When rock and roll was king at the Odeon in South Shields

The Shields venue had an ambitious plan to reshape itself as a live music venue.

Jimmy Jones at the Odeon

To help it on the way, it lined up a night of the stars in 1960.

Top of the bill was American pop star Jimmy Jones who was known for hits such as Handy Man and Good Timin’. They charted in the very year that he got an invitation to come to South Tyneside.

Jimmy was not the only star on that first bill either. Home-grown talent such as Mark Wynter, the Brooks Brothers and the Marauders were also in the spotlight.

Challenging the might of Sunderland and Newcastle

The Odeon was hoping to promote itself as a live music venue so it could challenge bigger theatres in Sunderland and Newcastle.

Elsewhere in South Tyneside, there were other cinema choices.

Glenn Ford and Debbie Reynolds were starring in the Gazebo at the Savoy Cinema in South Shields.

It ran for six days and was based on a stage show which had been a big hit.

Wares was opening its doors

The keen shopper might have wanted to get their hands on the newest product at Wares in King Street where the new Electrolux 65 vacuum cleaner was on sale.

Bosses at Wares were urging people to come along and take a look around the store - because ‘something wonderful has happened to home cleaning’.

Give us your memories of life in South Tyneside in 1960 by emailing [email protected]