The King of South Tyneside
From the collection of
Johnny Taws
- North Shields
- 1994
The King of South Tyneside
Is he comedy gold, or tragically misunderstood? And will his audience ever solve the mystery?
Captured by amateur filmmakers from the North East Media Training Centre, the Jarrow Elvis divided artistic opinion. He shot to fame a year after this video was made when he became the subject of Elvis in Jarrow, a controversial BAFTA-winning documentary for the BBC's Forty Minutes strand. Joe Allen continued to perform in local pubs and clubs, expanding his act to include Junior Elvis, Pelaw Geno, and Hebburn Cliff. He died in 2022, aged 86.
Every Sunday and Wednesday Joe Allen transforms himself into 'Jarrow Elvis', performing at the Victoria Park pub in Hebburn. Why does he do it, and why does his act attract so many people? Is he being exploited?
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Local Characters in the North East
Land of Vikings, prince bishops, literary greats and local legends; the North East has always been full of character.
The North East is famed for its home-loving people, close-knit communities, strong work ethic and immense industry. People in the North East are proud of their heritage, and embrace high and low culture in equal measure. Pub entertainers and Hollywood stars alike are local heroes in the North East hall of fame. In this series of films, lesser-known legends are captured for posterity as part of the NEFA collection.
9 videos in this collection
1
Johnny Taws
2
Lorna Brown
3
Maxwell Deas
4
The King of South Tyneside
5
Dissent
6
Alan Robson
7
Ingrid Hagemann
8
Five Miles High
9