It was June 1972, the era of the Doctor Marten-wearing, reggae-loving skinhead, and the Scotswood Aggro Boys were out and about in Newcastle.
The early 1970s saw youth gangs emerge in the towns of suburban Tyneside and the wider North East. They would fight rival mobs, marking their territories out with graffiti tags. Of all the Newcastle teenage gangs 50 years ago, the lads from Scotswood were probably the most well-known on the streets.
In an article from the time attempting to explain the 'skinhead phenomenon' to its readers, the Chronicle listed the four main groups in the city. We reported how the 300-strong Scotswood Aggro Boys spray-painted their marker 'SAB' on almost every building on their patch "and controlled the Scotswood area bordered by the River Tyne and the West Road."
