Evening Telegraph (First Edition)
Scots Fawlty’s life at The Angus
Ex-manager has tales to match best of Cleese
ALISTAIR Risk was right on top of his guests’ every whim during his time as general manager at The Angus Hotel in Dundee.
Bono, David Essex, Simon Le Bon, Matt Monro and Joanna Lumley were among the A-listers he rolled out the red carpet for.
Many of the goings-on wouldn’t have looked out of place on the set of Fawlty Towers – and Alistair is happy to share the details.
He is in demand as an afterdinner speaker whose talks contain as many laughs as John Cleese’s iconic TV show.
Dumfries-born Alistair worked at the Lang Stracht Hotel in Aberdeen and was manager of the Cumbrian Hotel in Carlisle before moving to Dundee in 1980.
He lived in Carseview Gardens with wife April, son Alistair and daughter Karen and soon found the city was at a crossroads.
“Dundee’s industrial decline brought a sharp increase in unemployment,” he said. “So business was a struggle.
“The good news was, Dundee United were riding high and the Caird Hall and Dundee Rep brought the stars of stage and screen to perform.
“Almost every hotel I ever ran seemed to attract famous people.
“Duran Duran, David Essex, Joanna Lumley, Matt Monro, Elaine Paige, Simple Minds, UB40 and U2 all stayed and most were good fun.”
Sir Jimmy Shand, the king of Scottish dance music, regularly performed at The Angus.
“I remember when the city of Dundee honoured the great man,” said Alistair.
“The lord provost had booked the function room to celebrate the great box player with all the great and the good attending.”
Sir Jimmy and his wife arrived and he asked to go up in the lift and avoid the stairs.
Alistair said: “The lift broke down four feet short of the first floor and they were stuck for two hours until the fire brigade managed to get them out.
“He never blinked an eye or panicked and went on to enjoy his night. I sighed with relief.”
George Galloway used his position in the Dundee Labour Party to rally support for the Palestinian cause following the 1980 local election. He piloted Dundee’s twinning with Nablus.
Alistair said: “A delegation from Palestine was booked to stay in The Angus and we allocated the top two floors to them amid high security.
“An oil fabrication company was holding a big event in the ballroom the same evening and had booked out all the remaining rooms. The party were warned under no circumstances to go to the fifth or sixth floor.
“But there was dancing and the wine flowed. By midnight a bunch of girls took the lift to the sixth floor.
“They were very shocked to be faced with Arab soldiers who were carrying guns. They sobered up pretty quickly!”
Politics was never far from The Angus Hotel. The Lib Dems outperformed Labour in the national polls when the Caird Hall hosted the party conference with members staying at The Angus. All except one.
“The now-disgraced Cyril Smith announced he was not coming,” said Alistair. “He said Dundee was a dump and had no good facilities and delegates would be lucky to find a tent as the hotels were not fit for purpose.
“The Angus had just been upgraded. Our rooms were good but our bedroom suites were superb.
“Lib Dem leader David Steel allowed the BBC’S Robin Day and myself to show off his suite, which was complete with fourposter bed and giant Jacuzzi bath. This went out on the evening news across the UK. It was great publicity!”
Alistair was passionate about golf and major winner Gary Player hosted a sportsmen’s dinner at The Angus during The Open at St Andrews in 1984 with a professional at every table.
The Angus was demolished
in 1998 to make way for the Overgate redevelopment.
“I have met the great and the good – from Sean Connery to Jack Nicklaus and from Alex Higgins to the Lord Chief Justice and even Brigitte Bardot,” said Alistair.
“But my favourite celebrity friend was Ronnie Corbett.
“It was a joy to be in his company.”
Alistair, who retired to Brora following the death of his wife in 2005, retains a great fondness for Dundee.
He said: “My time at The Angus helped me develop and opened up opportunities to enjoy life and help others.
“Dundee and The Angus will always have a special place in my heart.”