THE MEGAZONES AROUND TOWN - 1980'S

Elsewhere on Retro Dundee you'll find features on The Megazones single and a gig review, so now it's time to unveil the guys in action!

Here they are strutting their stuff around various venues in town during the 1980-81 period.

The band consisted of - Jim Farrell, lead vocal & guitar - Cliff (Smith) McAulay, bass - Iain Carnegie, guitar - and they had 2 different drummers, Kenny Farquharson and Kev Devlin.

Top picture is at the Tayside Bar, Seagate.

Middle snap is The Windmill, Hilltown.

Bottom image is in the YMCA up the Conshie.

All photos were taken by Ken Cummings.

You can backtrack on the previous posts via the search box where both Cliff and Kenny have supplied further details about the band.

Many thanks to Derek.

THE CLASH - CAIRD HALL - 1980

The 18th January 1980 saw The Clash rumbling into town for a gig at the Caird Hall.

This was their "16 Tons Tour", the band arriving on stage to the sound of Tennessee Ernie Ford's version of the song "16 Tons".

Quite a lively night needless to say, the band wearing black, red & white combination gear and telling the crowd at the front to stop gobbing!

There were at least 2 dozen songs in their set on the night, recordings of which exist and I have in my collection.

I was tempted to accompany this item with a Caird Hall sound sample but I thought you'd like what's below even better.

It's footage of the band in Dundee the day after the gig, about to depart for their next show elsewhere.

It has Joe Strummer doing his bit for the camera, filmed at the Tay Hotel and around the corner area of Whitehall Crescent.

The cops are making their presence known too....just in case!

SAMANTHAS ADS - LATE 70's

Samantha's in South Tay Street was quite a short lived discotheque, on the go from 1976 to 78, so these ads above are a bit of a rare sight.

The first 2 are from the Dundee Telegraph and are dated December 1977.

The top one is a general ad emphasising their weekend disco action.

It also mentions the Stage Door Bar - that was the pub at the back of Samantha's in the Marketgait that had a connecting doorway taking you to the disco. It saved trekking around the block to the main entrance.

The second ad is for a midweek event, the visitor being Richard Searling.

I remember Richard's name cropping up every week back then in music mags such as Black Echoes and Blues & Soul. He was a DJ specialising in soul music, both the Northern Soul variety and the more up-to-the-minute dance tracks. In fact he was quite an influential DJ, not only was he a Wigan Casino regular, but he was the guy who brought the original "Tainted Love" to the attention of clubbers.
Another well know disc-jockey who appeared here was Radio 1 DJ, Paul Burnett. This was on 15 January 1978.

Just a bit of general background info to give you an idea of the entertainment on offer at the time.

An example of the kind of bands that performed here are shown in the next 3 items.

Firstly an ad that appeared in NME in October 1978 featuring tour dates for punk band, 999, who had Samantha's as a venue on 22 October. To go with it is a gig guide showing the same date, with Simple Minds also on the bill.

The last item shows that Ultravox played at Samantha's a couple of weeks earlier on 8 October '78.

Many thanks to Yvonne for the Telegraph ads.

S'PUNK FANZINE - 1979

Back in 1978 when Steve Grimmond and Craig Methven were still only in their mid teens, they started up this fanzine call S'PUNK (it's punk), dedicated to the punk scene and its kindred on the fringe.

This particular one above is issue 13 and came out in January 1979.

So quickly sifting through some of the pages I've put up on display...

On top is the front cover which has an image stating "If You Don't Buy This Magazine, We'll Kill This Dog".

The 2nd page down is the editorial intro, or idiotorial as they have it, cramming in a few words about the mag content, surrounded by the bands and subject matter for this issue.

Image 3 is a look back at their "Singles Of The Year" for 1978. Both list their personal top 10 and there is also a general S'Punk top 20.

Craig has gone for The Only Ones - "Another Girl, Another Planet".

Steve opted for Steel Pulse - "Ku Klux Klan".

4th page down is a mention of a gig that took place up at the Bowling Alley in Marketgait, the band being Punishment Of Luxury (Punilux for short). This includes a rather brief encounter with the band which soon became an aborted interview! There is also a mini review of the gig itself.

Lastly, we have 5 acts at 2 venues.

The upper 2 are for Richard Hell & The Voidoids and John Cooper Clarke, the support acts for Elvis Costello who played the Caird Hall on 14th January 1979.

Finally, a 3 band gig, this time at Bloomers in South Tay Street.

Support acts were Curfew and Straits, with The Skids being the main headliners.

S'Punk must be a contender for being one of Dundee's earliest fanzines I reckon, so it's a rare read, and if you want to view the pages in more detail, just click onto them to enlarge.

Big THANKS to Craig.

SWEET TV TIMES - 1982

This kinky wee publication called "Sweet TV Times" was given out at gigs when The Junkies were entertaining the masses.

Needless to say, it has a fair smattering of Junkies related items in amongst a large dollop of SM fetish kinda material.

Bypassing the rubber and whips for now though, I've plucked out this item above - The Junkies Family Tree - covering the time of their inception in mid 1978 up to the time of the mag, summer 1982.

The very first line-up of the band consisted of - Alison Burns, Al Hendrickx, Vince Piggot and Mike Kane - after that it branches off into 7 different variants.

It's easy to follow the sequence of changes, during which saw Vince and Alison leave - then return again. Drummers in particular didn't appear to have a very long shelf life it seems, and by the time we get to line-up #7 even Alan McGlone was getting in on the act!

Just give it a click to enlarge.

Thanks again to Jock.

ON THE STREET GUIDE - 1989

I've already raided this magazine for its content on quite a few previous posts, and so this is me just getting round to putting the front cover up on view now.

From 1989 - it's "On The Street" - a local what's-on guide given away free.

Jock Ferguson was the main contributor at the time, with some assistance from P.Ireland, D.Ireland & Paul Clementsmith, the publication being designed and produced by The Graphix Studio in West Port.

It was stuffed with theatre reviews, gig reviews, cinema listings, humour, events, the usual kind of thing you'd expect in a local entertainments mag - and of course, lots of adverts.

Many thanx to Jock.

PAUL WELLER'S DUNDEE PEN PAL

These 2 poems penned by Paul Weller, were published in Dundee fanzine, Cranked Up, in the early 80's.

The reason they ended up there was because they came from Alan Matheson.

Alan used to correspond with Paul Weller, and during the course, Paul would send examples of his poetry up to him.

Alan was working in DC Thomson's at the time, notably with pop/teen mag, Jackie.

Alan actually had the lyrics to The Jam's "That's Entertainment" a year before it came out as a single.

Anyway, Alan passed these two poems on to Cranked Up, and they may very well be exclusives!

Bearing in mind that poems don't always mean they are song lyrics, however I did a bit of research on the net with songs in mind, and I found 1 tiny sketchy reference linking Paul Weller to "Along The Grove", which may possibly have been recorded as a demo. Nothing clearer than that.

As for "Optimmorning"- absolutely nothing whatsoever cropping up on that one at all.

I know Paul has dabbled in publishing too, with the material not relating to his musical output, but I can't find any trace of info about the two poems above via that route either.

So if there are any Paul Weller aficionados out there who can pass on further details, feel free to share it here.

"Optimmorning" - published in Cranked Up 1981.

"Along The Grove" - published in Cranked Up 1982.

Prior to that, Alan once had an article published in London fanzine "Sniffin' Glue" back in summer 1977.

It was a report about what happened when Dundee's punk scene was attempting to spark into life with gigs put on at the Ambassador.

Unfortunately, in true shambolic punk style, the organisation of it fell flat right at the very start when a certain well known band didn't turn up.

Read about it in the original Sniffin' Glue article above.

Sadly, Alan Matheson died in 2002.

Click on the items to enlarge.

VIEWS FROM URBAN DWELLINGS - 1983

A dip into Dundee's underground publishing now, courtesy of Aagapublications.

This book called "Views From Urban Dwellings" came out in 1983 and was the 2nd volume of the title.

Aagaproductions is credited as being Mike Kane & Steve Grimmond, who also make an appearance as contributors.

The others who submitted material for vol 2 were - Kevin Dyer, Ray Flood, Pete Horobin, Charles Lear, Craig Methven, Bob Philips and Steve Sneyd.

The content of the book was a mixture of poems, short stories, photos, musings, art, short plays, bits & pieces like that.

In fact I've already featured the graphics of Pete Horobin from the book, so this time I thought I'd focus on the writing and have plucked out an example of Ray Flood's poetry.

This one titled "The Meaning Of Life" deals with the routine and boredom of being stuck in a mundane job.

He mentions he gets the 1B into the city centre to work at "JM".

John Menzies? Could be..!

Anyway, big thanks to Craig.

FRANK BOYLE'S DUNDEE ARTWORK - 70'S

Before he became the well known cartoonist he is today, Frank Boyle spent a short time working in Dundee.

He was a student at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art from 1970 to 1974, a time when he socialised around the pubs of Hawkhill and Perth Road, often mingling with Skeets Boliver.

From college, he went straight into a job at DC Thomson's where he worked as an illustrator, doing non-cartoon based artwork for the likes of Peoples Friend, Sporting Post, Sunday Post and so on.

Above are 3 examples of his illustrations from his DCT days.

The top 2 feature his portrayal of Dixon Hawke, the detective who appeared each week in the Sporting Post. Some rather nice old-school crosshatching on display there. These 2 are both from 1974.

The bottom example for the Topical Times Football Book is from the same period, with Frank doing the graphic for the ad.

Although he enjoyed the camaraderie of the DCT art dept, he didn't like the thought of being in the same place for 50 years, so he left in 1975 and headed for London.

He actually stayed with a couple of Dundee guys in London, Alan Docherty and Brian Galloway, and so it wasn't too long before Frank found work again, only this time it was with DC Thomson rivals, IPC Magazines!

In the early 80's, he was becoming more politicised and that's when he began drawing topical cartoons, with his work being published in mags such as Labour Weekly and New Statesman.

In the late 80's he returned to Scotland and continued his political cartooning with Glasgow Herald, Scotland On Sunday and Edinburgh Evening News.

Check out Franks website for a fuller and more detailed biog, and also find out what he's been up to after the 80's - such as dabbling in stand-up comedy, his cartoons appearing in a movie, being Cartoonist Of The Year...twice, with plenty of books and exhibitions along the way!

Here's the link -

http://www.boylecartoon.co.uk/

Big thanks to Frank.

LOUIE IN THE TELE - 1972

Some of you may remember this wee fella who used to crop up in the Tele regularly - it's Louie.

This was a syndicated cartoon and his creator, Harry Hanan, kept the strip going for around 30 years up till he retired in the mid 70's, with this particular example dating from January 1972.

Although there was never any dialogue in the strip, somehow you always knew what was being said!

VIEW MAGAZINE - 1978

This is the very first issue of View magazine, a free Dundee arts guide, published in 1978.

I've put up the foreword to give you the general gist of the mag content that outlines their coverage of local exhibitions and plans for the future.

Along with reviews of the main art centres in town, it also gives the lowdown on the 2 galleries shown above - the Dudhope Arts Centre and the Forebank Studios.

The Dudhope Arts Centre in St. Mary Place had workshop facilities for drawing, print making, painting etc, as well as it being a place putting on exhibitions, concerts, dance performances, that kind of thing. In addition, their coffee-bar area would be used for one-man shows.

The Forebank Studios in the Hilltown started up in 1976 when a group of local artists moved into what was an empty school at the time, and with a little help from the Scottish Arts Council, the Dundee Group (Artists) came into being.

The studios were both an artists workplace and exhibition space.

The exhibition advert for Forebank Studios was published in the Scottish press in Feb 1978.

There is also mention in View about a new film theatre that was due to open in 1979.

That was the Steps Theatre, which as we all know, opened AND closed down, ironically, because of the DCA springing up!

MYSTERY AUTHOR - 1980's

I'm going to have to rely on your assistance for this one.

The Bear sent me these photos of an author taken in Dundee around the mid/late 80's period, but he no longer has the details of who he is.
All the info I have is that he has a connection with local historian, Graeme Smith, and he has been featured in the Scotland On Sunday newspaper.
Anybody recognise him?

A-Z OF THE HILLTOWN - 1989

"This is a local book, for local people!" could have been the phrase used when this publication came out - an A-Z Of The Hilltown, published in 1989.

There were a few contributors involved but Niall McA Robertson is the chap getting the credit on the front cover.

I've put the index up on view to give you an idea of the variety of content inside its 50 pages - history, trade, buildings, characters, photos, pubs etc - just in case some of you fancy tracking down a copy, because it's a very useful reference source.

It was even produced locally within the Hulltoon boundaries, by the Grey Lodge Urban Printers.

GOW'S FISHING BOOK - 1962

Not sure if yesterdays location was a place to go fishing but in 1962, Gow's in Union Street, brought out this catalogue showcasing the fishing equipment they had available at their shop.

The book had the full range of gear you'd expect - rods, reels, flies, waders, and so on, plus they also had a few gift items such as tankards, wallets, cigarette cases etc.

There was a brand of fishing equipment on the go at the time called the "Tayside" range, which included the Tayside Fly Rod, Spinning Rod, Artificial Bait, Sprat & Prawn Tackle, Cast Book, and the example shown here being the Tayside Bag.

While I was at it, I thought I'd stick on the Tayside Fly Rod section because it had an amusing error, detailing a "19ft" rod, when it should have been 10ft.

19ft?....what a whopper!

At the back of the book they list all the nearby rivers and lochs you could visit to indulge in the sport.

The book was also published locally - by David Winter.

BALDOVIE CURLING POND - 1960'S

There may be quite a few of you who didn't know about this little patch of Dundee - it's Baldovie Curling Pond.
It was situated near the junction of Baldovie Road and Drumgeith Road.
Not really cold enough for the sport when this picture was taken in the 60's however!
Photo from Gordon C.

BRIDGE DAY - THE CROWD - 1966

Down at the scene where all the action was taking place on 18th August 1966, here's the crowd scattered all around the bridge area, waiting patiently for the grand opening.

The top image has quite a lot of folk gathered around the Dock Street bridge approach section, and you can make out the masses away in the distance over at the enclosure where the official ceremony was going on.

The middle picture catches the moment the Queen Mother's car drives up onto the the bridge, with plenty of flag waving as she passes.

The last snapshot shows the initial excitement over with some of the spectators choosing to depart, while most of the others hang on to watch the royal wheels return.

I can remember being driven across the bridge on this very day, only in the evening - along with thousands of others who decided to cross it on opening day!

Photos from Gordon C.

BRIDGE DAY - ANGUS HOTEL - 1966

Here's a couple of photos from completely different vantage points, but both captured at around the same time.
The Royal entourage were in town for the opening of the Tay Road Bridge in August 1966 and stopped off at the Angus Hotel, inevitably drawing a large inquisitive crowd.
Although the photographer in the crowd was suffering from a touch of camera shake, you can see the 3 cars are in the same position as the image above it.
Quite a coincidence that these are the only photos I have of this moment, and the two of them appear to have been taken almost simultaneously!
In addition, I have film footage of the moment the Queen Mother departs the Angus Hotel and gets into a waiting car.
The "doorway crowd" footage is very wobbly, but you can make out what's happening.

BRIDGE DAY - CITY SQUARE - 1966

They brought out the Royal banners in order to tart up the city square, the day the celebrations for the official opening of the Tay Road Bridge were taking place - so these photos were taken on 18th August 1966.

The top image is from the city square looking over at the old Overgate. Quite rare to see photos of the original Overgate in colour. The construction of the 2nd version of the Overgate (the concrete one) was well underway in '66, but you can't see any of the building work that's taking place, in shot.

In case you're wondering, the ad on the side of the red van is for Fish Fingers.

The middle picture is a similar view, but from slightly further down the square.

A nice array of classic 60's cars on display, as well as a wee reminder of the VG van.

The bottom image shows more banners, this time from the other side of the square - and judging from the eye catching black car in the foreground, it looks like they invited Batman!

Click onto the photos to enlarge if you want to have a look around.

Photos from Gordon C.