When Sunderland pubs The Central and The Albion got impressive refits, back in 1987

Two Sunderland pubs made the 1987 pages of the Echo and all because of their impressive new look.

The spotlight turned on The Albion in Ryhope and The Central in Bridge Street.

The Central was 'at the top when it comes to an upmarket image', said the 1987 story.

It was one of the first in the North East to get an art nouveau look and Eddie Dobbing - who managed the pub with his wife Cath - said it was 'a smart place' which would catch on.

It boasted the latest in sound and vision with modern screens and an in-house DJ, and had an 'unusual tiled floor'.

Four years of painstaking work

Were you a regular back then?

Over at the Albion, a four-year refurbishment had just been completed in 1987.

Praise went to the proprietors Ivor and Liz Sivyer for their hard work. They had arrived in the village 5 years earlier and did great things to convert the pub while keeping a village feel.

The Echo described how 'pokey little rooms' had been replaced by three bright and airy rooms.

They included a main bar, pool room and eating area.

Piano smashing - it's a thing

To give you more of a taster of life that year, it was a time when a piano-smashing contest was held at Fence Houses YMCA.

Teams had to smash their piano into bits which were so small, they could pass through the hole in a toilet seat which was hanging from goalposts.

At Thornhill School, pupils were entering two cars into the Shell Motor Mileage Marathon at Silverstone.

Teams had to get their car to go the furthest distance per gallon and the Thornhill Thrifter - one of the cars - had already managed 2,575 miles per gallon.

A new use in the hospital

Sunderland Royal Infirmary made its own headlines when it took delivery of an 80-year-old pipe organ from a local church.

It was going to be used for services at the hospital chapel.

What are your memories of life back then? Email [email protected]