40 Years Ago Part 3

[Herbert Anchovy]

Summer of 1983 and me and my pal Paul were fully settled in London. We were moving from one building site to the next in the East End where, as quickly as we were knocking down 100 year old warehouses, new plush apartments were taking there place. The rate of growth was unbelievable and things were changing drastically around there. We shared a flat just off the Roman Road in East London which then was still a bit of a dodgy area but, as long as you kept your head down, you tended to be ok. You did get the odd moment of trouble though. We were once sat in a pub when a group of smartly suited blokes walked in. Without a word they walked behind the bar and began to smash all of the optics and glasses with hammers and bats without saying a single word. Everyone in the pub literally put their heads down and acted like nothing was going on! Once they'd left the young lad behind the bar grabbed his coat and walked out!

We both still came back to Donny every second weekend or so, to eat proper food and get our clothes washed! It was around this point though where I started to feel a little uncomfortable at times returning home. Many of our mates were either on the dole or in poorly paid dead end jobs whilst we would meet them on a night out with plenty of cash in our pockets. I'd often feel guilty and would try and tempt some of them to join us in London, tempting them with tales of plenty of work and cash, but I guess it was easier said than done if you're not that way inclined. They were tough times for a lot of people. When we went back to Donny I'd go out to the local boozers with my old man on a Friday night and then town with the lads on a Saturday night. Pubs like the Nags Head, Nelsons, Camelots and Magdalen were regular haunts followed by either Rotters or Romeo and Juliets! I do recall seeing some of the younger Rovers players out in town regularly on a Saturday night...young Snods, Glen Humphries, Daryl Pugh etc...

On the Rovers front, Billy Bremner was gradually building a team that would get us promoted just behind a fantastic York City team that forthcoming season via a blend of experienced players and younger talent. That was a great season to follow the team!

Going to gigs was a big plus of living in London at the time. Around this period we saw acts like Big Country, The Smiths, The Alarm, The Stranglers, Madness and Genesis. The only downside to this was that, in those days, you'd regularly get trouble at gigs. We saw some real aggro at a few gigs that was almost as bad as the football.

Being young fellas, Paul and I would often go for a few beers after work, usually local but at weekends we'd head into town. It was during one of these nights out that we met 2 lassies in particular that I still remember all these years later, in a club somewhere. In my head now they looked like Bananarama but in reality they probably looked like the Banana Splits! At the end of the night we asked them if they wanted to meet up again the following weekend and they told us to meet them at their work (they worked together) at 1:00pm the next Friday. We thought this was a bit odd, but nevertheless we agreed. Come the following week, we left work early, went home to changed and caught the tube to the address that they'd given to us which was close to Lancaster Gate. When we arrived and found their office we hung around outside for a while like a couple of spare pricks. Eventually they came outside and invited us into the office where we found the mother of all parties, to an 18 year old anyway, just starting. As it happened, they worked in Finance or something and every Friday they would clock of lunchtime and get absolutely pissed on shampoo in the office before heading for a night out! We walked in looking like a couple of extras from a C&A advert whilst all these very wealthy and very well dressed people were getting cained! Unbeknown to us, we'd just discovered Yuppies!! With music blasting out and free booze being handed around we had a fabulous afternoon! When the office closed we all left for a meal before going to various pubs and clubs all paid for by the company. In my head, I seem to recall this being the first time that I saw people openly using cocaine too, but I may have just invented that in my head. It didn't occur to me at the time but the difference between what I was seeing here and what I was seeing in Donny was huge. These people were literally lighting cigars with twenty pound notes whilst my pals back home weren't collecting that much in a week. I have to say though, it didn't stop us enjoying ourselves. These were the classic money people of the 80's - sharp suits, sports cars and plenty of brass. I'm sure that more than a few of them are dead by now. They certainly lived hard and played hard.

The strange thing was though, we never saw these girls again. We didn't take their numbers and we even 'accidentally' hung around outside their offices once but didn't catch them. Wonder where they are now? It's strange how people flit in and out of your life isn't it?

[Dagenham Rover]

Around that time and into the  early 90's I  worked in Wapping before it became "posh"   for what was a well known security company driving armoured vans armed robberies were so common we used to take the p out of each other "hey up you aint been turned over for a few weeks must be your turn today and the such. Managed 3 shotguns up my nose working there

 We used to frequent the Three Swedish Crowns (long gone) on Wapping Lane  the "Unknown SuperStar " used to  drink in the swedes and perform quite regularly his rendition of Delilah was something to behold especially when he'd had a couple  he appeared on X Factor and never let us forget it     or occasionally Turners Old Star over the way quite a nice boozer now but then formica topped tables and mismatched kitchen chairs, or if we decided to cause havoc with the yuppies round to the Town of Ramsgate.
Met the Missis who lived in Barking on the Thamesview estate (a nice estate ....not)  when it got serious the Brother in Law to be took me round all the local boozers introduced me to all the villains and gangsters and I dont mean wannabes these were real!! said He might talk funny but hes family Del Boy had nowt on Dennis and from then on I could pop in for a pint in nearly all the boozers in Barking and Dagenham and be left alone no hassle at all

 https://www.echo-news.co.uk/news/local_news/1240041.unknown-superstar-bows-out/
I'll try and find a youtube job of him singing Delilah

Great Memories  Roman Road was another interesting area as you said

East London was a terrific place then


Not the one i was looking for but watch it through to the judges comments Stan Boardman and Melvyn Hayes     https://youtu.be/sY9S4dsi1ho