7 eye-catching Dundee billboards – and stories behind them
by Chloe Burrell · The CourierA huge pro-immigration billboard featuring 1980s pop duo Wham! caught the eye in Dundee last week.
The poster of George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley, with the caption, ‘Thank God for immigrants’, has been put up on Shepherd’s Loan, just off Perth Road.
It later emerged artist Jeremy Deller is behind the signage saluting the stars who both came from migrant families.
But it is not the only mysterious billboard to pop up in the city over the years.
1. Love note
An imaginative love note appeared on a neglected Dundee billboard beneath the Tay Rail Bridge back in 2017.
The sign read: ““Kate, you are my fate. We shouldn’t mess, our happiness.
“Fire not gone, and LOVE still on!!!”
The message was pasted on top of an old, faded advertisement on Riverside Approach.
Primesight, the billboard’s former owners, said: “We do wish Kate and her billboard poster the best of luck in love.”
2. Michael Matheson sacking call
A sign demanding then First Minister Humza Yousaf sack his health secretary Michael Matheson appeared at Myrekirk Retail Park last December.
The ad board, organised by pro-union campaign group The Majority, had the slogan: “#SackMatheson.”
It came after Mr Matheson racked up an £11,000 data roaming bill on his parliament-issued iPad while on holiday in Morocco in a controversy that led to his resignation less than three months later.
The sign was placed in a location where it was hoped Broughty Ferry-based Yousaf, who quit as FM in April, would see it on his commute to work.
3. Anti-monarch stunt
A large poster calling for the monarchy to be abolished was erected in Dundee ahead of the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in May 2022.
The billboard calling for Queen Elizabeth, who died in September that year, to be the last serving monarch appeared at the junction of Paterson Street and Strathmartine Road.
Campaign group Republic paid £600 for the poster – which also featured King Charles, Prince William and Prince Andrew – to be displayed.
It got mixed reviews from locals, with some defending the royals and others highlighting the right to free speech.
4. Danny Leech appeal
Last year the family of Dundee schoolboy Danny Leech, killed in a lorry crash on Arbroath Road back in 1989, put up billboards in search of witnesses to the incident.
Seven-year-old Danny died after being struck by an HGV.
Danny’s brother John and mum Linda launched appeals in search of anyone who may have seen the crash.
The sign read: “Were you there? Can you help?”
Danny’s death was treated as an accident but his family believe the police investigation was not handled properly.
Earlier this month John, 12 when Danny died, spoke to The Courier about the phone call he had with the driver of the lorry involved.
5. Praise for neighbour
Dundee resident Mick Vine celebrated his “remarkable” neighbour Patricia Phinn by unveiling a billboard in the city’s Euclid Street in her honour in 2019.
It was part of the national #ThereForMe campaign created by the team behind The Big Lunch.
Mick decided to show his appreciation for neighbour Patricia, who supported him to keep active and get involved in the community after being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2015.
The billboard read: “I want to thank my neighbour Patricia, for being #ThereForMe whenever I need help.”
6. Mystery campaign
Mysterious billboards claiming “legal names are illegal” popped up across Dundee in 2016, leaving residents perplexed.
Signage bearing cryptic slogans such as “there is no such thing as a legal name” and “legal name fraud, the truth” were spotted across the city.
It is understood the boards were put up by a company called legalnamefraud.com.
The adverts could be seen at the junction at the bottom of Forfar Road and Mains Loan, Clepington Road and at the bottom of Riverside Approach on one of the pillars of the Tay Rail Bridge.
7. ‘Guerrilla’ art project
A poster featuring classical paintings of naked women caught the eye of locals in June 2021 after it appeared on the Forfar Road, Stobswell.
The idea belonged to American feminist artists Guerrilla Girls and was part of their Male Gaze campaign for UK-wide project Art Night, with Dundee Contemporary Arts (DCA) among their partners.
The billboard asked: “Are there more naked women than woman artists in UK museums?”
The people of Dundee were invited to join the debate.
The Guerrilla Girls have been on the art scene since the mid-1980s, with their main aim exposing racism, sexism and corruption in the art world as well as politics, film and pop culture.