Cast your minds back 30 years when all this was happening.
Images from 1994 have been preserved in the Sunderland Echo highlights and here are some of them.
We had a visit from Princess Anne, Tony Blair was touring a new fire brigade HQ and Dave Stewart was passing on his musical expertise.
Intrigued? Here's more.
1. Here are the headlines
All these people were in the Sunderland Echo headlines 30 years ago.
2. Top work at Nissan
Nissan toasted its success after winning a Queen's Award for Export in April 1994.
3. A masterclass from Dave
Eurythmics star Dave Stewart took a 1994 musical masterclass at Sunderland University, where he received an honorary fellowship a year earlier.
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