Community

Dayne Henderson is an underground fashion designer from North Shields, creating avant-garde latex couture. From Lady Gaga’s world tour to fetish club catwalks, Henderson’s work blends industrial aesthetics with deep personal storytelling.

When my late mother, Veronica, answered an Amber Films advert in the 1980s, she never imagined how much those North Shields singalongs would change her life. From the smoky nights of the New Clarendon pub to cassette recordings capturing forgotten songs, characters, and the warmth of Shields community spirit, this story revisits a lost world. Featuring connections to Amber’s iconic dramas like Shields Stories and In Fading Light, and even a German film crew’s visit, the tapes reveal both laughter and poignancy. As I press play nearly forty years later, voices rise again — reminding us of a time when everyday folk filled local pubs with music, humour, and camaraderie. This is more than history: it’s a community memory waiting to be rediscovered.

A new specialist electronic music label, Kryptic Communications, is due to launch in North Shields in October. Kryptic Communications will be focusing on vinyl releases,...

By Dean Jolly Long shadows cast by seagulls on the quayUpon the walls of the old brick factory.Inside, a blackbird's eyes adjust to seeThrough a...

Looking for Harmony. A poem by Jeannie Fraser When I first came to choirI made my 13 year old daughter come with meFor protectionChoir was...

John Caffery

By Caroline Oswald Most people are aware that the former Cosalt factory on the Fish Quay has now been transformed into an entertainment venue, housing...

I’m writing this exactly seven months to the day that I had my brain haemorrhage caused by a ruptured aneurysm, as we approach world...

By Noreen Rees Loneliness and isolation is very much a problem of today. A local charity, MHA Communities is resolved to address this. The organisation...

By Geoff Holland -Bob Sargeant musician and record producer, Bob, whose granddad was involved in the local fish industry, was born in North Shields in...