I’m not sure why, but I find myself obsessed/fascinated by these little British films depicting London in the 1970s (films such as this one and a few having to do with council houses and tower blocks/brutal architecture). I’m American and have visited the UK a few times, but have no connection to this stuff. Makes me wish I had been from there. Anyway, cheers...thanks a lot.🇬🇧🇺🇸
me too and yet i live in New Zealand. The tenement housing in particular/wash houses are brilliant.Hearty people back then,now the world is full of snow flakes.
Hey Guys i live in one of those old parts of london and i research the history of the architecture ,history and insane growth of the city which caused so much of the problems. Thinking of starting a channel
Than goodness someone was taking the trouble to film around this area, that at the time, was a largely forgotten part of East London, so that people of later generations have a permanent reference by which to compare the changes of the modern era, I recognize quiet a few faces in this film, one of whom I still see, good work.
when was 14 I started work on a stall in brick lane..40yrs later im still there..love the east end..not the same but still love it..Good little film put together nicely..well done .:)
+hackneysman Hi , im interested by your comment as I'm doing a research project about brick lane - would you be available to answer some questions ? thanks :)
Spent nearly 10 years working in the Old Spitalfields Market from 2009 to about 2018. Great memories here with my Mum while working here. Glad I came across this video. 1970s and 2000s, what a difference in time. Nostalgic.
My Grandmother had a store called Lee's Electrical at 77 Brick Lane. It was near Joe Rothmans sweet shop and almost kitty corner to hanbury street. I spent many a weekend there and much of my summers from 1969-1977. She passed away in 1985, the store was taken over by my uncle and then lost the lease due to modifications to the façade that were outside the scope of agreement. It then became a clothing store and is now Curry bizarre. On a side note, the central line runs under the north west portion of the store and you can hear it when it travels underneath.
Remember it well, we bought our first radio there. The piece of crap lasted all of three weeks. Good job we stopped making goods over here. I think they realised the Germans and Japanese were light years ahead of us.
There's no truer saying in this world that, "nothing stays the same forever". Market traders that once sold apples and pears have now been replaced by market traders that sell stocks, shares, futures and other complexed financial contracts and investment vehicles. In my humble opinion the East End has not changed for the better. Much of their crime is driven by locals that seen immense wealth pour into the area, but have no access to it.
Well, to tell the truth, urban regeneration is a necessity for every area in everyday life, otherwise the entire country would fall into decay. You only have to watch documentaries about Victorian slums to realise this.
I was a police officer at Leman Street at the time of the making of this film and remember all the places very well. I spent a lot of time around Spitalfields (including the market hours pub off night duty !) and nicking the pickpockets and unlicenced street trader in Petticoat lane before joining the CID and moving onto Limehouse and Bow Road. It was a fantastic place to work as a police officer there and I experienced more in a week than some people experience in a lifetime. As the News of the world used to say "All human life is here". Ignore all the stupid comments about the politics and the commentary as most are ill judged, racist or just plain irrelevant and enjoy the film for what it is: A look into the past at a area changed forever. Full marks to the film maker for capturing a slice of history.
ROY TYZACK but why is it changed forever and has it changed for the better? i dont think so. more n more natives are being pushed out of these areas i dont think its racist to want to be surrounded by your own people as the guy above me said.
and if you told the bloke who made this that some idiot would open a cafe selling bowls of breakfast cereal for £3 a bowl, his jaw would have dropped and he too would have shook his head in dismay
I used to get the bus to Shoreditch in 1971/2. When I was about 11 I used to love club row and all the markets, I never had any grief it was an amazing place, it was full of Teddy boys and I remember when the punk scene filtered into the area and the Ted's and punks would row generally chasing each other through the lanes, I can even remember the skinhead punk shop the last resort in Brick lane, many years later I was with a mate sitting in a pub called the foundry it was freezing, Camden had become stale my mate was saying this place is going to take off, I wasn't convinced within 3 to 4 year's it was brilliant then soon after that all the would be cool crowd came along and fucked it, now it's full of knobs and suits oh well...
I was born in grosvenor buildings next to the blackwall tunnel poplar tower hamlets up to eleven years old , best years of my life ps my good ole nan had a greengrocers in St. Leonard's rd poplar bless, all gone now , different world !
Life does seem better when you look back to your youth anyway.. I remember the 70s seeming a bit grey and grimey ,but life in general was happier,and people got out more...especially kids,,stuck in the house glued to the web today..
@Houston's mccaine London has become a playground for the rich. Look how boring it's become, all the districts are starting to look identical with the coffee shops and vintage boutiques.
@Matty Kumar The developers don't really come into it, around hipster (hackney) central there's not an awful lot of developers, it's property owners realising they can charge more for the rent on their flats, those without jobs cannot afford it.
This is fascinating, seeing the tramps and makeshift prefab homes, at least many of the Victorian streets were still the same back then, now it's unrecognisable. Thanks for capturing the grim side of the 70s, not many go to these places... great film... please check out my East End footage from 1988.
I can see why it won an award, interesting subject with a half sensible commentary, it's a bit like common sense, it's not so common now, thanks for the video.
I grew up in Wales and have recently been tracing my ancestors. My maternal and paternal grandfathers and their descendants all came from: Wapping, Whitechapel, Bow, Mile End Old Town, Bethnal Green, Stepney.. as far back as the 1700s. I guess that makes me a bit of a Cockney since I've always loved the East End with or without all its problems...
You have to have been born within the sound of the Bow bells to qualify, that rules out Welshmen but rules in everybody born in Bangla Town (Brick lane area).
Well remember the animal market, sad sight of the shivering puppies and tortosies piled in to a large sack, and the fast talking sales men tossing plates in the air-------different world.
Back in the days when the working poor could afford go to the pub on the Friday with your workmates,get the fish and chips, play rent or mortgage. You didn't need universal credit for help towards your rent because your pay is to low like nowadays.
I wonder if the pay was low or if people lived to their means and didn't have houses full of crap they didn't need? No mobile phones, not many houses had a tv or a washing machine. People had what they had and made the most of it
Truthbtold Wright I agree with your comment .The working class had better wages and working conditions in the 1970s.When I tell the younger people that I work with they think I’m mad.
Hi James - I'm working on a film which includes a section about Brick Lane and am hoping you might allow us to use a small portion of your 'Around Brick Lane OK' film in our own? The footage is brilliant and we think would work perfectly in our film. Would be great to hear back from you either way. Best wishes. Robin.
Dear James, I wonder if you have a contact address I can get you on to talk about this and your collection? Beautiful stuff! I'm an archivist/researcher based in Sheffield.
I was squatting at Longfellow Rd at this time. Does anyone have any film or photos of the street. It was a well organized squat with a cooperative shop and street parties.
Are the Great Eastern building's you refer to the one's in QUAKER St E1 ? if it is I knew them well in the 1960's, it's all change round there now. year's ago, people who lived there dreamed of getting out of the area, now all the young professionals dream of moving into the area ! ! how time's change.
If I remember correctly, spiritofadversity, the jubilee (in all probability, the Queen's Silver Jubilee) was in 1977, not in 1976, so the washing line should have come before the jubilee bunting, not after.
Hi James, I hope you are well. We are making a short film about London in 1976 and I wonder if we could access a short clip from your lovely film? Do please let me know as soon as you can. Thank you, Ed
Thanks for putting this on, i lived around there a few years back and my Sister still does. Many changes since then.Can you confirm it is 1976 though??, as you mentioned jubilee bunting??
I have been looking for a show for years. it was either man alive or world in action. done in mid 1970s. it was about alternative schools for truants in the east end. is there anyone who can help me. I would really appreciate it.
It still is. If you don't think it is maybe you should clear off to Spain or some other European fishing village you traitors go to. Expats are the worst scroungers, they leave here, spend all their cash in Spanish bars getting pissed up on Sangria for years on end then when they break their hip they suddenly love Britain again and come back to use the NHS they haven't paid any tax towards for years and years. I can't stand my own people running down my country.
@Mick Burns I'm 100% English and my family can trace themselves back to King Alfred times. Britain is not a shit hole and it never will be. No where have I said I agree with mass immigration unchecked, all I'm saying is I get fed uo with people like you running our country down. Go and live somewhere else no one's forcing you to stay here. Break a leg in American and then try to use a hospital. As for '4 million Romanians' being here that's utter bullshit. Do let us know what program it was you saw this on.. you know you can't believe everything you see on tv or read in the papers right?
@Mick Burns Yeah and I've watched people on the council estate where I grew up fake disability, claim dole and then work cash in hand what's your point? Are you saying its better if our own people rip us off??
it was commented by WheelieMacBin 6 months ago ' The place always was a toilet.' Many £million pound homes in the toilet now. I have a flat in the area. Very good film.
Hi James, I am making a short piece about Brick Lane for the BBC and would love your permission to use a short clip from your stunning film. Please get back to me as soon as you can! Thank you. LW
+Lyndsey Woods Hello. I hope my reply is not too late! Indeed, I would be most honoured to allow you full access to my film. I have spent some recent years writing my autobiography and could send you an excerpt from the chapter where I give information about the film's success in my local Cine Club competiton. It was featured in a BBC program called "It's Your Image".
+Lyndsey Woods Sorry about any confusion. My last message was sent using my friend Tim's computer. The content of that text does follow my wishes. I'm now 89 years old and he leads my ventures on the internet. Kind regards. Jim
Hey, I've tried to get in contact with you through google, is there any chance you could drop me a message through my profile please? regarding a documentary being made
There was a long build-up to the Jubilee - as schoolchildren we started learning patriotic songs in 1976 in readiness for the following year's celebrations.
There were a couple of Fat Brass that used to work the Corner of Fleur de lis street and commercial street. They would wave as I’d drive past. All the cabbies knew them!
Isn't it interesting to see zero burkhas/niqabs on the women compared to today's brick lane. haven't they integrated well to our society over the years... not.
oh piss off. Can't we watch a really interesting slice of history without one of you boring old sods bringing in some kind of sarky comment? I came here to watch some British history not attend a EDL rally. You need to get out more.
I agree. I live in Tower Hamlets and I've noticed the ladies in this and other vintage footage look more Indian, pretty saris, not the black coverings and plain headscarves that are popular now
@@rickknight3823 Canada 🇨🇦! 43 great years...retired at the west coast. Lots of flying and travelling. Went back to visit family in the UK numerous times but never regretted emigrating to Canada.😎👍
Brian 8chison sounds like you've led a charmed life out there! I was born in 77 so the UK improved a bit in terms of prosperity while I was growing up. It's still changed beyond all recognition with so much immigration. Especially London where I was born and raised. I hear Canada is suffering the same fate although you have more space to escape the effects. Your virtue signaling PM Justin T must wind s lot of people up. Utter sell out by the looks of it.
Great to shop there like London city,lots of fine casinoes that meet first visit rules,lots of good betting bookmakers and lots of good fruit machines amusements shops
So im assuming u dont like the fact that in many boroughs in London theres not much whites left? Well guess what thats exactly how the native Americans and Aborginals felt when the English invaded them.
If people are complaining about immigration in London ,London is not the problem it's the other UK cities like Birmingham Manchester Liverpool and Leeds the locals are highly racist in those cities and segregated go into thier cities and see how segregated people area and areas .
@@harleyhartley3168 Got to agree with you. I'm British but I'm getting sick of hearing our own people continually running our own country down. If they don't like it here anymore then they should piss off to Costa Del Crime where the rest of them are. Funny how they always manage to fly back to get a hip operation on the NHS after living away for years in the sun getting blotto on Sangria and not contributing to any taxes here.
nudisco300 YES that’s literally my grandparents, they literally spend 90% of the year in Madeira but still manage to complain about British diversity wow typical
was shock to see vat dog uranating in the street at 3 mins 48. incredeble 2 think they still av'ent leaned anyfing and r still doing all vat dirty stuff!
