Rewind the clock with these newly colourised photographs of Dundee which capture streets, people and everyday life in 1975.
They provide a glimpse of what life was like 50 years ago.
The black and white photographs from DC Thomson’s archives have been enhanced and colourised using advanced AI technology.
Here, we see them in a new light for the first time.
What was happening in Dundee in 1975?
Village and city were lumped together in the local government re-organisation.
Dundee Corporation was consigned to history.
The perennially unpopular Tayside House was completed in 1975.
It became the home of Tayside Regional Council.
Tayside Police was formed out of three separate forces.
Tayside Fire Brigade was created by merging the brigades.
The colour of Dundee buses would change from two-tone green to two-tone blue.
Construction of a shopping mall started following the demolition of the old Wellgate.
Some of the famous faces who performed at the Caird Hall included the Bay City Rollers, Billy Connolly, David Essex and Paul McCartney and Wings.
So how did Dundee look in 1975?
Rewind 50 years and take a stroll through a changing Dundee.
The way it was…
Ardler
A view of a street in Ardler in September 1975.
The estate underwent a transformation 50 years ago which included the opening of the Ardler Community Centre, which stood in the shadow of the multis.
Bay City Rollers
Rollermania, they called it.
Liz Tosh, Gladys Wiseman, Linda Mann and Teresa Stewart queued up all night in the pouring rain to get tickets for the Bay City Rollers’ Caird Hall concert on May 1.
They seem to have every Rollers poster that was ever printed.
Billy Connolly
Billy Connolly on stage in his banana boots at the Caird Hall in September 1975.
Tickets were £2.25, £2, £1.75 and £1.50.
The Big Yin became a regular visitor to the city.
Bin strike
More than 40 Dundee bin lorry drivers voted to go on unofficial strike from March 27 1975 in support of colleagues in Glasgow who walked out in a bid for more pay.
Bin lorry drivers returned to work in Dundee on April 9.
Jim Anderson, George Neil and Tom Mullen were pictured grafting hard.
Clark’s Bakery
Clark’s new bakery opened in Miln Street in December 1975.
The family firm has been serving freshly baked goods to the Dundee community since Ernest Earl Clark opened a small corner shop on Annfield Road in 1950.
David Essex
David Essex backstage before his performance at the Caird Hall in September 1975.
He was posing with a dog named Gina.
Essex stayed at the Angus Hotel and climbed out through the back window of a Range Rover that reversed right up to the front doors to shake off his adoring fans.
Dens Park
A view of the terracing when Dundee played Rangers on September 27 1975.
The attendance was 15,087 for the Premier League game at Dens Park.
The game finished goalless on a rain-soaked pitch with Rangers goalkeeper Peter McCloy saving Wilson Hoggan’s penalty kick in the second half.
Dens Road Market
Easton’s Fruit Bazaar was among the stalls at Dens Road Market in 1975.
Dundee’s own Petticoat Lane was filled to the brim with traders.
It was full of characters with generations of the same families running the stalls.
Dundee Central Baths
The old Central Baths were demolished in May 1975 after the Dundee Swimming and Leisure Centre opened.
They were known in Dundee as The Shorers.
It also had foam and Turkish baths as well as the famous Abby’s Café.
Hairdressing
Everyone wore those star jumpers in September 1975.
These young ladies were at a hairdressing session in the Beauty Culture Class at the new Ardler Community Centre.
Chunky wedge soles, flares and parallels were everywhere.
Lochee High Street
Lochee High Street with people walking by the shops in February 1975.
Behr’s Quality Shoe Repairs, James Thomson’s carpet shop, Granada Café, Quinn’s wallpaper and paint store and Martin’s Fish Merchants can be seen.
Some are gone and some remain.
Paul McCartney and Wings
Paul McCartney performed at the Caird Hall with Wings in September 1975.
Tickets cost £1 and £2.50.
The Wings Over the World tour Dundee date included McCartney playing Beatles classics Blackbird, Yesterday, Lady Madonna and The Long and Winding Road.
Raleigh Chopper
Children from Downfield getting cycle proficiency training from Tayside Police with a Raleigh Chopper in July 1975.
The 1970s was the decade when we saw all kinds of wonderful new toys for kids and grown-ups, and the must-have bike was the Raleigh Chopper.
Riverside Dump
Bags of rubbish being emptied from a car at Riverside tip in April 1975.
Plastic sacks were delivered by non-striking binmen to allow householders to take refuse to tipping areas by car during the unofficial walkout in Dundee.
Swannie Ponds
Children fishing at the Swannie Ponds in May 1975.
Looking at the background, you can see little has changed over the years.
Tannadice Park
A policeman walks round the track at Tannadice Park on December 27 1975 before the Premier League game between Dundee United and Rangers.
The game finished 0-0.
The Dundee United starting line-up included Hamish McAlpine, John Holt, Paul Hegarty and David Narey, who would all win the League Championship in 1983.
Tayside House
A view from the Old Steeple of Tayside House taking shape in April 1975.
It was positioned right in the eye line of the traffic coming across the road bridge.
The region’s administrative hub was a pile of rubble by 2013.
Tayside Police
The new Tayside Police building in Bell Street under construction in August 1975.
The contract was awarded to Dundee builder Charles Gray.
Tayside Police HQ was officially opened by the Queen Mother in 1977.
Vince and Eleanor Chalmers
Husband and wife singing duo Vince and Eleanor Chalmers in March 1975.
The pair had met at the Empress ballroom in Dundee before marrying in 1957.
They opened a guitar shop on King Street in the early 1970s.
Wellgate Centre
Early stages of construction at the Wellgate development in June 1975.
On the left is St Andrew’s Parish Church.
In the background is the Glassite Church.
The Central Bar and McGill’s can be seen in the distance, as can the Dallfield multis, which remain standing in 2025.
For many, it’s hard to remember what Dundee city centre used to look like before the shopping complex opened.
The centre was built on the site of the old Wellgate, which formed a busy, bustling approach from the Murraygate to the Wellgate Steps and the Hilltown.
- ALL IMAGES IN THIS ARTICLE ARE COPYRIGHT OF DC THOMSON AND HAVE BEEN COLOURED USING ADVANCED AI. COLOUR REPRODUCTION MAY NOT BE 100% AUTHENTIC. UNAUTHORISED REPRODUCTION IS NOT PERMITTED.
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