Just back after four days filming at the Mouth of the Tyne festival. The stage for the concert is fantastic, set in the grounds of Tynemouth Priory & Castle where the North Sea meets the river Tyne.
From Thursday 6th to Sunday 9th July headliners were The Proclaimers, Siouxsie, ex Housemartins/Beautiful South vocalist Paul Heaton, and on Sunday Gabrielle was on with Tyneside band Big Red & the Grinners. New post soon about the festival.
In September the prestigious Lit & Phil in Newcastle city centre will host two of the region’s most loved television icons for an evening of fun and laughter.
Jeff Brown and Ian Payne are well known North East newsreaders from BBC Look North and ITV Tyne Tees. Despite being on rival stations, Jeff and Ian are good mates.
They have been guests in our living rooms presenting award-winning local news for years – but how much do we really know of them?
Ian & Jeff (pic March 2023)
Ian, 55, originally from Ipswich, came to study in Newcastle in 1986 and never left! He joined Tyne Tees in 1992 and has shared news presenting duties with Mike Neville and the much-loved Pam Royle.
Jeff, 61, who hails from Roker, was a journalist on local newspapers and joined Tyne Tees in 1996 where he worked with the legendary Mike Neville. He has just celebrated 20 years at the BBC.
“Me and Ian spend most of our lives reading out other people’s words, so it’ll be a nice change to tell folk a bit more about ourselves. It’s not just a talk show, though – there’ll be music and all sorts going on”.
Jeff added “We’re hoping it’ll be fun. We’ll certainly enjoy ourselves!”
Both TV personalities agreed to do the talks after being approached by playwright and producer Ed Waugh.
“They are cultural icons of the region, that’s why I suggested this event, so people can get to know them better” explained Ed.
Ed, whose hit plays include Wor Bella and Hadaway Harry, explained “I’ve worked with Jeff and Ian at various times, especially at Sunday for Sammy and the Laffalang. They’re both great lads, really entertaining. Whenever we get together it’s one long laugh. Their stories are captivating and hilarious”.
Ed continued “Ian was a top trampolinist in his youth and appeared on children’s tv show Blockbusters! He’s also a creative writer, a budding artist and loves music”.
“Likewise, Jeff is a creative writer, with a new play on at the Customs House in September. He’s also a canny chanter. I’ve seen him sing live with a band and he rocked!
We’ve already had to add an afternoon talk because of popular demand. It’ll be a cracking show with those canny lads off the telly!”
The event organised by Wisecrack productions will take place on Wednesday, September 6, at 2pm and 6.30pm. Tickets cost £6 and are limited to 80 per performance.
They can be purchased via Eventbrite or available to buy direct from the Lit & Phil or telephone (0191) 232 0192.
It’s been nearly ten years since John Orton wrote ‘The Five Stone Steps, A Tale of a policeman’s life in 1920s South Shields.(Link below to interview with John in 2018).
I caught up with him recently and asked about his development as a writer over the last decade.
As a young boy I loved hearing my Nan’s tales of Auld Sheelz – you couldn’t shut Gertie up once she got started. When I was given a dog eared copy of Sergeant Tom Gordon’s Memories, which told as much about the folk of Shields in the 20s and 30s as about the job of the polis, it just inspired me to write.
The Five Stone Steps was well received, particularly in Shields with tales of the polis on night-watch having their little pot of whisky tied to the back door of pubs, back street bookies, and the unlucky prisoners turning up in court with black eyes and broken ribs – ‘an unfortunate accident when he accidentally fell down the five stone steps which led into the cells.’
I started writing a sequel and needed a last chapter set during the Second World War and the blitz on South Shields. First I discovered Amy Flagg’s photographs of the ruins after the raids which are held in South Tyneside Libraries photographic archive https://southtynesidehistory.co.uk/
1930s Holborn, South Shields. pic courtesy of South Tyneside Libraries.
Then I read about the Police Auxiliary Messengers (PAMS) – when phone lines were down during an air raid, lads of 16 and over would be sent out on bikes to deliver urgent messages with bombs flying round their ears.
Mossy Hamed tells the story of the ‘Blitz PAMS’. He’s a lad of mixed race – Arab Da’ and South Shields Ma’ – who rides his grocery delivery bike with his six marras as they live through the first years of the blitz.
Mossy falls for one of the other lads, Jackie – but this is not a modern day story! Jackie is really a girl who was turned away by the Polis for being a lass so dressed as a lad and got the job.
I really enjoyed writing Blitz PAMs and got straight into my next book ‘A Chill Wind off the Tyne’ whichis about life on the riverside pubs and streets of Holborn, a neighbourhood of South Shields next to the shipyards.
The book highlights the struggle for work of Yemeni and British seamen, the miners strike in ‘26, the burning down of the Casino on the sea front, and the police raid on the pitch and toss schools at Trow Rocks.
After a good break from writing, having the odd bottle of Newcastle Brown and watching the grass grow, I happened upon a press report of Scottish prisoners captured at the battle of Dunbar in 1650.
The survivors of the brutal death march from Dunbar to Durham were sold off as indentured servants, mainly to the colonies, but I was startled to read that forty were sent to work in the salt pans of Shields.
This set me off again and ‘He Wears a Blue Bonnet’ tells of the experiences of six highland Scots who discover life in Shields under Cromwell’s Commonwealth.
It’s been described as ‘a rattling yarn that takes on the life of poor Tyneside fishers, fish wives, keel-men and panners. A salty tale – love in the sand dunes, sweat in the salt houses and dodging the press gang.’
To check out books by John Orton they are available from The Word, South Shields. They can also be bought on Amazon as paperback or Kindle.
When it’s finally time to leave the stage all entertainers would love to go out at the top and Sunderland born comedian Bobby Thompson was no exception.
At his peak performing in North East clubs, punters were packed in like sardines and in 1985 Bobby was interviewed on BBC TV’s Wogan Show.
But is there a reminder of his achievements anywhere in the North East, and what happened to Bobby? There is a story that he had a statue given to him by The Little Waster pub in Wallsend after it closed down.
One night Bobby was broken into, cash, jewellery, and gold records were bagged, but after opening a cupboard and seeing his statue the burglars fled empty handed after realising who the house belonged to.
The life of Bobby, aka The Little Waster, features in A Private Audience by Dave Nicolson. The book is packed with interviews from fellow performers, managers and family members, with a foreword by comedian Ken Dodd…
‘To have an audience in uproar, to help them forget their everyday problems and worries, if only for an evening, is an experience to treasure’.
Former manager Brian Shelley remembers…
‘At the height of popularity his fee in the clubs was between £300-£500 a night. He did theatres for £1,000 for an eighteen minute slot. He was riding the crest of a wave. Bobby had it all going for him in 1978 with his record out’.
Some people interviewed on this site have mentioned seeing Bobby’s act or working with him. Back in October 2019, David Wood, boss of Wallsend’s Impulse studio, told me a story with a surprising ending.
I knew his manager Brian Shelley, he said Bobby is doing really well around the clubs do you fancy recording him ? I thought yeah we’ll give it a go.
We recorded him in Rhyope Club and Newcastle Mayfair around 1978. It was around an hours recording we put out and got Vaux breweries to sponsor it. Ironically Bobby didn’t drink then and there he was on a promo poster with a pint of beer.
Soon as we put the record out it took off, straight to number one in the local charts. Every shop was selling bucket loads, they couldn’t get enough off it. It was phenomenal.
With the profit from Bobby’s album the studio came on in leaps and bounds. We started the Neat heavy metal record label as an alternative to what we were doing.
We released a couple of singles then the Tygers of Pan Tang, Raven and Fist came along and suddenly we’ve got what became a New Wave of British Heavy Metal. Venom added to that and before we knew it we’ve built up a library of heavy metal singles. So yeah we’ve got to thank Bobby for Neat records.
Actor & musician Pete Peverly
In September 2019 I talked to actor and musicianPete Peverly who performs as Bobby in a tribute show. If he had a posh accent would he have appeared a lot more on TV and topped the bill on UK tours ?
His accent wasn‘t just Geordie it was Pitmatic, that’s very strong, and yes it was a barrier but one of the reasons why he didn’t make it outside the region was because I think he didn’t want to, he had everything up here.
He might have had more ambition in the early part of his career when he was doing Wot Cheor Geordie for the BBC. Maybe he thought about pushing it further but certainly not during the ‘70s.
All the other regional comics and entertainers who made it nationally were all-rounders, actors, comedians, song and dance men, Bobby wasn’t. He was a pit comedian from the Durham coalfields talking specifically to that community.
Actor, writer & theatre producer Leah Bell
One performer who worked with Bobby was actor, writer and theatre producerLeah Bell. I talked to Leah back in July 2021 and asked her what was he like to work with?
I worked with Bobby Thompson a lot, he was a nice man. His act was of its time, the poverty, the war – very funny.
We done a panto in Newcastle Theatre Royal with David Jason (Only Fools and Horses). David didn’t know Bobby Thompson at all, Bobby never rehearsed with us, there was no interaction.
So Bobby done his cabaret piece at the start of act two, and afterwards backstage would shuffle around saying hello to people.
David used to say to me ‘What a shame for that old fella, fancy having to work at his age, I’ve just given him some money for a cup of tea’. I said ‘What ! He gets dropped off in a limousine (laughs)’.
One night David said ‘He’s never in the finale, it’s nice of the theatre to let him go early, he must be tired’. Really, Bobby was doubling up and playing the late spot at Newcastle Mayfair.
Bobby had great delivery, clear, distinctive and not draggy. It can sound like he’s just talking along but it’s not, it’s very precise. He was a one off.
Comedian, Bobby Pattinson
Another North East comedian, Bobby Pattinson, is interviewed in the book.
‘Over the years I gave him bookings at my club. I never saw him as a rival, but regarded him as a friend even though people told me he didn’t have a good word for me’.
‘Most North East comics were content to go on stage in any order, Bobby always wanted to be last, he interpreted that as top of the bill. Buthe wasn’t as successful as I hoped when I booked him in December 1981 and had to cancel sixteen shows’.
In his detailed introduction, author Dave Nicolson tells us…
‘Bobby had success and money through the golden years, but he also had loneliness. The last few years were embarrassing for him, empty tables and chairs told him the harsh truth. Even the examiner at his bankruptcy hearing in 1986 was kind and considerate’.
‘Having lost the company of an audience his feeling of loneliness and isolation intensified. Spending late nights at Newcastle’s Casino Royale and the roulette wheel provided his nightly stage’.
Sadly, Bobby died on Saturday 16th April 1988 in Preston Hospital, North Shields. Family and friends attended his funeral with a fellow comedian adding a one liner that summed up Bobby Thompson…
’He’s late because he’s found out there’s another funeral after this and he wants to go on last!’
Alikivi May 2023
Research: Bobby Thompson, A Private Audience by Dave Nicholson.
As well as being on a BBC Hot Housing writing programme, Alison has scripted Theatre in Education programmes for schools, written two short films for festivals, and also found time to tour the North East and played venues in London and Edinburgh with three of her full length plays – Hard,Bedsocks & Secrets and Life Of Reilly.
With all that you’d think Alison had enough on her plate, but added to her ‘to do’ list this year are another two projects.
Her play Life of Reilly is being produced by the Leah Bell theatre company. An interview with writer, actress and theatre producer Leah features on this site in Take a Bow, 1st July 2021.
We open with Reilly in May in the North East and then go on an autumn national tour. I’m really excited about this as it’s a great opportunity said Alison.
The old saying of if you love what you’re doing you never work a day in your life – that’s so true. My work is my passion and I’m passionate about telling stories of everyday people through writing and acting.
Alison has wrote about diverse subjects such as autism and sex workers, for her new play she has decided to tackle domestic abuse and control in relationships.
For research and during the writing process I had advice from Northumberland Domestic abuse services, Age Well Northumberland and also accounts of lived experience.
I’ve found that other plays on this subject tend to centre on younger people but my play is different as it looks at the relationships from the perspective of two people in their late sixties.
This play also looks at how they find their way around social media which is a relatively new thing for them as they haven’t grown up with it and they’re still finding their feet. This often leads them to be vulnerable, as they tend to take everything at face value.
The two characters, Viv and Bill, have met on-line and arrange to meet. Viv is conscious of keeping safe, so on advice from her daughter they meet during the day in a busy coffee shop. They get on well.
The male lead is to be confirmed soon, the female lead is played by Leslie Saint John. Leslie has acted in a number of TV roles including Byker Grove and Catherine Cookson film The Girl, but notable in her role as the glamorous Vicky in the classic TV series Auf Wiedersehen Pet. Interview with Lesley on this site at Talking Pictures 19 February 2020.
Throughout the play there are ‘flash forwards’ where the audience get to take a look into the future to see what life will be like should the relationship develop. During these flash forwards we get to see the real Bill.
The abuse starts as a slow burn with Viv cut off from friends and family. Bill controls her finances and becomes physically violent.
Whilst the subject matter is serious and dark, the real time conversation in the coffee shop is light and I hope in some instances hilarious. I want the audience to feel almost guilty for laughing at Bill.
In one episode in the coffee shop they both declare they’ve had a lovely time and will do it again. I want the audience to be almost shouting out ‘don’t do it!’
As a writer my work is observational and a lot of what I’ve seen and heard goes into this. I think this play will draw attention to older people in this situation and make people aware this is a problem not restricted by age.
‘You Need to Say Sorry’ opens in Laurels in Whitley Bay on June 22nd and runs till July 1st 2023, tickets are on sale now.
Find out more about Alison in an earlier interview on this site at Dream Catcher 3rd & 5th June 2021.
Peter is employed by Gateshead Council teaching one to one lessons withpupils who don’t go to school.
He also goes into primary schools to teach aspects of local and regional history.
It’s a great feeling when a kid you have helped returns to school. One of the mothers got in touch saying two years after I stopped teaching her daughter to say that she had gone on to do A levels at Gateshead College.
From his North East history research, Peter has collected many stories and compiled them together for a new book – Radical Roots – the Human RightsHistory in the North East.
There are many interesting, positive stories of how people struggled for their own rights and fought for the rights of others too.
On the front cover is a picture of the Earl Grey monument in Newcastle city centre….
The writing on it is not about tea! It signifies people getting more rights to vote and the abolition of slavery because North East people have always campaigned for their own rights and worked for people across the world to get their human rights.
The fight against slavery was strong, for example in 1792 down at Newcastle Guildhall there was a petition of 3,000 signatures against slavery, which was quite a large percentage of the people living in Newcastle at the time.
We can protest about what is happening thousands of miles away or about our neighbours having to use a food bank. I don’t see a division there, it’s about human dignity and decency, where ever the person lives and whoever they are.
We can’t just fight for the rights of one group and not the other, it’s about everybody having the same rights.
My mum brought me up right, she taught me about Human Rights and in Newcastle there is an Amnesty book shop that I helped set up on Westgate Road in 2002.
We talk about women’s rights but how many Northumberland kids are taken to see the suffragette Emily Davison’s grave in Morpeth? I think it should be mandatory to learn about our history.
Kids are taught art and music from around the world which is great don’t get me wrong, but if they don’t know culture and history from their own area first, how can they relate art and music from around the world to everyday life?
In Radical Roots there are stories I think we should all know, and I’m still learning about our North East history.
We teach pupils about the Holocaust, Anne Frank and what she wrote in her diaries. But we don’t teach about the connection to the Durham Light Infantry and their role in the Relief of the Belsen camp.
I went to Hartlepool and interviewed the son of a DLI soldier whose father was there at the time of the relief and just after Anne Frank’s passing.
During the First World War, footballer and munitions factory worker Bella Reay played for Blyth Spartans, her story also features in the book.
(Bella Reay features in a play by South Shields playwright Ed Waugh, post 3rd December 2021).
I also took the presentation to a school in Cramlington. The teacher linked in the work by the Pitmen Painters, who aren’t in the National Curriculum, but linked them to the work by the artist L.S. Lowry – who is in the National Curriculum, which I thought was great that they saw the connection.
Also featured in the book is the Yemeni community in South Shields and the riot that happened in August 1930, and we discover why it happened. It also mentions over a number of years the eventual assimilation of the Yeminis into South Shields, some through inter-marriages.
I have worked with the Roma community on Tyneside. There are around 6,000 in Newcastle. If you’re a community coming into a place you have to have something to offer, rightly so, and it’s usually through their music or food.
Look at the Chinese or Indian. Bringing something goes down well because they don’t have the language.
The Irish came over to Tyneside as early as the 1850s after the famine. Jarrow has a big population of Irish. I think the Roma can look at what the Irish did with their music, while keeping their own identity.
Some of the Roma musicians that we have on Tyneside today are amazing. Perhaps one day there will be a Roma centre on Tyneside like the Irish Centre in Newcastle.
When I do a presentation about the Roma in schools, I finish with a power point picture of TV entertainers Ant and Dec. I ask people how many of you would describe them as Irish superstars? No hands. Then I ask how many would describe them as Geordie superstars? All hands go up!
But both their surnames and background are Irish and who is to say that kids from Newcastle in thirty to forty year time with a Roma background won’t be doing the same on TV?
Now I’m working in schools talking about the North East mining heritage which I think is important to remember. It is important to remember the community spirit and the great innovations, but we’ve got to keep fossil fuels in the ground now and work towards green energy and get the kids to understand that.
Hopefully we can get them to stand up in the future and shout for the North East to get more green investment, after all 20,000 County Durham miners lost their lives providing energy in the past.
It’s quite moving talking about the mining heritage, and in County Durham it’s all documented about 8 or 9 year old kids losing their life down the pit and that brings it home to kids of the same age.
I’ll also be at the Durham Miners Gala talking about this, that there was a lot to be proud of, but certainly not pointing the finger saying you caused all the problems of Climate Change.
Although we know now we need to develop green energy, without coal in the past we might still be stuck with the same lifestyles as the 18th century.
To contact Peter and buy copies of Radical Roots – the Human RightsHistory in the North East
A talk about the Cramlington Train Wreckers was held last month at Cramlington Hub, Northumberland (see post 16th March 2023).
The Wreckers were a group of striking miners who uncoupled a train full of blackleg miners in the General Strike of 1926.
Organiser & South Shields playwright Ed Waugh got in touch about the talks…
“The Wreckers meetings went great, the support for the talk was overwhelming with more than 160 people turning up”.
“The latest news about the Cramlington Train Wreckers is that we’ve secured rights to the 30-minute BBC film ‘Yesterday’s Witness’ made in 1970. We’ll be showing it this summer on Wednesday, July 26 at 2pm and 6.30pm”.
“The event will also have a speaker and hopefully songs plus more recitations – it’ll rock. Due to demand for tickets to the March 30th talks, the events are guaranteed to sell out. So not to be disappointed, I’d advise you to get your tickets early, they are only £3 each”.
To purchase tickets forWednesday, July 26 @ 2pm or 6.30pm at The Hub, Cramlington contact:
Having taken voluntary redundancy from the BBC after 25 years, Sue’s last job was as TV Development Producer, she is now semi-retired and working freelance.
But during the 90s Sue was involved with the North East music scene working at Generator and managing bands in Newcastle.
‘I guess I’m a bit of a career chameleon’ said Sue.
Originally born in Liverpool, the family then moved to Manchester where her father was a Graphic Artist.
‘I picked up my creative side from him. At school there was a group of us reading the music press, I went from listening to poppier sounds of Cat Stevens to serious stuff like Led Zeppelin.
When I completed my A levels punk was just on the cusp and we went to see bands like Buzzcocks and The Adverts at sweaty clubs like Eric’s. I was really into the whole punk thing listening to the Pistols and The Clash.
After University I started work as a Graduate Town Planner with North Tyneside Council. I didn’t have long term plans to stay in the North East but I loved the vibe of Newcastle. Now I’m an honorary Geordie!
My patch was North Shields, Whitley Bay and Tynemouth, things have changed dramatically down the riverfront area, it was fascinating working there.
I also worked at Sunderland Civic Centre and Newcastle on the planning team – this is a weird way of starting to talk about the North East music industry. But I wanted to make a difference in terms of helping communities, living in a better environment, helping people make a better life, and hopefully did that through music.
When I left planning, I started work at Newcastle University in the Centre for Urban and Regional Development, a research unit rather than teaching. Northern Arts funded a project there called Cultural Industries Research Unit, helping communities through the arts.
My colleague James Cornford and I were asked to look at a new project and we chose popular music. Sheffield had been flying the flag providing rehearsal space and studios so we thought we could give that a go as James had been in bands and I loved music.
Plus, I had already written a published article around culture in the North East and done a lot of research around the subject. We spoke to a few hundred musicians and people who ran recording studios and record labels – small or large.
We found there wasn’t enough venues or rehearsal space for bands, they couldn’t get out on tour it would cost an arm and a leg and there weren’t any showcase gigs. Investment was needed to support DIY musicians – they needed a leg up.
We put the findings together and put forward a plan called Sound of the City. This was three events across Tyneside, hundreds of people attended which created more ideas. One was for an umbrella organisation to pull it all together, a one stop shop for support, advice and help – that’s how Generator came about’.
‘The name was perfect because the aim was to generate a profile of the North East music scene which had been non- existent up till then – apart from big names like Sting and Mark Knopfler.
As well as Generator Management Committee meetings, Dave Cross and I met several times weekly to do behind the scenes work at the Riverside live music venue. What came from our meetings was a need for showcase gigs and working with promoters to develop a venue in their area, we covered the North East and Cumbria.
Generator was there to help musicians kick start their career, we wanted to be central in supporting emerging talent and artists, or just be creative and have better facilities to enjoy what they were doing’.
The first event billed as Generator Live Music Explosion was at the Riverside in Newcastle on Saturday 25th January 1992 included Candleman Summer from South Shields, The Hangarounds from Gateshead, Procession from Teesside, Greedsville and This Is This from Newcastle.
‘The event went on all day generating a lot of press, many thanks to all the sponsors who came onboard donating time, money and facilities.
All of the bands were original not tributes, and although some didn’t get record deals the members went on to do other stuff. Dave Denholm from This Is This ended up in Lindisfarne’.
‘Around 1992 Greedsville fell in my lap (interview with guitarist Clive Jackson on 22 Feb 2023). I loved them, very creative in their outfits especially Pete Turner the singer. One outfit was a Chinese mandarin hat and shoes with curly toes.
They had their own way of doing things and were always good on publicity and presentation getting a review in Kerrang and local mag Paint it Red. They also had the idea of slotting their cd album into tiger print bags and sending them to press and media.
By now we had been working on Generator a few years and were based in the Black Swan Arts Centre on Westgate Road. We’d publish regular newsletters promoting bands and events including tips for how to plaster your name across the media, developing a press strategy, even make sure you arrive on time for an interview on radio or TV. Basically, how to get on in the music industry.’
‘Bands would submit demo tapes and we’d choose from them what bands to have on the showcase gig, and we were becoming more ambitious adding art, design, films and music seminars.
The more events we put on the more interest we created with label scouts popping into gigs to see what we had. Rather than a regular weekly gig, we spread out the dates of gigs to make them an event’.
Northern Exposure was held 11th-19th June 1994 including Profundo Rosso, Crisis Children, Blyth Power and the wonderfully named Delicate Vomit.
The MPS and Musicians Union were involved in the seminars dealing with publicity, royalties and copyright.
‘We became good at publicity. North East music journalist Ian Penman who sadly is no longer with us, worked for Sounds and other music papers and magazines, he gave us good advice about publicity and how it needed to be spot on.
Generator were really ramping it up and had demonstrated that we were capable of delivering stuff. In 1998 the peak was Sound City, around then Jim Mawdsley came onboard.
When we became a funded organisation, Wayne C. McDonald joined Jim Mawdsley and I on the professional team. A week later we were awarded £250,000 from the National Lottery’.
Generator’s successful National Lottery bid was given massive national profile on BBC One TV’s National Lottery Show when Sue and her Generator colleague, Wayne C McDonald, appeared live in front of 16 million people. Their cause was championed by none other than The Spice Girls.
‘Wayne thought I was joking when I told him we were going to be live on stage – and thought we were just going to be sitting in the audience. When it came to the crunch, we were called on stage and he hadn’t prepared a speech – so he performed a completely improvised rap which everyone loved!
We had spent three years talking to BBC Radio One about bringing an event to Newcastle. We worked with the Council to put a document together which included main stage, a number of venues and a Fringe festival, the BBC accepted it.
After my work at the University on the Cultural Industries project, I got some part time work as a researcher at the BBC which I combined with the Generator work.
Looking back, it was around 1999 when I left Generator, I had just run out of steam. After Sound City I went on to work on various music festivals in Newcastle attracting bigger, signed names and by the 2000’s I was at Evolution sponsored by Orange telecommunications’.
Paloma Faith (pic Sue Wilkinson).
‘Iggy Pop was on a bill, we had Amy Winehouse, Paloma Faith, Maximo Park and one year we had Public Enemy on. I remember for their rider we were sent to KFC for forty boxes of chicken – we weren’t very popular with the rest of the customers.
We ended up with expensive headliners with Generator running alongside with showcase gigs for North East bands and arranging music seminars. Evolution went on for years but our riverfront site on the Tyne was earmarked for redevelopment and we decided to take a break which became permanent. We had a great time seeing the audiences enjoying the event.
Generator still exists today, it embraced the new digital agenda and pushed it really hard. It’s helped create long lasting partnerships and connections across the music sector.
It’s now the UK’s leading music development agency and a beacon for those looking for help with their musical ventures. Something we’re really proud of because it’s made a huge impact on musicians in the region and shone a light on the North East through showcases and events.
It’s been involved in national initiatives, helping influence arts and government policy. Has it been important? You bet’.
More information about the work of Generator at the official website:
South Shields-based playwright Ed Waugh is appealing for anyone to contact him if they have any information on the Cramlington Train Wreckers.
Ed, whose latest play was the hugely successful Wor Bella, said
“The story is one of high dramatic tension and has become an important part of British history, although largely forgotten”.
“The event happened on March 10, seven days into the 1926 General Strike when striking miners uncoupled a rail on the mainline Edinburgh to London railway” explained Ed.
“The intention was to derail a blackleg coal train they felt was undermining the strike. Unfortunately for the perpetrators, they derailed a passenger train.”
With 281passengers onboard, the volunteer driver had been warned of trouble and slowed down, meaning when the engine and five carriages were derailed, no-one was killed.
“The only injury was minor, most people were treated for shock and bruises” said Ed.
“Were the Cramlington Train Wreckers terrorists or workers trying to defend their livelihoods, family and community against an economic onslaught that took place after the General Strike ended?”
In the magistrate courts eight Cramlington miners were each sentenced for up to eight years, but were released early due to pressure from the trade union rank and file, politicians and the judiciary itself who saw the original sentences as too harsh.
Ed continued “The leader of the wreckers was Bill Muckle who was born in Westoe in December 1900. His father looked after the pit ponies. They lived here until 1902 when they moved to Cramlington.I’d be interested to know if older generation Muckles worked at Westoe”.
A crane lifting the Merry Hampton engine back on track. Photo courtesy of Brian Godfrey.
Such is the interest in the subject, Ed and historian Marie Dooley will address more than 120 people at a public meeting on March 30. Top North East actor/folk singer Jamie Brown will perform songs and recite from Ed’s new play.
The Cramlington Train Wreckers’ meet at The Hub, Manor Walks Shopping Centre, Cramlington, Thursday, March 30, at 2pm and 6.30pm.Info and tickets only £2 via Eventbrite.
For more information contact Ed at the official website: ww.wisecrackproductions.co.uk
North East couple Jools and Paul Donnelly have a huge passion for promoting the North East’s recent cultural heritage, theyalsorun the Handyside Arcade publishing company, and the Club A’Gogo dance events named after the famous Newcastle venue.
From 1962-68 Club a’Gogo hosted a number of amazing gigs from legendary bands The Who, The Animals, Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, plus from America – Jimi Hendrix, Sonny Boy Williamson and John Lee Hooker.
‘We successfully lobbied Newcastle Council for a heritage plaque at the site of Club a’Gogo – we are incredibly proud of this. We’ve also published our first book ‘Club a’Gogo & The Mod Scene of 1960s Newcastle’ which is on sale now, more books are planned’.
Both Jools and Paul are passionate collectors of 60s mod culture which includes vintage clothing, shoes, magazines, records and books, now the couple have combined their extensive collection for an exhibition held in Newcastle City Library.
I asked Jools what was the catalyst for the exhibition?
It actually came from two sources, last year we visited the Punk No.1 exhibition at Newcastle City Library and this year we were in London for a private viewing of Contemporary Wardrobe, a supplier of costumes to the film and music industry.
This huge collection of vintage clothing is owned by former mod and stylist Roger K Burton. Roger has done a number of exhibitions and we were so inspired we thought we could do that.
I asked Paul what’s the response been to the exhibition?
Amazing, and to be honest far better than we expected. We’ve done regular ‘meet and greet’ events at the library – next one is Saturday March 11th from 2-4pm, where people can chat with us about the exhibition and share their memories of those glory days.
People have brought their own memorabilia to show us, it’s been a fantastic experience. We’ve also had a good turn out from a younger generation who have been fascinated by how cool the youths of the North East were back then.
Lots of original mods and Club a’Gogo members have turned up to see the exhibition, they’ve shared their stories of seeing the likes of Jimi Hendrix, The Who and of course The Animals.
We’ve encouraged them to come along to our monthly Club a’Gogo Dance Party events where I play the Club a’Gogo sounds on vinyl.
What next for the exhibition?
This ends on 31 March 2023 and we are aiming for more exhibitions. Our next one is early 2024 that will celebrate the history of the Handyside Arcade.
(The sorely missed Arcade was a glass roofed horseshoe shaped building which housed a number of independent and alternative shops including Kard Bar. It was also the place where tribes of young people – mods, hippies, punks – would meet and hang out on weekends).
Jools added….We want to highlight the Arcades importance and promote the North East’s sub cult heritage.
Part one of a conversation with author & former Newcastle United footballer, Paul Ferris.
Paul Ferris outside St James’ Park, Newcastle (pic Irish Times).
Football is all about sticking the ball in the back of the net.
My first and only goal for Newcastle was at the Gallowgate end against Bradford in the League Cup. There was a deafening noise as the crowd banged on the metal advertising boards.
As we celebrated Neil McDonald came over to me and asked ‘are you alright’? I swear I couldn’t breathe. The sound of the ball hitting the back of the net is beautiful.
Paul Ferris was born in 1965 in Lisburn near Belfast, Northern Ireland. Living with his Catholic family on mostly a Protestant housing estate, he survived a childhood that was framed by Irelands dark but recent past.
It was my mum who said you need to go across the water, there’s nothing here for you. She just wanted the best for me. I left in October 1981 right in the middle of the IRA hunger strike, it was a very toxic time.
As a professional footballer and physiotherapist Paul had an 18- year career at Newcastle United. Between 1981 and 1985 he was the youngest ever first team player and in 1993 he joined the medical staff where he stayed until 2006. He was also part of the management team in 2009.
As physio I was there under Cox, Keegan, Robson, Dalglish, Gullit, Souness but left when Roeder came in as I was committed to do my Law work – but that’s another story for another time.
In 2018 his best-selling memoir The Boy on the Shed was published to critical acclaim, and the follow up The Magic in the Tin, about his fight with prostate cancer, was released in 2022.(links below).
Both my books have been non-fiction memoirs and have done well, but now I’m currently writing a fictional book.
We’ll find out more of Paul’s writing career in part two, but here he talks candidly about his time as a professional footballer.
When I was a kid in Northern Ireland in the 70s, I only knew one Newcastle fan and that was Kieran my brother-in-law, he told me all about players like Malcolm McDonald, David Craig and Liam McFaul.
It was mostly Liverpool or Manchester United supporters – that was the George Best connection as he was a Belfast boy. I was a Liverpool fan so Kevin Keegan was without doubt the first football hero that I had.
I used to go and watch the Home Championship games cos that’s when you got to see the big players. At Windsor Park in Belfast, I couldn’t see much being small so I would take a stool to stand on to see players like Kevin Keegan.
You see lists of greatest ever players and some of them he’s not even in, when I think he most definitely was one of the best.
My very first team I signed for was Bolton at 14, that was the team of Peter Reid and Sam Allardyce. It was for two years with a guaranteed apprenticeship but the management got sacked and I ended with nowhere to go.
I was playing for the Irish under 18 youth team and they mentioned two teams I should try out for – Everton and Newcastle. But didn’t enjoy my time in Liverpool so came to Newcastle where it was more friendly. At least they said hello to you in the street.
It was still a wrench leaving. There were flights only two days a week and a pay phone in the hall of my digs – it felt a long way from home.
Newcastle boarding a plane for Bermuda in 1985. Paul in the centre of the photo with Paul Gascoigne (and prize mullet) on his right (pic Evening Chronicle).
In 1982 I was 16 and made my Newcastle debut away from home, my home debut was against QPR in the second division. 14,000 people at a run-down stadium with a city in the doldrums and a lot of economic hardship and unemployment.
Then manager Arthur Cox signed Kevin Keegan who was twice European footballer of the year. I remember the assistant coach telling the team who we’d signed, we all said ‘f*** off, no chance!’ But then he arrived, as a shy lad it was quite daunting to see your boyhood hero.
He was not only a great footballer and charismatic, but he transformed the whole outlook of the city. He also gave it a boost when he came back as manager and won promotion in 1993.
Newcastle manager Arthur Cox was great, he was honest and straight with you, just no nonsense really. But he had the sensitivity as well and asked me how my parents were doing because he knew I was a young boy away from home.
Even now in his 80s he contacts me to ask how I’m doing as he knows I’ve had some health issues. He’s also read both my books which he enjoyed.
Some great footballers came to St James’ Park. I remember watching a European cup night and Newcastle were playing French side Bastia who included Johnny Rep.
The Dutch team of ’74 was a big part of my awakening to great footballers. On TV you would see Johan Cruyff, Johnny Rep and Neeskins. Football was better to watch in those days there was more chances created, more jeopardy in the game.
When I was young, I was told to hug the touchline, get the ball, take the full back on and take him on again, then get the ball in the box. You might lose the ball few times but it was exciting to watch.
Paul scoring his only goal for Newcastle United (pic The Times).
On my debut as a 16 year old we were playing Blackburn away and I replaced Chris Waddle. As I ran onto the pitch the crowd were singing my name. I got so excited taking on the full back he took the ball off me and a few passes later it ended in a goal for them. We got beat 4-1.
Coaching has changed now, players are told not to take people on because losing the ball is a risky business, better to pass and move keeping possession.
During the 1980s football entered its dark days with hooliganism on the rise. One time Newcastle where at Leeds. Today you have a coaching staff and kit men, but back then I was 13th man and responsible for carrying the kit in to the ground.
We were walking into Elland Road and the police officers were holding back the baying Leeds fans. The noise was deafening. We nearly got inside when a fist came out of the crowd and smacked me in the mouth. I got in the changing room with blood all over. I was told it was pointless reporting it to the police as I couldn’t identify who threw the punch.
During the game Kevin Keegan was taking a corner when he got hit on the head with a coin. Both teams were taken off, in the end the police told us to get out there and finish the game or there’ll be hell on.
So at the end of the 90 minutes we quickly got in the changing room, showered and left. As the coach was leaving we took the first corner and a brick comes through the window.
Read part two of Football Bloody Football where Paul talks about his writing career, Bobby Robson, nights out with Alan Shearer and what he thinks of Newcastle United now.
ALIKIVI UK : NORTH EAST MUSIC & CULTURE 