UFO, Suzi Quatro, Wizzard, Lindisfarne - all on the bill in Sunderland in a VIP-packed year

Suzi Quatro at the Locarno - a day after UFO were there

Sunderland’s entertainment scene was cram-packed with celebrity appearances 50 years ago.

Lindisfarne headlined at the Locarno on the same bill as UFO.

The Mecca Centre in 1979.placeholder image
The Mecca Centre in 1979.

Can the Can star in Sunderland

Just a day later, Suzi Quatro was due to be the star attraction, and others on the bill that month included Roy Wood’s Wizzard.

Maybe you there when the Jimmy Tarbuck Show came to town with Kenny Lynch and supporting acts also on the bill.

Did you see Doddie in the Doddities of Dodd?

Ken Dodd was starring at the Empire Theatre in a show called the Doddities of Dodd. Tell us if you saw it.

Ken Dodd on one of his visits to Wearside, this time Durham in 1972.placeholder image
Ken Dodd on one of his visits to Wearside, this time Durham in 1972. | se

At Wetherells, Surfriders were appearing and there was the Dave Lee Sound at La Strada.

A view of Wetherells.placeholder image
A view of Wetherells.

In Peterlee, McGuinness Flint were appearing at the Senate Club, pictured, while Dave Kennedy was the DJ on the decks.

The Senate Club in Peterlee which hosted many well known names.placeholder image
The Senate Club in Peterlee which hosted many well known names. | se

Showing in the 1970s: Ryan O’Neal and Jacqueline Bisset

If it was big screen entertainment you wanted, there was plenty of that as well.

In Sunderland’s cinemas, Ryan O’Neal and Jacqueline Bisset were starring in The Thief Who Came To Dinner at the ABC.

Peter Finch, Liv Ullmann, Michael York and Olivia Hussey were just some of the star attractions in Lost Horizon at the Odeon.

The Poseidon Adventure was on at the Classic in Houghton-le-Spring and That’ll Be The Day - with David Essex and Ringo Starr - was on at Studio 1 in Sunderland.

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