Our video clip, courtesy of the North East Film Archive, takes us back half a century to Newcastle city centre in 1971.
It was the year decimalisation was introduced in the UK; new series on television included the Two Ronnies, Parkinson and The Persuaders; and a 21-year-old striking sensation called Malcolm Macdonald made his debut for Newcastle United.
The amateur footage recalls the Lord Mayor's procession to inaugurate the Newcastle Festival. The commentary is by George Cummin, and the clip features highlights of the parade through the city streets.
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An interesting period piece, recalling Newcastle 51 years ago, it was commissioned by the Tyneside Junior Chamber of Commerce and captured by Newcastle & District Amateur Cinematographers Association.
The clip takes us on a whirlwind tour of the city centre as it was in 1971. We see the Civic Centre, just three years old; the recently opened John Dobson Street; Newcastle City Hall on Northumberland Road; the pre-pedestrianised Northumberland Street; Pilgrim Street, and the much-loved Odeon cinema; the recently opened Swan House roundabout; Blackett Street before a large section of it was demolished to make way for Eldon Square shopping centre; Newgate Street and the former Co-op department store; the Haymarket area; and Percy Street with yet another now-vanished cinema, the ABC.
If you would like to watch more archive footage like this, but in DVD form, Newcastle On Film has been specially produced by the North East Film Archive, NEFA. Presented and narrated by Pam Royle - formerly of ITV Tyne Tees News fame - it pays homage to life on Tyneside and features lots of wonderful archive film footage.
The DVD Newcastle On Film is priced at £12 (including postage and packing), and all profits from the sale go back into the valuable work of the North East Film Archive. Buy it here. See more from the North East Film Archive at www.yfanefa.com
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