Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Forgotten footage of legendary ’80s Club Feet nightspot found in Tony’s attic
IT was one of Dundee’s coolest nightclubs – a hang-out for mods, rockers, new romantics and punks in the 1980s.
And now Dundee nightclub tycoon Tony Cochrane has unearthed forgotten video footage of the legendary venue Club Feet.
Running from 1982 to 1984 at the former Tay Hotel, Club Feet attracted music lovers and misfits of all ages as well as a fair few celebrities.
Former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne hung out at the club’s heavy rock night after performing a gig and Elton John popped his head in after a concert at the Caird Hall.
Singer Billy Mackenzie, frontman of The Associates, was a regular “Club Footer”, too.
The venue was run by Tony (pictured right), who these days owns Club Tropicana, Aura, Duck Slattery’s and Fat Sams, as well as more than a dozen venues stretched across Scotland.
Bored at home during lockdown, Tony dug through his vast collection of old VHS tapes, stored in boxes in his attic . . . and found some boasting footage of Club Feet in the early 1980s.
“I thought, ‘Jeez! I forgot those were there!’” says Tony.
“The plan was to show the videos to people at the time but we never got round to doing it.
“Nobody has ever seen them before so it’s really quite exciting.
“It’ll be fun for people to watch in this time of doom and gloom and they’re sure to bring back a lot of memories.”
The videos show scenes from a popular under-18s night in 1982 and an older crowd of revellers a couple of years later.
Tony has cobbled together footage from the under-18s night and plans to stream it on his Facebook page at 6pm – which he says is accessible to all – on Saturday.
The film of the older crowd “with two-foot hairstyles” will be streamed on a date yet to be confirmed in February.
“It’s bizarre to imagine that some of the folk in the videos will be parents and grandparents now!” says Tony.
“It’ll be fun for their kids and grandkids to watch granny and granddad, or mum and dad, dancing around and getting up to all sorts of antics!”
Club Feet was unusual in that it was a non-commercial, alternative and safe space for people to hang out in Dundee.
Its walls were painted boudoir-style purple and red and there was a sense of being able to slip into the shadows.
It was based in the former
Tay Hotel, with access from Dock Street, in what is now the Malmaison restaurant.
“It was a little club – a cool wee place,” says Tony.
“In its time, it was a great place to go and Billy Mackenzie of The Associates hung out there with a crowd.
“In other clubs, folk had to wear shirts and ties and dress up, but at Club Feet, it was an alternative scene and there were no rules.
“The music would be everything from Bowie to Madness, punk, mod, new romantic and Northern soul. The videos show all the different dance styles.”
The under18s footage shows “kids from
the