It all started in the early 80s at Clydebank High School. Tommy Cunningham had bought a set of second hand drums for £15 when he was only 11 and was playing for the Boys Brigade. He then moved on to playing country and western music in working men's clubs. Even then he had an ambition to perform on stage.
At about the same time, Graeme Clark bought his first bass guitar for £10, a Fender bass copy, even though it only had 3 strings! After being taken to see live gigs by his brother, Graeme decided that he wanted to form his own band.
Another of Graeme's interests was football, playing for Goldenhill Amateurs. Mark McLachlan also played for the same team. They were both keen to play but the bitter disappointment at being dropped from the team, cemented their friendship. Without his football, Graeme decided to channel all of his energy into music.
Together, Graeme and Tommy joined a band called Anna Hausen who already had a record deal with Human Records. When one band member left, his place was taken by his cousin, Neil Mitchell. Originally Neil started playing drums but Tom was obviously the better drummer. Neil then tried singing but he finally found his niche when he moved to keyboards. By this time the band were known as Dante and the Lobster.
They really needed a singer. Graeme remembered Mark from school. He was a quiet boy who loved to sing, impersonating the chart toppers of the day. Graeme asked him to join them but he wasn't sure if he was good enough! He decided to go along and give it a try. He also called his friend Lyndsay McAulay and asked him to join them. Although he was already the guitarist in another band, Lyndsay became the fifth member of Dante And The Lobster.
Whilst in their 4th year of high school, the band played their first gig. It took place at school and was to raise money for the school rugby club. The band performed as Vortex Motion.
Unemployment was rife in Clydebank in the early 80s and career prospects were limited. The Vortex Motion boys decided to make music their futures. They went on various youth opportunity schemes ranging from painting and decorating to washing dishes in a Chinese restaurant. Even then, they had total faith in their abilities and they started to write their own songs. The first song that they wrote together was Angel Eyes.
Unlike other bands, they wanted to perfect their craft before taking their show on the road. They spent years writing and rehearsing until they felt that they were good enough. Most of their rehearsing took place at Graeme's house. In '83 they hired some recording equipment to make their first demo. Sadly, the tape was damaged and they lost all of their work. With just £50 left between them, they went into a local studio for 2 days during which time they recorded two songs.
Mark, Tommy, Neil and Graeme had become great friends but Lyndsay wasn't
fitting in.