Hundreds of items from the former home of Groucho’s Record Store founder Alastair ‘Breeks’ Brodie are being auctioned off.
Among the more than 700 belongings are American jukeboxes worth thousands of pounds and boxes of LPs.
There is also a large Oor Wullie original sketch drawn by the cartoon’s creator, renowned DC Thomson artist Dudley D Watkins.
They will be auctioned by Curr & Dewar on Tuesday from 10am at the firm’s Tom Johnston Road premises and it will also be streamed online.
Music lover Alastair founded the shop in 1976 and it had several homes across Dundee, most recently on the Nethergate.
He passed away in 2019 aged 65 after health issues and the store subsequently closed permanently during the pandemic.
Groucho’s: a rite of passage
Visiting the shop became a rite of passage for thousands of music-lovers in Tayside and further afield over the decades.
Now people will get the chance to take home various items owned by the man who started it all and cemented his name as a local legend.
Author Chae Strathie, Breeks’ nephew, said: “Although it’s quite sad seeing all this distributed it’s also kind of great in a way that people who knew and loved Breeks, and those who loved Groucho’s, are going to have an opportunity to buy something to get a wee piece of him.
“People wouldn’t normally get an opportunity like this so it’s a nice thought. It’s lovely to think his things could be spread around Dundee.”
There are also Dundee comic books such as Oor Wullie and The Broons available, as well as antiques and jewellery.
A drawing by Michael Marra, known as the Bard of Dundee, is being listed with a guide price of £200-£300.
House like a ‘celebration of pop culture from the last 70 years’
Chae added: “We were all able to go along to the auctioneers on Wednesday and just kind of say goodbye to all his possessions.
“Breeks’ belongings were such a big part of him; more so than anyone I’ve ever met in my life. OK, for everyone your objects are partly a reflection of who you are but for him it was just off-the-scale.
“All this stuff was so tied up in him as a person. Anyone who visited his house will know what I mean when I say it was like a museum or a slice of social history.
“There was American culture mixed in with local things from Dundee.
“It was also like a celebration of pop culture from the last 70 years or so; it was just amazing.”
Edinburgh-born Alastair was well known throughout Dundee, particularly in the music scene, selling vinyl and tickets for gigs for more than 40 years.
Groucho’s provided an real music retail experience for generations.
‘Eclectic mix’ on auction
It was popular with a number of celebrities including Johnny Marr, formerly of the Smiths, comic Lenny Henry and Fleetwood Mac’s Peter Green.
Chae added: “Seeing all these things in boxes with tickets on them was a very strange feeling. It was quite emotional actually. There was laughter as well as sadness.
“The jukeboxes are the biggies in terms of value but also, whenever you visited Breeks, those were the standout items.
“They are these big, gorgeous, American branded boxes.
“There are also just things I remember growing up like a big mannequin with a Mick Jagger mask, and a Che Guevara beret on smoking a cigar.
“It was full to the brim with music memorabilia, pop culture items, and DC Thomson comics including Oor Wullie and The Broons.
“He was also a charity shop addict. He couldn’t go in one without picking something up.
“He’d a great eye for the weird and wonderful.”
Steven Dewar, from Curr & Dewar, said: “It’s very much an eclectic mix of items ranging from Rock-Olla and Bal-Ami jukeboxes all the way to Dundee United ephemera, DC Thomson-related items such as drawings, and collectibles.
“There’s a big collection of Dundee-related items with all the quirkiness of Alastair ‘Breeks’ Brodie.”
Items from the Groucho’s store itself, including thousands of records, are also in storage and will be auctioned in the near future.
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