2024 is shaping up to be a busy year in the Tygers camp – for an old cat there is plenty wag left in its tail!
“First show of the year was a heavy metal cruise called ‘70,000 tons of metal’ the world’s biggest heavy metal cruise. This year the ship sailed from Miami to Porto Plata in the Caribbean and back to Miami. 60 bands and two performances from each act. Absolutely amazing!”
“Next up was Italy, just last week we played to sold out shows in Rome, Florence and Milan” said founding member & guitarist Robb Weir…
“We also have a new live album due out on April 26th called, ‘Live Blood’. The first single taken from the album is in video form on YouTube called, ‘Gangland”.
Second single Keeping Me Alive has just been released. The track is a mainstay of their live set which first appeared on the 2012 album Ambush.
Live Blood was recorded at the Patriot Club in Crumlin, Wales, by vocalist Jack Meille, drummer Craig Ellis, bassist Huw Holding with guitarists Francesco Marris and Robb Weir.
The album includes material from across the band’s career including tracks from their first four albums from 1980-82 on MCA Records.
Robb explained “Our live show adds a new dimension to the old songs and allows us to stretch out a bit on the newer numbers”.
Vocalist Jack Meille added “Live Blood captures all the energy we deliver while playing our favourite songs live and raw“.
What has the summer got in store for the Tygers? First up they’ll be zooming over the Atlantic Ocean to play in South America then keep the thunder rolling with a return to Europe for gigs in May.
Robb has the details…“Next shows are the Summer Breeze festival in Brazil on April 27th, then four UK shows starting at Preston Continental May 2, London Boston Music Rooms May 3, The Crown Merthr Tydfil, Wales May 4 and Eleven in Stoke on Trent on 5th May.
We have two days off then back out to play Budapest in Hungary, Zagreb in Croatia, Belgrade in Serbia, and that’s just for starters”.
With the first half of the year mapped out, Robb adds a final message…
“We’ll be playing a rather special show up in the North East of England in November, details coming very soon. We can only do all of this because of your amazing support and belief in the band and the Tygers would like to whole heartedly say ‘Thank you, thank you, thank you, oh, and see you down the front at the next show!”
Live Blood will be released on double LP (black vinyl, including three exclusive bonus tracks), CD and digital formats on April 26th 2024 via Mighty Music.
Full track listing, gigs, photos & latest news contact the official website >
After 500 posts and over 370,000 views, WordPress (who run this blog) have sent their congratulations to the North East culture site after completing its seventh year, aye seven years, can’t believe how quickly time has gone.
From the first post in February 2017, the free site – without any ads, pop ups or clickbait – has gone from strength to strength picking up views not only here in the UK but worldwide, including USA, Japan, Brazil, Sweden, Ireland, Australia and European countries Spain, Italy, France and Germany.
First up were metal bands Fist, Mythra, Raven, Satan, Venom and Tygers of Pan Tang followed by music memories from bands including Beckett, Angelic Upstarts, White Heat, Lindisfarne, Lorraine Crosby, Wildhearts, Dance Class, Kane Gang and Southbound.
Searching the site, you’ll find interviews with authors and photographers, there’s also stories from recording studios Guardian and Impulse.
As well as theatre producer Leah Bell and TV actress Lesley Saint-John, by far the most popular post at 15,000, there are stories from roadies, radio presenters and TV production teams.
During the 2020 covid lockdowns people looked for something new to read so their views added to the regular readers, resulting in monthly numbers of 7,000 with a high of 9,700.
Now the site gets a steady monthly count of 4-5,000, I must say a big thanks to everyone who reads the posts – much appreciated.
How long will it last? Well, the phone’s still ringing and stories keep dropping in my inbox, so I’ll keep gaan until the juice runs out.
First rumble of thunder out of Whitley Bay was way back when their first single was recorded at the legendary Neat records in Wallsend. Now after nearly half a century the NWOBHM flag bearers Tygers of Pan Tang are not ready to throw the towel in just yet as they prepare to unleash a live album.
Vocalist Jack Meille explained“Recording a live album after all this time? I never thought I would experience it but with the Tygers I have learnt that the impossible is possible. ‘Live Blood’ captures all the energy we deliver while playing our favourite songs live and raw!”
Recorded in summer 2023 at The Patriot in Wales, with guitarist Robb Weir, vocalist Jack Meille, drummer Craig Ellis, guitarist Francesco Marras and bass player Huw Holding, the set includes Euthanasia, Love Don’t Stay, Paris By Air and Love Potion No.9 from their first albums plus Edge of the World, Fire on the Horizon and A New Heartbeat from the latest album ‘Bloodlines’.
‘Live Blood’ will be released on April 26th 2024 via Mighty Music. The double LP includes three exclusive bonus tracks, it’s also available on CD and digital formats. Pre-orders and full track listing are available here.
Robb Weir added“Every time we play a show we’re asked when are we going to record a new live album. Our live show adds a new dimension to the old songs and allows us to stretch out a bit on the newer numbers”.
The album will be preceded by two singles – the live favourite Gangland from their legendary album ‘Spellbound’ and Keeping Me Alive from ‘Ambush’.
The end of 2023 is nearly upon us as I post the last blog of the year and coincidentally the 500th since starting in 2017. As well as wishing a great Christmas and New Year it’s a BIG thanks to everyone who took the time out to add their story to the site and all the readers around the world who have made it a success.
I’d also like to mention the recent plaque awarded to The Tube placed on Newcastle’s City Road where the Tyne Tees TV studio used to be. Many North East musicians were inspired by the live music show, Toy Dolls, Kane Gang, Tygers of Pan Tang and Dance Class to name a few got to play live. Plus behind the scenes some of the production staff were Geordies adding an extra Tyneside flavour to the programme.
The influence that The Tube had on me and many other people in the North East can’t be underestimated, so we give a salute to the ground breaking, never to be forgotten, legendary Tube and all who sailed in her.
Finally to close the book on this year it’s over and out from me with al’ the best for 2024!
“I’ve been living in Los Angeles since 2010 after marrying my LA woman, Sheila.I was born in Yorkshire but from the age of 10 grew up in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham. Then went to art college in Newcastle where I spent a good portion of my grant on seeing as many bands as I could at the City Hall”.
Richard E, Newcastle City Hall tickets.
“1979 was a great year for me. Finally getting out of small town Newton Aycliffe to live in Newcastle for a year doing a foundation course in art and design. I just dived right into the music scene and saw as many bands as I could”.
“Penetration I loved, Pauline was my punk crush! And they were local heroes who lived in a town 5 miles down the road. Roxy Music were supported by a band called The Tourists featuring a certain Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox! “
“The Jam were the only band to force security to let the kids actually dance in the aisles. They were usually very strict at the City Hall, but Weller took them on, mid set, and somehow made it happen”.
“I wish Punilux had done more. I bought Puppet Life when it came out. I included it in one of my recent radio shows, it still sounds so fresh. I also got to be at an epic concert that year that wasn’t in Newcastle. Led Zeppelin at Knebworth!”
Richard is composer/producer for award winning band Annabel (lee), which he created with his American wife, singer, lyricist and composer Sheila Ellis.
Their debut album released in 2015 on Ninja Tune Records won the UK’s Dead Albatross Music Prize, chosen from over 700 releases in the UK and Eire.
“During lockdown I had the time to record my first solo album harking back to my roots fronting a post punk, indie rock band in London in the late 80s” said Richard.
Hoochmongers press shot1990.
“I was moved to start writing my own songs again to express my discontent with world events over the past few years, encompassing rock, post punk, electronic and psychedelic influences”.
“The album features bass guitar on four tracks by David J ex- Bauhaus / Love & Rockets who became a friend after hearing a track by Annabel (lee) on LA’s independent radio station KCRW. I was also lucky enough to get David Bowie’s pianist Mike Garson to play on The Great Showing.”
Richard added “The video for my debut solo single was officially released on November 17th. Some people have said it has a Floydian vibe, and I felt myself once it was finished it made me think of George Harrison jamming with the Floyd”.
“ Jon Dalton, who you have previously interviewed on this site plays on the track and will be in my live band. I’m also producing his new album. Jon can be seen in the video playing his spacey guitar part in a very interesting way!”
The site has over 350,000 hits on a blog which when it first went live in 2017 I thought would be read by half a dozen people a day. To mark the occasion here’s snippets from the first few posts which gave the site a solid start and built to around 1,000 reads per week.
If you’ve read the blog a big thanks for your support – much appreciated. If you haven’t, why not give it a go there’s hundreds of great interviews featured, you might be surprised.
“The kids were hungry for this noise, anger, excitement and a do it yourself attitude. It was definitely getting to me, getting in my blood, this raw and visceral sound was becoming addictive. The term New Wave of British Heavy Metal had been coined by then, and yeah it really was a new wave and you’ve gotta go with it… and we did” Brian Ross.
“We jumped on a ferry to do some gigs in Holland. We took this thing around Europe and by then the whole British Heavy Metal scene was red hot so it was one mad scene of gig here, gig there, some stories you can’t tell. When you’ve played the Royal Standard in Walthamstow in front of fifty people and they aren’t interested, then you get out here where they are running after your car, sign my booby and all that, that’s gonna turn anybodys head…and it did” Lou Taylor.
“I remember Joe Strummer saying we’re coming to your gig tonight do you mind if I bring Iggy Pop? We said ‘aye go on then’. The gig was in New York we walked on stage, the lights blazed on and Mensi screamed “We’re the Angelic Upstarts, We’re from England, 1,2,3,4” as I strummed my guitar there was an almighty bang, it all went dark then nothing. There was a huge power cut. They couldn’t get it sorted out so we jumped off stage and went to the bar at the back where The Clash were standing and I ordered a Jack and Coke and said to Iggy Pop “It’ll be sorted in a minute, this sort of thing happens to us all the time” Mond Cowie.
“Creative process for me is always different, some are instant, some are like pulling teeth and it goes on for years, literally. You never can tell. Just have to have a good memory really. Lately I’ve been able to do a single album, a double album and now a triple album. Mind you I’m not planning to buy a yacht or anything on the proceeds!”Bernie Torme
“I remember Bordello doing a showcase for CBS. We really went for it, putting our heart and soul into it you know. A guy called Dave Novek came along to have a look at us, we really laid it on in a good studio. But we found out that we ‘weren’t quite what they were looking for’. A couple of weeks later he signed Sigue Sigue Sputnik!’ Go figure!” Steve Dawson
“I remember getting a call around 1981 from NEAT records owner Dave Woods he asked me if NEAT could include our song ‘Flying High’ on a compilation they were producing called ‘Lead Weight’. Well of course I said yes when he listed the other bands who were going to be on – Fist, Venom, Raven just those three names were enough, they were THE Heavy Metal bands from the North East and to be in their company was fantastic for Warrior. Yes really proud of that” Dave Dawson.
“1983 saw Cloven Hoof touring throughout the length and breadth of the UK, earning ourselves a sizable underground cult following. In the summer of that year the band recorded a four-track session for the Tommy Vance Friday Rock Show on Radio One and on the strength of the bands popularity Tyneside based NEAT Records signed us to record our first album. Things were starting to happen for the band, we were really in the mix” Lee Payne.
Check the About page above for a full list of features and interviews.
A book about the Newcastle music scene in the 70s & 80s ‘Closest Thing to Heaven’ featured in a post back in December 2020 (link below).
Pages full of black and white photos of bands, venues, posters and flyers were put together by Mick Fielding and Simon McKay. I got in touch with Simon and asked him about working on the book.
“Working on this book took me back to my most enjoyed gigs in 1980-81 at Newcastle University, Polytechnic Union Buildings, Spectro Arts and the Guildhall. It was wonderful to be reminded of all that. Hopefully, it will stir some good memories for readers too”.
“Closest Thing to Heaven’ is a book evoking simpler times. I thought all I saw then was lost, but Mick and I did find photos of that time”.
“I was reminded that these bands, these times, seemed to come and go in an instant. It was fascinating to revisit it all and reconnect with the excitement of a glorious era and, of course, the hungry optimism of my own youth”.
“The bands that I loved; the bands that I thought would be huge. Sobering, that few got further than Stockton. But those nights spent waiting for bands to come on, watching them play, just being there and connecting with people was such a pleasure”.
Some North East musicians who featured in the book got in touch and talked about their memories of the photos.
‘My old band Sneeze (1969-1971) is pictured – at least the lead vocalist Rod Foggon is. Sneeze were regular performers at the Mayfair in the lifetime of the band supporting some top bands of the era’ saidRoger Smith, author of music blog ‘Ready Steady Gone’.
‘A young Jimmy Nail was a Sneeze fan back then and mentions the band and one of its popular covers in his autobiography. He also refers to the ‘mighty Sneeze’ in a post on Ready Steady Gone. Coincidentally a picture of Jimmy Nail’s band The Prize Guys is next to the Sneeze pic in the book’.
Dance Class frontman Dave Taggart looks back at their picture…
’This is a still from the eponymous Tyne Tees Television’s live music show The Tube. When? I would say 1983 as we played a new song from the forthcoming second album’.
‘On that show were Steve Strange, Southern Death Cult – who later became The Cult – and The Stranglers. We finished the show and had our own fan base in the audience which created a great buzz’.
‘We were green as grass. For instance, every act had to supply their own PA system. We faced our speakers out to the audience which was totally unnecessary as it was for TV and The Stranglers just had a massive monitor system for themselves as they were seasoned performers and knew the score! But what an experience’.
‘We had a gig that night at one of the University Hall’s in Newcastle, Kid Jensen was DJ’ing and presenting added Dave.
He said on his radio show he had ‘just witnessed a band who performed not only on The Tube but also for a massive student audience and they are destined for great things’. What a damn shame’.
‘But that second album I was talking about, we have just got it back after all these years and its being remastered and we are thinking about putting it out on vinyl, CD and Apple tunes’.
The book is available direct from Tyne Bridge Publishing:
Part two of the interview with Lighting Tech & Stagehand Par Can.Any other venues you worked at stand out?
Madison Square Gardens – oh Lord above. I did the arena upstairs and downstairs was the Felt Forum. Both times the New York State Circus had cages in the building where they kept animals when they weren’t on the road. The smell…you could imagine!
The Manchester Belle Vue had a similar animal circus thing, I saw Peter Frampton and Parliament there and you got this faint whiff of dung. Like the person in front having really bad B.O.
Wembley Arena was easy enough to get in and out off but back in the day it had a reputation for rubber rigging. I remember putting Queen in there in 1980.
When the ‘fly swat’ lighting pods with follow spots went up and down they weren’t smooth like they should be, they bounced…up, up, up. Same when they came down…boing, boing, boing. Yeah that was rubber rigging.
Philadelphia Spectrum was bad, a lot of iconic venues you read about as a kid it’s disheartening when you find they are horrible places. It was always known as the RECTUM !
There was an arena that The Tubes were doing, might have been Minneapolis? No it was Duluth. Next door was a car museum and next to that was a freezer plant because the place was also an ice rink.
Now they used ammonia to pump under the ice rink to freeze it, it was a whole complex – America is all bigger and better apparently!
After the gig during load out warning lights started flashing, horns started screaming. Next thing everyone’s choking there had been an ammonia leak “Everybody out”.
Fire brigade made it safe but your eyes were burning, you’re choking, felt as if you were gonna throw up from your feet. Not gonna forget that one in a hurry.
Newcastle City Hall
I started at Newcastle City Hall in October 1977 and it was all the older guys who’d been there a while. Then slowly but surely, the Sheelz (South Shields) Mafia landed – Dave Ainsley, Dave Linney, Ian Rylance, Gary Lilley, Alan Armstrong and Kev Charlton who once tried on Phil Lynott’s leather pants and he couldn’t get them past his thighs.
Kev was thin himself in those days. We were rolling around in hysterics it was so funny. It showed how skinny Phil Lynott was.
Colin Rowell was the manager and it was rare for him to just leave us overnight to crack on with stuff – but he knew we’d get up to no good. Rush in 1979 comes to mind.
There was a big plastic bin full of ice cubes lying around so we took it up through the roof into the rigging points which looks onto the stage.
One of the lads was looking for us, Dave Ainsley, he was walking across Rush’s stage which was covered in a lovely white shag pile carpet, he shouted “Where are you” as the ice cubes went flying down on him… never thinking ice cubes from 45 feet up could have knocked out… or worse !
When Thin Lizzy played the City Hall me and Kev Charlton ‘acquired’ some pyro and at 6am went up in the old empty projection room on the roof.
We set alight to the pyro, a white mushroom cloud went up and started drifting towards John Dobson street. We ran downstairs when there was a bang on the stage door.
“Morning officer” we said “Never heard nothing we’ve just been asleep”. Somehow we got away with that one.
Another night Mr Plod visited again about 2am “What’s going on in there?” We’d been on the stage and turned on the City Hall organ thinking we were playing Phantom of the Opera.
Looking down on the stage from the balcony to the ‘Biggest production in the City Hall’ Van Halen 17 June 1980.
One night we found a small tunnel on the side wall panels near the seats. We all crawled along on our hands and knees to see where it went. We ended up in next door’s building – the City Baths.
So obviously we got our kit off and swam about – well what else would ya’ do? Unfortunately we must have triggered an alarm so we scurried back to the hall with our clothes under our arms!
The tunnel led to a number of turning points and they went on for a fair distance, some were blocked off by a fence. I’m sure they led all over the city. Once we ended up at a fenced off exit all the way in the Ouseburn Valley ! Took almost an hour to crawl each way !!
Back then it was great, so much fun. Nowadays after spending hours putting them together they don’t let the crews watch the show.
We didn’t do it because we were Meccano freaks, we did it because we were hanging around with the gear, the musicians, to see bands we would never dream of paying to see – Weather Report at Newcastle City Hall was one such band.
Me and Kev Charlton were sitting on the drum riser before soundcheck, Jaco Pastorius came in and sat at the drums. Thwack, thwack, leading with the left, leading with the right, giving it six nowt. We were astounded.
Then he gets up and another guy comes in on drums, believe it was Pete Henderson. Then Jaco Pastorius picks up a fretless bass and starts playing. The sounds they created were amazing. Kev and I were mesmerised.
We did follow spots for the comedian Billy Connolly and one joke had me and Kev laughing so much that we couldn’t keep the follow spot steady. Billy said “Geordies, pissed again”! The whole audience turned to look up at us.
What impact did the road have on your life today?
Until 1990 I never saw that career ending, I came back to the UK got married and had a beautiful daughter. But touring for months at a time isn’t compatible to a home life. So eventually got my hair cut and got a proper job – boy have I regretted that ever since.
How did it affect my life? It got me around a lot of the world several times, lived in America, and to this day I’ve still got an amazing amount of friends I met and worked with because of that time. Some of them, not many, are still on the road today.
For music concerts staged in small clubs or huge enormodomes a crew have to load the gear in, set it up, operate it during the show, break it down and load it all back out again then onto the next venue. And if you’re on tour, repeat that for days, weeks or months.
Newcastle born Par Can was a former stagehand at Newcastle City Hall, on The Tubes touring crew, worked for Bette Midler, Queen, The Cure, and American rock giants Van Halen with ‘the largest production ever in the City Hall’.
Sit back, relax and enjoy the show with Par Can who looks back at his time on the crew.
I guess like every local Geordie kid in the seventies I was football obsessed. Then I heard Alice Cooper’s Caught in a Dream, I’m Eighteen and other tracks from Love it to Death.
Then I started buying music paper Sounds every Wednesday, that’s where I first saw pictures of Alice Cooper – wow what the hell is this?
The Kard Bar in town sold hippie oil, pop and rock posters. With my friends we used to go on Saturday and spend our pocket money.
My parents were fine with my bedroom being covered in Alice Cooper posters, including the ceiling. It was when I put up a picture of the New York Dolls that they got worried!
I can’t say music means everything these days – but it did back then. I used to hang around the stage door at Newcastle City Hall and one day, it was a Mott the Hoople gig, helped a roadie with a piano (interview with Par Can 20 Nov 2017 link below).
I got more involved in music and hanging around the City Hall, so my mother had a word with City Hall Manager Bob Brown.
Then one day in October 1977 I turned up at 9am to work. My first ever stage crew gig paid me £7. The band on that night were Wishbone Ash. Next day was Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet band.
I blagged my way into working for a lighting company in London run by The Tubes manager, after that I ended up following the band on their first ever UK tour.
Newcastle City Hall
Did any venues stand out when on tour around the UK & USA?
Newcastle City Hall is always gonna be the venue it’s where I saw every band I wanted to see growing up, except Led Zeppelin.
But I suppose the only thing that stops Newcastle being the venue is the loading in and out. It was bad back when we did it. It isn’t much better now they have extended the stage door. Why someone doesn’t make that whole load in/out more efficient is beyond me.
There is a beautiful theatre in America, the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, to me that was like the City Hall. The only problem with that one is that the trucks had to reverse down an alley to get to the front door.
If you can imagine two blocks of buildings with the Orpheum literally being the sort of stop gap at the end of the alley. It wasn’t wide enough for two trucks so you had to reverse one at a time.
To load in you had to go through the front doors, through the foyer, turn left into the theatre and then down the space between the seats and onto a ramp leading to the stage. A bad one to load in and a pain in the arse to load out at midnight.
However, it will always be one of my absolute fave halls, ALWAYS a great atmosphere… just like the old lady or even the old Glasgow Apollo.
Par Can on stage at the Glasgow Apollo.
Edinburgh Odeon when that was still open was a lovely place. Trucks loaded in across a backyard then straight onto the stage.
The ceiling of the Odeon was studded with little bits of mirror that looked like star constellations and it had recesses in the walls with statues – a really beautiful theatre. Only 1800 capacity and perfect for The Tubes.
It had a stage door phone which was a direct line to the pub opposite; The Bucleuch Arms. You would send your order and 10 minutes later, barmaids would be carrying trays of drinks to the stage door.
Birmingham Odeon was a good one although the trucks had to reverse down a sloping alley, not ideal but the theatre itself was fabulous.
Load in was through a door onto quite a big stage. Around 2500 capacity, but another one they went and shut down.
Manchester Apollo was an easy load in load out, didn’t much care for that place, although it was right next door to a lovely pub called The Apsley Cottage.
The Tubes did a series of smaller shows towards the end of ‘81 and one of them was called Uncle Sams in Nantasket Beach in Hull Massachusettes.
The two trucks were parked back to back in front of this three storeyed cube building, the bus was on the opposite side of the street.
We got out the bus went through the doors and oh my God it was like the stairway to nowhere ! It seemed to go on and on. Every piece of gear had to go up this concrete staircase of around 100-150 steps.
The show finishes 11pm you’re tired after a long day and you’ve got to load the gear out – how the hell nobody fell down those stairs carrying amp racks and the sound desk.
Glad I was a lampie – although that was bad enough. There are lots of venues that are horrible but that Uncle Sams has got to be the worst… on second thoughts, Mr C’s Rock Palace in Lowell MA was a REAL toilet… urgh !!
One of the best was the Kabuki Theatre, San Francisco, it was directly opposite the Winterland Ballroom. The joy was it had a revolving stage.
The Tubes did two shows there in September ‘83, MTV filmed both nights. You can watch it on You Tube. You catch me when I had my long blonde hair then, wandering along the stage. Near the intro a phone rings and manager Chopper Borges shouts out “Par Can”! “What” I reply in Geordie.
The revolving stage was perfect for The Tubes. They would be on stage with backs towards the audience, combing hair putting on make-up, then Kenny Ortega the choreographer would shout ‘showtime, showtime’ and the band would line up in their business suits.
The stage would revolve and there is all the gear, as they walked onto the static lip at the front of the stage. What an amazing start to the show…any show!
At the end the stage would revolve and you would see the band starting to get undressed and a curtain would pull across the entire front of the stage. Marvellous.
Read part two packed with more stories from Par Can.
The Crack is a free culture magazine and website providing a valuable service to the North East. Reviews of books, film, stage and music are packed into each monthly edition.
To find out more about the people behind the magazine I got in touch with one of the writers, Rob Meddes.
‘Reading takes up a lot of my spare time now. I review between two and three new novels each month for The Crack. I also love old films, particularly black and white film noirs made between the 1940s and mid-1950s – The Maltese Falcon, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Double Indemnity’.
‘I never set out to be a writer, but stumbled into it through luck more than anything else. I was born in Newcastle and lived here all my life. I’m now 57. I didn’t go to university but on leaving school I did a Youth Training Scheme on computer programming’.
‘I got a job as a programmer but the company I worked for went bust – hopefully not because of my efforts. Then got a job as a civil servant, working at the big site at Longbenton for around four years. I became frustrated at having to do the same thing every day so thought I’d leave and go back to college. The aim? To become an artist’.
‘I did ‘A’ level art and then the Art Foundation course. I was accepted on the Fine Art course at Northumbria University but figured I didn’t want to do another three or more years of that because I really needed a job’.
‘I wrote to loads of different companies to ask if they would take me on, maybe in an admin capacity. The one company that got back to me was The Crack. I did a bit of everything at first – including selling adverts – before moving more onto the writing side of things. That was in 1994 and I’ve been here ever since’.
What changes have you seen since you started at The Crack?
‘What has actually changed most for me is how the magazine is put together. When I started there was no internet, certainly not in our office. Every image in the magazine had to be physically scanned in. Now they’re all digital’.
Have you seem many cultural changes in Newcastle since joining the team?
It’s Gateshead not Newcastle that has seen some of the most compelling big ticket items – Baltic, Sage Gateshead, Angel of the North, The Millennium Bridge. But Tyneside as a whole seems to have become more of a destination for people outside the area who want to sample cultural life in the region’.
What can you see for the cultural future of Tyneside?
‘After 13 years of Tory backed austerity, particularly for the arts, many of our cultural icons are struggling. We’ve already seen The Side Gallery close and The Tyneside Cinema has started to crowdfund. And they’re just the tip of the iceberg’.
‘But often in straightened times, art – in its myriad forms – manages to find a way to bubble to the fore. What hasn’t changed is people’s capacity to get out of the house and go and see stuff, whatever that stuff might be’.
ALIKIVI : NORTH EAST UK CULTURE 