Musical Heritage
Dunfermline, as many of you will know, has a rich heritage when it comes to music. As someone who has been part of the scene for many years, it gives me an enormous sense of pride, and I know it resonates with many others, too.
I first became involved in 1981 when I started in Rosyth Dockyard as an apprentice. A chance meeting with an old school friend, Ewan Hamilton, resulted in him asking me to sing for his band. I'm not sure why he asked me, as there was zero evidence that I could hold a tune (many might say there still isn't, to be fair), but I accepted, and the rest is history.
Our band was called Domino Principle, and we rehearsed in a freezing-cold garage in a bit of wasteland just off Chapel Street (where the bus station now sits). The one-bar electric fire offered little comfort and did little to prevent our guitars from constantly going out of tune. It was still cool in a different sense, though, as it had previously belonged to our local heroes, Skids.
Our pad belonged to our bass player Bondy's dad, Maurice Barnet, a solicitor nearby. Unfortunately, he could be a bit forgetful at times, so it was fortunate that we decided to drop by one Saturday morning just as they were about to demolish our precious rehearsal space with all our gear still inside! Fortunately, one of the workers had looked through a small hole in the door and spotted our equipment inside. The observant worker paused the wrecking ball, and we hurriedly emptied the place, thankful that he had helped us narrowly avoid disaster.
Skids had given us all hope in the late seventies. They had created a lot of excitement with their unique brand of punk ever since their first gig in The Belville on 19th August 1977. Their Charles EP was released less than six months later and championed by the influential DJ John Peel. A support slot for The Clash at The Kinema Ballroom soon followed, and chart success had us all buzzing.
I still remember the excitement around town when we first saw them appear on Top of The Pops with their single 'The Saints Are Coming', later covered by Green Day and U2 to raise funds for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
Muirs Records in Queen Anne Street was the centre of our universe back then. Owned by the first Skids manager, Sandy Muir it was the most fantastic record shop in town and where we pre-ordered our limited edition singles from the band. I wonder how many of us still own 'Sweet Suburbia' and 'Into The Valley' in white vinyl or 'The Wide Open' EP in red.
They must be worth a few bob now.
Skids success came only briefly after that of fellow local band Nazareth, which enjoyed excellent chart success in the early to mid-seventies. Sadly, bass player Pete Agnew is the only surviving member of the original line-up. However, it is a testimony to Pete's stamina and determination that Naz is still touring and recording with their latest line-up, which includes his son Lee Agnew on drums.
Suppose you also include acts like The Rezillos, whose lead singer Sheila Hynd (stage name Fay Fife) was from Parkneuk in Dunfermline and another local lass, Barbara Dickson. In that case, you can see why our city has often punched above its weight within the Scottish music scene.
The eighties brought further success in the form of Stuart Adamson’s next band, Big Country, who were at one point one of the biggest bands going and toured extensively on the back of massive record sales. It’s such a shame that Stuart is no longer with us, as his undoubted talent would have reaped more success, in my opinion.
Sadly, commercial success has primarily eluded our local acts since those heady days, but there has been no talent shortage in those intervening years. I'll cover some of those acts in future articles. Everyone has their own stories to tell.
As for Domino Principle, we played plenty of gigs, primarily local, and released a single in 1984, then faded into obscurity, like most bands. What great memories to hold on to, though.