The 1960s arrived as the last shackles of post-war austerity were well and truly being thrown off.
It was a time of full employment and, in our region, the shipyards, coal mines and factories were in full swing.
There was work for everyone who wanted it, and people had more money in their pockets than ever before.
Car ownership, once the preserve of the well-heeled, rocketed; TV rental and sales went through the roof after a second channel, Tyne Tees, began broadcasting in 1959; and there was a growing market for newfangled consumer durables such as fridges and washing machines.
Meanwhile, hard-working men and women also also wanted to have fun.
The start of the 'Swinging '60s' saw the emergence of nightclubs where people could enjoy late-night drink, food, entertainment, and gambling.
One of the first to burst on to the scene in Newcastle was the Club a'Gogo on Percy Street.
Opening on Friday, July 6, 1962, the club promised "dancing in the Latin Quarter" and a place where you could "listen to England's prime jazz groups in the luxurious jazz lounge".
The Chronicle, reporting on the new venue in the Handyside Arcade, described "a surrealist decor, dimly lit with lime green chairs, and black walls postered with pictures of Earl Hines, the American jazz player, and Newcastle's own jazz band, the Emcee Five. Mexican blankets and African masks fill two large rooms".
The club's owner Mike Jefferey (who would go on to make quite a name for himself as 'Mr Newcastle' and a man with 'connections') explained how a "record hostess would play discs" in one room, while the other was "strictly for jazz devotees".
Punters could also play roulette and, if they fancied a bite to eat, enjoy "light snacks in the continental fashion, including hamburgers and infra-red steaks" into the early hours.
It was all new and very exciting.
The establishment soon gravitated from jazz towards newly burgeoning soul, R’n’B and rock music.
A brilliant Newcastle blues outfit - The Animals - became the venue’s first house band before finding fame on both sides of the Atlantic.
The club would play host to some of rock’s biggest emerging names. Pink Floyd, The Who, the Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Cream, John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers, The Spencer Davis Group, Long John Baldry (featuring Rod Stewart), Jeff Beck and Jimi Hendrix all rocked the rafters at the Percy Street venue.
In 1967, Hendrix (managed by Mike Jefferey and former Animals bass player Chas Chandler) played two sets at the venue - one at 8pm in the under-18s room, the second in the Jazz Lounge at 2am.
In the audience for the first show was a certain 13-year-old schoolboy called James Bradford, and a 15-year-old pupil from St Cuthbert’s Grammar School called Gordon Sumner - Jimmy Nail and Sting respectively.
The Club a’Gogo burned brightly but briefly, closing its doors after just six years in 1968, before becoming a prize bingo for a while.
The whole 1906-built building, including the Handyside Arcade was, to the despair of many, demolished in the late 1980s to make way for the new Eldon Garden shopping mall.
More than 50 years later, the Club a'Gogo is far from forgotten.
Original mod enthusiast Julia Donnelly, from Gateshead, and her husband Paul have kept the name alive with live events, radio programmes, a dedicated Facebook page, and the pair are currently writing a book about the fabled venue.
"We have be keeping really busy during the lockdown and have been using the time to do research for our book on the original Club a'Gogo and the Newcastle mod scene," says Julia.
"We have been conducting email interviews with the original mods and club-goers. Their stories and memories of those days are fantastic. We can't wait to get our book out there so we can share these stories on this part of Newcastle's musical and cultural heritage.
"We are also being helped by some of the legendary mod acts of the day. Chris Farlowe was a huge hit with the Newcastle mods and he has kindly given us an interview. Members of The Animals, Junco Partners and The Invaders are also assisting us with our research, as well as Roger Smith of the Ready, Steady, Gone website.
"We have another radio show planned on Lionheart Radio and we are hoping we can tell everyone a little bit more about us and the type of music they can expect to hear when we get our club restarted.
"If anyone is wanting to find out more about what we are doing with Club a'Gogo and our club nights - or if they’d like to be interviewed for our book, they can find us on Facebook or on our new website www.clubagogo.co.uk. "
Don't miss our new Memory Lane local history website that's packed with archive photographs and has an easy-to-use picture colourisation tool.
