Nine snapshots of Life in South Tyneside in 1979, the year were Walking On The Moon with the Police and doing the YMCA with the Village People

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 in 1979?

:: Gowans was on the move and there were bargains galore in the Frederick Street store which was shutting down.

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.

:: Inflation, it seems, had even affected Bonfire Night in 1979. One man in Frederick Street was asked ‘10 pence for the Guy’ by a group of children with their own dummy.

:: 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.

:: 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 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.

:: There was a new studio for the DJs at Radio Ingham in South Shields. Eleanor Minikin, from the Tuesday night request show and Paul Keenan who runs a sports programme, were pictured at its launch. Remember it?

:: Shoppers in King Street had a new-look WH Smith’s to enjoy.

What are your memories of South Tyneside in the late 1970s? Email [email protected]