Was it really all those years ago?
DOESN’T time fly when you’re enjoying yourself.
We’ve been looking back at some of the most important moments in the North East and wondering where the time went.
It might seem like yesterday but the reality is that we’re all getting older.
Take a trip down Memory Lane with our selection of pictures from the 1990s that are guaranteed to make you feel old. BLOOMING HECK, WAS IT THAT LONG AGO? The Gateshead Garden Festival took place in 1990 as the fourth of the UK’s five giant flower festivals.
There was a monorail between two of the four individual sites and a narrow gauge steam railway at Dunston.
Two hundred acres of derelict land was revitalised for the project which is said to have kick-started Gateshead’s rebirth. The site is now covered in housing rather than hydrangea. REMEMBER WHEN THE ANGEL FIRST TOOK FLIGHT? The Angel of the North has winged its way into our hearts as a modern image of Tyneside but it’s not all that new any more. The sculpture by Antony Gormley was completed in 1998, making it 19 years old, but it is still impressive after all these years.
WHEN ROVERS RETURN.
We all love Denise Welch but how many years is it since she pulled pints behind the bar in Coronation Street?
Denise played landlady Natalie Barnes from 1997 as a femme fatale who seduced Kevin Webster.
But she went on to become a popular landlady at the Rovers. GREAT NORTH NOSTALGIA By the 1990s the Great North Run was in full stride.
Athletics fans will remember it was a decade in which one man won the race four times.
Kenya’s Benson Masya won the half-marathon in 1991, 1992, 1994 and 1996.
Sadly, he died in 2003 at the age of 33 after an illness.
ON THE RIGHT TRACK
The 90s were when Metroland was at the height of its popularity.
It was a fully-enclosed theme park with a roller coaster, ferris wheel, pirate ship and a miniature railway among the attractions.
How many of us left the kids there while we explored the shops?
Sadly, it’s not there any more despite a lot of opposition to the closure plans.
WAS HE REALLY THAT YOUNG?
It was in 1997 that a fresh-faced Tony Blair, MP for Sedgefield, became Prime Minister after Labour won that year’s general election.
It’s hard to remember how his schoolboy charm captivated so many people at the time.
A lot of water has passed under the bridge since this picture was taken.
REMEMBER KK’S FIRST TERM IN CHARGE?
The early to mid-90s were the years that Newcastle United were dubbed “The Entertainers” under Kevin Keegan’s first spell as manager when attacking play brought out the best in his players.
It was the time of David Ginola, Les Ferdinand and Alan Shearer, who was signed in 1996 for a then world record fee of £15 million.
Our picture shows Special K at a 3-0 victory over Coventry at St James’ Park in 1995.
DO YOU REMEMBER DANIEL CRAIG’S BREAKTHROUGH ROLE?
Before 007, Daniel Craig was an relatively unknown actor who won a part in Our Friends in the North as George “Geordie” Peacock.
The flowing locks might not be recognisable today, replaced by a hairstyle more suited to a spy, but the role gave him a head start in his acting career.
The 1996 BBC drama followed the lives of four pals from Newcastle through the ups and downs of life.
There were only nine episodes but the series was influential and was praised for its ambition and scope.
WHAT HAPPENED WITH STING IN THE 1990S?
The Geordie star had already split from The Police in the 80s but it was the following decade that saw his solo career soar with the release of The Soul Cages at the beginning of the decade and Brand New Day at the end.
On a personal level it was in 1992 that he married actress Trudi Styler.
The couple are pictured at the 2000 wedding of Madonna.
THE ROKER ROAR WAS NO MORE
It was in 1997 that Sunderland left their old home Roker Park for the more modern Stadium of Light.
Roker had been the club’s home for 99 years but was replaced by what was, at the time, the biggest new stadium built in England since World War II.