The Caird Hall in Dundee has seen some of the biggest stars in the world grace its stage since opening a century ago.
Its magnificent acoustics have ensured audiences have been enthralled and entranced, whether enjoying a rock band, orchestra or comedian in action.
Thousands of famous faces have stepped through the curtains to perform including The Beatles, The Who, David Bowie, Queen, Ozzy Osbourne and the Rolling Stones.
The Caird Hall has also been the stomping ground for comedy greats like Billy Connolly, Cannon and Ball, Bob Hope, Kevin Bridges, Keith Harris and Freddie Starr.
Scans of the venue’s autograph book can be viewed online and it includes the signatures of such luminaries as Paul McCartney, Duke Ellington and the Queen Mother.
The DC Thomson archives team has rummaged through the photo files and dug out a selection of photographs featuring some of these big names through the decades.
Some of these photographs have not been seen for years.
Burl Ives
Oscar-winning American actor and singer Burl Ives probably didn’t expect such an eventful end to his gig in Dundee on April 16 1952.
The singer was kidnapped by a dozen students brandishing double-barrelled shotguns and put in a wheelbarrow before being bustled out of the venue.
The unconventional exit saw him taken to the Students’ Union where the charities queen competition was held and he wasn’t allowed to go until he gave a few songs.
The Beatles
John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr were on the cusp of world domination when they performed two 30-minute sets on October 7 1963.
The 30-minute setlist included I’ll Get You, From Me to You, A Taste of Honey, I Saw Her Standing There, Baby, It’s You, She Loves You and Twist and Shout.
The Beatles returned to the Caird Hall on October 20 1964, the last time they would come to Dundee.
The Who
More than 2,500 fans packed in to the Caird Hall on May 23 1971, about to become guinea pigs for the newest offering from London rockers The Who.
They wanted to try out some new material that would be included on their proposed Lifehouse album, a project that would ultimately be dumped.
But they also ensured they laced in some old time favourites as well and performed well-loved numbers like Pinball Wizard, Tommy and See Me, Feel Me.
The Faces
Pop concerts were banned in Dundee after Rod Stewart and the Faces left the Caird Hall “looking like the Black Hole of Calcutta” in 1972.
Stewards struggled to control the 2,300-crowd, with seats and plasterwork damaged, and Red Cross volunteers were scrambled to attend to fainting teenage girls.
Thankfully Dundee lifted the ban and 1973 would bring performances from the likes of Led Zeppelin, Average White Band, David Bowie and Shirley Bassey.
Shirley Bassey
Ultimate Bond girl Shirley Bassey performed twice at the Caird Hall in the 1970s.
Bassey first played in Dundee on May 19 1972 and told the Caird Hall audience: “I’ll be back – in my 18 years in showbusiness I’ve rarely had an audience as fantastic as this”.
She kept her promise and returned on November 20 1973 to perform hits such as Goldfinger, Big Spender and Diamonds are Forever.
David Bowie
It was showmanship at its grandest when Bowie and the Spiders From Mars brought the Ziggy Stardust Tour to the Caird Hall in Dundee on May 17 1973.
The set list included a string of now-classic songs, including Changes, The Jean Genie, Life On Mars, Ziggy Stardust, Moonage Daydream and Rock ‘n’ Roll Suicide.
It was one of the most iconic and historic gigs to take place at the Caird Hall.
Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly has journeyed a long way from the man who started out in the Glasgow shipyards, and whose expletive-laden but hilarious diatribes sparked outrage in some religious circles.
The Big Yin is pictured in 1975, the same year Big Banana Feet was filmed.
The documentary’s title came from the banana boots which almost became Connolly’s trademark.
The Big Yin appeared countless times at the Caird Hall during the 1970s, 1980s, 1990s and 2000s and his last performance at the venue took place in October 2014.
Wings
Ex-Beatle McCartney performed at the Caird Hall with Wings on September 23 1975 with tickets £1 and £2.50 as part of the band’s Wings Over the World tour.
The set list featured material from Wings’ best-selling studios albums as well as some of McCartney’s compositions from the Beatles era, including Yesterday, Lady Madonna and The Long and Winding Road.
The Evening Telegraph review following the Caird Hall date said the gig “must rank as one of the best shows on Tayside for some time”.
Cliff Richard
Cliff Richard performed in the city various times in the 1970s.
His first appearance at the Caird Hall was in 1972 alongside guest singer Olivia Newton-John with two performances at 6.15pm and 9pm with tickets costing 75p.
He returned in 1973, 1975 and October 1978 where he performed a packed set of classic hits including Living Doll, Bachelor Boy, Miss You Nights and Devil Woman.
William Roache
Coronation Street actor William Roache was the guest of honour at the Dundee Ideal Home and Leisure Exhibition at the Caird Hall in 1978.
Roache, who has been playing Ken since 1960, returned to Dundee in December 1979 to help celebrate the opening of the new Granada TV rental concession at the Tesco Superstore in the Wellgate Centre.
He also cut the ribbon when the Forum Centre opened in 1989 where he described the choc-a-block maze of shops as better than Alf’s Mini Market in Weatherfield.
Nazareth
The Dunfermline band performed on March 10 1980 to promote the album Malice in Wonderland, which featured hit singles Holiday and Heart’s Grown Cold.
The band had recently acquired the services of Zal Cleminson from the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, whose style was a good contrast to guitarist Manny Charlton.
Guns ‘N’ Roses credited Nazareth as their biggest influence.
Snooker legends
The fierce rivalry between Alex Higgins and Steve Davis was instrumental in bringing snooker from the dark, smoky halls to a vast TV audience in the 1980s.
Here was a feud that existed between a people’s champion and a world champion.
They were signed up to take part in a British tour in 1981 and Davis led the series 4-3 when Higgins thrashed him 8-1 in front of 1,000 people in Dundee.
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy were letting rip their famous riffs in Dundee on December 4 1981.
The band enjoyed a string of hits including The Boys are Back in Town, Jailbreak and a cover of Whiskey in the Jar.
The name Thin Lizzy came from a robot character called Tin Lizzie, which featured in DC Thomson comic The Dandy.
Jocky Wilson
Jocky Wilson was the people’s champion who went from a council house in Fife to worldwide fame and fortune and back again.
This unlikely champion resembled an uncoordinated amateur as he flung his darts and often looked like he was launching himself at the board with his final throw.
Jocky made up for this by hitting the target and gave hope to thousands of pub players. He was 1982 world champion when he played on the Caird Hall stage.
Big Daddy
The ITV World of Sport show made stars of wrestlers Big Daddy, Giant Haystacks and Mick McManus in the 1980s.
Big Daddy’s real name was Shirley Crabtree and he turned pro in 1952.
He was an ex-rugby player, ex-Coldstream Guardsman and a huge favourite with wrestling fans when he grappled at the Caird Hall in the 1980s and 1990s.
- These images from Dundee’s Caird Hall through the years appear courtesy of The Dundonian, which appears in the Evening Telegraph every Wednesday.