HWS embarked on a wee tour to Dundee, known as the City of Discovery, to visit our friend Gary ‘Gadger’ Strachan. He is an intriguing individual with a colourful past and a genuinely cool demeanour. I consider Gadger as a true friend. His stories span from the terraces of the ’70s and the gang culture of Dundee to his upbringing in Lochee. A devoted Celtic supporter and season ticket holder, we delve into his community work, including managing a Junior Football team. Now, he proudly watches his grandson achieve remarkable success as a Scottish champion and international boxer. HWS is pleased to have finally tracked him down for a Q&A session. We met up in the Sleeperz Hotel above Dundee train station.
Good to see you mate, how are you?
I’m good mate thanks.
I wanted to discuss Lochee and what it was like growing up there. I see the Lochee Fleet had a reunion in 2011?
Growing up in Lochee was a great experience and a valuable education. The Lochee Fleet held a reunion on May 28th that year, which was truly unbelievable. There must have been over a thousand members of that gang throughout its 40-year history, some of the guys had played for Lochee United over the years. We established a cut-off point for the invitations. I was one of the organisers for the night. You had to be 50 years old on the night; there were about 100 invites sent out, and 72 guys rocked up. To this day, I believe it was a mistake because too many good guys didn’t get to attend. It was a ticket only event, which meant the younger lot like young Gadger didn’t get to it.
So we hired a nightclub in Dundee, and we got down there in the morning and put out a lot of Fleet memorabilia, including paper clippings, photos from the ’70s with names of guys and even a Fleet jumper up on the wall. Ironically, our gang colours were blue and red. At the start of the proceedings, I announced, “Tonight, lads, any trouble, and it’s not a yellow card. It’s a straight red as the eyes of Dundee are watching, hoping for a rammy!“ We also had a dancing girl and Gary Robertson, the Dundee street poet, present. Yeah, I am aware of the chap. Did he write the Gangs of Dundee book? Aye, and he read out a Fleet poem I had written that was fantastic. But as I say the hard part of the night was turning people awa! So, as I say, 72 guys turned up and some of them were older than us, like leaders and had about eight years on us.
I was the MC on the night, and of course, there were many legends and great stories and laughs from over the years. I would say one of the highlights of the night was that I read out the roll of honour for the guys who were no longer with us; 27 of them were gone, and that was in 2011. Anyway, this went a lot better than I expected, especially since it was close to the end of the night. I presented names like Dennis McMahon, also known as Dixie, because many in the Fleet only remembered their nicknames. As soon as I mentioned the first name, the place erupted in loud applause. Instead of quickly listing all the names, as I had initially planned, I then decided to pause after each one. This allowed the crowd to truly appreciate the tributes. These were old friends of mine, and I felt a shiver run down my neck. They were properly respected, and some of the founding members were there, which was very emotional.
Moving onto the streets, I learned about the Dundee gangs and their reputations over the years. It was a gang culture that not many people covered, and as you mentioned earlier, there were different colours to identify themselves? I have seen some pictures of the jumpers. As well as the Fleet I was familiar with the Hilltown Huns and the Shams?
Yeah, everyone had their own colours. There was the Mid, and the Shams, which was the Fintry Shamrock. We probably got on better with Shams than the others; but they had top guy in Dundee called Davie Young, who sadly just recently passed away. He had actually threatened to come down to the Fleet reunion and do a wee speech, he thought he was welcome [laughter]. So, I drew the short straw and was the one that was to head him off before he got there. There were bad vibes as he had stabbed one of the Fleet many years ago and done four years in jail for it. The boy that he stabbed, was due to come down to the reunion, but he didn’t show up till later, and Davie Young didn’t appear. I saw Davie a few weeks efter that and he said: ‘Gadger I’m sorry I didn’t make the reunion’ I said ‘Davie, you weren’t even invited!’ [laughter]. I mean that would have been a total risk, it wasn’t like a respect thing.
The photo from the reunion still shows great style to this day.
Yeah, well I think it might have been mentioned in Gary Robertson’s book as well but we had a motto of Smart and Neat.
But we fought everyone, including even Celtic and Rangers fans. We also travelled a lot. There was a film out at this time A Clockwork Orange, if you recall it? We adopted that style for a while, the white sta-press, white shirt, and braces. We decided to go to Hibs with Dundee one day for a Scottish Cup tie. Unfortunately, during those times, there was a lot of violence involving razors and blades. When we got off the train in Edinburgh, we encountered a group of Jambos who were heading to Ayrshire for their own cup tie. This situation quickly escalated into chaos, with many of the Lochee boys getting injured by open razors a few with serious cuts and one lad whose finger is still fucked to this day. It was bizarre, and we hadn’t even reached Easter Road yet. The ’70s were wild times, as things were often out of control, and the police seemed unaware or unprepared for it all. You could take crates of beer into the match, and fans could mingle on the terraces, standing right next to the away fans. There wasn’t any segregation at that time, but a few years later, the police made an effort to create a buffer with a thin line of officers. We would always meet at Samuels corner in Dundee city centre on a Saturday and there would be about 200 of us waiting on the football special coming in. Rangers always came at us with numbers, they were a game lot back then.
I had a great conversation with Jim Cameron last year about the terrace styles of the ’70s. He mentioned the Boot Boys gangs and the Skinheads of that time, who were quite different from the later bonehead look. Did you share a similar vibe?
Yeah definitely, I would call it suedehead much the same era, Crombie’s were a big thing, sta-press and docs were always worn. We moved onto the doc shoes as they were a bit smarter. There was a Prince of Wales check crombie and also the black one or a dark navy and both could have wee red hankerchiefs in the top pocket. I always liked the fact there was a tailor up the road there ‘Jackson’s & Burton’s who done our suits made to measure. Aye, Jim talked about the tailors shops as well. Aye, and a lot of thought went into this suit; it was made to measure. We discussed details like whether to include a pleat or a double pleat and opted for six buttons up the sleeves. The tailors were fantastic with us. Sometimes, around eight of us would take the bus to the tailor’s shop, and we could pay for our suits in instalments. The tailors would ask, “Ah yer fae Lochee? … there was one of your lot in earlier and he got this done with three buttons” he would show us and help us through the process [laughter]. The clientele varied between high-end businessmen and young working-class stylists, with nothing in between. Regardless, the tailors treated us brilliantly. There were also made-to-measure cardigans and brouges that were very popular. These days, people go online to order their threads, and I always think proper thought went into it back then. There was a shoe we wore, also called Springers, and they were much like a brouge. They had a plain front and leather soles with segs; we used to put extra segs on them, as many as we could sometimes. I still wear Gabicci. It’s a good label at a decent price. I have a favourite green one that I like to wear to Celtic matches.
1,2,3, who are we, we are the boys who rule Dundee, with an F and an L and a double EE, T – Lochee Fleet rule all Dundee!
The Lochee Reunion VIP invite requests the dress code to be ‘smart and neat’. Coincidentally, the VIP invitation picture features my first flat in the top left corner of Lochee High Street, my first ever flat [laughter]. Steve Martin, the ex-director at Dens Park, sponsored us that night. His company, R&M Bearings, is featured on the back of the invite in the same red and blue colors, so everything fell into place, well, it was fate, I think.
“We are always smart and neat… If you see us in the street, you’ll get down and kiss our feet. We are always Smart and Neat!!”
A while ago, I made Lochee Fleet polo shirts sporting an LF motif and Stevie Martin had asked if I could get him a new one as he had put on a bit of weight. The LF had double meaning with Luca Flynn, my grandson, and the Lochee Fleet. I had stopped doing them, but Stevie wanted one again. I think I will need to get some more made. I thought this was was class that Stevie wanted another one.
How is your community work, especially in mental health awareness, going these days? I know this subject is very important to you.
Yeah, well, I lost my son, as we know, Young Gadger, on January 7th 2017. He was only 34 years old, and that significantly impacted our lives. At his funeral, I gave a speech—not during the service, but at the Logie Club. Towards the end, I said, “If you ask someone how they are, be sure to listen to their answer. People often say ‘I’m okay,’ but it’s important to ask again, or to ask, ‘Are you really okay?’ After all, you might end up saving someone’s life.” So, later on into the night of the wake when the drink was going down, I had three of young Gary’s mates approach me and say, “Gary can I meet you next week? I’m struggling”. Three individuals were particularly brave, and there were possibly another ten behind them who never came forward. Since then, I’ve met seven or eight people, including one girl, all of whom had attempted to end their lives at some point. One of them was brought to me by their father for a conversation. It’s important to note that these individuals come from various backgrounds and are not exclusively from disadvantaged areas or schemes; their circumstances differ widely. I’m pleased to report that they are all still with us today. While I don’t consider myself a saviour, I was able to offer them a glimpse of the devastation left behind when someone chooses to end their lives. Families are left with a hole in their hearts that they can never fully recover from. A young boy came in with his dad, and it felt like his dad had forced him into the situation. I wasn’t aware this would happen; the boy likely wouldn’t have come to speak to me if he had known. His dad simply said, “I will leave you with Gadger,” and I didn’t like how it was done, the lad had no idea and it was like he had been hijacked. The boy started crying, and he was a big unit o a lad. Nevertheless, I worked to put him at ease, and it turned out he had attempted to take his own life just two days prior. However, I’m pleased to say that he is doing really well now. I saw him in toon a couple o years ago with his girlfriend, and I think he was scared I would come over to check on him. But I had nae intention o doing that. If he wants to talk, that’s perfectly fine, but those conversations will always remain just between him and me. I mean, I wouldn’t even tell my wife the names o these folk. I had one girl and she’s doing really well also and so I like to think I am getting support through to these people, they feel there is no way out, but there is.
I am looking at taking up a part-time job, perhaps about 18 hours a week. This is called “Distress Brief intervention”, which helps in the community. Many people feel uncomfortable with the traditional image of a doctor in a white coat holding a clipboard, which may cause them to freeze or feel anxious. Therefore, my approach would be different. I would focus on encouraging them to engage in physical activities alongside talking therapies, take them places even up to the football grounds, anything to break the cycle. As I mentioned earlier, when people ask how you are, the typical response is “fine,” and everyone just moves on. It’s like a standard question with a standard answer. However, I recently read something in February’s GQ magazine where Danny Dyer expressed a similar viewpoint. I had made this observation about eight years ago. Danny Dyer, who has faced his own issues, echoed the same sentiment. It is important to ask and then ask again.
During the lockdown, I was also doing personal training, which included a lot of boxing and pad work. While working on the pads, many of the guys would start to open up and share their thoughts, which was great. We often did this pad work outdoors, even in the snow, and it was an amazing experience. After our sessions, I would suggest going for a coffee. I met a big lad running around Lochee Park who appeared to be troubled; something just didn’t look right with him. I asked him if he was okay, and he immediately opened up to me. He had messed up at university, fallen out with his family, who were ashamed of him, and had been involved in a fight the previous weekend. I told him that he needed help, and spent 45 minutes with him. I asked if he would be interested in joining a boxing club. He used to attend SkyAxe Boxing Club, so I called the coach, and he mentioned that the lad had gone off the rails. I said, “Well, let’s help him get back on rails!” We managed to bring him back to the club, and now things are going well. I’ve always had a passion for helping others in this way, regardless.
I have to say the mental health problems is very common mate. One of the toughest things after losing Young Gadger, is if I am out having a drink was that his mates would wait until the alcohol had kicked in, and they would approach me, and they would break down in front of me. It was because of the alcohol, I would see it coming, they would start to approach me in twos, and they’d say how they were missing Gadger, they would start greeting. However, as the years have went on I won’t break down with them now, sometimes it can’t be helped but it was dain me nae guid whatsoever. Dinnae get me wrong, they were saying good things. They would tell me stories about how Gadger helped them at the school when they were getting bullied, and I heard it many times, it must have been about seven or eight times, lads getting bullied at St John’s high school and he helped them, and that breaks ma hert! Lads I didn’t even know, would tell me how Gadger saved them. Things like lads trying to take money from other kids at dinner time and Gadger stopping it and telling them, “That stops now!”. I feel proud about that. So, I said to young Luca, who went to the same school but has since left. I said to him to do the same, and someone’s grandad approached me about his granddaughter being bullied, and Luca nipped it in the bud, and that’s what he did, and he basically replicated what young Gadge did. I mean bullies are liberty takers!
You were a junior football manager for a while do you still have your hand in?
Not so much now, I still go to see Lochee United or North End JFC. I was general manager at Lochee United as well. I was Ray McKinnon’s boss. Raymond was good. It’s hard to go and watch them if Celtic are playing on the same day. I like to go to Celtic Park. I suppose I do keep my hand in but I have kinda grown oot o it now. The players are a lot younger, so it’s their Dad’s (my ex-players) who are watching their sons. I have had some great times though, over 17 years. I was doing the amateur teams as well, I was manager at Broughty Athletic Juniors, then I went to Downfield and North End. I was five years at North End, I had some great times and met some great people. I always remember going down to Kilbirnie in Ayrshire in the Scottish Cup. It was all calm and quiet before the match, I read the team out and did a wee team talk, so I went outside for a coffee and the Kilbirnie manager was out there, a guy called George Walker. He was also the junior Scotland manager at the time. He asked how I was, and I asked him, “I thought you would have come up and run the rule over us and all that”? As it was the latter stage of the Cup. He then informs me, “Naw, I got all that info from a Dundee manager” who spilt the beans on us. It just so happened that the reporter called me for a low down on the game when on the coach going home, then I let him know about the conversation and I said “aye that so n so, gave the run doon on ma formation n awe that” and the reporter went and printed it on the Monday’s paper! But the certain person did phone me up and apologise. Also, I asked George if he expected a decent crowd on this day of the match, and he told me, “they are all over the back of that hill drinking Buckfast at the moment but you will be impressed, you’ll see them for the second half”. I thought this was odd, then I kinda forgot aboot it. Then 10 minutes into the second half, they all came over the hill like Comanche warriors, loads of them, I thought “oh my god”, they were singing, drunk, they had horns blowing. I didn’t know what to think next. But it became apparent they were just enjoying themselves. They made a great atmosphere. Then I couldn’t stop watching them when I was supposed to be concentrating on the match, it was bizarre! Kilbirnie beat us 2-1 on this day by scoring a late injury-time winner, it was the last kick of the game, a free-kick into the box. They launch the ball into the box and our keeper, ex Dundee United player Andy Stewart, shouted “Away!!” but oor centre half Lee (God rest his soul) thought he shouted “Andy’s!” so he ducks and this big player called Sinkie (who the fans had been chanting his name all day) does a flying header to score to make it 2-1.
Another place we visited in Ayrshire was Ardeer. We won this game, and it was always courtesy to have a drink with the managers afterwards. So this chap was a decent guy and I couldn’t help saying that the facilities looked poor, I asked “what yiz dain here?” we got talking more I told him I was a Celtic fan and I had been reading a book about conspiracies called “Anyone but Celtic” and he told me, “Well I can vouch for that book to be factual, I know because I played 148 games for Celtic”. It turned out this chap was goalkeeper Evan Williams, who recently passed away. He took the managers job just to keep his hand in as he was passionate about football, he was such a nice guy.
When I was manager at North End JFC, I actually fell out with Tommy Burns. I bet no many folk could say that [laughter]. We played Celtic Youths. Jim McInally was the manager, and they had Simon Ferry and Rocco Quinn playing. We beat Celtic 5-0, but it was no way a 5-0 match; we were just extremely lucky. Celtic destroyed us in open play. The difference on the night was the goalkeepers. We had ex Dundee United keeper Andy Stewart and Celtic had young lad who was letting in some soft goals. After the match Jim McInally kept his team locked in the dressing room which seemed like an eternity, he didn’t join me for a drink upstairs after it, which was fine. A few weeks later, we are going to Seville. We were going on the Club 67 flight with the celebrities such as Billy Connelly, and awe that. So, I sees Tommy Burns and a few of the other boys. I went over to him and thanked him for bringing his team up to play us a few weeks back. Tommy then said, “You lot! You kicked our boys off the park, Jimmy McInally told me!”. This was all a bit bizarre and not true. So I denied this. I could see in the distance young Gadger and few other Lochee lads looking over at me speaking to Tommy Burns, probably being impressed but unknown to them we were in an argument. Tommy said, “We’ll get all the big guns up and have a go at you”, I replied well, “you dae that then, arrange it now!” [laughter]. I mean, looking back, he’s only protecting his laddies, same as me. You could say it wasn’t like him but there you go. I would never hold it against him. Young Gadger and my wife were at his funeral, and we recently went to see his life story at the Kings Theatre, Glasgow, his wife was there. But he’s a class act, I just wish I could have spoken with him away from Glasgow airport.
How are you feeling about Celtic and the current team at the moment?
Well, yes! I am liking it. I go to most games, I have my season ticket. Sometimes the Lochee No. 1 doesn’t get enough heads to take a bus through, so we just jump on the train. I really liked the Ange years, I must admit. He came over on his own, I mean, I think he was asked if he was bringing any other coaching staff, and it was “No! just myself” a laid back Australian guy and his wee stick and hankie, “what’s happening guys?” [laughs]. I mean, Eddie Howe was meant to be coming with seven coaches before Ange, but couldn’t get all his backroom staff to agree! I loved Ange’s style and he brought in these Japanese players I took to them right away, Koyogo, Hatate and Maeda. You had Maeda with a fantastic work rate and pace but his finishing was sometimes off. But look at him now, I think perhaps Brendan Rodgers has got the best out of him. Here’s another question: who do you prefer out of Brendan Rodgers and Ange? … Now that is tricky, it took me a while to get over Rodgers leaving the first time roond. But he has made his mark, it wasn’t working out really to begin with, and I thought it might be a case of the famous saying to “never go back”, but he started bringing in his own system and he built on it. Now you look at us competing in the Champions League, I was at all the home games and you can see we are hard to beat. So he must take a pat on the back. I really like Carter Vickers at the back, he sometimes does the work of about three players. The best one is when he’s on his own against four Rangers players going forward. I saw a caption online saying: “Mon then al take the lot of yeez” [laughter]. It was a goal all day long but he saves the day. Cal Mac has been outstanding, he could do one-two’s in a phonebox. Maeda could be our main striker now, he plays that position for Japan.
Have you been going to Celtic most of your life?
Well, as much as I could. But when we lost Young Gadger the season ticket was gone oot the hoose and I had to go on the waiting list to get it back. It was always kinda about him as well. But I have renewed, and he has an inscribed stone on the Celtic Way which the guys from the Lochee No. 1 kindly put in place at Celtic Park. So, I feel blessed to go to Celtic Park, I feel he is there. It’s like a focal point for a lot of folk. Sometimes when the fans sing “walk on”, that gives me a lump in the throat.
So, what was your favourite Celtic team?
I was lucky over the years; I got to see some of the Lisbon Lions, the likes of Jinky, and onto the Quality Street Gang later on such as Dalglish. I like the players who wore the number 7. Henrik Larsson as well. I actually share the same birthday as Henrik, although I have 12 years on him. I remember we went to Santa Ponsa for my 60th, I spoke with big Rab Douglas who lives in the Dundee area and is also Peter Marr’s ex DFC Directors son-in-law before we left and asked if he could get Henrik to call me on the 20th of September and the both of us could have said Happy Birthday to each other whilst sitting with the Bhoys in Santa Ponsa. I was in my ain wee world [laughter]. Rab said “Never mind YOU! he wouldn’t call me”. That was brilliant from Rab [laughter].
Last year, we attended the Celtic Player of the Year awards. Henrik Larsson, Chris Sutton, and Martin O’Neill were all there. When Henrik attempted to address the audience, he struggled to get his words out because the crowd was singing, “You are my Larsson.” You could see tears running down his face on the big screen.
Martin O’Neil done a Q&A at the Dundee Rep, and it happened to be on my birthday. At the end of the event, there were only about eight people left in the theatre, including my wife and me. I decided to wait for him so we could get a photo together. I mentioned to him that it was my birthday and, coincidentally, also Henrik’s birthday. He seemed impressed and wished me a happy birthday. We started chatting, and I asked the bouncer to take a photo of us. I got Martin to make the Lochee Fleet sign, explaining that it was for Lochee No.1. My wife walked away embarrassed. There were a few young lads hanging around, and one shouted, “Oi, Martin, that’s the Lochee Fleet sign!” To which he replied, “Am I going to get in trouble?” I said no! I told the young guy to shut up! So, he eventually does it cautiously, it’s a wee bit limp [laughter].
A few months later, he returned to Dundee, and I asked him to sign the photo that had “Lochee Fleet” written on it. He loved it. To address your earlier question, I would say that the Martin O’Neill era was one of the best; it was a turning point for Celtic, marking their resurgence.
I must mention a Neil Lennon story, a quite bizarre one, I have met Neil twice, once at Hampden when we had a chat about Simon Ferry, so I got a photo with him. I had it on my phone and didn’t think anything of it. I then took a job with an oil and gas company. Everything was going okay but they brought this new guy into the company who was a bluenose. I got on okay with him to start with then he started bringing in a few of his mates, which did concern me. The new manager wanted to do a team building pub crawl thing when we were working up in Aberdeen. We were in the Soul Bar in Union Street, everything was going okay on the night oot, then I get’s a text message and the picture on the phone is myself and Lennon. The next thing this manager tries to actually spit on my phone. I challenged him asking what are ye awe aboot! and he says, “dinnae tell me yer a Celtic sympathiser?” which is something I’ve never heard before. Then announces, “A hate that Lennon”. From then on we didn’t really speak, then about two weeks later I was made redundant from the company. I went straight up to his office and told him what he was, namely a bigot and he wouldn’t look me in the eye. The next time I met Neil Lennon he was doing a Q&A up here in Dundee and I told him the story. I said, “Neil, I lost a a guid job because of a photo!” he asked “a photo of who?” I said, “me and you” we were laughing about it.
Do you see much of the Celtic lads from Glasgow these days?
I still keep in touch with them. I often see Big Cookie and Jason Higgins at the matches. Young Gadger used to hang out with them, and we shared many memorable days together. I’ll never forget that just under a year after losing Young Gadger, I received a text from Jason. He was at Malone’s in Sauchiehall Lane in Glasgow with Cookie and invited me to join them. Coincidentally, Frank McGarvey was doing a Q&A session that day. It was a Saturday morning before the match, and my wife and I were still feeling a bit raw from our loss, but it turned out to be a good icebreaker. During his talk, McGarvey (God rest him) mentioned “my old pal Mo Johnstone.” and someone shouts “he’s a cunt” and McGarvey is trying to justify it by saying he was still my team mate at the time. After the Q&A McGarvey is straight over to us to find out who shouted it, but he knew it was Jason [laughter], but he ended up drinking with us, Jason introduces us to him, and we got a few photos. As the day goes on, Big Cookie comes over to inform us, “Gadger, I think Frank fancies yer Mrs” [laughter]. I told Frank I would “knock him oot”; it was all a bit of a laugh though. I mean we were still grieving we still had a lot going through our heads but it was funny how humour with all this nonsense in Malone’s can alleviate things. We got a taxi up to Celtic Park and we thought, “How good was that?” It was all off the cuff, and it helped us. I really admired Jason and Big Cookie for that.
Is it correct to say you were what was called a Lochee Fleet personal trainer?
Ah, that was when I trained a lot of folk one-to-one, like I mentioned earlier. I had a laddie from Dundee United and Luca that I used to train together. They were about 13 or 14 at the time. They were both very committed, and we used to train in all weathers, snow, rain, sleet and freezing temperature’s. I didn’t have the indoor facility, so it was up at Lochee Park. I got a buzz out of it, and they did too. The young guy from United is now on loan at Stirling Albion but at the time he was getting verbally abused at school and stuff. This knocked his confidence. We practiced various ball control skills, running with medicine balls, and boxing training with Luca’s help.
We then went down to a place in Broughty Ferry after lockdown, it was a classy hotel called the Woodlands wi a top gym. So, we walked in and the lassie at the desk tells us, “the gym is for elite athletes only” to which I replied, “they are elite” as I looked at these two young scally wags. I got them in but the lassie was still arguing. Since then, the two of them have represented Scotland, the footballer has played for both under 17s and under 19s while Luca has fought 14 times for Scotland. I have a good mind to go back down to the hotel now and show them both aff.
Tell us about you and the wife’s visit to Madison Square Gardens?
Yeah, it was ma wife’s 50th and Joe Calzaghe was having his last fight with Roy Jones junior and the Mrs agreed to go there. So, we were in a hotel, I think it was thirty-fifth street in Manhattan. So, I put a kilt on with a t-shirt that said, “Calzaghe’s tartan army” now, I have been told a few times I look like Calzaghe, so as we were going tae oor seats there was an American film crew there who thought I was related to the boxer. They kept hounding me and asking me for an interview. Then there’s a group of Welsh fans who spot this and start singing “super Joe” tae-words me! The sweat was lashing down the back of my neck. I mean there was folk like Danny DeVito and Evander Holyfield an awe that standing right beside us but they were mair interested in me. I’m now trying tae tell them, “am nae relation” but they’re saying, “you must be man! are you his brother?” I keep denying it and eventually we get to our seats and I’ve never been so glad to sit doon. So, the next thing is, when we are now getting settled a guy rocks up with one ae they see you Jimmy wigs and a kilt, and shouts oot, “is that you Gadger?” and my wife says, “a dinnae believe this, no in the middle ae Madison Square gardens” It was a an old pal fae Lochee who had been living in Edinburgh for a few years. He had saw me getting awe this attention and said. “actually you do look like Joe Calzaghe … I’ve just realised that after everyone shouting at ye!
And your two grandsons are a credit to you, both doing well?
I’m very proud, mate! My oldest grandson, Aidan, will be 25 this year. He is outstanding, and his knowledge of football is second to none. While he’s a Dundee United fan, it could be worse (laughter). When he was born, he had an issue with his foot, and the surgeon told us he wouldn’t be able to play football at any decent level. However, he ended up playing for Dundee schoolboys and even scored the first goal for the team, proving them wrong!
Then there’s Luca, who played for his Primary and Secondary school football teams. He also had a year at Dundee FC and played ice hockey, roller hockey, and the guitar. Now, he’s a champion boxer. He trains hard with tough endurance sessions. Out of his last 29 fights for Lochee BC he has won 24. At Ravenscraig he has won 11 and out of his last 12 fights, so Ravenscraig is brilliant for him.
Luca is a machine, though! He comes from a boxing loving family, and I’ve met some fantastic people through the sport since he took it up. I’ve gotten to know Alex Arthur really well; he’s invited me to visit him in Edinburgh. He has a gym above a row of shops on Rose Street, and he has a son the same age as Luca named Machlan who is also a very talented boxer. I also got along well with Ken Buchanan (God rest his soul). I must mention Brad Welsh as well, whom you knew too. What a great guy he was; I appreciated his community work and coaching.
Music and Albums?
I liked a variety of music over the years. Bowie, The Beatles, The Clash, Queen and Texas. I mean Bowie, in particular, reinvented himself many times throughout his career.. That Ziggy Stardust album cover when he’s on the cobble stones in London is legendary. I am also a fan of Oasis and their front cover of Morning Glory is on Berwick Street in London. I love that type of thing, class, simple but very effective and iconic.
I also enjoyed Northern Soul music, and the Fleet boys often took a bus to Wigan but I was usually playing football and missed the all nighter trips, that is a wee regret looking back. I love The Jam and Paul Weller, and Young Gadger felt the same way. One of the last gigs I attended was by Sharleen Spiteri, who performed at a small pub in Dundee called The Church. It was an intimate event with about two hundred attendees, and her voice was outstanding; I believe it was the best singing voice I had ever heard.
After the gig, a crowd began to gather outside the pub as Sharleen had photos taken with the fans. I decided to get a picture with her too. We had a great craic about Celtic, and I told her about my grandson, Luca. She said she would keep an eye out for his results.
So how’s life now for Gadger Strachan?
I’ve definitely mellowed over the years. I remember the first few years after losing Young Gadger; I had no anger and wasn’t fazed by anything. Nothing seemed like a big issue. Even when a car cut me off, I would just shrug it off. I suppose others might have reacted differently and gone down the wrong path. Now, I’m more relaxed, even in the way I dress. While I still wear Lacoste and Fred Perry, I’ve started to wear more comfortable sportswear in my later years such as Nike, Under Armour and new style by Steve Robb ex DFC and DUFC player called Bee Inspired.
I’m still in touch with my lifelong friends from Lochee: Ricky, Flynny, Stewarty, Dek, and John, as well as the travelling around with the boxing scene. The great people and coaches from Lochee ABC especially the Howett family; also the Kean family at SkyAxe Boxing and all my ex players and Coaches from over the 17 years as a Manager who still keep in touch with me, and there are many.
I enjoy going to Celtic Park, and my holidays help keep me going. We have a holiday to Benidorm this May with 20 guys from Lochee going for five nights.
Thanks for having us mate.
My pleasure. God Bless.
This Q&A is dedicated to Young Gadger Strachan
Holywell Street 