Sunderland is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is located at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately 10 miles (16 km) south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. The city has a population of 168,277, making it the second largest settlement in the North East of England after Newcastle. It is the administrative centre of the metropolitan borough of the same name.
The centre of the modern city is an amalgamation of three settlements founded in the Anglo-Saxon era: Monkwearmouth, on the north bank of the Wear, and Sunderland and Bishopwearmouth on the south bank. Monkwearmouth contains St Peter's Church, which was founded in 674 and formed part of Monkwearmouth–Jarrow Abbey, a significant centre of learning in the seventh and eighth centuries. Sunderland was a fishing settlement and later a port, being granted a town charter in 1179. The city traded in coal and salt, also developing shipbuilding industry in the fourteenth century and glassmaking industry in the seventeenth century. Following the decline of its traditional industries in the late 20th century, the area became an automotive building centre. In 1992, the borough of Sunderland was granted city status. It is historically part of County Durham.
Locals from the city are sometimes known as Mackems, a term which came into common use in the 1970s. Its use and acceptance by residents, particularly among the older generations, is not universal. The term is also applied to the Sunderland dialect, which shares similarities with the other North East England dialects.
Links to Peel[]
Sunderland Locarno
In 1973, Peel saw The Faces perform at the Sunderland Locarno, an event listed as one of his Twelve Best Gigs in Margrave Of The Marshes and often cited as his all-time favourite live music experience.[1] The gig took place on the evening that Sunderland Football Club qualified to be in the FA Cup Final, and he claimed that they were the perfect band to play that night; they came on and started booting footballs into the audience. As mentioned on his 07 March 1972 show, Peel had attended a gig by the band in the city at Sunderland Top Rank the previous year.
The DJ was a regular compere at the Locarno after striking up a relationship with local promotor Geoff Docherty when the latter was starting out at the Bay Hotel in the city. Peel later contributed a foreword to Docherty's memoir, A Promoter's Tale: Rock At The Sharp End.[2]
In the 90's, the DJ travelled to Sunderland as part of the TV series Sounds Of The Suburbs. In the Sounds Of The Suburbs: The North East episode, he visited with local band Bleed the Sunderland Community Music and Arts Project (SCAMP) in Stockton Road, which included the Bunker rehearsal room, where he saw Comatose rehearse for the first time. Impressed by their performance, he got the band to record a session for his show.
After his recent visit there, Peel stepped in to support SCAMP in 1998 by donating £1000 after the council withdrew its funding, which helped its bosses to come up with a rescue plan.[3] As of 2024, the facility is still in use.[4]
Sessions[]
Comatose - Peel Session 1998
The following artists from the Sunderland area recorded Peel sessions:
- Comatose: (1 session, 1998)
- Futureheads: (1 session, 2003)
- Golden Virgins: (1 session, 2003)
- HDQ: (2 sessions, 1988-89)
- Hooton 3 Car: (3 sessions, 1995-97)
- Janitors: (3 sessions, 1985-87)
- Kenickie: (2 sessions, 1995-96)
- Leatherface: (3 sessions, 1991-93)
- Monoconics: (1 session, 1980)
- Milan Station: (1 session, 1981)
- Period: (1 session, 1978)
- Ski Patrol: (1 session, 1981)
Sunderland Compilations[]
(LP - Compilation N.E.1 - Sunderland Musicians Collective) Guardian Records N' Tapes
- 28 June 1981 (BFBS): Rhythm Methodists: Peanut Gang
- 02 July 1981 (BFBS): Red Alert: In Britain
- 23 July 1981 (BBC World Service): Red Alert: In Britain
See Also[]
- See Sunderland Locarno for list of Peel gigs in the city.
- Football (Known Matches Attended): Includes Sunderland beating Ipswich Town 2-1 in FA Cup in January 2004.
- Toy Dolls
- 08 May 1992: Liverpool and Sunderland are to contest the FA Cup final the following day. Peel grumbles throughout the show about not having a ticket for the match (Liverpool beat Sunderland 2–0 in the final to take their 5th FA Cup trophy).