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Dundee in 1974 saw shifts in society, soaring prices – and Slade

These images from DC Thomson's archive will likely stir memories for older generations of locals.
Graeme Strachan
Children on their bikes as Dundee City Police host a cycle clinic at Forthill primary.
Dundee City Police hosted a cycle clinic at Forthill primary. Image: DC Thomson.

What was life like in Dundee in 1974?

Well, petrol prices rocketed, coal was like gold dust and industrial unrest was rife.

And the introduction of a three-day working week meant the lights could go out at any time.

It was also the year of two general elections and IRA bombings.

Ninewells Hospital opened in Dundee and the £2.5 million, 190-foot monstrosity called Tayside House was being constructed, which split opinion almost from the get-go.

A pint of beer cost 19p.

The average house price was £10,000.

West Germany won the 1974 World Cup and Jim McLean led Dundee United to their first-ever Scottish Cup final, where they went down 3-0 to all-conquering Celtic.

Red Rum won the Grand National, Jimmy Connors won Wimbledon and Muhammad Ali defeated George Foreman in the Rumble in the Jungle for the heavyweight title.

Blazing Saddles and Towering Inferno were the big movies in Dundee while Deep Purple, Slade, Nazareth and the Bay City Rollers all performed at the Caird Hall.

What about the small screen?

Actor Jon Pertwee made his final appearance in Doctor Who, while the BBC teletext service Ceefax would go live in September with 30 pages of information.

So what did Dundee and its people look like 50 years ago?

Grab a cuppa and enjoy another browse back through the ages courtesy of The Dundonian, which appears in the Evening Telegraph every Wednesday.


Bargain hunters

Bargain hunters out in force in the Overgate Centre, dundee, January 1974.
Bargain hunters out in force in January 1974. Image: DC Thomson.

The January sales were in full swing as shoppers headed to the Overgate Centre hoping to bag a few bargains.

Who could forget the long tunnels which were incorporated into the mall’s design?

Or climbing up the concrete sculptures as a child?

Tayside House

Two cranes tower over the Tayside House site, which is pictured under construction in January 1974.
Tayside House under construction in January 1974. Image: DC Thomson.

Known locally as ‘Fawlty Towers’, the perennially unpopular Tayside House would become the home of Tayside Regional Council.

Work started following the 1960s wrecking spree of the city’s architectural heritage to allow the development of the Tay Road Bridge landfall area and inner ring road along Yeaman Shore.

Ninewells Hospital

Nurses tend to a patient while looking on are other nurses who are being given instruction in good bedside manner at Ninewells Hospital.
Nurses are given instruction in bedside manner at Ninewells Hospital. Image: DC Thomson.

Ninewells Hospital was planned to hold 800 beds after opening to patients in 1974, and the ward units were planned on the “race track” principle.

Five decades on there have been massive advances in medical research and clinical care that could not have been imagined when construction began.

Hockey success for Dundee school

Harris Academy girls hockey team pose for a picture with the trophy after their victory.
Harris Academy girls hockey team after their victory. Image: DC Thomson.

Up next is this snap from March 1974 and these Harris Academy pupils are celebrating victory in the Midlands Schools Senior Girls Hockey Tournament.

They all look mighty pleased with themselves and rightly so.

Do you recognise any of the girls in this hockey line-up?

Keith Harris and Cuddles

Keith Harris and Cuddles with three-year-old Michelle Malone of Dundee.
Keith Harris and Cuddles with three-year-old Michelle Malone of Dundee. Image: DC Thomson.

Keith Harris was performing in cabaret at the Hong Kong restaurant in the Seagate with Cuddles the monkey, rabbit Percy Pickletoot and Dominic the dog.

Harris, who died in 2015, found fame when he introduced green, nappy-wearing Orville the Duck and he became a regular on Saturday night TV in the 1980s.

His 1982 single with Orville, I Wish I Could Fly, was a top-five hit.

Kingsway bridge

East Kingsway bridge being erected.
East Kingsway bridge being erected. Image: DC Thomson.

A pedestrian bridge was being put in place across the Kingsway dual carriageway at the circle from Pitkerro Road to Old Craigie Road in April 1974.

Despite what the Highway Code tells you about roundabouts, everyone in Dundee knows they’re called circles.

Kellyfield Primary School

Children in a classroom at Kellyfield Primary School in Dundee.
Kellyfield Primary School in Dundee. Image: DC Thomson.

There was plenty of room for their many activities when the first pupils arrived at Dundee’s new open-plan Kellyfield Primary School in Whitfield.

After the first stage of a mergers programme in 1996, Newfields was formed from Greenfield and Kellyfield on the Kellyfield site.

Ann Street Gardens

Ann Street Gardens, Dundee, in 1974.
Ann Street Gardens in 1974. Image: DC Thomson.

A view across Ann Street Gardens from May 1974 gives a glimpse of some of the Hilltown’s shops including the old Smith’s store which sold clothes and shoes.

Some, sadly, are no longer around.

Slade rocked Dundee’s Caird Hall in 1974

Fans crowd the front of the stage as Slade and frontman Noddy Holder perform in May 1974.
Slade and frontman Noddy Holder performing in May 1974. Image: DC Thomson.

The platform shoe-clad rockers Slade, led by Noddy Holder, arrived in Dundee with a raft of hits to perform at the Caird Hall on May 1 1974.

The teenagers of Dundee were bursting with anticipation to see them.

A view down the hill…

People and cars on Hilltown Terrace in 1974.
Hilltown Terrace in 1974. Image: DC Thomson.

A bustling scene in our next photograph, which was taken from Hilltown Terrace in May 1974 and is looking down towards the old Wellgate area.

The first model of the proposed Wellgate development was unveiled in 1973 with construction work starting in 1975 before the shopping centre opened in 1978.

McManus Galleries

People wait to cross the road outside MacManus Galleries
Crossing signals in place. Image: DC Thomson.

A pedestrian crossing was introduced outside the McManus Galleries in May 1974.

Facing pedestrians were two coloured lights.

One was a red man standing still, for the instruction to wait, and the other a green man pictured walking, to show when it was safe to cross.

Barnhill shops

Shoppers and parked cars outside the parade of Barnhill shops.
Barnhill shops. Image: DC Thomson.

The Barnhill shopping precinct in June 1974.

Some of the vehicles would now be considered classics, although the shopping centre still looks the same today as it did 50 years ago.

The crowd seated beside the water for the sponsored row.
The crowd at the sponsored row. Image: DC Thomson.

A sponsored row was held at the Stobsmuir Pond in aid of Unicef in June 1974.

Known locally as the Swannie Ponds, Stobsmuir Ponds were constructed to supply the city with water following the Dundee Water Act of 1845.

The ponds fell out of use as reservoirs in the 1870s and proved popular for boating from the 1920s.

Looking at the background, you can see little has changed over the years.

It’s the final image in our gallery.

Did our pictorial trip back in time to the Dundee of 1974 jog any memories for you?

Let us know.

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