Nine snapshots of Life in South Tyneside in 1979 and we're ready to relive them all
Dancing the night away at Rupert’s and shopping at Gowans - but it was all change for South Tyneside people in 1979.
We’re looking back at a year when Blankety Blank was a new attraction on telly and Mork and Mindy was a hit from the USA. But what was happening closer to home?
Gowans was on the move in South Shields and there were bargains galore in the Frederick Street store which was shutting down.
Hacking jackets for £9.99
The whole operation was shifting to Fowler Street. You could snap up offers such as hacking jackets for £9.99, Fair Isle cardigans at £3.99 and curtain fabric for 85 pence.
You could win £10 at Rupert’s nightclub by wearing the zaniest outfit you could find.
A section of South Shields town centre had to be sealed off when a 100-year-old building was crumbling on its supports. The joists opened up by around three inches in the premises which were known for many years as King’s Building.
Painting a picture of Westoe Netty
Actor Bill Maynard, who later played Claude Greengrass and was known in the 70s for playing Selwyn Froggitt – was in town to receive a special print of artist Bob Olley’s famous Westoe Netty painting.
Bill was known to collect paintings wherever he travelled, and he was appearing in Sleeping Beauty at the Empire Theatre in Sunderland.
Skipper’s were the best around
Skipper's newsboys of Henderson Road, South Shields, were the winners of the Gazette Cup five-a-side competition. Were you a part of the all-conquering team which was led by manager Billy Skipper and has John Cormack as captain?
Children in Class 4 at Dunn Street Junior School, Jarrow, dressed up as police officers when WPC Stephanie Swinburne paid a visit, and brought uniforms with her for the pupils to try on.
And shoppers in King Street had a new-look WH Smith’s to enjoy.
But we want to know if you remember all of this and more from the borough 46 years ago.
Which were the clubs, pubs and restaurants you loved and which school did you go to back then.
What are your memories of South Tyneside in the late 1970s? Email [email protected]