Brian Beacom

NOSTALGIA isn’t what it used to be.

Or is it?

Do you remember the summer of ’69? Of course you do.

It was the time when Dream of Jeannie and Hogan’s Heroes were on the telly.

It was the year man first set foot on the Moon, when Concorde was being tested and Woodstock was taking place, a million miles away from us but it brought out the hippy in all of us.

And hits l such as Build Me Up Buttercup, Get Back and Sweet Caroline were on the juke box.

Yes, you were still at school and life was carefree.

And who doesn’t wish to remember those heady days.

Now, school days from The Summer of ‘69 are to be re-visited at the Pavilion Theatre.

The Pavilion is reprising its classic show, featuring a class of pupils who come to face their end of school dance.

But they realise the teachers are more interested in a homage to Jimmy Shand than playing the Stones’ Honky Tonk Woman.

And this is at the time when the Beatles are performing live on the roof of the Apple building.

How can the teachers ignore the music world going on around them? Can they move away from Kenneth McKellar and Moira Anderson.

And what can the pupils do to get their own way?

Pavilion manager Iain Gordon said: “This was the time of hippy festivals such as Woodstock, the first walk on the moon and the American troops being pulled out of Vietnam.

“It was the time of I Dream of Jeannie on the telly and Monty Python. But most importantly it was a period of some fantastic chart music, such as Marvin Gaye’s I Heard It Through The Grapevine, The Beatles’ Get Back and the Rolling Stones’ Honky Tonk Woman.

“With songs like that around how can you not create a comedy musical about the period?”

Indeed. And school days were the best of our lives with pink custard, best pals, adolescent crushes and playground football.

The musical comedy stars River City’s Shellsuit Bob, Stephen Purdon, as Wee Frankie and Gordon McCorkell, who plays Deek, as Jack.

And it’s a show that covers one of the most colourful periods of the past six decades.

The show, by top comedy writer Russel Lane, has a distinctly west of Scotland feel.

It’s based around a local school which is set to stage it’s end of year leaving dance.

“This is a nostalgia show which reminds us of school dinners, the school bully and the adventures behind the bike sheds, “ added the Pavilion boss.

“But our class of wayward kids are being forced to dance the last night away to the sounds of Scottish music.”

Cast: Dean Park, Grado, Holly Jack, Keith Warwick, Nicola Park, Scott Fletcher, June Brogan Glen James McAnerney, Chris Taylor and Carole Anders.

Can this bunch of no hopers get rid of the teachers long enough to enjoy the music that they really want? … The Fabulous Sounds of 69.

Hits include Build Me Up Buttercup, Get Back, Sweet Caroline, Honky Tonk Woman, Suspicious Minds, Stand By your Man and lots, lots more.

So whatever age you are, whether you want to relive your School Days or want to see exactly what your parents got up to back then, this show is for you.