Band looks for help to solve film mystery

music: Dundee group Spare Snare keen to identify folk from city in ’60s cine film used to promote latest track

A Dundee band are hoping that Courier readers can help solve the mystery of a cine film that is being used to promote a track from their forthcoming album.

The 8mm film featuring Dundee and the Tay Road Bridge in 1966, Craigtoun Park near St Andrews and Southend-onSea, has been re-edited to fit the melancholy track Grow from the new Spare Snare album Sounds which is due for release on Chute Records in July.

Spare Snare lead singer Jan Burnett said the band are trying to find out if anyone recognises anyone in the film – particularly the touching end scene featuring a family party.

They believe the whole thing has been filmed by a Dundee family.

Jan told The Courier: “The film and track is a little teaser for our new album recorded by Steve Albini.

“The album was recorded as part of Spare Snare and Steve Albini hosting the first ever Scottish Engineers’ Workshop last February at Chem19 studio in Blantyre.

“Chem19 is owned by Paul Savage and Emma Pollock ex of (Scottish indie rock band) The Delgados.

“The film was found by Spare Snare’s Adam Lockhart and re-edited to fit the track.

“We’d be keen to see if anyone recognises anyone in the film. We reckon it’s 1966 and features, as far as we know, Dundee, Craigtoun Park and Southend-on-Sea.”

The track, Grow, is a re-recording of a track from Spare Snare’s Garden Leave album from 2006.

Jan added: “We chose tracks from our 10 album catalogue that we thought would suit Albini’s touch.

“It worked out great and we recorded and mixed 10 tracks in five days. He loved us and the fact that the workshop had been funded by Creative Scotland was a big bonus for him.

“He is very keen on publiclyfunded projects.

“The engineers did not have to pay to be on the course which was important for all of us.”

Founded in the early 1990s, lo-fi outfit Spare Snare – featuring Jan Burnett (vocals, guitar, electronics, melodica), Alan Cormack (bass, guitar, drums, synths), Barry Gibson (drums, bass, guitar), Graeme Ogston (guitar, bass, ukulele) and Adam Lockhart (guitar, synths, bass, voice) – have released 12 albums to date, mostly on their own Chute Records.

They also recorded four John Peel Sessions.

The band have been cited as an influence on acts such as Snow Patrol and the Fence Collective.

To see the video for Grow, go to https://youtube/1q8NcO6qd_A.

Anyone with information about the cine film is asked to get in touch via www.wearethesnarecom.

We reckon it’s 1966 and features, as far as we know, Dundee, Craigtoun Park and Southendon-Sea. JAN BURNETT

A screen grab of part of the film which features Dundee, and, below, the band Spare Snare.