updated script with changes

1. Script ideas
Intro + The Empire
Live musicissomethingwhichhasbroughtjoyandescapismtomany people overthe yearsandwill
continue todo so formany more.While live musicdatesbackto 100,000 yearsago, I thinka good
place to beginisthe 1950s – Betterknownas, the birthof Rock N’ Roll.Starslike BuddyHolly,who
wentonto performat our veryownStocktonGlobe on hisonlyUK tour inMarch 1958 pavedthe
wayfor the future of rock and roll,and Britain’sfirstrockand roll star TommySteele makinghis
debutat SunderlandTheatre inthe 1950s, whichis where we begin.
Sunderland’sTheatre,alsoknownasthe Empire Theatre,hasplayed asignificantrole inthe history
of live musicperformanceswithinthe Northeastoverthe years.OnNovember5thin1956, 19-year-
oldTommySteele made hisdebutperformance atthe venue,makinghimthe firstpersontoplayan
electricguitarinside of the empire, afirefighterbeinginattendance as aprecaution!Steelewas
quicklydubbedasBritain’sanswertoElvisPresleyandwentontoperformseveral timesatthe
venue inhiscareer.
Despite crowdsof people attendingthe venue,inMayof 1959 it unfortunatelyhadtoclose due to
the growingphenomenonof televisionandcinema,butthisdidn’tlastlong,asitreopeneditsdoors
once again in1960 afterbeingboughtbySunderlandCouncil.Threeyearslater,amonthbefore
theirdebutalbumwasto be released,the venuehostedThe BeatlesonFebruary9thof 1963 who
were fourthonan eleven-actbill,headedby16-year-oldHelenShapiro.Months lateronNovember
30th the band returnedtothe Empire’s stage butwouldunfortunatelybe forthe lasttime.
I was luckyenoughtogainaccess to the venue andwasshownaroundby Steph,theirCreative
LearningOfficer,wholedme toall the importantplaces,talkingme throughall of the interesting
storiesthattookplace where we stood, includingpeopleinthe audience throwingthemselvesat
JohnLennon, tothe differentghoststhatare saidto haunt the venue.
( 1 min30 approx.) my footage,some fromonline
The Rink
Anotherpopularvenue atthe time alsoinSunderlandwasThe Rink,whicharguablyhaditsheyday
inthe 1950s whenthe residentbandwas Al FlushandhisOrchestra.Throughoutthe 1950s and '60s,
Saturdaynightswere alwaysthe mostpopular,withlongqueuesformingearly.Duringthe early
1960s manyfamouspopgroups performedatthe venue,one of those being,again,The Beatles,
whotook to the stage on May 14th 1963, my ownNanaand Auntbeinginattendance,forever
leavingme extremelyenvious.Atthe time,theywere No.1in the charts with FromMe To You,entry
being5/-(25p) withqueuestosee themrunningwellintothe citycentre, andwithbenchesbeing
placedaroundthe boundaryof the stage as a barrierto keepback the screamingfans,thiswasthe
beginningof Beatlemania.
( 50 secondsapprox.) footage fromonline
The late 1960s and early‘70s saw the demise of bigdance bandsand broughtaboutthe introduction
of DJsto The Rinkas well asappearancesbypopularstarsincludingayoungDavidBowie.Other
stars to appearwere the groupsStatusQuo and ThinLizzie whoappearedthere togetheronthe
same bill onSeptember29,1972. By that time,discowaspopularandsmall nightclubswere
consideredthe place tobe.The Rinkeventuallychangeditsname toFusion,beforesadlyclosingin
1984.

2. ( 35 – 40 secondsapprox.) footage fromonline
The Locarno
Whenit came to big namesplayinginthe city,youwouldusuallyfindthematThe Locarno, also
knownas The Mecca or The Mayfair. The clubfirstopenedasa Locarno Ballroom, andat itspeak
was a majesticballroomwithanimpressivestage,pullinginthousandsof customers.Justsome of
the top stars whofeaturedatthe venue include LedZeppelininNovember1971, where ticketshad
beenonsale at Bergsrecord shopfor 75p.Takenfrom Vintagerock'sWeblogwhoattendedthe event
- By the time the door'sopenedthere wasa massive queue rightdownthe rampwhichusedtolead
intothe venue,alongthe street,andoverthe road tothe Wheatsheaf pubwhichstoodonthe
corner.Referringtothe SunderlandEcho,a lotof people have fondmemoriesof the venue,
includingthe BBCreportingits openingnight,the burgervanoutside,andworkpartiesafterthe
Saturdayshiftwouldend.The venue sadlyclosedin2003, beingdemolishedin2012.
( 1 min5 secondsapprox.) footage fromonline
The Mayfair Newcastle
As well aswhatmanyknowas The Mayfairin Sunderland,Newcastle alsohadavenue withthe same
name,whichopenedin1961, goingon to host some of the biggestrockacts betweenthe 1970s and
‘90s. Over38 yearsthe venue wouldhosteventsfromdisconightstobingo,ravestoballroom
dancing,butis today bestrememberedasarock venue,missedbymany. The 60s saw the likesof
The PrettyThingsand The Animals make theirdebutthere,aswell asthe New Yardbirds,whowould
laterbecome LedZeppelin makingtheirUKdebut atthe venue,righthere inthe Northeast. A typical
nightat The Mayfairwould involve seeingthe likesof T.Rex in‘71, AC/DCin1980, Metallicain’86,
and in’91 bothBowie andNirvana,KurtCobainbeingdescribedas ‘lookinglikeeveryoneelse there,
scruffilydressedwithrippedjeans.’ Tothe disappointmentof many,in August1999, 5,000 people
tookto the dance floorone lasttime afterthe announcement thatthe venue wouldbe demolished
to make wayfor The Gate complex,makingReef the lastbandtoeverplaythere.
The ModernDay
Nowadays you’ll findthe biggernamesplayingNewcastleratherthatSunderland,due tothe city’s
largernumberof musicvenues,butthisisn’ttosay we don’tgetany at all.Back in 2016 as part of
theirreuniontourThe Spice Girls performed atourveryown Stadiumof Light, where Iwas in
attendance alongwithover40,000 others,some of whotravelled fromIreland,WalesandLondon.
Andwhile I may nothave beenclose tothe stage, it trulywas an incredible experience andtobe
able to saythat I have seenone of the biggestgirl groupsperforminmyhome town issomethingI
neverthoughtI’dbe able to say. As well asat the Stadium,HerringtonCountry Parkhostmusic
eventsyearly,andlastAugustIwasluckyenoughto attendtheirRockThe Northeastevent,where I
was able tosee big namesfromthe 80s, includingThe HumanLeague,Heaven17,Go West,and
more.
On the otherhand, while Sunderlandmay nothave a large selectionof venuesforartiststoattend,
luckilyNewcastle does,allowinglive musicto thrive inthe Northeast,andformanymore years to
come.Due to these venues,Ihave been fortunate enoughtosee some of myfavourite artistslive,
includingBlossomsatthe o2 Academy,supportedbyThe Lathumsand The Magic Gang,whichto
date is the bestgigI have everbeento.Afterwantingtosee the band forsome yearsnow,to finally
be able to listentoa crowd of people singbackmyfavourite songstomy favourite band wasan
indescribable feeling.Withinthe nexttwomonthsIalsogot to see Inhaleratthe University’sstudent

3. union,aswell asthe Northeast’sfavourite SamFenderatthe Utilita Arena,enteringthe stage to
Geordie anthemTheme of the Local Hero. All of these gigs were suchunique experiencesandI
myself amextremelygladthat live musicisbackto how itonce was – Everyone backtogetherjust
enjoyingthe music.
My footage
InterviewwithTom,leadsingerof WelshbandBuzzardBuzzardBuzzard, viaZoom (?)
*Askingquestionslike whatdoyoulike aboutperforminglive,specificallyinthe Northeast*
Hopefullyinterviewsome of Frankie andthe Heartstrings
*Ask whattheyenjoy aboutperforminginSunderland,whatmakesitdifferenttootherplaces*