them perform under their own name so for one night only they became - A SHOT IN THE DARK..!!
Some other entertainment on the night thrown in - disco, raffle...boat races...that kinda thing!!

Big thanks to Graeme

S...... POLES RADIO INTERVIEW - 1980

Let's go back to 1980 and find out what's on radio...
(Twiddle knob)...Radio 1...Tommy Vance...naaaaaah...Radio 2...Richard Baker...oh sod off...skip past Radio 3 & 4...oh ho, what's this...flippin' heck it's Scrotum Poles guitarist Colin Smith being interviewed on Radio Tay!
Well even if the presenter did seem to be a bit unprepared, it was typical of the kind of chat that cropped up on local radio back then.
A speedy round-up of the band's activities then back to the show!
They don't use the word "Scrotum", so I assume they must have deemed it too strong for Dundee's housewives at the time!!
Big thanks to Craig

SCOTT PRESTON OF REVOLT

Here's a familiar face (and jacket) from Dundee's punky past - it's Scott Preston.

The photo is from around 1980 when he was roadie for the Scrotum Poles. In fact this is him having a wee rest during one of their practice sessions.

Scott himself ended up fronting a band called Revolt a couple of years later.

The item under the photo is from Cranked Up, and features Jock Ferguson in a witty mini interview with Scott and the rest of the lads in Revolt - Jojo, Segs & Spike.

Don't dare say they're "a punk band" though or you're in for it..!!

After Revolt he was in Under The Sun.

Scott died in 2006.

Big thanks to Craig

FRICTION - DEMO TRACK - 1979

Dundee band, Friction, sparked into life in summer 1979.
They played serrated, urgent, alternative pop, in a style which was becoming more popular around the 79/80 period with the arrival of Scottish record labels like Pop Aural and Postcard.
The band were - Stef Murray on vocals - Wendy Hart on bass - Derek Hannon & Rod Sturrock on guitars and Scott McKinlay on drums.
Their first gig was across in Newport in August 79, then it was straight into the deep end supporting The Revillos when their second gig came around a month later. As a consequence of this, they got to know The Revillos/Rezillos, who put them in touch with Tony Pilley who had a recording studio in Edinburgh called Barclay Towers. Well when I say studio, it was the guys flat and the recording equipment was set up in his kitchen! Anyway, it was good enough for The Rev(z)illos and so Friction got in on the act too, and recorded & mixed 3 tracks, all in one day!
They went on to gig for another year or so before the band came grinding to a halt, but not for long though because the same line-up renamed themselves All The Rage and they were up & running again. This took them up to around 1982ish, when after a couple of tweaks to the ATR line-up, were transformed into Waiter Waiter.
Below is a track from Friction's kitchen session, recorded in November 79. It's an energetic little number called "Backwards/Forwards". All being aged around 18 at the time and not having much dosh, they didn't manage to get this down on vinyl, and so the 3 session tracks have remained unheard since then. Good to know the tape survived 30 years tucked away in the attic mind you!
You may like to know Stef and Scott along with Ross Mathieson, are still playing & recording together, this time under the name of Stoor.
Before you skite off, give this one here below a wee blast and relive the sound of young Scotland from 30 years ago - when we were the bee's knees!

Many thanks to Scott.

VIC PETERSON OF THE PETERMEN - 1968

Scottish folk duo, The Petermen, were Mike Petrie from Glasgow and Vic Peterson from Dundee.
They formed in 1967 when Vic was only 17, not long after leaving Kirkton High, it would seem.
You can read a wee bit about them above, which is taken from the back of their album cover.
They made only the one album, released in 1968, but managed to recruit the services of The Strawbs as session musicians in the process!
It was a short lived venture however, as the 2 split in 1969.
In the early 70's, Vic teamed up with Diana Shearer and formed Juniper Green, cut a couple of albums and were stars of Opportunity Knocks!
Getting back to The Petermen though, here below is quite an amusing track from the album. It's called "The Buildings" and is about being forcibly evicted from your home. What's funny about it is the fact that it having been recorded in the 60's, they mention getting kicked out of their tenements to move into the "new" multi's that were springing up - but of course nowadays, it's the people in multi's who are being kicked out.
Michty meh!!

ECHO & THE BUNNYMEN - DUNDEE - 1982

This was a really cool gig to be at - Echo & The Bunnymen at the Marryat Hall on 4 May 1982.
It was the final stop in a mini tour of Scotland that kind of went off the beaten track and under the radar of the mainstream music press.
Those in the know, however, were treated to a very relaxed performance from the band, sometimes seeming like they were still in rehearsal mode!
There are a few photos up on Flickr from this very gig...

here's a link - Bunnymen in Dundee

 

Also on the same night was a new local band called, Just Little Boys.
The snappy review above comes from Dundee fanzine, The Voice.
It's a brief account of their moment on stage which they say was a rather indifferent, uninspired set, getting a big thumbs down as a consequence. The reviewer also seems to think their singer, Jackie McPherson, was in the line-up more or less for eye candy purposes!
Strangely, I can't remember anything whatsoever of Just Little Boys.
I wasn't "too drunk" because I can recall the Bunnymen ok.
I didn't arrive "too late" because I can recall all the dancing to the records played over the PA, before the show.
So was it that the band were indeed "too dull" to register?
Can anybody put in a good word for them?

 

You may need to enlarge the review to read.

THE JUNKIES AT THE TAYSIDE BAR - 1981

Did ya get a good wee buzz scrolling through that lot?

This impressive cascade of images catches The Junkies in full flow at one of their gigs down at the Tayside Bar, probably around the 1981 period.

It's amazing how fresh the pictures look 3 decades on. You'd think they were just taken 3 weeks ago!

For some reason, the Tayside Bar looks quite cavernous in black & white, but as a lot of you will recall, there was hardly any room to move at the area allocated for bands.

Top-notch pics though!

This is a good opportunity to accompany the photos with another track of theirs.

I put up a downtempo tune last year, so this time out I thought I'd go for a song which is more the kind of thing they were known for - an upbeat, sleazy, rock "n" drawl number called "Pretty Boys".

Big THANX to Drew Ramsay

 

THE ALTERNATORS - NO ANSWERS - 1978

The Alternators formed in 1976 and had in their line-up ; Martin Geldart (bass) - Wayne Hutton (drums) - Colin Warnock (guitar/vocal) - Louis O'Neil (keyboards).

Their punk based material got them supporting bands such as The Ramones, Skids, The Stranglers...and on one infamous occasion when they were the support for The Rezillos at the Marryat Hall, an altercation took place between the 2 bands during rehearsals resulting in Colin Warnock decking Rezillos singer Fay Fyfe, and so needless to say, no home gig for the guys that night!!

The Alternators did come close to signing a major record deal in London, but it fell through, and shortly after that they split.

Incidentally, Billy MacKenzie once had a short spell singing in the band in their early days.

There does seem to be a slight Stranglers influence on the track below, with a touch of the Dave Greenfield keyboard sound, but it does have a chorus which was typical of the kind of punky records from that era.

You can see the poster for this single (released in January 1978) in the photo above, and it also completes the trio of records released on the Dundee NRG label, all of which are now up on Retro Dundee.

 

DUNDEE LASSIES MEET WALKER BROTHERS - 1966

Here are local lassies, Margaret Stibbles & Jean Shepherd, bunching up with the fabulous Walker Brothers in 1966.
The group were in town for a gig at the Caird Hall.
1967 was the year the group actually split up to go their separate ways, so the Dundee duo just managed to catch them while they were still a pop pin-up act.
It's amazing how many musicians have since gone on in the following decades, to name-drop the Walker Bros as having been a major influence. Mind you, they did belt out some real classy pop records in the mid 60's - with Scott Walker then branching off to create music afterwards which seems to come from some kind of higher sonic plane.
He even manages to look cool in a duffel coat!

DUNDEE LASSIE MEETS PRETTY THINGS - 1965

It looks like this picture was taken through net curtains - but ignoring the poor quality, in amongst there is Dundee lass Pat Whitton mingling with The Pretty Things in 1965.

The Pretty Things were a mighty fine band. They started off in the early 60's doing really tough & gritty versions of R&B songs, but come the late 60's, they changed with the trippy times, went all psychedelic, and passed the acid test with flying colours!

In their case, they even brought out a record called "LSD".

The naughty things!!

Anybody catch them play in Dundee?

DUNDEE LASSIES MEET AMEN CORNER - 1968

Here's a cosy wee scene from 1968 - pop group, Amen Corner, are cornered by 3 Dundee fans, Sheena Doig, Pat Brown and Dorothy Patterson.
The band were regulars in the charts in the late 60's, but this photo was taken a year before their only #1 hit "If Paradise is...", a classic piece of pop in my opinion.
Amen Corner were in town in March 1968 for a gig at the Top Ten Club. 
Despite the group's success, they split around 1970ish and vocalist Andy Fairweather Low (far left) went solo. 

CUTHBERT'S VANS - EARLY 70'S

2 adverts for Cuthbert bakers who are mostly known for their morning rolls.

Top ad has the delivery vans at their HQ ready for a days work in 1970.

Underneath is an ad featuring another Cuthbert's delivery van and is from 1971.

Cuthbert's HQ was based in Ure Street, but as they say, their vans were everywhere.!

STEVENSONS LAUNDRY VAN

The picture of Stevensons laundry van is dated 1966.

Their ad below it is from 1970.

During this period, their main base was at 222 Hilltown, but by 1974 that address disappeared and their branch at 173 Perth Road then became the main hub.

My uncle used to drive a Stevensons van in the early/mid 60's era and so as a consequence, I've had a hurl in one!

THE Q-BIKES! - 1966

Who better to get a 60's school kid in the mood for going out cycling, than the Q-Bikes.
This gang of cycling do-gooders, drawn by Andy Hutton, first appeared in the Beano in 1963. Each week the team would get up to all sorts of adventures which would always result in them either rescuing people in distress or catching villains!
They also looked pretty cool, dressed way ahead of their time, wearing helmets with built-in headsets!
The above image comes from an old Beano I have from June 1966, just as they start a new series. The gang are introduced and take the opportunity to give a couple of safety tips while they're at it. In this particular episode, the Q-Bikes went on to capture a pickpocket who was operating on Blackpool beach. Cycling on sand - now that's impressive!
In 1969, however, they ditched their bikes and became the Q-Karts!
So I'm gonna take my cue (Q) from that, and bring this little 60's cycle run to a close.

VARIOUS BIKE ADS - 1966

Here's a blitz of bike ads from 1966.

On top is another of the low frame designs - the Dawes Kingpin.

Under it is an ad for Gamages new Sportsman cycle. This is similar to the kind of bike I had back then. A bit old style compared to a lot of the more radical designs that were taking over, but still had lots of fun on it though.

Next is an advert for the Cyclo Sport P2 Gear. These were usually to be found on racers, a bit like the one next to it in the Vindec ad.

Where would we be without the good old puncture repair outfit? The kit in the ad being by Romac. Well the thing about taking a repair kit with you on cycling trips was, if you got a flat tyre a way out in the countryside, where were you supposed to get a basin of water from?!

Finally, a wee luxury item - the Lucas Cyclometer. You had to cycle around the block quite few times before it would go up 1 notch!

THE MOULTON

The Moulton is now considered a design classic, but seeing the bike's wee wheels when it first hit the scene in the 60's, did make it look quite comical.

It didn't take long for the novelty to wear off though, and was quite a common sight on the roads as it became more popular.

One of the unique features of the design was the inner telescopic front suspension with outer rubber spring. Without this, the small wheels would have made it a bumpy ride!

Talking of which - I remember getting a backie on a Moulton once. Not recommended. I was actually sitting on the back area where the bag goes, and because it was so low down, I had to rest my heels on the wheels axle bolts, which in turn lead to my knees sticking up in the air like a frog. Not very cool!

The footage below shows a couple of variations Moulton managed to come up with.

THE REVELATION AND RSW 16 - 1966

Possibly for the first time in decades, bicycle designs changed when we reached the fab 60's.

Moving away from the old traditional standard bike frame, in came a new look - the low centre of gravity frame, made famous by Moulton.

Other bike manufacturers soon caught on to the Moulton design and came up with their own versions.

Here's 2 examples from 1966 - the top one being a Royal Enfield "Revelation" and the one underneath it, Raleigh's "RSW 16". Both models had the modern low frame design as well as the innovative quick release levers for adjusting the height of the saddle and handlebars.

Although I never had any of the 2 on show, I do remember seeing both of them whizzing around Craigie in the 60's.

The original Moulton was still the most popular, but I actually always preferred the RSW because of the chunky white tyres!

DUNLOP ADVERT - 1966

Dunlop managed to pass on some cycling advice in this ad of theirs from 1966, explaining how to overtake a stationary vehicle safely.
I don't think they were so concerned about dishing out driving instructions in their car tyre ads though because I was once knocked off my bike by a car overtaking me.
The car was towing a caravan but didn't leave enough room as it passed and so when it banged into me, I went flying!!!
You may need to click onto the ad to read it.

HALFORDS ADVERT - 1968

Off we go cycling in the 60's now for a few days, this being an era when the only safety gear used was bicycle clips!
Starting with this 1968 ad for Halfords in the High Street, a shop that was probably Dundee's most well known stockist of bikes.
Other bicycle dealers who were on the go in the late 60's were -
CUTHBERTS - Hawkhill
PT JACKSON - Victoria Rd
LINDSAY BROS - Victoria Rd
JR NICHOLSON - Arbroath Road
ROBERTSON BROS - Strathmartine Rd
JAMES A RODGER - Tannadice St & Clepington St
WESTERN CYCLE DEPOT - Hawkhill
WOOLER'S - Lochee High St
I can remember looking in the window of Nicholson's shop quite a lot around this period as a schoolboy, staring at the rack of racers they had on display and thinking to myself..."maybe one day"...but nope, never did get one!!
(cue quivering bottom lip!!!)