Life in Sunderland in 1983, the year Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks clashed at the Crowtree Leisure Centre

The Little Waster Bobby Thompson was sharing the Echo headlines with Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks 40 years ago this year.

Intrigued? Chris Cordner explains more.

Comedian Bobby Thompson won a full house at the opening of the new Top Rank Bingo and Social Club in Sunderland’s former Odeon cinema.

It was 40 years ago this year when the former cinema re-opened to bingo lovers and aptly, there was a full house for Little Bob.

The building in Holmeside opened at Black’s Regal Theatre on Easter Monday, 1932.

A big honour for the Little Waster

The Black Brothers ran the cinema until 1955 when the Rank Organisation took over.

It was a year to remember as well for Bobby who was to be honoured at a special dinner by the Variety Club of Great Britain.

A club spokesman said: “Although everyone is aware of the pleasure Bobby has given to audiences throughout the North East, less known are the extensive appearances he has made for the region’s charities.”

The event was due to be attended by a host of top North East entertainers including Bobby Pattinson and Spike Rawlings.

And proceeds would go towards helping the handicapped and the under-privileged children in Tyne and Wear.

Clash of the giants at Crowtree

The irresistible force met the immovable object when wrestling giants Big Daddy and Giant Haystacks clashed at the Crowtree Leisure Centre.

Big Daddy was cheered into, and out of the ring by hordes of fans to the tannoyed strains of “We Shall Not Be Moved”..

Continually pausing mid-grip to lead the audience in chants of “Easy, Easy, ” the grapple fans’ biggest goodie led his tag team to a two falls to one win over Haystacks and his cohort, The Thing.

The night’s action had started with an entertaining, if not altogether sporting clash between Eddie Riley and Tally Ho Kaye, which ended with Riley limping from the ring.

An infamous antique chamber pot

An oil painting worth £1,500 and a chamber pot with Adolf Hitler strategically placed inside were just two of the hundreds of items that Wearsiders brought to the BBC’s Antiques Roadshow in 1983.

But the hit of the day with the seven antiques experts were the Wearsiders themselves, some of whom are pictured.

China and glass expert Hugo Moorely-Fletcher commented: “The standard of people was higher and much more pleasant than in many other places we visited. They have been absolutely charming.”

About 3,000 people flocked to Sunderland Leisure Centre with ornaments, watches, objets d’art, glassware and paintings and while there were no priceless antiques discovered the experts were kept enthralled by the exhibits.

Art specialist Marcus Halliwell was delighted with a number of water colours including one brought in by an elderly woman. “It turned out to be worth £500 and was painted by Andrew Wilson Cox, ” he said.

For him the find of the day was an old French master brought in by another elderly woman. “It was nearly as big as her and was painted in 1740 and is worth at least £1,500.”

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