The rise and fall of the Newcastle civic offices
GRAHAM BEBBINGTON RECALLS HIS TIME WORKING AT THE NEWCASTLE CIVIC OFFICES AS DEMOLITION AT THE
ON taking early retirement from Newcastle Borough Council in 1993, I was presented with, amongst other things, a cartoon depicting myself standing in front of a collapsed civic offices building.
In this I am seen to be addressing a police officer and the caption reads: “They said the place wouldfall down whenever I left – I had nothing to do with it!”
Needless to say, the cartoon by fonner colleague Ken Gavin (Gav) is a much treasured item.
However, I never considered that the building which had been a ‘second home’ to myself and my colleagues for almost 30 years, would actually be demolished in my lifetime!
In 1964, when I joined the admin section of the Borough Engineer and Surveyor’s Department, then based in Lancaster Building, the Civic Offices in Merrial Street had not even been built.
I parked on that site when I attended for interview!
I felt saddened when recently watching its demolition in progress.
I’m certainly aware that a number of former colleagues share this view and even some members of the public.
Also, to hear comments from certain officials that the substantial building was ‘no longer fit for purpose’ I find difficult to comprehend.
Designed by Bradshaw, Gass & Hope, of Bolton, and completed in 1967, it attracted the attention of officials from other local authorities from a wide area and they were given conducted tours of the building.
I presume that this was possibly on account of the erection of a modem civic building at the time being a rare event.
The Borough Engineer and Surveyor’s Department and the Borough Treasurer’s Computer Suite were the first to relocate to the Merrial Street building.
Over the next few months the authority’s other departments followed – Education, Housing, Health, Parks and Cemeteries, Weights and Measures, and the remainder ofthe Treasurer’s staff.
Personally, I found the Merrial Street building an excellent, comfortable place in which to work.
Perhaps sounding a little oldfashioned, I also found working in public service a form of vocation and serving the borough was something I regarded as an honour – not purely a job.
I am certainly aware that certain former colleagues share that view.
Coupled with this, I count myself most fortunate to have been guided by some excellent ‘mentors’ while employed in my early days at the authority and some exceptional, professionally qualified colleagues.
I am in no doubt that this aided my election as a Fellow of the Institute of Administrative Management prior to retirement, in recognition of ‘distinction in the administrative service’.
On retirement I was Mayor’s Secretary and Senior Committee Clerk.
In 1973 historian John Briggs of Keele University wrote in his specially commissioned octocentenary history of Newcastle that ‘there is no doubt that the civic offices in Merrial Street will remain for many years the place – where most decisions governing the community life are taken.’
It will therefore be interesting to see how long the replacement civic building in Barracks Road lasts!
BUNTING, street parties and punk rock. The Sex Pistols marked the Silver Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth in 1977 with the release of their anti-authority hit God Save The Queen... and the BBC promptly banned it.
Their colourful manager Malcolm Mclaren once advised: “Be childish. Be irresponsible. Be disrespectful. Be everything this society hates.”
Stores like WH Smith and Woolworths also refused to sell the single which shocked parents nationwide with singer Johnny “Rotten” Lydon screaming out the refrain “No future, no future, no future for you”.
The controversial record still reached number two in the UK singles chart despite the lack of airplay and it is the only time in chart history that a track was listed with a blank title to avoid offence.
The subversive take on the national anthem was kept from the top spot by Rod Stewart’s far more sedate – and in the circumstances somewhat ironic – I Don’t Want To Talk About It.
To combat the media blackout the band promoted the record on their own jubilee boat trip along the Thames which ended in their arrest when they tried to play the track on the River Thames outside Westminster Palace.
The promotional stunt by Malcolm Mclaren was described as an attempt to circumvent a “ban” by playing on the river instead of setting foot on ground, but the performance never took place as they were thwarted by the authorities.
The furore saw the group dropped by their record label A&M and the band released the single through Virgin after signing a new deal. This prompted the destruction of 25,000 unreleased copies of the song. Only a handful of copies of the original A&M pressings remain, with one selling for £13,000 in 2019. The punk rock anthem has now been re-issued 45 years later to mark the Queen’s upcoming Platinum Jubilee with 4,000 copies being re-released through Virgin, and 1,977 copies of the rare A&M version also being made available. The band were described in newspapers as “the group you love to hate” after they swore live on TV during an interview with Bill Grundy. They also tried to pour a bottle of whisky over the heads of newspaper photographers at a press conference to sign a new recording contract outside
Buckingham Palace in 1977. Sid Vicious was present, having replaced Glen Matlock. Sid died at the age of 21 in 1979.
John Lydon has said he is always surprised that people are shocked by what he does. “I just said it as I feel it and see it and understand it, and that is about it really,” he said. “I don’t involve any personal agendas so my motivation would never be to shock.”
When God Save The Queen was released, the monarch was 51. The year 1977 also saw Star Wars breaking cinema box office records, the death of Elvis Presley and Red Rum winning the Grand National for a record third time.
Queen Elizabeth’s first jubilee saw her travel 56,000 miles visiting 36 countries in more than 10 weeks to mark her 25 years on the throne. Street parties were held across the country and beacons were lit in her honour.
The Union Jacks flew, but the Sex Pistols T-shirt was also seen widely across the country as it was snapped up by young punks.
Trainspotting and Slumdog Millionaire director Danny Boyle’s new six-part TV series about the Sex Pistols also starts on Disney+ on May 31. Pistol is based on guitarist Steve Jones’ memoir, Lonely
Boy: Tales From A Sex Pistol and features Thomas Brodie-sangster as Malcolm Mclaren and Game Of Thrones star Maisie Williams as punk model Jordan.
Steve Jones is played by Toby Wallace, John Lydon by Anson Boon and Louis Partridge is bassist Sid Vicious. Talulah Riley, best known for roles in St Trinian’s and Westworld, portrays punk fashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood.
Last year the members of the Sex Pistols were embroiled in a High Court legal battle over the punk band’s songs being used in the television series and ex-drummer Paul Cook and guitarist Steve Jones successfully sued John Lydon to allow their music to be used in the TV drama.
Pistol will explore the rise of the punk band and Danny Boyle says: “Imagine breaking into the world of The Crown and Downton Abbey with your mates and screaming your songs and your fury at all they represent. This is the moment British society and culture changed forever.
“It is the detonation point for British street culture… where ordinary young people had the stage and vented their fury and their fashion, and everyone had to watch and listen, and everyone feared them or followed them. The Sex Pistols.”
QUEEN 45 YEARS AFTER ITS CREATORS SHOCKED THE UK
Be irresponsible. Be disrespectful. Be everything this society hates.” Malcolm Mclaren’s credo