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!!!)

ROLLER SKATE ADS - 1982

The top item is a reminder of how the Rollerama looked.

It opened on 1st April 1982 and the building was in North Lindsay Street.

The photo, however, is from 1986 after it had closed down.

Underneath it is a 1982 ad for the roller rink (Rollerama) which was part of the Aristocrat Leisure Centre.

I didn't visit it very often, just the odd occasion for a drink in between pubs or when there was a band on, and I never found time to venture onto the roller rink itself unfortunately.

I do recall one time when I was passing the building on the other side of the street and I heard them blasting out a D-Train disco track through the PA, so I couldn't resist crossing the road to find out what was going on! I was on my way to the Sands at the time so couldn't stay, but the dance music they were playing did put me right in the mood!

I have some old footage (below) of a roller disco (USA not Dundee) when it was "craze of the year" in 1979.

So in my cheapskate bid to recreate that very visit to the Rollerama, I have stuck a snippet of the same D-Train track on to accompany the clip - and hey presto - my Dundee Rollerama simulation is complete!!

Well apart from one thing - I don't quite remember seeing fashion in Dundee like the skaters in the film are wearing!! 

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Since posting the Rollerama item at the top, I have managed to find a roller skate advert to accompany it.
The reason I've decided to include it here is because, in the "comments", the subject of roller blade skates cropped up, which lead to the opinion that they didn't appear on the scene until the late 80's.
Well here's the reminder that they were indeed available in the UK the same time as the Rollerama ad, as the "new concept" TRISKATE ad is dated November 1982.

DUNDEE STREET FREAKS - LATE 70'S

Here's the Dundee Street Freaks out on one of their cruises through the city centre.
The picture was taken around the 1978/79 period.
Dundee Street Freaks was a local car club for those who liked to indulge in customising their motors.
This fine example above was owned by Ralph Seiffert from Muirhead. It's an old 50's model Ford Popular which had been impressively modified. As well as it's eye-catching bodywork, it had a 2.5 litre Daimler v8 engine, Vauxhall front suspension & steering, and Jaguar rear suspension. It has also been exhibited at numerous custom car shows around Britain.
The Vauxhall coming into shot from the left was driven by Stuart Clumpas, who was a student at the time. He later went on to run the Dance Factory gigs at Fat Sam's in the 80's, and more recently, organise the T In The Park festivals.
Big thanks to Angus.

TAY BRIDGE OFFICIAL OPENING - 1966

And so we reach the moment the Tay Road Bridge officially opened.
The event, which was broadcast live on TV, took place around midday on Thursday 18th August 1966.
Below is a film clip showing some of the ceremonial palaver.

MODERN AND McGILL'S ADS - 1966

The last couple of ads has the Modern shop in Dock Street, getting a bit carried away with their sales pitch hype. According to them their shop was "One of the wonders of the Road Bridge Terminal", then go on to claim it is "The shopping experience of a lifetime".

Wow! Amazing!! Out of this world!!!

Bringing us back down to earth again, however, is McGill's - selling souvenir rugs for 6 quid!

LARG'S AND SMITHS ADS - 1966

Continuing with the adverts in the 1966 Bridge Souvenir Supplement - here's another 2.

I reckon Larg's missed a good opportunity to have a bit of fun with the wording in their caption, and could have related more appropriately with the images of the musical instruments.

They opted to say "The new bridge is another link in our chain of contacts...". To me, that makes them sound like ironmongers!

How about something like "Larg's - in tune with progress". Much better, and I won't charge a fee for that one!

Smith Brothers department store, on Murraygate/Commercial St corner, saw themselves as a city attraction that would get everyone flocking across the bridge to visit them!

They did have the Globe Restaurant I suppose.

Can anyone remember what their Mannequin Parades were like?

You'll need to click onto the Smiths ad to read the large version.

TIMEX AND WINTER ADS - 1966

Many of the adverts in the Souvenir Supplement I posted yesterday, incorporated the new bridge into their sales pitch.

Here's a couple of examples...

Timex manage to use the idea of "modern engineering and design" to relate it to their own product.

Winter's, in Shore Terrace, go for a bit of witty word play in their ad with the phrase "The Modern Approach To Printing" going along the side of the bridge.

Having all that machinery on the roof looks a bit dangerous mind you!!

Click on images to enlarge.

BRIDGE SOUVENIR SUPPLEMENT - 1966

To celebrate the opening of the Tay Road Bridge, the Evening Telegraph issued a couple of souvenir supplements.
The one above is the 2nd of them which came out on Wednesday 17th August 1966, the day before the official opening.
Inside it has lots of information about the building of the bridge, technical details, a bit about the guys who built it, the workers who died and an optimistic outlook for how Dundee would prosper in the future.
There are also loads of local ads, some of which I'll put up next.
The face on the front of the supplement is one of the men who worked on the bridge, Tony Curran of Inverkeithing.
It also features some of the Fifie workers who would be losing their jobs at Craig Pier's Ferries, but were given work on the bridge as toll collectors, patrolmen and so on.
You can see on the film clip below, some of the construction work being done.

BEFORE THE BRIDGE WAS BUILT

During the early to mid 60's period, before the Tay Road Bridge had been completed, the Dundee public were given occasional glimpses into the future as to how the new bridge would look. Most often it would be artists impressions showing the slick design, other times we would be shown images of models like the ones above.

This item about the bridge comes from a 1964 DC Thomson publication called "Dundee and round about" and has on display, models of the twin columns and the inner ring road approach. This was 2 years before the bridge opened, so it was all looking very modern at the time of course!
These were the actual models that were used during the planning stage when it was work in progress, and you can see these very models crop up in the short film clip below, showing the bridge design team in action!
Click image above to read the enlarged version.
Thanks to Neale Elder for the above items.

THE SEEVIN WEEKIES POEM - 1972

Here's a neat little poem on the subject of school holidays called "Seevin Weekies", written by local journalist & author David Phillips. He used to write using the Dundee tongue in publications such as Peoples Journal and Scots Magazine. DP also published a few books in his time, with this poem taken from a 1972 book of his titled "Oor Dundee".

7 witty verses to make you smile.

You should be able to read it ok as it is, but if you're you're struggling, click on the image to ENLARGE.

DEAN AND DAWN LIVE - 1982

 

Some live action from Dean & Dawn in Crieff back in 1982.

First there is a Friday night disco. £1:00 to get in to that one.

Four days later, Dundee's TV and Radio stars Dean & Dawn are performing live in concert.

They also remind everyone (how could they not already know?) that the duo are International Recording Artistes.

Wow...impressive!

Wonder how much it was to go see that event?

Oh... 50p.

THE INFAMOUS ZEEK & GIZ - 1982

 

I've already mentioned Zeek & Giz in the 2009 archive, when referring to the Snap-On Brothers, the mad comedy...er...music ensemble, let's say.
When the Snap-On's went their separate ways in the early 80's, the main part of the act kept going and renamed themselves The Infamous Zeek & Giz.
So the recording below is kinda like the second incarnation of the Snap-On Brothers, the duo version.
You should get a gist of their lunacy by the song title... "My Brain Is Infested With Mince"....

THE ORIGINAL DA VINCI'S - EARLY 80'S

 

This is Da Vinci's when it first appeared in Westport in the early 80's.
The interior shots show the central balcony it originally had.
I remember it like this, but also have a memory of it not being kept like this for too long, as shorlty after, they floored over the space upstairs and had a dancefloor instead.
When you went through the main entrance you'd either choose to turn left and go upstairs, or go straight ahead through the western saloon-style swing-doors into the ground-floor lounge.
Either way, it was usually good fun had.

MUSIC PUBS IN 1988

Here's a few youth-styled pubs from 1988 who put on music.

Morgans in North Lindsay Street had discos and various promotional nights.

Shaft was part of Angels in Ward Road and were playing upfront dancefloor grooves.

The Underground in Seagate were showcasing local bands and had their own DJ.

Woodies in Hilltown ran discos in the lounge at weekends.