Students conducted visual ethnographies in and around areas of Newcastle today, uploading images live to a designated Flickr photostream.
Emergent themes were:
The branding of the city, eg. souvenirs and Newcastle City council logos
Old versus new, with reference to shop fronts mainly, and heritage street furniture
‘Tribes’ and belonging, with reference to exhibitions and signage in the Great North Museum
The Romans, and subsequent touristification and branding of Newcastle as a site of historical importance (plenty of leaflets as supporting evidence!)
Regeneration: images in particular of The BALTIC flour mill.
Greggs: as a way of life.
Multiculturalism: photos from a bilingual bookstore, sightings of Storytime in Arabic, leaflets in Mandarin Chinese.
To continue this thread, I’ve found some other flickr accounts and videos that may be useful for the visual history of Newcastle with photos dating back to the 1890’s.
• Laszlo Torday (b. 1890 – d. 1975): https://www.flickr.com/photos/newcastlelibraries/sets/72157632024528422/
• Quays and Docks: https://www.flickr.com/photos/newcastlelibraries/sets/72157622716316059/
• Transport: https://www.flickr.com/photos/newcastlelibraries/sets/72157622840940288/
• Pubs / clubs: https://www.flickr.com/photos/newcastlelibraries/sets/72157622836012476/
• Cinema: https://www.flickr.com/photos/newcastlelibraries/sets/72157622716643935/
• Pinterest: https://uk.pinterest.com/choodleumma/old-newcastle-on-tyne-area/?lp=true
• Old clubs: http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/whats-on/music-nightlife-news/26-north-east-nightclubs-you-6467551.amp
• A History of Newcastle upon Tyne in the 1960s and 1970’s: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te7hM5d6sZA&feature=youtu.be&t=4m18s
-Niamh Gibbs
Thanks so much for that Niamh, I hadn’t heard of Laszlo Torday: http://www.thejournal.co.uk/news/north-east-news/fascination-newcastle-street-life-print-4398974
Amateur photographer indeed The Journal! Sounds like he was an early ethnographer, capturing the essence of everyday life on Tyneside like that.
Here’s a book I think you, and others, might be interested in, given the old-new-photography-music-Newcastle emerging interests in class:
Plater, H and Taylor, C: Riverside: Newcastle’s Legendary Alternative Music Venue, Tonto Books, 2011
Unfortunately there isn’t a copy in Newcastle University Library (yet!), but I expect there might be a copy in Newcastle City Library.
Here’s the blurb:
“Provides a comprehensive and compelling social history of the building and club as well as that of the changing face of Newcastle and its music scene from the Thatcher years through to New Labour. A riveting read for those who were there and for those who only wish they had been. So many magnificent gigs and club nights took place at this legendary venue …from Nirvana’s first ever UK show to the smallest gig on David Bowie’s 1997 tour, 1988’s Ecstasy club night to Black Grape hijacking the decks. Riverside went from a struggling music co- operative (left-wing ideals funded by the Tories!) to a fledgling business and beyond. The club became a way of life for many from the early 80s to the late 90s. This book takes a nostalgic look at the club, how it was formed, what it wanted to achieve and what it did achieve. It also forms a social history of a venue that meant so much to so many, now sadly missed but never forgotten. In a time when many now stadium bands were cutting their teeth on the gig circuit, Riverside was the place to play – not just in Newcastle or the north- east but it stood proud alongside the likes of Glasgow King Tuts or the 100 Club in London. It was a place that bands wanted to play and sits in time as a venue that you could have seen Oasis, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins and Blur play for the price of a packet of chips. All genres through Brit Pop, Grunge, Dance and Electronica. Many acts who played there are no more and many others went on to achieve global success. The club always maintained its reputation and was respected by those in the business. In its early days, Riverside was part of something special as world-renowned rock stars descended onto Tyne Tees studios a stone’s throw away to perform for The Tube. Riverside itself even had a TV series. Contributions from prominent names in music as well as music journalists.”