There was a fire in Methven Simpson's shop in July 1954.
The orchestra managed to escape but the grand piano had to be rescued!
The orchestra managed to escape but the grand piano had to be rescued!
Premierland in William Lane, was a purpose-built boxing stadium.
The photo is dated September 1949.
In October 1952, the venue presented something a bit different - a world record attempt by Syncopating Sandy, a guy from Bolton whose target was to play the piano for 180 hours, non-stop. About a weeks worth!
At 11.00pm on 4 November, he did indeed succeed in becoming the new world record holder.
For the final few hours, an estimated 10,000 people turned up to witness it. Premierland, William Street and the nearby car parks were crammed.
When it was over and after reading Telegrams from the likes of Bolton Wanderers FC, he said "Wait until I get back to England. I'm going to tell them all about this town".
He then got into a taxi, but it could only crawl along due to the crowds lining the streets, with many of the youngsters having climbed on board the cab. This went on all the way along to the Royal Hotel.
He was treated like a superstar!
The photo is dated September 1949.
In October 1952, the venue presented something a bit different - a world record attempt by Syncopating Sandy, a guy from Bolton whose target was to play the piano for 180 hours, non-stop. About a weeks worth!
At 11.00pm on 4 November, he did indeed succeed in becoming the new world record holder.
For the final few hours, an estimated 10,000 people turned up to witness it. Premierland, William Street and the nearby car parks were crammed.
When it was over and after reading Telegrams from the likes of Bolton Wanderers FC, he said "Wait until I get back to England. I'm going to tell them all about this town".
He then got into a taxi, but it could only crawl along due to the crowds lining the streets, with many of the youngsters having climbed on board the cab. This went on all the way along to the Royal Hotel.
He was treated like a superstar!
I was looking around the newspaper page to see what the story was that pertained to the photo, and couldn't find one. Then I spotted it was an advertisement.
Quite subtle!
Ballingall's Beer - March 1938.
Quite subtle!
Ballingall's Beer - March 1938.
Not sure if this is a standard construction technique or if it's just how this lot went about it, but when the roof of Constable Works in Dura Street was needing extended, they didn't just demolish the old one first then build the new one, because obviously the people inside would be exposed to the elements. So they built the new one on top of the old one first, then when it was completed they dismantled the old roof from the inside.
Quite a neat trick.
This was in October 1935.
Quite a neat trick.
This was in October 1935.
This is Alan McLeod in Barrack Street putting up one of the familiar H shaped TV aerials in readiness for Scotland receiving television for the first time.
The photo was taken in September 1951. TV started up a few months later.
After a couple of years of TV having been established, Mr McLeod could then settle down and watch the Earl Of Dundee take part in a live television debate in Oxford in February 1954.
The photo was taken in September 1951. TV started up a few months later.
After a couple of years of TV having been established, Mr McLeod could then settle down and watch the Earl Of Dundee take part in a live television debate in Oxford in February 1954.
Here's a small batch of concerts from the early 50's that were put on at the Caird Hall.
These were all big names at that time of course, most - world famous, but not even that legendary stature stopped Dundonians being a touch unruly when encountering the American stars.
Burl Ives : 16 April 1952 - at the end, after a couple of encores, Burl was kidnapped!
Around a dozen guys ran onto the stage, grabbed Burl, put him into a wheelbarrow and bustled their way out of the Caird Hall. Quite a feat in itself as Burl weighed 21 stone! A fleet of cars was waiting in the city square and Burl was driven away. No need for cops though as this was actually a students stunt, for charity. He was taken to the Students Union in Park Place, where they were having a charity ball, and he was not allowed to leave until after he played a couple of songs. Despite the unconventional end to his concert, he enjoyed the fun.
Danny Kaye : 7 July 1952 - halfway through his set, he went over to the front of the stage, sat down with his legs dangling over the edge, asked someone in the audience for a cigarette and proceeded to have a wee chat with them.
Someone from the back area started to heckle Danny because they couldn't hear him as he wasn't using the mic at this point. Danny answered back "Can you not hear me? Funny, I can hear you!". So he got back up on his feet and continued with the show properly!
Bob Hope : 15 September 1952 - At the start of the show, a couple of late arrivals tip-toed into in the hall, Bob spotted them going to their seats and said "Come in, you haven't missed a darn thing!". During the show, Bob had to stop halfway through a song because a woman in the audience was making such a noise with her hysterical laughter. Bob responded "What joke are you working out now, darling?".
In between his 2 Caird Hall shows, Bob went along to the Playhouse in the Nethergate to talk about his new film "Son Of Paleface" which was to be shown there the following week, but there were 2000 fans waiting, causing a bit of a commotion. One of the glass theatre doors was smashed in the flurry to see him. Bob was jostled by autograph hunters and had one of his coat buttons ripped off. He eventually made it and after his stint he was given a gift of Dundee cake, jam and shorty, which he then held up like he had won a trophy!
Frank Sinatra : 13 July 1953 - the Dundee crowd didn't respond to Franks visit, attendance-wise. Less than 600 showed up for his first house and only 1100 turned up for the second performance. Not even half full..!!
Frankie Laine : 8 October 1954 - the crowd for Frankie's show was far better than Sinatra's, with the second house "Sold Out". He was known to make the females swoon with his antics but when he tried it at the Caird Hall, it just triggered laughter! He even had to stop halfway through one of his songs as he started laughing himself and he quipped "Stop it, will ya!". Between his 2 shows he popped along to Carnoustie for a round of golf.
These were all big names at that time of course, most - world famous, but not even that legendary stature stopped Dundonians being a touch unruly when encountering the American stars.
Burl Ives : 16 April 1952 - at the end, after a couple of encores, Burl was kidnapped!
Around a dozen guys ran onto the stage, grabbed Burl, put him into a wheelbarrow and bustled their way out of the Caird Hall. Quite a feat in itself as Burl weighed 21 stone! A fleet of cars was waiting in the city square and Burl was driven away. No need for cops though as this was actually a students stunt, for charity. He was taken to the Students Union in Park Place, where they were having a charity ball, and he was not allowed to leave until after he played a couple of songs. Despite the unconventional end to his concert, he enjoyed the fun.
Danny Kaye : 7 July 1952 - halfway through his set, he went over to the front of the stage, sat down with his legs dangling over the edge, asked someone in the audience for a cigarette and proceeded to have a wee chat with them.
Someone from the back area started to heckle Danny because they couldn't hear him as he wasn't using the mic at this point. Danny answered back "Can you not hear me? Funny, I can hear you!". So he got back up on his feet and continued with the show properly!
Bob Hope : 15 September 1952 - At the start of the show, a couple of late arrivals tip-toed into in the hall, Bob spotted them going to their seats and said "Come in, you haven't missed a darn thing!". During the show, Bob had to stop halfway through a song because a woman in the audience was making such a noise with her hysterical laughter. Bob responded "What joke are you working out now, darling?".
In between his 2 Caird Hall shows, Bob went along to the Playhouse in the Nethergate to talk about his new film "Son Of Paleface" which was to be shown there the following week, but there were 2000 fans waiting, causing a bit of a commotion. One of the glass theatre doors was smashed in the flurry to see him. Bob was jostled by autograph hunters and had one of his coat buttons ripped off. He eventually made it and after his stint he was given a gift of Dundee cake, jam and shorty, which he then held up like he had won a trophy!
Frank Sinatra : 13 July 1953 - the Dundee crowd didn't respond to Franks visit, attendance-wise. Less than 600 showed up for his first house and only 1100 turned up for the second performance. Not even half full..!!
Frankie Laine : 8 October 1954 - the crowd for Frankie's show was far better than Sinatra's, with the second house "Sold Out". He was known to make the females swoon with his antics but when he tried it at the Caird Hall, it just triggered laughter! He even had to stop halfway through one of his songs as he started laughing himself and he quipped "Stop it, will ya!". Between his 2 shows he popped along to Carnoustie for a round of golf.
Cliff Richard & The Shadows came to town on 2 December 1959 to play 2 shows at the Gaumont in Cowgate.
When Cliff's taxi stalled outside the stage door of the theatre, a mob of girls surrounded the car. No mention of the lassies showing any interest in The Shadows, however!
Below is an advert for the concert and a photo of the band on stage at the Gaumont.
Pic by George Arthur Roney.
When Cliff's taxi stalled outside the stage door of the theatre, a mob of girls surrounded the car. No mention of the lassies showing any interest in The Shadows, however!
Below is an advert for the concert and a photo of the band on stage at the Gaumont.
Pic by George Arthur Roney.
The photo of a family from Cairo standing beside their Cadillac parked in Dundee in August 1948 reminded me that in December 1975 when rock band, Queen, were playing in town, their tour dates were published in a full page advert in the music press. However, when it came to Dundee's venue, instead of it reading Caird, a misprint had it down as Cairo!
The Scots have always been an inventive nation throughout history, but I didn't realise they invented ram-raiding too!
The lorry is dated 1935. The middle one is dated 1939. The last one is dated 1954. They all managed to escape with bruises, but I would have thought escaping with a box of chocolates would have been much better! |
This subject being taught in class is something a bit different - shoppies.
This was the kids at Ancrum Road school back in October 1935 learning how to deal with cash when it came to doing some shopping.
This was the kids at Ancrum Road school back in October 1935 learning how to deal with cash when it came to doing some shopping.
This silly illustration of a potato cropped up in February 1902.
It's funny for 2 reasons... Firstly, we are all familiar with, on the odd occasion, when an example of a strange shaped vegetable appears in a batch we have just bought, or grown. This humorous potato resembled a human face and was found by a Mr MacDonald in Dundonald Street. So he decided to dress it up in this outfit seen here. The way it was described in the article, however, made it seem like the journalist was at a Yves Saint Laurent fashion show, stating it was "Jauntily dressed in an elegant topper, with curled brim and red band. A white choker with pink tie, yellow waistcoat and beautiful blue out coat..." and on and on in amazing detail. Secondly, the article was actually on the main news page beside things like a sinking ship, police court actions, parliamentary bills etc. none of which had any images alongside. The potato freak was the only illustration on the page! |
50 years on from the previous item and there are still weird looking blokes, dressed elegantly, cropping up.
This one here is from December 1955 and is a light bulb that has been turned into a cyclist. I don't think it works very well, probably because of how out of proportion it is to the body and also the bulb would have looked better the other way up. It wouldn't make me rush to the shops to buy any! |
Most of us are familiar with the infamous "Lemon Tree" that was beside the Tay Road Bridge in the 1970's. It was a fun hoax kind of thing with plastic lemons tied on.
Well, on 20 December 1954, this Christmas tree popped up along by the Docks. No Christmas lights or tinsel on it, the decorations were, tin cans, bottles, old shoes and flower pots! Just a sort of unexpected fun idea to bring a smile when passing. |