When it comes to television series set on Tyneside, most of us will be well familiar with the likes of Vera, Spender, Byker Grove, Inspector George Gently, Our Friends In The North, When The Boat Comes In, Auf Wiedershen, Pet, and Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads?
But what about the Tyne Tees series, The Paper Lads, which hit the airwaves 45 years ago? Broadcast for the first time on Wednesday, August 24, 1977, at 4.45pm across the whole ITV network, the Daily Mirror's listings section provided the briefest of descriptions of the inaugural episode, "Round One - a new series about youngsters on a paper round".
Charting the adventures of a group of teenage news deliverers on Tyneside, the show was largely shot on location, mainly in Gateshead, and there were two series made - the second screening in 1979 - each with seven episodes. The show was described by Tyne Tees as “a nice, lively blend of excitement, drama and humour, and definitely for all ages”.
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The theme tune, Back Home Once Again, was performed by the progressive rock band Renaissance who would also enjoy a big top-10 hit with Northern Lights in 1978. Used in the show's titles sequence, the track accompanied film showing 'Dead Man's Arch' in Bensham, Gateshead. Just on the far side of the arch is Elysium Lane. You can also just see the top of Bensham Court flats in the background. The railway embankment off Saltwell Road makes an appearance, as does the rear of Rawling Road. The end shot shows Byker in Newcastle's East End.
Times change, of course, and in an age when so many of us now consume the news online, there are far fewer 'paper lads' today than there were before the dawn of the digital era. Back then, the series struck a chord with the countless thousands of youngsters - myself included - who lumped a big bag of newspapers around the streets, often before and after school, delivering door-to-door.
Well-known character actor Glynn Edwards, who had appeared in the cult Geordie gangster flick Get Carter, played former policeman-turned-newsagent, Jack Crawford. Edwards would famously go on to play Dave, the barman at the Winchester Club in the smash TV hit Minder.
But the stars, such as they were, of The Paper Lads were four local lads - and one lass. Alongside Judith Pyle from Seaton Delaval, the Chronicle reported, were Gavin Kitchen from Walkerdene, Peter Younger of Heaton, Andrew Edwards who went to Benfield Comprehensive School, and Tony Neilson. Tony would also appear with the Live Theatre and Northern Stage in Newcastle, and on BBC’s Grange Hill
The scripts were written by County Durham-born actor Ian Cullen, who was well known for playing Joe Skinner in the iconic BBC police drama Z-Cars. In addition, two novels by William Humble based on the series were released by Target Books.
Andrew Corlett, one of the show’s writers, would win an award for children’s television writer of the year. He told the Chronicle at the time: “The characters were so strong and the Tyneside location so exciting that the scenes almost wrote themselves. I was lucky having such marvellous actors breathing life into the words.”
For those who might want to revisit the lost world of The Paper Lads, both series are available on one DVD and there are some episodes on YouTube, reminding us how much has changed since 1977.
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