This week my reflective journey takes me back 60 years to 1975.

January
Mr Pastry had his Christmas show at The Gloucester Leisure Centre (now GL1).
Soul singing legend Arthur Conley appeared for one night only at Tracy’s nightclub in Gloucester.
Rugby at Kingsholm – Gloucester vs The Army
Provincial Building Society new offices on the corner of St. John’s Lane and Northgate Street (the site of the original Halfords shop) was under construction.
The ABC Cinema Kings Square were showing: Screen One Stardust with Adam Faith and David Essex, Screen Two Phase 4, and Screen Three Airport 75.
The Gloucester Chronicle was renamed the Gloucestershire Chronicle.
Around half of the 40 pupils from Winterbourne Ridings High School (South Gloucestershire) were on an Easter holiday trip to Italy when they fell ill with suspected food poisoning during their train journey back to the UK, prompting a school investigation.
Mud held onto the Number One slot in the UK singles for the fifth and final week with Lonely This Christmas. Other Christmas songs still in the charts were The Goodies In Betweenies/Father Chrismas Do Not Touch Me, The Wombles Wombling Merry Christmas, Gilbert O’Sullivan Christmas Song, and Showaddywaddy Hey Mister Christmas. Mud were replaced at the top by Status Quo’s Down Down.

February
Twelve volt car batteries would have set you back £7. Wheel balancing was 75p per wheel. Remould tyres started from £3.
Week beginning 9th February for one week only at the Cambridge Theatre Gloucester Leisure Centre – Agatha Christie’s Murder at the Vicarage starring actress Barbara Mullen. Older readers may remember her from Dr. Finlay’s Casebook starring Andrew Cruickshank as Dr. Finlay, Bill Simpson as Dr. Cameron and Barbara Mullen as the house keeper, Janet. The medical series ran from 1962 till 1971.
After Murder at the Vicarage ended, wrestling enjoyed one night only with two blokes knocking seven bells out of each other. According to the wrestlers weekly, to “knock seven bells” out of someone means to beat them almost to the point of death, or with extreme severity. No information available as to who was wrestling that night. However, tickets were 90p, 70p and 40p.
The Marco Polo licensed restraint opened on the city’s Kings Square. Shoppers were treated to three weeks of demonstrations on cavity wall insulation at Debenhams.

March
Gloucester Rugby played New Brighton in an Easter Saturday match at Kingsholm, generating discussion among fans.
Paranormal activity was reported on 29th March by a Citizen journalist regarding “ghostly goings-on” at the Old Bell Inn on Southgate Street, including a mid-morning ghost allegedly “knocking off” a bottle of scotch.
Saturday Radio One – Ed Stewart, Paul Burnett, Jimmy S, Dave Lee Travis and the story of pop.
Vinyl silk wallpaper cost £2.30 per role.
You could rent a colour TV for less than two pounds a week.
Four Star petrol was 73p per gallon.

April
The Vietnam War came to an end with the Fall of Saigon.
Eighteen year old Juanita Mott left her home in Newent. She was believed to be travelling to Gloucester but she was never seen alive again. Her disappearance was not reported to the police at the time, but her remains were later discovered in the cellar of 25 Cromwell Street (Fred and Rose West’s house). This event is a key part of the dark history of the infamous Cromwell Street murders, which occurred in the city over a period of years.
Gloucester Rugby secured a comfortable home victory against South Wales Police on 16th April with a final score of 28-9.

May
A severe drought began in May 1975 and continued throughout the summer and autumn. Water supplies became a major concern for Gloucestershire, leading to a hosepipe ban being implemented the following July. The significant drought would impact the area into the following year.
Gloucester Council pushed for the closure of the Eastgate railway station and to remove four level crossings and improve road traffic flow, which eventually led to the station’s closure later that year in December 1975. Within seven years, the superstore ASDA opened on the same spot.
Manchester group 10CC released I’m Not In Love. The hit single sold over two million copies worldwide.
Singles in 1975 sold for £1 each. For context, a loaf of bread was around 11p and a pint of lager was 20p.
Hot Chocolate entered the UK singles chart at number forty with Disco Queen. Other disco singles in the chart included Mini Riperton Loving You, Susan Cadogen Hurts So Good, The Stylistics Sing Baby Sing, Three Degrees Take Good Care Of Yourself, and Disco Tex and the Sexolets I Wanna Dance Wit Choo. All of these and more were being played at Tiffany’s Night Club where Lee Jay and myself were the resident DJs at that time.

June
Panic stricken railway workers were trying to get a steam locomotive (number 45046) back on track after it derailed at Midland Road.
The historic building of the Church of St Nicholas on Gloucester’s lower Westgate Street that had been closed since 1967 was formally conferred in the Churches Conservative Trust. The church, which survived the Siege of Gloucester in 1643, is a significant local landmark.
The UK voted on whether to remain a member of the European Economic Community (EEC), also known as the Common Market. The result was ‘Yes’ to remain.
The recently appointed Conservative party leader Margaret Thatcher visited Wotton-under-Edge. She came to the town to take part as one of the panellists for the BBC Radio 4 show Any Questions with David Jacobs and actress Sheila Hancock.
Pop group Smokie released their first single on RAK records If You Think You Know How To Love Me peaking at number three in the UK singles chart.
David Bowie released Fame (backing vocals by John Lennon).

July
The tower of the Gloucestershire Royal Hospital was completed in August 1975, (construction began in early 1970) a prominent landmark in the city.
Moreland’s match factory, famous for producing England’s Glory matches, closed and the landmark illuminated sign went dim, then out for good. The history is that Samuel J. Moreland, son of a sawyer from Stroud, moved to Gloucester in 1867 and opened the Moreland Trade Factory to manufacture matches. In 2010, there was a campaign to relight the celebrated “England’s Glory” sign (unlit since the 1975) on the factory, with some residents even offering to pay. I was unable to find out the outcome, I’ll see if more research will throw more light on it.
The Odeon cinema in Eastgate Street closed and was later converted to a Top Rank Bingo Club. The bingo hall was closed in 2021, no longer a full house just an empty one.

August
May I take you back 332 years to this month in 1643 – the siege of Gloucester took place between 10th August and 5th September during the first English Civil War. It was part of a Royalist campaign led by King Charles 1st to take control of the Severn Valley from the Parliamentarians.
Swoosh back to 1975 and actor James Robertson Justice died aged 68.
Was it safe to go into the ABC cinema King Square? Not if you were afraid of large flesh eating fish... JAWS was showing!
The site of a Roman city wall and medieval tower remains in Kings Square, which had been excavated years earlier, was opened to the public in 1975, though it closed again later due to underground flooding.
Trade was booming at the recently opened Marco Polo restaurant on Kings Square. The Bon Marché department store was a prominent store in 1975, but by this time, it had been bought by Debenhams. The store continued to trade under the Bon Marché name until it was fully rebranded to Debenhams.
The city got its first ever indoor shopping mall. You could shop at the new Woolworths, which had entrances onto both Eastgate and Southgate Street. 
Two nautical songs dominated the UK Top 30 – Rod Stewart’s Sailing and Roger Whittaker’s The Last Farewell. Slowly, the new disco sound was creeping into the discos and the charts, with The Bee Gees Jive’ Talking.

September
British folk-rock band Steeleye Span played a concert at the New Inn on 17th September.
Top selling cars: The Ford Cortina was the best-selling car with 106,787 sales, followed closely by the Ford Escort with 103,817 sales. The BMC Mini came in third, with the Morris Marina and Austin Allegro also being highly popular. The Austin Maxi was notable for being an early example of a British five-door hatchback. Other vehicles available in the UK in 1975 included the Jaguar XJS (which was unveiled that year), the Vauxhall Viva, and various imported models like the Volkswagen Passat, Lada 1200, and the Porsche 911 Turbo.
The Eastgate Street in Gloucester was a busy commercial area that had recently undergone significant redevelopment. The new Eastgate Shopping Centre had opened its main entrance portico two years previously in 1973, bringing new stores to the area. The expansion of the Co-op store on the corner of Eastgate Street and Brunswick Road was a significant development in the area.
There were six songs in the Top 40 charts with ‘Love’ in the title: The Stylistics I Can’t Give You Anything But My Love, The Moments Dolly My Love, The Glitter Band Love in The Sun, Smokie If You Think You Know How To Love Me, The Bay City Rollers Give A Little Love, and Bad Company Feel Like Making Love.

October
On 1st October, brand new Bristol VR buses, designed for driver-only operation without a conductor, were introduced in Gloucester, marking a significant change in local public transport.
Gloucester Rugby played Monmouthshire on 14th October and Cornwall on 25th October as part of the 1975-76 season.
Discussions were ongoing against proposals to close several magistrates’ courthouses in Gloucestershire, including those at Berkeley and Newent.
A report on charcoal identification from a Gloucester site was published by C.A. Keepax on 3rd October. The findings are no longer available, which is frustrating.
Most of the young guns of the mid-seventies were sporting flared trousers, bell-bottom jeans and trousers – they were essential, as were platform shoes. I’ve forgotten the times I fell off mine! Frayed jeans were slowly creeping in from the States. Did you own a pair of Aviator sunglasses? Our shirts had to have pointed collars. I bought my first posh suit from Burtons menswear. Girls would flock to Top Shop on a Saturday to purchase the latest fashion for a night out at Tiffany’s Nightclub (which is now GL1). The more industrious among the ladies would shop at Gordon Thoday’s and purchase fabrics and patterns to make their own frocks, gowns and dresses.

November
Local man, Barry Ward, 32, heard that unsavoury rumours about him were being circulated in a pub near his lodgings, so he threw a brick through a £300 plate-glass window at the Alma Inn, Gloucester. Ward, of Victoria Street, Gloucester, who said he had a serious drink problem, admitted criminally damaging the window belonging to landlady Mrs Mabel Mortimore. He was remanded in custody for two weeks for social reports. In the 1950s, the bar at the Alma was for men only. Women were only welcomed in the snug at the back. The Alma Inn also had a skittle alley, which doubled up as a pigeon fanciers’ club where several birds were kept. The pigeons had to be removed and the alley cleaned up before a game of skittles could begin.
The R.A.F. personal management centre on Eastern Avenue, which had been there since 1941, was closed. All staff were moved to the new R.A.F. building at Innsworth.
Local pop group Pendulum, featuring actor Simon Pegg’s father, John Beckinham, appeared on Hugie Green’s Opportunity Knocks. They were the runners up. I knew John and worked with his dad Jack Beckingham at Severn Sound radio in the 80s.
Local teenager Christine Pile was crowned The Co-oP Queen.
On 22nd November, Kenny Ball and his Jazzmen were performing at Stroud Leisure Centre. Meanwhile, at the Gloucester Leisure Centre, Hot Chocolate made their first ever appearance in Gloucester with a memorable performance of their latest single You Sexy Thing. They also performed A Child’s Prayer, Disco Queen and Emma amongst other hits.
Tiffany’s nightclub celebrated their first year in the city with yours truly and Lee Jay responsible for the perfect celebration. I still have the bottle of Moet champagne presented to myself by Tiffany’s manager Farouk Posha. Great days.

December
British Rail shut down Eastgate station and the Tuffley Loop on 1st December, reducing maintenance costs and addressing local road concerns by eliminating level crossings and concentrating all operations at Gloucester Central.
The death of Sir George Dowty, founder of Dowty Equipment, was announced on 7th December – a noteworthy event for Gloucestershire’s significant role in aviation. In 1924, 23-year-old George Dowty began working at the Gloster Aircraft Company in Brockworth. One of his earliest projects was designing aircraft undercarriages. In 1931, he set up his own company in Cheltenham making aircraft equipment, for this purpose he leased a factory and bought Arle Court in Cheltenham. Dowty invented the first internally sprung aircraft wheel (used on the Gloster Gladiator) and by the time the second World War broke out, his company, known as Dowty Aviation, was making the hydraulic systems in planes in Britain, Canada and the United States. During post-war times, his equipment was also used on Concord. At one time, Dowty employed 15,000 people across Gloucestershire and Wiltshire.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest was showing at the ABC Cinema Kings Square. It’s an American psychological comedy-drama directed by Milos Forman and based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey. The film stars Jack Nicholson, Danny Devito and Louise Fletcher as Nurse Mildred Ratchet. The film cost $4 million to produce and it grossed $163 million at the box office worldwide.
Staff at shops in Eastgate Street Woolworths were still paid in cash in brown envelopes.

Christmas Day was on a Thursday.

Christmas booze:
• A pint of beer (bitter or lager) in a pub generally cost between 20p and 28p.
• A half pint of bitter or lager was priced around 9p to 12p.
• Vintage wine: a bottle of 1970 first-growth Bordeaux wine was priced at an average of £6.02.

Christmas Day Top Ten
1. Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody
2. Greg Lake – I Believe in Father Christmas
3. Laurel and Hardy with The Avalon Boys feat. Chill Wills – The Trail of The Lonesome Pine
4. Dana – It's Gonna Be A Cold Cold Christmas
5. Chubby Checker – Let's Twist Again/The Twist
6. Demis Roussos – Happy To Be On An Island In The Sun
7. Hot Chocolate – You Sexy Thing
8. The Stylistics – Na Na Is The Saddest Word
9. David Bowie – Golden Years
10. Chris Hill – Renta Santa

Listen to one of my radio shows on Dean Radio (via Google). Tuesdays at 7pm – The 60s in 60 Minutes. Sundays at 10am – Open For Business. Sundays at Midday – Melodic Journey.