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 1978

After a lapse  the following advert appeared in the Highland News on Thursday 6th January 1978.

The Pavilion Ballroom, Strathpeffer. Dancing every Friday. Free transport leaves Farraline Park at 9 p.m.

Returning after dance.

Jan 20             Disco at the Pavilion Ballroom, Strathpeffer. Non stop dancing with our Resident Disc Jockey Jimmy Clyde.                          Win LPs. JIMMY WILL FIX IT!

                        Dancing 10.00 – 1.30.                                       Admission £1.25

                        This week’s special attraction free glass of sparkling wine to everyone.

                        Pass outs are available.

                        No admittance to Under 18 years

                        The management reserve the right to refuse admission.

Feb 10              The Spa Pavilion, Strathpeffer offers you a spectacular night of entertainment.

                        On Friday 10th February with the Great Blue Moon Disco (Ron and Sue, the Great show lighting and Mr A                             Dunbar)

                        Refreshments served in the Snack Bar Area.

                        The return of free transport.

                        Competitions such as Name the Tune – win a bottle of whisky and an Album Token.

                        Lucky seat prizes win one of our 50 singles. Dress optional;

                        One of the Great Nights of Entertainment. Don’t miss it!

Mar 10             Pavilion Ballroom, Strathpeffer          The Nite Spot of the North               10.00 – 1.30

                        Dancing to Sophisticate Disco Save money admission now £1

                        No person under 18                 Usual free transport after dance

                        Rights of admission reserved.

Mar 24             Good Friday Dance                  10.00 – 1.30

                        Sophisticate and Blue Moon Double Disco

                        Hens are laying well so come and collect your free chocolate Easter egg.

May 5              Strathpeffer Young Wives Club in conjunction with Strathpeffer Hall Committee

                        A Village May Dance in the Spa Pavilion, Strathpeffer.

                        Music by the Strathpeffer Dance Band          9.30     Admission £1.

                        Late licence applied for                         No transport                        Refreshments

May 19             Strathpeffer Spa Pavilion

                        Every Thursday starting 25th May. For all the over 25s – music for all tastes

                        Dancing to the Melotones        8.30 – midnight            Late Bar          £1.25

                        (Note – this appears to have been postponed for a week)

                        Strathpeffer Spa Pavilion presents a Highland Cabaret featuring

                        The Tain Broadcasting Band (Scotland’s best)

                        Christine Pirie (Scottish Songstress)

                        The Ben Wyvis Highland Dancers (Medal winning Highland Dance Team)

                        Pipe Major Seorais Innes (The skirl of the pipes)

                        Frank Thomson (Accordion Ace)

                        Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Doors open 8.30. Commences 9.00 p.m.

                        Don’t miss Scotland’s longest running show.

                        Admission £1.50                      Children half price      Bus parties welcome

May 19             Don’t miss the start of the season’s dancing starting on 19th May 8.30 – 12.30

                        This week Recording Artistes Backline Band (7 piece with brass)

                        Plus Jimmy Clyde’s Super Disco           £1.50   After 11 £1.80

                        No one under 21                      LATE BAR                 LATE TRANSPORT

May 27            Police Benevolent Fund

                        Grand Concert in the Pavilion Ballroom, Strathpeffer at 7.30. Doors open 7.00 p.m.

                        Artistes           Alison Rapson, Mod Gold Medallist

                                                Stuart Anderson, star accordionist of Grampian TV

                                                Johnny Bogan, Master of Mirth

                                                Pipe Major John D. Burgess, Champion Piper

                                                The Marlettes, Popular Highland Duo

                                                 Catherine Hendry, Folk Singer

                                                 John Mackerlich, Accordion and Jimmy Forbes, Violin

                                                 Highland Dancers

                                                 Compère Mr Jock Watt

Jun 1                Don’t miss the first dance for all you over 25s. Thursday 1st June 8.30 – 12.00

                        Dancing to Black Knights                                                                     £1.25

Jun 2               Dancing Friday 2nd June                      8.30 –12.30                              £1.25

                        This week The Other Band plus the Jimmy Clyde Super Disco

Jun 6               Spa Pavilion, Strathpeffer Special C+W Dance

                        Dancing to the Duo Gelco one of Scotland’s top C+W bands.

                        8.30 – 12.00                                                                             £1.25

Jun 9               Pavilion Ballroom, Strathpeffer          Dancing  8.30 – 12.30

                        This week from Glasgow the unbelievable Motels plus Jimmy Clyde Disco.

                        Owing to the astounding success of the last three dances we have been able to reduce

                        our admission to only £1. Please come early to avoid the crush.

Jun 16              Pavilion Ballroom, Strathpeffer          the Nite Spot of the North

                        Dancing to the Zones (Ex Slik – Arista Recording Artiste) plus Jimmy Clyde Disco.

Zones were a Scottish power pop and new wave band founded in late 1977, following the demise of PVC2 (formerly the bubbleglam and soft rock band Slik).
PVC2 comprised Midge Ure (future Ultravox frontman) on guitar, Russell Webb on bass, Billy McIsaac on keyboards and Kenny Hyslop on drums. In late 1977, Ure left PVC2 to join Rich Kids with Glen Matlock. Then, Webb, Hyslop and McIsaac called in Alex Harvey's cousin Willie Gardner to replace Ure on guitar and vocals, and Zones were formed.
In February 1978, Zones released a single "Stuck with you" which attracted the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, leading to the band recording a session for his show, and Arista Records, who signed them and released the rest of their discography. Their next single was "Sign of the Times" released in July. They returned for a second date at the Pavilion on 29th September.

 
sourced from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zones_(band) on 13th November 2015


Jun 23             Strathpeffer Amateur Operatic Society presents

                        Songs from the Shows in the Pavilion, Strathpeffer at 8.30

                        Bring and Buy Stall                 £1 and 50p

Jun 30             Pavilion Ballroom, Strathpeffer.

                        Dancing to PARIS (Melody Maker National Rock Band Championship Winners)

                        Plus Disco        Admission £1   Cheap at half the price.          Strictly over 18s.

Jul 14              Nite Spot of the North

                        The Tools plus Disco   Don’t miss this one      8.30 – 12.30

                        Cheap at half the price           Admission £1               Late Bar                      Late transport

                        Strictly over 18s                     Management reserve the right to refuse admission.

                        Spa Pavilion presents a Highland Cabaret starring

                        Johnny Bogan (Scotland’s top comedian)

                        Tain Broadcasting Band (One of Scotland’s best Country Dance Bands)

                        Christine Pirie (Scottish Songstress)

                        Ben Wyvis Highland Dancers (Medal winning team)

                        Pipe Major Seorais Innes (A skirl o’ the pipes)

                        Doors open 8.30 p.m.    Concert commences 9 p.m.

                        Every Monday, Wednesday and Saturday. Admission £1.50 Children 50p

                        Don’t miss Scotland’s longest running Highland Cabaret.

                       

                        The following extract is taken from a thoroughly entertaining book entitled “The Life and Times

                        of THE BOGAN” by John Urquhart ©. It is available locally from good booksellers and in libraries.

                        A review on the back cover says it all.

                        “Johnny Bogan is a comedian of a vanishing breed, the experienced front-cloth men of the great

                        variety era. He comes on in grossly baggy suit or in ridiculously short kilt and delivers gag routines

                        of topical Highland hue in a perfectly timed slow and gentle way and the lilting accent of the Highlander,

                        one of the purest English speech forms. He is marvellously effective and funny and so easily understood”.

                        In his book he talks with affection about the Highland Cabaret.

                        “I joined a show called the Highland Cabaret which was every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday

                        from May till the end of September. The manager of the Strathpeffer pavilion at that time was Steve

                        Shepherd and he was the one who came up with the idea to put a show on for the tourist. To begin with

                        the audiences were quite small and depended on the people staying in the hotels but gradually the locals

                        got to hear about it and started to bring their friends along who were on holiday.  In the beginning we had

                        a catwalk stage which I loved, it brought you right in amongst the audience but as more people came

                        crowding in the catwalk had to go to make room for more seats. The show was pure undiluted Highland

                        entertainment, bright and colourful and fast moving, good Scottish songs, the best of Scottish Dance

                        music, Highland dancing accompanied by the piper, it had everything for the tourist. Was it a success?

                        I was there eighteen years. I’ve been asked many times if the same style of show would be successful

                        today, yes it would, what’s wrong with singing our own Scottish songs, dancing our own dances, playing

                        our own Scottish dance music, having a laugh at good Highland humour, and what’s wrong with wearing the

                        Highland dress, after all we are Scots, and should be proud of it”.

                        John goes on to add a comment, or two, about the dances on Friday and Saturday nights.

                        “At that time the Strathpeffer Pavilion was the mecca of entertainment in the north, buses brought

                        people from all over the north to the dances in the Pavilion on a Friday night. You either danced or got

                        drunk, getting drunk wasn’t too difficult, the drams were all poured out ready in those small glasses

                        leaving no room for water or lemonade. What kind of whisky? I don’t think anyone knew or cared.

                        It wasn’t unusual to meet somebody next day who was limping or with an arm in a sling, only to be told they

                        fell down the steps in front of the Pavilion. Finding your bus to take you home at the end of the dance

                        could be tricky if you have a few drams, for all the buses look the same when you have a drink in, and

                        there were plenty to choose from. There could be up to ten buses waiting to take the dancers home, it was

                        not unusual for somebody going to Inverness to end up in Tain.

                        There was one bus that everyone went on at some time, and that was Archie’s bus. His bus did the run to

                        the Black-Isle and as his bus was the last to leave every straggler in the place climbed on board the

                        already crowded bus. If you happened to be going to Dingwall and you were buried amongst the bodies

                        in the back of the bus, you would be lucky if you got off the bus four miles past your stop. With people

                        hanging out the door and with very little room for Archie to change gear, he would set off down the

                        Strath road occasionally stopping not to let people off but to pick someone up who was thumbing a lift.

                        Packed in like herring in a barrel there was never any trouble, the only fighting was the lassies fighting

                        off the boys.

                        The big attraction of the dances in Strathpeffer were all the well known Scottish Dance bands who

                        played there, Jack Forsyth’s Band, Hawthorn Accordion Band, Jim Cameron’s Scottish Dance Band,

                        just three of the many bands that attracted up to a thousand dancers to the Strath on a Friday night.

                        When their popularity started to fade the Irish Show Bands took their place, and they were every bit

                        as popular as the Scottish dance bands”.

Jul 21              Quicksilver (One of the best on the road bands around) plus Disco

Jul 27              From Thursday 27th July to Tuesday 1st August and Thursday 3rd August

                        At The Spa Pavilion, Strathpeffer Your worthy chairman

                        Jack Linden (From Crossroads on Thames TV)

                        Proudly presents at enormous expense

                        The Golden Days of  Music Hall          An excellent cast

                                                Nola Golding (a girl with a golden voice)

                                                Jeanette Day (from the Roaring Twenties)

                                                John Boycott (Music Hall memories)

                                                Syd Griffiths (Mr Music)

                        Admission £1.50              Doors open 8.30      Commences 9.00            Refreshments available

Jul 28              The one and only MONOS plus Super Disco.

Aug 4               Sirroco + Disco plus Super Disco

Aug 11              The Valves (Zoom Recording Artistes) plus the Black Knight Disco

Aug17              The Tools        8.30 – 1.00

Aug 18             Hot Toddy plus the Black Knight Disco           8.30 – 1.00

Aug 25             The Valves

Aug 31             The Tools plus The Mormons plus Black Knight Disco

Sep 1               Skeets Bolivar Recording artistes. Latest single “Brick House Door”

                        Plus Black Knight Disco.

Sep 7               The Tools plus The Hormones plus Black Knight Disco


                        Be Stiff at the Spa Pavilion, Strathpeffer on Friday 20th October.


Sep 8               The return of Dusty (One of Scotland’s Top Pop Groups)

                        Plus The Black Knight Disco

                        Coming soon Gyro                    Ignatz                Skids

Sep 15             Gyro plus Black Knight Disco

Sep 22             The Best of Funk         Ignatz (The Live Band) plus Black Knight Disco.

Sep 28             Freebird plus Black Knight Disco tonight Thursday

Sep 29             The Zones (Ex Slick) plus Black Knight Disco

Oct 5               Sitting on the Fence tonight Thursday plus Black Knight Disco

Oct 6               Sitting on the Fence tonight Friday plus Black Knight Disco

Oct 10             East Ross Film Society presents “Steelyard Blues” in the Ben Wyvis Hotel at 8.30 p.m.

Oct 13             Hot Toddy plus Black Knight Disco

Oct 19             Spa Pavilion Strathpeffer presents the One and Only

                        Alexander Brothers at 8 p.m. Thursday 19th October.                        Admission £1



                                                          

Oct 20                                                     SPA PAVILION  STRATHPEFFER

                                                                   BE STIFF ROUTE ’78 TOUR        

                                                                       Friday 20th October

                                            Dury               Costello                 Lowe             Jupp
 
                                                                         Wreckless Eric

                                                                     Micky Jupp’s Legend

                                                                          Lorne Lovich

                                                                           Jona Louie

                                                                         Rachel Sweet

                                                                Plus at least one Big Stiff

£2 at door. £1.75 in advance from Chris Records, The Other record Shop, Inverness, or direct from Drew Larg or £2 at the door on the night.

S.a.e. Postal order or cheque only please. 
Cheques made out to “Spa Pavilion, Strathpeffer”.                                                                                   Late Bar

Late Transport for Dingwall, Muir of Ord, Beauly, Inverness, Tain, Alness and Invergordon.
                                                                                                             
The Be Stiff Route 78 Tour ran from 10th of October to 19th of November 1978 and was designed to promote a new
clutch of artists on the emerging Stiff record label. It was a follow up to a successful tour the previous year which had made stars of Nick Lowe, Elvis Costello and Ian Dury but this time all the artists travelled round Britain by train to the venues as a publicity stunt.
On the 1978 tour each act was very different - there was the new wave sound of Wreckless Eric, the rock and roll of Mickey Jupp, the country pop of Rachel Sweet, and Jona Lewie and Lene (not Lorne) Lovich who weren't easy to categorise.

Picture
Some copies of the promo records came with a "Be Stiff" tour promo booklet and some were packaged in plain black sleeves. One label states: "Not For Resale - You're extremely lucky to get this - you probably don't deserve it".

Picture
There was also a train version marked "Not For Resale". These records were only available from Stiff Records by mail order after the tour.




A group called The Records www.therecords.com joined the Be Stiff tour as backing group for Rachel Sweet and went on to record the single  'Starry Eyes' for Virgin Records. Some sources also quote Micky Jupp's Band as being called The Cable Layer. One of the 'big' stiffs was billed to play but no one is sure which one. It is said that the personnel and equipment were ferried from Dingwall Station to the Pavilion in vans, though this has not been confirmed.

Oct 27             The Mighty Valves and the Hormones             8.30 – 1.00                                No price

Nov 3               Sirocco plus The Hormones plus Black Knight Disco                                       No price

                        This appears to have been the last of the Friday night dances, though there are no press

                        adverts or announcements to say so.

Nov 17              The Melotones Silver Jubilee

This year the popular music group the Melotones celebrates its Silver Jubilee. The band was formed 25 years ago by the late Mr James Wilson, who died tragically following a motoring accident. Sole survivor of the original Melotones is trumpeter Fergie Brown, Dingwall. Members of the band at the start were Messrs Jimmy Stewart, Willie and Eck Wilson and the late Paddy Brown. They played throughout the North and still do. During the past few summers they have been resident orchestra at the Ben Wyvis and Highland Hotel in Strathpeffer. Today’s lineup includes Dodo Ross, Bob Hunter and Jackie Cameron. The Melotones are noted for their strict tempo for dancing and as all round musicians and vocalists. Congratulations!

Dec 2               Caberfeidh Shinty Club          

Sale of Work in the Pavilion Ballroom, Strathpeffer

On Saturday 2nd December at 2 p.m.                                                         Admission 5p

Dec 16             Caberfeidh Shinty Club

                        Dance in the Strathpeffer Hotel                    
Dec 29             Charity Ball at the Highland Hotel at 8.30                                                               £5


 updated on 15th July 2020     contact: craigvar@talk21.com         © arthur scott