The Whole Story of The Famous Kinema Ballroom in Dunfermline (now in its 78th Year!)
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| Summary: The Ballroom was the second ever Scottish date played by Cream when they first came north on the first leg of what has become known as 'The Lost Scottish Tour' in July. The Beach Ballroom Aberdeen was played the night before, then they returned to The Ballerina Ballroom Nairn the night after the Dunfermline appearance for the much misreported gig rescheduled from the previous Friday. Do you remember the Cream gig? All memories gratefully accepted. Their whole Scottish tour can be found here. Resident bands in 1966 included The KB Orchestra, The Andy Smith Orchestra, The Red Hawks, The Shadettes & The Falcons. They all headlined and supported touring acts many times. In September The Red Hawks became The Marshmallow 400. (Does anyone know why?) On the Monday 24th April 1967, Avril Young & Sheena McIntyre (pupils of Woodmill High School) interviewed The Small Faces after their appearance at The Ballroom for their school magazine. The Andy Smith Sextette made a regular feature of Wednesday night appearances from July in the Starlight Lounge (accessed from the Pilmuir Street entrance). The Dunfermline Folksong Club was a regular feature of Tuesdays in the bar throughout 1967. The saddest event in the ballroom's history occurred on Saturday 9th September 1967 at around 22:30 when a seventeen year-old lad from Lochgelly was assaulted and murdered on the dance floor by two Lanarkshire labourers of eighteen and nineteen years from Bellshill and Uddingston respectively. William Craigie jr (an apprentice butcher with the Co-op in Lochgelly) was stabbed through the heart by what was believed to have been a metal tail-comb. The Kinema was sealed by Police until evidence & statements had been recorded. The accused were sentenced to life-imprisonment on 6th December 1967 after the jury of nine women and six men came to a unanimous decision after only eighty minutes deliberation at the end of a three-day trial at the High Court in Edinburgh. A subsequent appeal was rejected.
Highlights this year included:
January 1967
February 1967
March 1967
April 1967
May 1967
June 1967
July 1967
August 1967
September 1967
October 1967
November 1967
December 1967
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