Our 1970s view of West Street, Gateshead, looking North towards the Tyne Bridge and Newcastle city centre will surely evoke a strong feeling of nostalgia in anyone who remembers it?
Fifty years later, the location is much-transformed and there's no trace of the famous department store we see standing on the right of our photograph. Shephards of Gateshead was a firm favourite for decades and countless thousands of shoppers entered its doors enticed by the retail delights.
The store even had its own catchy TV advert jingle which helped attract people from all over Tyneside: “Shephards of Gateshead, the biggest and the best store/ Shephards of Gateshead have what you’re looking for/ There’s so much to see, and the car park is free/ Come shopping at Shephards for the whole family.”
