History of alternative music in Dundee

From UGS

This is an attempt at a collaboratively created guide to the history of alternative musics in Dundee, before everyone forgets it. Please add your knowledge of what has gone before on both the non-comercial clubbing and gigging scenes. If you see anything you know is incorrect or in the wrong order, don't hesitate to correct, although please use the talk page if you're unsure of something. The best format in the long-run will probably be with year headings and probably club specific sub-headings to seperate different scenes. Click here for the related UGS thread.

==Yonks ago==]

• 1 Dec 1976 Sex Pistols play their one and only Scottish show at the Dundee Bowling Alley Students Union.
• 1976 Skeets Bolivar (Michael Mara) has residency in The Laings Bar
• 1978 Buzzcocks play in the Ambassador Bar (Clepington Road). Great gig however fails to have the inspirational effect of the pistols first gig in Manchester. Further punk gigs in Dundee included shows by 999, The Rezillios, Penetration, The Skids, Generation X, Ultravox (John Foxx on vocals), UK Subs, Eddie and The Hot Rods.
• 1977 - 1979 St Joseph's Club (The Joeys), just off the Hawkhill. Amazing club night on a Friday night, there was no bar and everyone was under 18, but drink got sneeked in. Playlist for the entire night was 3 Heavy Metal songs, 3 Northern Soul then 3 punk rock. As punk grew in popularity the top floor became solely for Heavy Metal and Northern Soul and the punks got the ground floor room to themselves for the whole night. Best Dundee alternative disco ever.
• 1979 Tayside Bar (Cowgate) starts putting on local bands. Pop funsters include Scrotum Poles, The Spies, Pulsebeat Plus, Synthetic Dreams, The Grip, Street Level (inluding Jackie Bird on vocals) and many more. Out of town bands included Altered Images (not too sure if they played) but Hey! Elastica did. Marillion, the 30 Bob Suits and top Aberdeen outfit APB.
• 1982 By now the Tayside Bar was THE in place for any Dundee band playing original music. It was also the base for many of the Dundee's fanzine editors including the excellent Cranked Up. AT LAST DUNDEE HAD A PROPER SCENE.

Contents 1 1980 2 1984 3 1990 4 Back in the day 4.1 1994 4.2 1995 4.3 1996 4.4 1997 4.5 1998 5 Rock and metal in Fatties! 5.1 2000 5.2 2001 5.3 2002 6 Post Fat Sams 6.1 2003 7 Club Cage 7.1 2006 8 The future? 8.1 2006 8.2 2007

1980

• Dundee band the Associates formed.
• Da Vinci's (West Henderson's Wynd) opens The Studio on the 1st floor. Big with New Romantics and post punk new wavers rubbing shoulders with jazz funk soul boys and girls.
• Nice mezzanine level where you could look at the people down below.
• Changes to Westport Bar in later life.

1984

• AKABUSH SOUND SYSTEM Reggae clubnight launches at (the newly opened) Fat Sams. Guests include BLACK ROOTS from Bristol and Beshara from Birmingham
• KING KURT play Club Feet below the Tay Hotel. Lots of foodfights to celebrate the release of 'Mack The Knife'
• THE METEORS play Club Feet below the Tay Hotel.

1990

• The Associates are no more.

Back in the day

1994

April: OASIS play live show at Lucifers Mill, Dundee. No more than 60 people turn up.

1995

• Abattoir - DJ Flux , DJ Synne and DJ Keith, run by the Abertay Rock-soc in the old Abertay Student Union. Industrial, Indie, alternative and punk club night.

1996

• >HOMELESS 'the group-home for Headz' launches in The Zone, Commercial Street. Guest DJ's and bands include RONI SIZE, THE PROPELLERHEADS, MR SCRUFF, NORMAN JAY, AFRIKA BAMBAATAA, DJ CAM, THE HERBALISER etc
• Kerosene in Dundee University Students Union

1997

• Jan 22nd: Former Associates member Billy Mackenzie commits suicide
• Syndustry in The Edge (Club that used to be under what is now All Stars and was previously The Rat And Parrot in Commercial Street)
• Swamp on Friday evenings, in the Colluseum (later became Club Cruise) DJed by (someone other than Doug)
• Cage on Saturday evenings in the Colluseum (which later became Club Cruise) DJed by Doug
• Lucifer's Mill closes and becomes The Cocktail Bar
• Simple in The Edge on Friday nights. Ran for about 2 months from Jan-Feb. Stopped due to a combination of apathy, stuff getting nicked and the promoter having a secret guest list for his mates who were 'paid in' from the money that was supposed to go to the DJ's.

1998

• Club Cruise shuts down, Club Cage moves (somewhere else)
• Cellar Bar shuts down. Becomes The Purple Rooms

Rock and metal in Fatties!

• Kerosene (Colin and Doug DJing) in Fat Sams on Thursday evenings
• Coalesce (Frank and Neil DJing) in DUSA
• Adrenaline (Frank and Val DJing) in Abertay Student Union Later becomes Sabotage
• Sabotage (Frank and Val DJing) in DUSA on Friday evenings
• Guerilla at the Balcony on Thursday evenings (Also Friday/Saturday?)
• Kerosene becomes Confusion (Doug and Barry DJing)

2000

• SiN, DJ Flux, in Droothy Neebors

2001

• UGS launched [1] by KJ

2002

• Floodlight, DJ Flux and Barry, run by Jen and the Abertay Rock-soc at the old Abertay union to fill in for SiN [2]

Post Fat Sams

• Cage in Rattrays (Doug DJing)
• Cage in Club Cruise (the back room of Oxygen, now The Cotton Club)
• Doug DJing Thursdays and Tuesdays in The Doghouse (name?)
• YerMaw one time in Rattrays, later in Oxygen DJed by Colin. Later became known as Jag
• Bondage, Tuesdays in the Rokstop (aka Shooters, the venue that was between Fatties and the Mardi).
• Cage in The Cotton Club w/ monthly DJs in the smaller room.
• ReVolt fest [3]
• Beatnik 14+ gigs in Beat Bar
• Oscillated [4], a one-off Electronica festival at The Cotton Club.
• SiN at the cotton club

2003

• Flex started at The Cotton Club. Ends as The Cotton Club implodes.
• Felt started at The Reading Rooms [5]

Club Cage

• Cage moves to the former Fantasy Bar including dancing poles, mirrored walls and private booths
• Kerosene, Entropy, Jag, SiN and occasionally Chaos
• The Fantasy Bar becomes Club Cage
• Club is painted and rejigged

2006

• Feb: Pangea starts at The Reading Rooms

The future?

2006

• Dec 2nd: Kerosene celebrates its 10th anniversary

2007

• That second UV tube over the dancefloor in Club Cage gets fixed!