We Are Teesside

[tillyoshea]

I know there's a few people on here with connections to Teesside, me included. I've only been away from there a couple of weeks. I thought it was a great place.

Then they unleash this aural assault on the nation.

Why? To whom did this seem a good idea?

[Jamez]

ROFL!!!!!!

That's got to be the most naff thing I've ever heard! Is thing recent or from the 80s?

[tillyoshea]

Is thing recent or from the 80s?

1995 I believe... though it's recently got a new lease of life thanks to Popbitch.

[Jamez]

I think the people who thought that this song was a good idea should be found and castrated.

They're still punishing Nazi war criminals, so why not punish the writers and producers of this vile song.

[Stuart*]

Ermm....at the risk of being castrated by Jamez (I'll let him try to man-handle my tackle if he wants to) or tried by an International War Crimes Tribunal as an "accessory after the fact" - I actually quite like it.

I do remember it from when I lived in Stockton from 1990-1998. I am sure it was created for the Teesside Development Corporation (?) or something with similar QUANGO nomenclature for promotional videos in their regeneration initiative.

Whatever you all say about the song, it must've had some positive impact at the time.

[Lorns]

Groovy! * Taps toe...

Nope sorry, i can't act. Oh the shame you must be feeling right now.

[Stuart*]

Oh the shame you must be feeling right now.

No shame whatsoever. It was very catchy at the time methinks, and as corporate songs go, written by committee, it wasn't bad when seen with the video. I will have to search for that now I have been lambasted by the forum as someone of little/no musical taste. :roll:

EDIT 1:
It was only the jingle "we are Teesside" that was used in the adverts, along with the unvocalised music. No traces exist on the net of the videos under a Google search, so unless anyone has one, which I would like to see again.

Teesside was originally the name of the region, but only as a County Borough of Yorkshire from '68-'74 when Cleveland was created. Cleveland was abolished in 1996 and there had to be a way of keeping the regeneration programme going between the 4 new unitary authorities.

It was a good marketing move which did well. The area is continuing to develop after the TDC was also abolished in 1998 (and not 'cos of their choice of music).

I enjoyed my time living in Teesside and that music brought back memories. I hate to see it "dissed" on here!

EDIT 2:

Then they unleash
Why? To whom did this seem a good idea?

Tilly, I imagine from your location info on your profile that you're at Uni in Stockton/Middlesbrough.

In which case you shuold be grateful for the energy and enthusiasm of the TDC that created the University out of the rubble of a disused Steel Works on the east bank of the Tees between the two areas. Together with a quays area full of luxury homes which the sale of paid for further development.

In the early 1990s Teesside was a desolate rundown area struggling to come to terms with transforming itself from an area of heavy industry which stretched back to the birth of the Industrial Revolution. Organisaions like the TDC attracted many Service Industry jobs and saved many thousands of people from long-term unemplyment.

It's easy to critisice "cheesy" music, jingles and promos, but unless you lived through that era of hoplessness, I doubt you would appreciate the good that those organisations accomplished in promoting the area! Part of my final task working in Stockton was to find jobs for some 500+ people who would otherwise be made redundant...thanks to the new jobs created by the likes of TDC we found employment for all but 12 (who wanted redundancy anyway).

You annoyed me with your dismissive comments. 'Nuff said !

[tillyoshea]

...I imagine from your location info on your profile that you're at Uni in Stockton/Middlesbrough...

Yup, I was at Durham Uni's Stockton Campus for a couple of years, then here and there all over Teesside for a couple of years on various placements and stuff, I'm now on a ten-week attachment in Calgary, and will shortly be in Newcastle and the surrounding areas for a year. Or maybe more than a year. We'll see.

...you shuold be grateful for the energy and enthusiasm of the TDC...

Indeed, I'm very grateful for the work of the TDC, and the ongoing work by others in and around Stockton to make it a better place for everyone. It is very much a region on the up, which can't be said for many regions, and much of that is undoubtedly down to the foundations laid by the TDC and others. Even in the four years I lived in the area, it's undergone massive improvements in almost every conceivable area, and will continue to do so, most notable with the development of the North Shore (though it's interesting to note how local mood dictate that the North Shore developers are distancing themselves from the developers of the Teessdale project, almost as though the latter was an unmitigated failure!).

...It's easy to critisice "cheesy" music, jingles and promos, but unless you lived through that era of hoplessness, I doubt you would appreciate the good that those organisations accomplished...

It is easy to criticise the cheese, and it was only meant as a bit of fun... I may not have lived through the hopelessness myself, but I've met, worked alongside, forged friendships with, and treated a great many people who did, and I think I have at least some appreciation of the good the massive investment - financial and emotional - achieved, thanks to the dedication of a great many individuals.

...You annoyed me with your dismissive comments. 'Nuff said !

I apologise if I annoyed you - It certainly wasn't my intention, and I'm far from dismissive about Teesside in general. Perhaps my Evening Gazette column from a few weeks back will reassure you of that... Although the near-sycophancy of that final version may leave you feeling slightly queasy