The photo and the advert date from the 1960's and show the Skyline Tenpin Bowling club location.
The street-name later changed from North Tay Street to Marketgait and the building in the mid 70's was transformed into the Technical College Students Union.
Dundonians, however, kept the Bowlin' Alley tag going!
The street-name later changed from North Tay Street to Marketgait and the building in the mid 70's was transformed into the Technical College Students Union.
Dundonians, however, kept the Bowlin' Alley tag going!
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The Bowling Alley spawned its own sideshow in the mid/late 70's. This wasn't a band playing an organised gig but a gang of local odd-bods who frequented the Tech, and called themselves The Snap-On Brothers.
When talking about the Snap-On Brothers, it's usually accompanied by words like - crazy, mad, loony, mental etc.
Not depicting a problem mind you, but rather, describing their humour & antics.
The other thing is, as far as I know, they didn't entertain on stage as an act, they just sort of "slipped into a performance" after a few drinks.
The main men were - STEVE SMITH aka Zeek, DAVE MANN aka Giz (above pic) and a sporadic MURRAY TOSH.
A few of them worked in a garage, hence grabbing their name from Snap-On tools!
DJ Brian Wilson gives a detailed account of one of their performances....
"The Snap-Ons... they were a bunch of around 25 regulars, kinda 'led' by Zeek and Giz, aka Steve Smith and Dave Mann. Zeek and Giz had a couple of party pieces - they could mime and act out all the words to Meat Loaf's "Paradise By A Dashboard Light" and "Do You Like My New Car/Happy Together", from The Mothers of Invention's "Live at the Fillmore East" album.
At this time, the disco was in "the wee hall" and the bands were "through the room" (the downstairs big hall). When the band started at 11 in the big hall, we took a break for half an hour or so, to encourage the punters to go through to give the band an audience. After that period, we played non-dance type stuff (Pink Floyd, ELP, etc) until the band finished.
This particular night, Zeek and Giz asked me for "Paradise" in that non-dance period so they could do their stuff. The wee hall was almost empty at that time. The record went on, Zeek doing Meat Loaf's part and Giz doing Ellen Foley's part, on the floor in front of the disco. As you know, that track lasts for over 8 minutes.
Around 5 minutes into it, the band finished a wee bit earlier than expected and people started coming back through from the other room. Zeek and Giz were so engrossed in their performance that they didn't notice the audience building up around the dance floor. As the record started to fade out, Zeek and Giz almost filled their breeks when they got a chorus of cheers and applause from the crowd!
Steve swore that they would never do that again... this is the same Zeek who now leads a lunatic band in Holland"
When talking about the Snap-On Brothers, it's usually accompanied by words like - crazy, mad, loony, mental etc.
Not depicting a problem mind you, but rather, describing their humour & antics.
The other thing is, as far as I know, they didn't entertain on stage as an act, they just sort of "slipped into a performance" after a few drinks.
The main men were - STEVE SMITH aka Zeek, DAVE MANN aka Giz (above pic) and a sporadic MURRAY TOSH.
A few of them worked in a garage, hence grabbing their name from Snap-On tools!
DJ Brian Wilson gives a detailed account of one of their performances....
"The Snap-Ons... they were a bunch of around 25 regulars, kinda 'led' by Zeek and Giz, aka Steve Smith and Dave Mann. Zeek and Giz had a couple of party pieces - they could mime and act out all the words to Meat Loaf's "Paradise By A Dashboard Light" and "Do You Like My New Car/Happy Together", from The Mothers of Invention's "Live at the Fillmore East" album.
At this time, the disco was in "the wee hall" and the bands were "through the room" (the downstairs big hall). When the band started at 11 in the big hall, we took a break for half an hour or so, to encourage the punters to go through to give the band an audience. After that period, we played non-dance type stuff (Pink Floyd, ELP, etc) until the band finished.
This particular night, Zeek and Giz asked me for "Paradise" in that non-dance period so they could do their stuff. The wee hall was almost empty at that time. The record went on, Zeek doing Meat Loaf's part and Giz doing Ellen Foley's part, on the floor in front of the disco. As you know, that track lasts for over 8 minutes.
Around 5 minutes into it, the band finished a wee bit earlier than expected and people started coming back through from the other room. Zeek and Giz were so engrossed in their performance that they didn't notice the audience building up around the dance floor. As the record started to fade out, Zeek and Giz almost filled their breeks when they got a chorus of cheers and applause from the crowd!
Steve swore that they would never do that again... this is the same Zeek who now leads a lunatic band in Holland"
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PETE THE CAMERA
One Bowlin' Alley regular (or resident is probably more accurate) worth mentioning was a guy called Pete The Camera.
He was not only a Deepwater Disco partner but a photographer too. He was there each week, documenting much of the disco action and the bands who played, over the course of many years.
Unfortunately, Pete has since passed away, and so his portfolio may never be seen.
One Bowlin' Alley regular (or resident is probably more accurate) worth mentioning was a guy called Pete The Camera.
He was not only a Deepwater Disco partner but a photographer too. He was there each week, documenting much of the disco action and the bands who played, over the course of many years.
Unfortunately, Pete has since passed away, and so his portfolio may never be seen.
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Another familiar face at the Bowlin' Alley in the 80's was the colourful lass above, Hilary.
She was a regular at many music venues in town as she was one of the main contributors to a fanzine called Deadbeat.
Hilary used to review live gigs and interview bands.
She was also a talented artist and did most of the artwork that cropped up in Deadbeat.
The above photo was taken in 1984 at the Bowlin' Alley after a gig by local outfit, Circus Of Hell. Needless to say she managed to grab an interview with the guys for the fanzine.
Circus Of Hell shared the stage with The Glitter Band that night but the exact date isn't yet known, so the gig has still to appear in the main gig archive.
She was a regular at many music venues in town as she was one of the main contributors to a fanzine called Deadbeat.
Hilary used to review live gigs and interview bands.
She was also a talented artist and did most of the artwork that cropped up in Deadbeat.
The above photo was taken in 1984 at the Bowlin' Alley after a gig by local outfit, Circus Of Hell. Needless to say she managed to grab an interview with the guys for the fanzine.
Circus Of Hell shared the stage with The Glitter Band that night but the exact date isn't yet known, so the gig has still to appear in the main gig archive.
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TECH GIG ORIGINS
This is a very loose bit of basic background info about how the Tech gigs in Marketgait got started...
For many decades, the Art School & Tech were managed as one body called The Dundee Institute Of Art & Technology.
Although the 2 were in separate buildings (art in Perth Road, Tech in Bell Street), the Tech College had acquired an annex in the Marketgait by 1974.
In 1975, The Dundee Institute Of Art & Technology split into 2 - Duncan of Jordanstone College Of Art and Dundee College of Technology, and were now managed separately.
By 1976 the Marketgait annex have their own Students Union area for entertainment.
Prior to 1976, Tech College gigs were put on at The Palais in South Tay Street.
Running parallel to this mid 70's college activity - The Palais sold their premises to Murdie Wallace who owned the JM Ballroom.
The JM closed down in 1974 to build a new nightclub (The Barracuda) and Wallace continued to run the Palais under that name until the Barracuda was ready in 1975.
The Palais then closed down and reopened again in 1976 as Samanthas.
This transformation is also reflected in the 70's music press - the college gigs go up to the end of 1975, disappear for a few months, then reappear again around September 1976.
The resident Deepwater Disco started up in November 1976 as well.
So although it's difficult to track down the exact dates, month-wise, these yearly sequence of events (74 to 76) all seem to interlock together with what was going on behind the scenes.
This is a very loose bit of basic background info about how the Tech gigs in Marketgait got started...
For many decades, the Art School & Tech were managed as one body called The Dundee Institute Of Art & Technology.
Although the 2 were in separate buildings (art in Perth Road, Tech in Bell Street), the Tech College had acquired an annex in the Marketgait by 1974.
In 1975, The Dundee Institute Of Art & Technology split into 2 - Duncan of Jordanstone College Of Art and Dundee College of Technology, and were now managed separately.
By 1976 the Marketgait annex have their own Students Union area for entertainment.
Prior to 1976, Tech College gigs were put on at The Palais in South Tay Street.
Running parallel to this mid 70's college activity - The Palais sold their premises to Murdie Wallace who owned the JM Ballroom.
The JM closed down in 1974 to build a new nightclub (The Barracuda) and Wallace continued to run the Palais under that name until the Barracuda was ready in 1975.
The Palais then closed down and reopened again in 1976 as Samanthas.
This transformation is also reflected in the 70's music press - the college gigs go up to the end of 1975, disappear for a few months, then reappear again around September 1976.
The resident Deepwater Disco started up in November 1976 as well.
So although it's difficult to track down the exact dates, month-wise, these yearly sequence of events (74 to 76) all seem to interlock together with what was going on behind the scenes.
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This advert appeared in a Bruce's Record Shop newsletter called Cripes in August 1979.
It's a call for local acts to participate in a contest to see who could win a battle of bands.
The venue was the Bowling Alley and it went under the heading "Marketgait Marvels".
Around 10 bands took part.
One of the bands consisted of a bunch of schoolkids (the band name I can't recall) and when they finished their set, which went down very well with the audience, one of the organisers jumped up on stage and said, cheekily "Thanks to their parents for letting them stay up late", much to the amusement of the crowd.
And whoever it was who wrote this advert, couldn't spell Marketgait correctly - so ought to be sent to the corner of the class!
It's a call for local acts to participate in a contest to see who could win a battle of bands.
The venue was the Bowling Alley and it went under the heading "Marketgait Marvels".
Around 10 bands took part.
One of the bands consisted of a bunch of schoolkids (the band name I can't recall) and when they finished their set, which went down very well with the audience, one of the organisers jumped up on stage and said, cheekily "Thanks to their parents for letting them stay up late", much to the amusement of the crowd.
And whoever it was who wrote this advert, couldn't spell Marketgait correctly - so ought to be sent to the corner of the class!
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IN MEMORY OF ALISON JEFFREY
This item was published in a national music paper back in May 1977 and is a reminder that Scottish band, Cado Belle performed one of their gigs at the Bowlin' Alley in aid of a fund for student, Alison Jeffrey, who died in an accident during one of the Dundee students day charity processions. |
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GETTIN' SIGNED IN
You didn't have to be a student to spend the night at the Bowling Alley.
Each student was able to sign-in 2 guests, which meant the place was usually packed at weekends.
DJ Brian Wilson says...
"Personally, I would say the heyday was 1976-79, as, up to that time, any kind of student from any college/Uni got in with their two guests. I know for a fact that many day-release hairdressers were regulars at the BA, along with plumbers, sparkies, and other apprentices from Kingsway Tech.
Unfortunately, during a Christmas break in the late 70s, an elitist decision was made by the Union Management Committee that only their own students and NUS-affiliated students would be allowed in, which meant, in Dundee, only Bell Street and the Art College, Dundee Uni, College of Commerce and Kingsway Tech being non-NUS.
On restarting after the break with the new rule, from regular Friday night crowds of 400-600 (depending on the status of the headline band), over four weeks, the attendance dropped to below 30.
The daft thing was that Saturday nights were still free and unregulated so there were more turning up on the disco-only Saturdays than on the Fridays. Disco was on 8-11 on a Saturday, after which, we all toddled off down to the Ferry Bar, latterly Junction 9 for the rest of the night. Wee Andy Pearson was the DJ down there at that time."
You didn't have to be a student to spend the night at the Bowling Alley.
Each student was able to sign-in 2 guests, which meant the place was usually packed at weekends.
DJ Brian Wilson says...
"Personally, I would say the heyday was 1976-79, as, up to that time, any kind of student from any college/Uni got in with their two guests. I know for a fact that many day-release hairdressers were regulars at the BA, along with plumbers, sparkies, and other apprentices from Kingsway Tech.
Unfortunately, during a Christmas break in the late 70s, an elitist decision was made by the Union Management Committee that only their own students and NUS-affiliated students would be allowed in, which meant, in Dundee, only Bell Street and the Art College, Dundee Uni, College of Commerce and Kingsway Tech being non-NUS.
On restarting after the break with the new rule, from regular Friday night crowds of 400-600 (depending on the status of the headline band), over four weeks, the attendance dropped to below 30.
The daft thing was that Saturday nights were still free and unregulated so there were more turning up on the disco-only Saturdays than on the Fridays. Disco was on 8-11 on a Saturday, after which, we all toddled off down to the Ferry Bar, latterly Junction 9 for the rest of the night. Wee Andy Pearson was the DJ down there at that time."
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THE HUMPIN' SQUAD
The Humpin' Squad were local college guys who helped the roadies get the bands' equipment into the Bowlin' Alley on gig night.
DJ Brian Wilson says...
"The Students' Union actually employed a "Humpin' Squad", led by Robin Patterson. I think there were around six of them, including Derek Robb and 'Joe 90'. Their job was to help the bands' roadies to get the gear upstairs, by lift or stairs.
Druid - I can't recall whether the lift was out of action or their "coffin" was too big for the lift or the main staircase.
Their "coffin" was a large flight-case that must have been at least a couple of feet deep and wide, by around seven feet in length. The reason it sticks in my memory is because the Humpin' Squad and the roadies had to manhandle it up the fire exit staircase, from the area at the back of the union and through the window into the 'downstairs' hall...
(see above photo)
The six windows on the top floor... There is no obvious fire exit visible but it would have been between the 2nd and 3rd windows from the left. Windows 5 and 6 were actually in a corridor that went from the downstairs hall up to the foyer.
The "dressing room" was accessed from this corridor.
Dire Straits - they were so impressed with the squad that they offered Robin (Ross Paterson's wee brother) a job with them as roadie on their upcoming US tour. Robin declined, as he wanted to finish his college course but, to this day, wonders "what if..."
Robin says...
"That flight case was a 'Monster', as far as I can remember we used the fire escape at the back of the Barracuda and wheeled it along the corridors through the office area of the union, not an easy task."
The Humpin' Squad were local college guys who helped the roadies get the bands' equipment into the Bowlin' Alley on gig night.
DJ Brian Wilson says...
"The Students' Union actually employed a "Humpin' Squad", led by Robin Patterson. I think there were around six of them, including Derek Robb and 'Joe 90'. Their job was to help the bands' roadies to get the gear upstairs, by lift or stairs.
Druid - I can't recall whether the lift was out of action or their "coffin" was too big for the lift or the main staircase.
Their "coffin" was a large flight-case that must have been at least a couple of feet deep and wide, by around seven feet in length. The reason it sticks in my memory is because the Humpin' Squad and the roadies had to manhandle it up the fire exit staircase, from the area at the back of the union and through the window into the 'downstairs' hall...
(see above photo)
The six windows on the top floor... There is no obvious fire exit visible but it would have been between the 2nd and 3rd windows from the left. Windows 5 and 6 were actually in a corridor that went from the downstairs hall up to the foyer.
The "dressing room" was accessed from this corridor.
Dire Straits - they were so impressed with the squad that they offered Robin (Ross Paterson's wee brother) a job with them as roadie on their upcoming US tour. Robin declined, as he wanted to finish his college course but, to this day, wonders "what if..."
Robin says...
"That flight case was a 'Monster', as far as I can remember we used the fire escape at the back of the Barracuda and wheeled it along the corridors through the office area of the union, not an easy task."
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This is a photo of local trash-glam rockers, Lixx, on stage at the Bowlin' Alley sometime in the mid 80's.
I don't have an exact date for this one, so it doesn't crop up in the main gig archive yet.
I don't have an exact date for this one, so it doesn't crop up in the main gig archive yet.
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For those of you who weren't around when the Bowling Alley was on the go, here's a simple map that pinpoints the location of the building.
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TECH ENTS
Tech Ents, as the name suggests, was the organisation who was responsible for providing all the entertainment at the Tech College Students Union - booking the bands and so on.
DJ Brian Wilson says...
"Norrie McGrath was Vice President of Entertainments for the year - April '77 to the end of the 1978 academic session - taking over from Jim Thompson (guitarist and vocalist with Exhibition and The Visitors) who had been VP Ents until March '77.
Norrie was the guy who had a clear-out of old paperwork from the office when he took over in April '77 and said I could have anything I wanted before it was consigned to the bin. Which is why, among my cherished possessions (to provide for my retirement) is the receipt for the Sex Pistols gig in October '76 (£250), the contract, signed by Malcolm MacLaren, for the aborted Caird Hall gig, which would have featured The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned and Johnny Thunder and The Heartbreakers, for the amount of £500.
Included are the letters from the council about the gig but I didn't get the final one. However, Iain Flett at the council's archive department was able to send me a scan of the final letter, which basically said that the decision was deferred until January so the Union could present supporting evidence.
Obviously, the deferment killed off the concert!
Also grabbed a copy of "Circuit", which was the magazine for entertainments promoters at the time.
I have a "Jags" poster from, I think, 1978 or 9; one of the few posters that mentions Deepwater Disco.
We went round the town with Martin Webster in my car, sticking them up wherever.
I remember one of them was on the telephone junction box outside the museum, at the top of Commercial Street.
Must have a look for that poster..."
Below is a wee reminder of the doomed Sex Pistols gig at the Caird Hall, and the muddle organising it.
The poster has the wrong support acts for 1st December. It should have been The Ramones, Talking Heads and Chris Spedding & The Vibrators.
The revamped tour dates (Dundee 16th December) with revamped support acts, crop up on the official tour poster.
Tickets were available from both Caird Hall and Tech College.
Tech Ents, as the name suggests, was the organisation who was responsible for providing all the entertainment at the Tech College Students Union - booking the bands and so on.
DJ Brian Wilson says...
"Norrie McGrath was Vice President of Entertainments for the year - April '77 to the end of the 1978 academic session - taking over from Jim Thompson (guitarist and vocalist with Exhibition and The Visitors) who had been VP Ents until March '77.
Norrie was the guy who had a clear-out of old paperwork from the office when he took over in April '77 and said I could have anything I wanted before it was consigned to the bin. Which is why, among my cherished possessions (to provide for my retirement) is the receipt for the Sex Pistols gig in October '76 (£250), the contract, signed by Malcolm MacLaren, for the aborted Caird Hall gig, which would have featured The Sex Pistols, The Clash, The Damned and Johnny Thunder and The Heartbreakers, for the amount of £500.
Included are the letters from the council about the gig but I didn't get the final one. However, Iain Flett at the council's archive department was able to send me a scan of the final letter, which basically said that the decision was deferred until January so the Union could present supporting evidence.
Obviously, the deferment killed off the concert!
Also grabbed a copy of "Circuit", which was the magazine for entertainments promoters at the time.
I have a "Jags" poster from, I think, 1978 or 9; one of the few posters that mentions Deepwater Disco.
We went round the town with Martin Webster in my car, sticking them up wherever.
I remember one of them was on the telephone junction box outside the museum, at the top of Commercial Street.
Must have a look for that poster..."
Below is a wee reminder of the doomed Sex Pistols gig at the Caird Hall, and the muddle organising it.
The poster has the wrong support acts for 1st December. It should have been The Ramones, Talking Heads and Chris Spedding & The Vibrators.
The revamped tour dates (Dundee 16th December) with revamped support acts, crop up on the official tour poster.
Tickets were available from both Caird Hall and Tech College.
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Many years ago, the Courier published an article about the time Chas & Dave played in Dundee in the 70's.
Brian Wilson then got in touch with them after reading the piece and supplied some extra behind-the-scenes information.
Here's what he wrote...
Further to your story about Chas & Dave in Friday's Courier.
To flesh out Chas's comments - In 1979, I was resident DJ at the "Bell Street Tech" Students' Union in Marketgait, always referred to as "The Bowlin' Alley", due to its previous incarnation in the late 60's as the Skyline Bowl.
Every year in December, on the last Friday of term, the Union organised an "all-nighter", known as the Snoball. The entertainment consisted of six bands, two discos and a couple of female "novelty acts", spread over two rooms, and ran from eight in the evening until six in the morning.
On the Wednesday leading up to the 1979 Snoball, Martin Webster, the VP Entertainments at the time, received the shock news that Friday's headline band had pulled out of the gig. He immediately started phoning round the agents, and eventually found out that Lindisfarne were playing at the Caird Hall on the Thursday night and had a free night on the Friday, before playing Glasgow or Aberdeen on the Saturday. Martin asked about the possibility of Lindisfarne agreeing to playing at the Snoball and the agent said he would get back to him.
Within a couple of hours, the agent reported back that Lindisfarne were looking forward to their night off but the support band, Chas & Dave, could be agreeable to a suitable offer. It was arranged that Martin, Pete, my disco partner, and I would meet up with Chas & Dave after their set on Thursday evening. I should say that Chas & Dave had previously played at the "Bowlin' Alley" and had gone down a storm. I seem to remember that they played a total of four well received gigs at the venue in the late 70's and early 80's.
We duly arrived stage left during their last number and when they finished their set, suggested that it would be fine to go somewhere that served beer to discuss things, so we took them round to The George in Castle Street and, over pints, in a traditional Dundee pub, a deal was thrashed out, involving what is known in Dundee as a "back-hander" and a case of, if my memory serves me well, Newcastle Brown Ale!
As Chas implies in the Courier story, the Bell Street students appreciated the lack of "airs and graces" and general "let's have a knees-up" attitude that Chas & Dave displayed as, at that time, the majority of Bell Street students were Dundee born and bred. As the story pointed out, Scottish audiences got where they were at, rather more than audiences down south.
Brian Wilson,
Resident DJ,
Marketgait Union,
1976-87.
...and this is a full page tour advert for when they visited a few months earlier in Oct '79...
Brian Wilson then got in touch with them after reading the piece and supplied some extra behind-the-scenes information.
Here's what he wrote...
Further to your story about Chas & Dave in Friday's Courier.
To flesh out Chas's comments - In 1979, I was resident DJ at the "Bell Street Tech" Students' Union in Marketgait, always referred to as "The Bowlin' Alley", due to its previous incarnation in the late 60's as the Skyline Bowl.
Every year in December, on the last Friday of term, the Union organised an "all-nighter", known as the Snoball. The entertainment consisted of six bands, two discos and a couple of female "novelty acts", spread over two rooms, and ran from eight in the evening until six in the morning.
On the Wednesday leading up to the 1979 Snoball, Martin Webster, the VP Entertainments at the time, received the shock news that Friday's headline band had pulled out of the gig. He immediately started phoning round the agents, and eventually found out that Lindisfarne were playing at the Caird Hall on the Thursday night and had a free night on the Friday, before playing Glasgow or Aberdeen on the Saturday. Martin asked about the possibility of Lindisfarne agreeing to playing at the Snoball and the agent said he would get back to him.
Within a couple of hours, the agent reported back that Lindisfarne were looking forward to their night off but the support band, Chas & Dave, could be agreeable to a suitable offer. It was arranged that Martin, Pete, my disco partner, and I would meet up with Chas & Dave after their set on Thursday evening. I should say that Chas & Dave had previously played at the "Bowlin' Alley" and had gone down a storm. I seem to remember that they played a total of four well received gigs at the venue in the late 70's and early 80's.
We duly arrived stage left during their last number and when they finished their set, suggested that it would be fine to go somewhere that served beer to discuss things, so we took them round to The George in Castle Street and, over pints, in a traditional Dundee pub, a deal was thrashed out, involving what is known in Dundee as a "back-hander" and a case of, if my memory serves me well, Newcastle Brown Ale!
As Chas implies in the Courier story, the Bell Street students appreciated the lack of "airs and graces" and general "let's have a knees-up" attitude that Chas & Dave displayed as, at that time, the majority of Bell Street students were Dundee born and bred. As the story pointed out, Scottish audiences got where they were at, rather more than audiences down south.
Brian Wilson,
Resident DJ,
Marketgait Union,
1976-87.
...and this is a full page tour advert for when they visited a few months earlier in Oct '79...
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In a corner of the Bowlin' Alley in 1979, these 3 guys are enjoying their 10th pint of the evening!
The trio, however, all have links to the local music scene.
Left, is Ronnie Chalmers, most known for being the lead singer & guitarist with early 80's band, The Grip.
Middle, is Stuart Firm, who had recording & rehearsal studios in town - The Seagate Studios. He was also sound engineer for his own PA Systems available for hire. In 1982 he was in a local band called Just Little Boys.
Right, is Billy Hamilton, who was roadie with The Grip and occasional lighting engineer.
So a typical, regular boozy scene at the Bowlin' Alley in the late 70's.
The trio, however, all have links to the local music scene.
Left, is Ronnie Chalmers, most known for being the lead singer & guitarist with early 80's band, The Grip.
Middle, is Stuart Firm, who had recording & rehearsal studios in town - The Seagate Studios. He was also sound engineer for his own PA Systems available for hire. In 1982 he was in a local band called Just Little Boys.
Right, is Billy Hamilton, who was roadie with The Grip and occasional lighting engineer.
So a typical, regular boozy scene at the Bowlin' Alley in the late 70's.
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