MACKENZIE THE MODEL #1

Everyone knows Billy MacKenzie was Dundee's most high profile pop star in the 80's. I think it's safe to say he was probably the nearest thing Dundee had to having a fashion model back then as well. He did wear a lot of cool gear, and he wasn't exactly camera shy!

He did of course know a bit about the subject, what with him owning his own fashion boutique, The Crypt, a shop that specialised in both vintage clothing & designer clothing. Not the kind of stuff found in your run-of-the-mill High Street stores.

Both of the above items are from 1982. The ad for his shop, and Billy posing inside. He seems to have chosen a 50's crooner look for this shot...although not in his footwear preference!

THE STEVE ELLIS JUMPER

I'd imagine Steve Ellis is blissfully unaware that his name will forever be linked to Dundee gang culture.

Back in the good old bad old days (the 70's) when all of Dundee's gangs paraded around in, and did battle in their gang jerseys...these garments were referred to as your "Stevie Ellis" jumper.

The main design feature of a Stevie Ellis was that it had a high v-neck. This meant you could wear the jersey without a shirt underneath and it would still look smart, although most guys (and gals) wore Ben Sherman shirts with the jersey despite the fact you'd only see a wee bit of the collar poking out the top!

Being exclusively a Dundee concept meant you couldn't go and just buy one from a shop in the high street. They were customised to order. The best quality Stevie Ellis's were made at a shop called The Sewing & Knitting Centre, in Victoria Road. They'd gladly make a gang jersey for you in the housing scheme of your choosing!

You can find a few of the gang jersey colour variations in the Retro Archive, but the example above is the hooped colours of the Mid.

The top pictures are of the man himself wearing the jersey that inspired the cult clothing.

And for those younger ones who don't know who Steve Ellis is, he was the lead singer in a pop group called The Love Affair, who had a few hits in the late 60's.

THE WRONG T-SHIRT!

Being into Slade in my early teens, once in 1972 I decided to send away for one of their T-shirt's from a Mail Order company who were advertising them in a pop magazine called Disco 45, as in the ad above.

I filled out the order form... YELLOW - SLADE - MEDIUM.

What I got in return was... GREEN - GONK - SMALL.

I mean, how was a 14 year old gonna get a bit of street cred with a gonk..?!!

I ended up just chucking it out, rather than returning it.

In hindsight, I suppose I could have tried to pass it off as Roy Wood merchandise!

Click image to enlarge.

RETRO FASHION TIME!

As far as I know, Dundee has no "fashion week" like other cities around the world do, so to compensate for this, I thought I'd indulge in a retro fashion theme, which I reckon should turn out to last more like a fortnight!

The 3 decades will be represented, and I'm sure many of the items will make you smile, while others may make you cringe!

Anyway, what better place to start than the 60's, when fashion was "out-of-this-world!"

Being at primary school in the 60's meant I usually only wore clothes that were grey or navy blue. Once out of school however, I did get to dress more in keeping with the times. So I had things like a paisley pattern shirt, psychedelic kipper tie, 2-tone trousers, Chelsea boots, cravat, white polo neck, corduroy shoes, and so on. Quite cool for a 12 year old!

When it came to the really "way-out" gear though, well that was usually the domain of pop stars who appeared on Top Of The Pops each week. Not the sort of stuff you'd find in Dundee's shops, but it was certainly doing a roaring trade in London back then when it seemed to be the centre of the universe!

For examples of 60's pop dress sense, check out these pages above taken from my 1967 Monkees annual. Not just flowery shirts, but flowery troosers!!

Click images to enlarge.

And below, a clip from the 60's of Dundee's very own fab & groovy gals dancing in the Haparanda.

Outta sight..!!

CONTACT EMAIL ADDRESS

Every so often, I like to put up the Retro Dundee email address for anyone who's looking to get in touch or send stuff. So feel free...

This photo (taken by my brother in the early 70's) reminds me of the time I got the Tay Road Bridge all to myself!

This was in the early 80's after a boozing session at my mate's in Tayport. When it was time for me to go home, I decided to walk back over the bridge rather than get a taxi. However, unbeknown to me, while I was merrily getting tanked up before then, behind the scenes the weather had made a drastic change for the worse, and had become extremely stormy. When I got to the bridge in the wee hours, they had the "Bridge Closed" sign up because of the high winds. If I was sober, I'd have turned back at that point and crashed out at my mate's in Tayport, but of course having a touch of Dutch courage, I dived over the barrier and stuck to my decision to walk it. I remember giggling to myself all the way across, especially when I was being shoogled aboot by the wind!

When I reached the Dundee end, the traffic police were parked there to enforce the closure, and when they saw me emerging out of the storm, one of them jumped out of the car furious, shouting something like "Where the hell did you come from, didn't you see that the bridge is closed?". I just made up something stupid like "Oh I thought that was only for traffic!". Anyway, it's not as if he was gonna send be back across for being a naughty boy was it, so he ended up shaking his head in dismay and doing the "On your way" routine!!

THE ORIGINAL TAY BRIDGE WALKWAY

The top photo was taken from the observation platform on Tay Road Bridge in the late 60's and shows the view along the original central pedestrian walkway.

In the picture below it, you can see that it was based on a chequerboard design.

This feature was devised by the bridge's designer, William Fairhurst, who just so happened to be an International Chess Master as well!

The pattern depicts a knight's move repeated in 5 different colours of stone.

THE GRIP - CLUB FEET AD

An ad from 1983 for The Grip playing at Club Feet.
Club Feet was part of the Tay Centre set up in Dock Street and was the upstairs nightclub previously called Junction 9, with the Club Feet transformation taking place in 1982.
Talking about 9 and looking at The Grip ad - 9 on stage must have been a bit of a squeeze!
Thanks to DD

AN OVERVIEW OF THE GRIP - 1982

This piece written by Jock Ferguson is an account of the general state of play with Dundee reggae band, The Grip, who at the time (early 1982) had made changes to the band line-up and were trying out new material live before going into the recording studios.
It includes a bit of background info, a brief interview and a smashing photo of the lads!
Click it to read it.

THE NOLANS - CAIRD HALL - 1981

Here's a cute wee review from the pages of Cranked Up featuring The Nolan Sisters at the Caird Hall in 1981, and was written by local lass, Lorna McCulloch, aged 12.
3 lucky lassies were plucked out of the audience and got to go up on stage to sing along with the group. I'd imagine the trio knew all their songs and dance routines off by heart, like most girls that age seem to with pop music!

ROD STEWART - CAIRD HALL - 1977

Rod Stewart was back in town for a 2 night performance on 7 & 8 January 1977.
The Caird Hall looked as if it had been freshly whitewashed for the concerts, with the large white backdrop drapery, white stage, white piano and PA system to match!
It made the colourful chiffon and satin of the band's outfits stand out even more so.
As you can see in the photos, which were taken on the 8th, Rod certainly seems to be enjoying himself.
Incidentally, the impressive drum-kit belongs to well known rock musician, Carmine Appice.
And don't worry, the guitarist in the last shot hasn't been airbrushed out, he is in fact hiding behind the drapes!

Photos by Derek High.

HAIRCUT 100 - CAIRD HALL - 1982

A "Cranked Up" double review of Haircut 100's Caird Hall gig in '82.
One who loathed it, and one who liked it!
You'll see on the middle item showing the tour dates that the Dundee gig was originally planned to take place at the Barracuda, but I suppose the venue was probably considered too small to cope with the demand, so had to resort swiftly to plan B!.
The Haircut 100 programme got a bit of a bollocking, so thought I'd include that offending item too!!
Support act was The Bluebells.
Not sure if Haircut 100 are still on the go 30 years on, but surely after the passing of time, they would now have to consider changing their name to Hairpiece 100..!!

To read the review - click it to enlarge.

STIFF LITTLE FINGERS - UNIVERSITY - 1982

Another Deadbeat review, this time featuring Stiff Little Fingers, who played Dundee University on 30th October 1982.
I wasn't at this gig, but judging by the write-up, it seems it was quite a lively affair - including a bit of band/crowd aggro!
Apparently, well known bass player, John McCoy was there to see this one!
Click image to enlarge.

AZTEC CAMERA / SWING CLUB - TEAZERS - 1982

From the pages of Deadbeat comes this review of a gig that took place at Teazers (Royal Hotel), in 1982.
This venue (complete with candles on the tables) was the main home of Dundee's "Dance Factory" nights, before Fat Sam's opened.
I was at this gig, the headline act being Aztec Camera, from East Kilbride. Main man, Roddy Frame, who was still a very young whippersnapper at the time, was quite a flashy guitarist I recall. Not in a Jimi Hendrix way, but it showed through in his choice of chords and his solo runs. Quite sophisticated for bright & breezy pop songs. I mean, goodness knows how many chord changes there are in their chart hit "Oblivious"?!!!
Anyway, it was an enjoyable evening of upbeat sparkly tunes which began with support act, Dundee band, The Swing Club.
No need for me to describe their performance, for it is they who are the subject in the above review.
If you can't read it as it is, just click on it to enlarge.

DEADBEAT FANZINE - 1982

Early 80's fanzine, Deadbeat, covered the alternative Scottish music scene in the main, so the Dundee stuff was competing with Edinburgh, Glasgow & Aberdeen for mag space, although our local bands and gigs were well represented.

The wee mag was loaded with music articles, gig dates, gig reviews, band interviews, record releases, nightclub details, and so on. In fact Deadbeat is a great reminder of just how much Scotland was buzzing with homegrown talent back then.

When it came to bands from down South visiting Scotland however, Dundee didn't always get the cream of the crop, which is why a bit of an effort was needed to catch the acts perform in other cities. I didn't do too bad as I was a member of Edinburgh's Nite Club for a few years, so saw heaps of acts live there that never set foot in oor toon!

I just loved going through to the Nite Club - one of my favourite places ever!

Thanks to DD

LOWLAND FOLK AND THE MEDIA #2

2 items relating to the release of Lowland Folk's single - "Discovery".

The top one is a review which appeared in the Courier's "Pop File" on 18th December 1986, and tells you a bit about the record and it's link to the Dundee Heritage Trust.

Below it is a letter written by band member, Anne Brown, which was sent to the Producer of the Derek Jameson Programme on BBC Radio 2, and dated 26th January 1987.

It contains details about the single along with the fact that it was getting plenty of airplay on Scotland's radio shows, and so felt that if it was to be played on national radio, the extra publicity would help raise funds to go towards the ship's restoration.

It also adds that Lowland Folk were to be performing at London's Royal Albert Hall in March that year.

A bit of a jump from the Woodlands Hotel!

Click items to enlarge.

LOWLAND FOLK AND THE MEDIA #1

The main members of Lowland Folk were - Stewart Brown, his wife Anne, and brother, Ramsay Brown.

They originally started off in the 60's as the Lowland Folk Four when Philip Gore was with them and were a very popular act on the folk circuit. As well as doing the biz live, they also made many recordings and TV appearances. On one occasion, they supplied the soundtrack to a television documentary about Dundee which was broadcast on BBC in 1966 to coincide with the opening of the Tay Road Bridge. In fact, a reminder that you can view the original preview of the programme from the '66 Radio Times, in the January 2009 Retro Archives.

The following year, they released an album called "Eh'll Tell The Boaby", which must be one of the earliest recordings to be sung in a broad Dundee accent.

Forward wind a couple of decades to 1986, and the Lowland Folk are still at it, this time bringing out a single to commemorate the return of the Discovery to Dundee. It was released on Broughty Ferry label, Balaena Records, and was recorded at Inner City Sound studios by Allan McGlone.

It was a bit of a departure from their traditional folk sound, opting instead for a moody Clannad kind of vibe. The session also featured Allan Barty on various stringed instruments and Derek Thomson on keyboards.

(Sorry for the crunchy noises on my vinyl copy by the way!)

Finally, a wee bit of trivia - Stewart Brown was also Editor of DC Thomson magazine, "My Weekly".

INNER CITY SOUND AD - 1982

An ad from 1982 for Inner City Sound recording studios in Dens Street.
It lists the gear on offer for all your recording needs & requirements, and at very competitive rates too!
Needless to say, local acts took advantage of their facilities...all sorts of bands ranging from Lowland Folk to Pigs Are Cute.
The boss at the controls was Mafia man, Allan McGlone.

BRAIN DAMAGE CASSETTE - 1983

Dundee band, Brain Damage, recorded this cassette called "Death To Timmy Pop" in 1983.
Drummer, Cody, has the actual original master recording on reel but it hasn't been digitised yet.
So from the 7 tracks on the audio tape, I've plucked out a tune called "Believe In Me".
A brash breakneck speed hardcore punk sizzler!

GREYLODGE BENEFIT GIG - 1987

This flyer was for a benefit gig put on to help raise funds for a recording studio at the Greylodge Centre, which was tucked away in the Wellington Street / South George Street area, just off Victoria Road.
There were a handful of these benefit gigs around the 1986-88 period, with this one here (which took place on 31st January 1987) featuring the following bands - Chumbawamba - The Next World - Heavy Discipline - Redemption - Rodney Relax & the Dead Loss Angels, and Vex.
All that for £1.50!
I missed out on this do, but I'm sure Mike Kane will be able to fill in a few details about the event.
Thanks to MK

ALEX SMITH'S INTERIOR - 1968

This interior shot of Alex Smith's Commercial Street store, was taken in September 1968. It has a mix of household items for the kitchen, bedroom & bathroom.
A couple of brand names I spotted are - Henley (cutlery) and a stack of boxes with FredoGlass stamped on them, although I've no idea what would have been inside!?
I do like the chequerboard drawers in the background mind you - very 60's!
Photo by DC Thomson