The early 1970s - and there was growing alarm around the country about the rising tide of casual violence on the streets of Britain's towns and inner cities.
It was the era of Crombie-wearing, Doctor Marten-booted, reggae-loving skinhead gangs, marking their well-defended territories out with graffiti tags and enjoying nothing better than a scrap with a rival gang. Here on Tyneside, the pages of the Evening Chronicle carried regular stories of trouble erupting between gangs of youths around the region.
Over at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park, where the often edgy atmosphere was utterly different to today’s matchday experience, the gangs would congregate in the long-demolished Leazes End causing all sorts of mayhem.
READ MORE: Step back to Butlin's Filey in 1972
Fifty years on, it's perhaps an interesting piece of social history, but for those caught up in trouble at the time, it could be a terrifying experience. In July 1971, the Chronicle went as far as devoting most of one front page to the issue.
We told how police had scattered 100 skinheads who turned up at a funfair in West Street, Gateshead; another mob of 40 had caused problems outside Tyne Tees TV studios on Newcastle's City Road; Newbiggin Hall was said to be "the scene of rioting"; and numerous arrests had taken place around Newcastle after a spate of incidents. And all this in the space of a few days.
What on earth was going on? Focusing specifically on Newcastle, our page-one piece under the headline 'Aggro Boys: Who rules and why?' attempted to explain the "bovver boy" phenomenon. "During the last nine months," we reported, "Newcastle has been systematically carved up into four jealously-guarded territories, each ruled over by skinhead gangs".
The gangs were made up of lads between 13 and 16, while their leader, who was usually a little bit older, acted as a 'general' or 'diplomat' when dealing with other groups. A gang's motivation, one 15-year-old member told us, was simply to prove it was better the other gang. Territorial rights, meanwhile, were seen to be even more important to the gang than any rivalries with their traditional foes, 'the hairies'.
So, who were the four main Newcastle skinhead gangs? The Big Lamp Aggro Boys - or BLAB - we noted, originated in the Westgate Hill area of the city "but their influence has become so strong, smaller groups from the East End have aligned themselves with the gang".
The Newbiggin Hall gang "has its headquarters on the vast housing estate on Newcastle's boundaries. It is more than 150-stong and is often involved in border skirmishes".
At Blakelaw, there was a large gang "controlling" Montagu Estate. "Members claim they do not go outside the area looking for fights, although they will defend themselves against outside raiders".
And finally, there were the Scotswood Aggro Boys, "or SAB as they spray on almost every building on their patch. They control the Scotswood area bordered by the River Tyne and the West Road".
In 1971, The Scotswood Aggro Boys had also featured in a locally-produced BBC documentary called All Dressed Up And Going Nowhere. It was filmed in Newcastle and recorded their conflicts with a rival gang of motorbike-driving ‘hairies’.
Amid graffiti-scarred streets, we see the skinheads on the prowl, young lads tearing down the back lanes of old Benwell on home-made ‘bogies’, and Dunston Power Station pumping out smoke across the Tyne. The film, narrated by a young Mike Neville was out of circulation for years, but popped up on YouTube a while back. It’s the portrait of an often vanished city, and it’s well worth a watch.
Years later, in 2013, the BBC revisited All Dressed Up And Going Nowhere (again this follow-up can be viewed on YouTube) and caught up with some of the lads - now grandparents in their 60s.
