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aberdeen-music

Do YOU remember?


Timmins Tom

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Well if you are under 55 years of age, I somehow doubt it...

So you know the Aberdeen music scene? Do you remember Aberdeen's first youth venue and 7 days a week Discotheque?

It was the Royal Hotel in Bath Street. I was one of the two Discotheques who played there back then, the TW Discotheque running a T&B 50 Watt Valve amp back then...

The other DJ's were Purple Helix, Bruce Kennedy and Fergus Watt... they ran the same amps as the Beatles 7 years before, AC30's again all valved as sold state was just around the corner for power amplification back then.

No computers, cell phones, playstations or even CD's for they had not been invented. Other youth hang outs then were of course the Moorings Bar, the Lunar Seven Shiprow, and the Imperial and Guild Hotels...

The North Sea oil boom was just starting and Aberdeen's night life was only just getting off the ground. The bars were closed at 10pm and all day on Sunday, only Hotels being allowed to open Sunday back then. If you danced you went to the Douglas where the Irish Showbands were supported by DJ Peter Mac and now and again myself.

After the Royal closed for re furbishment in 1973 I moved across the road for a spell at the Top Rank Palace Ballroom as Fusion was called back then backing Peter D and the Dee men and Sandra finally ending up in the Palais Ballrorom in Diamond Street, sadly now just a car park. I also did a 2 year run in the ABC Tenpin Bowl George Street, playing alongside such greats as Roy Forman and Gully Foyle. Visitors to that bar back then including Jim Diamond and Annie Lennox, whose favourite record back then was Procul Harum's "Whiter Shade of Pale".

I still DJ to this very day having moved to Canada, but do things now on a laptop, playing Video and Karaoke with more ease than cueing up records back then!

My how the world has changed. I doubt there is one single person on this site that can remeber back then...

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Sadly I DO rmember those days.....certainly Purple Helix disco jogs a few repressed memories. I seemed to end up at 'Rainbow Chaser' discos, for some unknown reason. Obviously, being a wee bit younger I spent many nights at 'The Pit' in the Cowdray Hall, watching the likes of Twilight Zone, Spiggy Topes, Levi, My Dear Watson etc etc

Gully Foyle I recall well.....saw them quite a few times, including their Hawkwind support at the Cowdray Hall. There's currently a thread on the This Is North-East Scotland site about late 60s/early 70s Aberdeen music, with a great story about Gully Foyle doing shows with Gun (of 'Race with the Devil' fame), and 'swapping' their own naff speakers for Guns better quality ones.

It'll be fun when I'm drooling away in my care-home in ten years time seeing all the old Aberdeen-Music posters getting misty-eyed about My Mind's Weapon, Radio Lucifer, Black Atom etc etc:up:

(I also think Chilli might have memories of those far-off times, but he's even more of a wreck than I am, and has to get his bum wiped for him, and his false teeth taken out, then replaced the right way round :( )

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Sadly I DO rmember those days.....certainly Purple Helix disco jogs a few repressed memories. I seemed to end up at 'Rainbow Chaser' discos, for some unknown reason. Obviously, being a wee bit younger I spent many nights at 'The Pit' in the Cowdray Hall, watching the likes of Twilight Zone, Spiggy Topes, Levi, My Dear Watson etc etc

Gully Foyle I recall well.....saw them quite a few times, including their Hawkwind support at the Cowdray Hall. There's currently a thread on the This Is North-East Scotland site about late 60s/early 70s Aberdeen music, with a great story about Gully Foyle doing shows with Gun (of 'Race with the Devil' fame), and 'swapping' their own naff speakers for Guns better quality ones.

It'll be fun when I'm drooling away in my care-home in ten years time seeing all the old Aberdeen-Music posters getting misty-eyed about My Mind's Weapon, Radio Lucifer, Black Atom etc etc:up:

(I also think Chilli might have memories of those far-off times, but he's even more of a wreck than I am, and has to get his bum wiped for him, and his false teeth taken out, then replaced the right way round :( )

my excuse is i'm still stoned after seeing Hawkwind with Lemmy @ the Cowdray Hall

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as we are on about it ,anybody remember VALHALAH's Tuesday or Fridays

or the northern college of education Friday nights very late 1976 early 1977

officially the only place in Aberdeen playing PUNK/INDIE during the 6months

the punk explosion happened.

I might have been in Valhallah's once or twice...was that down Crown St?

I recall the Copper Beech putting on Punk stuff round about 77....there was an Art School punk lot called Stereo Exit played there.( and APB, early on).

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I'm joining a band over there, finished college in summer, and nothing to keep me in Aberdeen anymore. I'm 28 in May, if I'm gonna do it, I need to do it soon or I'll end up in Aberdeen forever. It's gonna be fucking ace, Toronto is amazing, can't wait.

Toronto is AMAZING no doubt about that. One of the great City's of the World, and prospects for someone of your age who does not want to get into North Sea Oil or Gas are great. I live about 550 miles north in a Mining town called Timmins, came here on a drilling job back in 1996 and never looked back.

I now work as an Engineering Officer with the BP Tanker Fleet deep sea, so can live anyplace in the World that has a coastline and is a member of the IMO or International Marine Organisation, so as a Ships Officer on Shore leave no Visa is required for entry.. Cool Job Eh? ;)

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While we're on the nostalgia /remembering thing - anybody here remember Nervous Choir / The Ramjet Rubber company?

Were my favourite Aberdeen band in the 80s and there was always some sort of drama / sex / violence at their gigs.

I taped one at The Venue in 1985 & the singer (Les Clark) announced "Years ago, we used to go to Valhalla's, and that was the scene, that was the crowd. But you lot now are worthless shit! This song's called Trash, and it's dedicated to the lot of you!".

haha - was the Valhalla reference that got me thinking about them.

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  • 11 years later...

Hi I remember all of this the royal hotel and the imperial hotel my mum was the cook at the royal and I worked at the club in the basement of the imperial hotel I don’t remember what it was called I remember the band two guys named Andy and the dancer named Cheryl andaguy named Ed Cline. 

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