In the mid 1990s Britain carried out an interesting social experiment to see if taking a children from a chaotic and poverty-ridden childhood in some of most deprived parts of the North, giving them a dehumanising nickname, making them some kind of weird celebrity, and repeatedly publicly condemning in the hope that would stop their offending behaviour.
Rat boy. Spider boy. Worm boy. Boomerang boy. Balaclava boy. The singing defective. Who were they? And what became of them? Did widespread national condemnation work?
Spoiler alert: It didn’t work.
But this is a time when the government literally wanted the justice system to, and this is a quote from the Prime Minister “understand less and condemn more”
And it’s the story of a region too, and by that I mean, this is what they thought of us back then.
DID SOMEONE SAY LISTENER OFFER! LISTEN TO FIND OUT HOW YOU CAN GET 20% OF A SPIRIT SEEKERS GHOST HUNT NEAR YOU!*
It’s 1996! Jarvis Cocker wiggles his bum and then gets beaten up by a man dressed as Buddha! Chas Chandler dies – but not before he’d helped Jimi Hendrix busk near Byker (but not near Byker Grove)! Babylon Zoo spend more time at number one than Liz Truss did at number 10 (or did they?)
John creatively fills that fiscal black hole we’ve heard so much about. Gareth introduces Claire to Mr Pinkwhistle. Roy of the Rovers gets seriously weird.
Who are your bewildering local heroes? People like Lord Latif or the guy from Durham who looks like Mario? Is he a lecturer at the university or did John dream that?
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Our theme music is performed and written by The Way Out, was it not? Usually though, it’s “Steady Away” by Pete Dilley and can be found on his album Half-truths and Hearsay which you can/should buy/stream here because he’s got a kid on the way and kids need shoes.
https://petedilley.bandcamp.com/album/half-truths-and-hearsay
It’s me. Hi. I’m the problem, it’s me.
*As long as you live in Sunderland.