The 1970’s was a fabulous time to be a teenager.

The music, fashions and TV shows were all wonderful…..well apart from a few exceptions! 

(More on that subject later!)

One of my most vivid memories is when my older brother turned 15 in 1971. He could now attend the youth club disco held in the church hall across the road from where we lived.

The sound of the Sunday Chart Show announcing ‘Maggie May is No.1 for the 4th week running’ was still echoing in my head as he excitedly left the house, leaving me at the window staring longingly at the flashing disco lights so tantalisingly close…..and yet so far away!

It would be another full year before I was eligible to go and I could not flippin’ wait. 

Then at last it was Sunday 17/9/72! Three days after my 15th birthday. 

Club Night tonight!

I was soooo excited!

I had ironed my red gingham button down shirt with starch, pressed my black Levi Sta-Prest trousers and polished my Weejuns – Penny loafers. My new tartan jacket with the sheepskin collar (these were very fashionable in Glasgow for about 7 minutes) was hanging on the door waiting to complete my ensemble.

‘My dad said we looked ridiculous, but boy we broke some hearts’:
(‘I Was Only Joking’ – Rod Stewart.)

A few of my friends including Peter and Rab, arrived at my house before going to the club….or to give it it’s proper name St. Stephen’s Guild Youth Club.

There was a certain young lady who I was dearly hoping would also be attending.

SSG Club was the initiative of a young priest, Fr. MacDonald, who wanted to give young people in the parish something to call their own. 

It proved to be a very successful venture.

The disco took place in the basement of the church hall, which had probably been an old storage area.

It was all very basic. 

Brick walls painted purple, a tiny cubicle which housed the DJ with single record deck. 

The club’s SSG Crest was emblazoned on one wall in Da-Glo paint. There were wooden benches lining three walls. The entire area was only about 30′ x 25′,

Upstairs in the main hall there was a bar that sold soft drinks, crisps and chocolate. MB bars and Mars Bars were particular favourites.

Volunteer Dads would ‘patrol’ the main entrance and the boys’ toilets to deter/detect any underage alcohol drinking.

Although, as I knew from personal experience, if you invested in some polo mints, ‘kep’ ra heid and wurny fallin’ aboot drunk,’ you could easily avoid their scrutiny.

There was an area for badminton, table tennis and even a netball stand. (More on that later too.)

Not many people took part in these activities though as all the main action took place downstairs!

‘Maggie May‘ was still popular as was:
‘Hi Ho Silver Lining‘ by Jeff Beck
‘Jean Genie‘ – David Bowie 
‘Brown Sugar‘ – The Stones
‘Get It On‘ – T-Rex
‘Schools Out‘ – Alice Cooper
‘In A Broken Dream‘ by Python Lee Jackson with Rod Stewart on vocals.
‘Back Street Luv‘ – Curved Air 
‘All The Young Dudes‘ – Mott The Hoople
‘Radancer‘ – Marmalade

(Also a certain Mr. GG was very popular in this era, too!)

(Original pics supplied by Michael O’Rourke, former SSG DJ)

Even novelty acts like, ‘Popcorn‘ – Hot Butter and ‘Sea Side Shuffle‘ –Terry Dactyl and the Dinosaurs would be played regularly.

And for the girls :
‘ABC’ – Jackson 5
‘Band of Gold’ – Freda Payne
‘Puppy Love’ – Donny Osmond 
‘Breaking Up is Hard to Do‘ – The Partridge Family (featuring the guy every girl loved, and the bloke all boys wanted to be – David Cassidy. Not forgetting, of course, they also included the stunning Susan Dey!)

As the music got louder and the dance floor filled with 40 gyrating bodies, teenage hormones ricocheting off the walls.

The disco lights flashed and the ultra violet lamps would ‘highlight’ any white clothing, including any white bras worn under dark clothing! Several girls discovered this phenomena the hard way and had to run for cover!

As the dance floor heated up the condensation would literally run down the walls! 

More on this heat later…..

The guys would play clumsy Air Guitar stomping about to Quo or Slade. Then strut about like pretend peacocks to Jagger and Ferry … while being totally ignored by the groups of girls chatting in the corner!

Soon the highlight of the night was approaching……

The Moonies! 

Songs like:
‘Reason to Believe‘ –Rod Stewart
‘The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face’ – Roberta Flack
‘Angie’ – The Stones

Fr. Mac and one of the Dads would hover nearby in case any dancers got TOO close during this nightly mating ritual!

This ultimately proved pretty unsuccessful as many couples who took their first moonie dance are still together to this day!

Which girl would you ask to slow dance? 

Would she reject you and leave you isolated on the dance floor for all to see and pity? Much safer to ask a sitting girl where at least if she said no then only her closest friends would know! 

A wingman was absolutely essential. Peter was mine and I was his….

Deep breath and take the plunge. It got easier as the weeks went by…. but honestly whit a rite of passage! 

The girls had ALL the power!

One night, at Moonie Time, the DJ announced that it would be a ‘Ladies Choice.’ 

Aha! AT LAST! So now the guys had the power…..well , NO because if you dared to refuse a dance with any girl that plucked up the courage to ask you, you’d look like a complete dick!

Every girl would take note with future devastating consequences! 

Girls 2 – Silly Strutters 0

A year pleasantly passed, the fashions changed: Skinny Rib Jumpers, Oxford Baggies and Platform Shoes were now in vogue.

‘Then a crowd a young boys they’re a foolin’ around in the corner,
Drunk and dressed in their best brown baggies and their platform soles.‘
‘Sultans of Swing‘ – Dire Straits

The music more or less stayed the same with very welcome additions from Rod, T-Rex, Roxy, Slade, Sweet, 10cc and David Bowie.

Some members led by James McGrath painted the stone floor pillar box red. They did a great job and left it to dry for four full days……

Unfortunately when the club reopened, the combination of the previously mentioned heat and condensation made the paint melt and stick to the dancers’ shoes! 

Several girls had also been sitting on the floor! 

They had a story to tell their angry Mums about their red and ruined clothing! 

Fr. Mac probably got a few choice phone calls the following day!!

The main hall was very well used: 21st and 50th birthday parties, Monthly Dances, Wedding Receptions and Anniversaries, Sports Award Nights and so on.

One night at the club, Mary Gibbons, Maureen O’Rourke, Kathleen Tait, Maureen Graham and others, from the local Netball team challenged, Pat Boyce, Gerry Fallon, Rab Thompson, myself and others from The Clydebank Hustlers Basketball Team, to a game of NET-Basket….Girls v Guys.

The 1st half played following Netball rules and the 2nd using Basketball rules! 

But alas no referees….

It was total, brutal carnage! 

Neither team really understood the other sport’s finer points, resulting in bodies flying everywhere with many accidental and, I’m sure, intentional clashes. 

I have a distinct memory of being clotheslined in mid-air then crashing to the floor with my female assailant in a tangle of limbs!

At the end of the ‘game’ both teams were nursing bruises, scratches and the odd sprained ankle but we ‘kissed’ and made up promising to have a rematch…..but it NEVER EVER happened!! Mmmmm?

Occasionally the club members would put on stage shows for the parish to raise money for local charities.

One of the most, ahem, memorable shows was, unfortunately……

The Black & White Minstrel Show had a huge TV audience at the time and was a firm favourite of my generation’s parents and grandparents.

The guys, including myself, blacked up (sorry!) and sported straw boaters whilst the girls wore floaty dresses and carried parasols.

We rehearsed for 2 months practicing the choreography and learning the songs:
‘You Are My Sunshine’
‘Shine On Harvest Moon’
‘Smoke Gets In Your Eyes’

And that famous fish song … ‘Salmon Chanted Evening!’

The very enthusiastic audience of club members, parents and grandparents lapped it up. Singing along to every song, cheering and clapping loudly.

Obviously this form of entertainment has been rightly consigned to the dustbin of history and should NEVER be repeated…..but it WAS 1973 and none of the participants were being racist in any way. 

We honestly thought it was all just good, clean fun…..

and it WAS for Charity!

The club continued to thrive for the next few years. Welcoming new fashions, music and dance crazes like ‘The Bump’ while cherishing the old favourites.

Our crowd continued to attend and enjoy SSG until late 1975.

Around 1992 we had a reunion and many club members from the early 70’s, now long married with kids of their own approaching their teens, happily attended.

It was a great night dancing to 70’s music, lots of legal drinking, much laughter and many tall tales of our ‘Glory Days’

‘Glory days, yeah they’ll pass you by,
Glory days, in the wink of a young girl’s eye,
Glory days, glory days!’
Bruce Springsteen 

*****
(Post by Mark Arbuckle of Glasgow – August 2023)

Thanks to the following for photographs, memories and encouragement:

Michael O’Rourke
Pauline Allan
Maureen Owens
Ian Black
Rosemary Palmer
Margaret McGinley

Thanks also to James McGrath and Terry McGinley for providing the artwork.

*****