A TELEVISION documentary which painted an abysmal picture of Sunderland may discourage industrialists from moving to the town. It probably frightened off Argentinian soccer star Alex Sabella and it could spark a huge migration of youngsters.
So says Tory councillor Joseph Landau, who condemned last week’s BBC-2 Brass Tacks programme as one-sided and unbalanced.
Continue reading Tory councillor lashes BBCWith unemployment running at twice the national average, and further redundancies in the shipyards, the age of leisure has come early for many of Sunderland’s youngsters.
Michael is 16, on the dole, and buying a £300 guitar on HP. His recently-formed group – The Rejected – is receiving encouragement from the local community theatre, which also faces redundancies as government cutbacks begin to bite.
Continue reading Are The Kids Alright? Brass Tacks, BBC2 (1979)In Sunderland the problems of youth unemployment are writ large. There are 40 percent fewer small businesses than the national average. The shipyards and coalmines are threatened with closure. Dole queues and boredom are the lot of many youngsters in the area.
In Are the Kids All Right? BRASS TACKS (BBC-2, 8.5) talks to the young unemployed of Sunderland including Michael, a 16-year-old whose dreams of making it are all centred on his £300 guitar and his new band, The Rejected.
Continue reading Plight of the youngstersA SIXTEEN-YEAR-OLD who’s on the dole and whose dream of making something of his life centres on a £300 guitar is one of the most interesting characters in tonight’s Brass Tacks film (BBC-2, 8.10).
Although the film is about Sunderland, much of what it has to say about youth unemployment and bored youngsters could just as well apply to Liverpool.
Continue reading NO JOB, JUST A £300 GUITARThe youth of Sunderland is being thrown on the scrap heap. Unemployment has sapped their energy, they are shattered and just hanging about miserable.
That is the picture gained by a BBC film crew which they will pass on to the nation via “Brass Tacks – Are the Kids All Right?” (BBC-2, Thursday, 8.05 pm).
A New-Wave group called The Rejected is featured heavily and programme researcher Ian McNulty said the lads in it were the only positive youngsters they met among the unemployed.
Continue reading Kids on the scrap heap
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