Published: Thursday, 15th May, 2008 8:55am

Alhambra could be best music venue in the UK

by Gary Fitzpatrick

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BAND CALL: Dan McCafferty and Pete Agnew at the Alhambra

NAZARETH"S Pete Agnew and Dan McCafferty will be taking a trip down memory lane when the band becomes the first act to play at the re-opened Alhambra next month.

And the rockers reckon the venue could become the best in the UK for live music.

The band"s home-town gig on Saturday 6th June promises to be a great occasion for Dunfermline – marking a new era for the venue and celebrating the group"s 40th anniversary.

In between gigs in the Faroes and Brazil, the guys played a flying visit on Monday to check out how work is going on the former bingo hall.

Both the remaining founding members have fond memories of the Alhambra in its days as a cinema.

'I had my first date with my wife Jane up there,' recalled Pete, pointing up to the back row of the balcony section. 'She was a big Elvis fan and it was one of his films, "The Flaming Star".

'I also played here with my first ever band, "The Spitfires" – me and three friends – in our last year at primary school. I was the singer and they used to batter their guitars. They couldn"t really play them.

'But anyway we won the Fife skiffle competition through in Kirkcaldy and got the chance to play here between the films.

'We played three Buddy Holly songs, "That"ll Be the Day", "Peggy Sue" and then I announced the last song would be "Oh Boy".

'Some wee wag in the audience shouted "Oh boy, are you rotten!" I hope we go down better with the audience this time.'

The band also hope that the Alhambra will put Dunfermline on the live music map.

'If they can pull it off this could be the best venue for live music anywhere in Britain. It"s a good size and it looks great,' said Pete.

'People will come here from Edinburgh as there"s not really a good venue over there at the moment with the Playhouse concentrating on musicals these days.

'I think you would also get people coming from Glasgow. Why not? We go there for concerts.

'We"ll certainly be telling other bands about this place. In fact, we"ve already mentioned it to Roger Glover of Deep Purple as we"re working on a project with him. We"re really looking forward to playing here.

'I hope the Alhambra can have a big future and of course it"s up to local people to support it.'

Dan agreed, saying, 'It"s a fantastic place and let"s hope people get off their backside and give their support. You"ll get people making excuses, "Where would I park?" and that sort of stuff. I say to them "Splash out and get a taxi".'

Support will be provided by Pete"s son, Stevie Agnew, well established on the local music circuit for many years.

'It should be a great night and it"s come at a good time for me as we"ve just brought out a new CD,' said Stevie.

Bill Fletcher, whose Linklever Group owns the venue, said, 'We want this to be the best venue on the east coast of Scotland and we couldn"t get off to a better start than with local legends Nazareth.

'They"ve been going four decades and I"ve put on a concert with them in each of those decades such as at The Warehouse and the Glen Pavilion.

'We"re looking forward to a big Dunfermline night here.'

The venue"s downstairs area will be standing only for gigs and seating can be installed for other events such as theatre.

The Nazareth will be the first of around a dozen "Alhambra Raw" shows to be staged before the theatre is fully renovated. This could start towards the end of the year if the required funding is secured.

Meanwhile, Nazareth have been invited to play at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in July.

'It"s quite a feather in our cap to be asked to play there,' said Dan.