It's really weird to see the place I grew up in look like this; I was born in the 80s. This is beautiful. Really good to see what it looked like before the introduction of all the ugly post-war Brutalist architecture that has finally been demolished recently.
What beautiful buildings, there were no beautiful buildings in Birmingham in the 1960's, just a load of back to back slums, bomb craters and bombed ot buildings and what old building that existed in Birmingham City Center were grimy and black and it was great to see them demolished and Birmingham rebuilt, I know mistakes were made in the 70's and 80', but even a lot of those buildings have been demolished now and Birmingham City Center has been rebuilt, I know I lived in that period and found Birmingham as a kid depressing, now 60 odd years later my City has been transformed and are very proud of it.
i think people would have prefered to have seen the old buildings that were left more preserved than they were, and i think people now definetley wish for more stylistically interesting buildings like the ones that were torn down instead of the smooth, detail and featureless blocks they liked to build after the war and until the present. Iam not from Birmingham but it is my closest city, and i feel a certain connection to it and i love the small old parts that still remain and hate to walk under the public toillets that are the underpasses and alongside the car chocked inner motor ways. this may in part be nostalgia for something i never actually witnesed , but i really yearn for that kind of architectural drama again, and to be proud of something that was built recently
This is before my time but I can still remember seeing some of the things shown here, such as the old fountain on Broad Street and Lewis's store on Corporation Street. I totally agree with what you say about the way the stupid city council have ruined things.
Wow I'm in this bit of old film, that's me walking across camera in front of the Hall of memory. I even remember where I was going, to tax my Father's car in Oozells St. The year was 1960, so there's a bit of a mixture of years of filming but still great to see.
A lovely friend of mine called Ralph Evan age 84 from bham passed away in august 2013 he was In hospital for 3 months and I didn't once go to see him as I was told by his son that he was fine and will be coming back home very soon, he used to tell me about these good old days I wonder how he looked like in 1950s miss you Ralph, I miss the old stories that you used to share with me, I was blessed to have an old friend at the age of 25. When I miss you I just go near the window and look at your garden were your son has written Dads garden xx
Birmingham was once a great British city - industrious and inventive. Then it all went wrong. It was ruined. First by the city planners who demolished the old buildings (this never happened in Vienna, or Stockholm, or Cambridge). Then by the systematic erosion of the community by migrants who had no connection to, or interest in keeping Brum alive. Birmingham. R.I.P UPDATE: 07-May-2020. My original message was posted here 6 years a go. I spent 3 months living in Birmingham in 2018 - and I have to admit that Birmingham has improved in leaps and bounds compared to the run-down city I was remembering when I originally lived there from 1967-87. Those were rapidly changing times - crime was very high in the early 1980's and many areas were just too badly dilapidated. But it seems the city has re-emerged in the 21st century as a vibrant conurbation and I hope the current custodians will keep it as vital to the UK as it once was in its heyday.
Completely agree. People were poor - but happy. And all one! Now, it's simply too fragmented. No one cares about their neighbour now and, if they did, probably couldn't speak their language. Oh well.
***** Immigrants were welcome many years ago and integrated very well. They had too. Now there are so many immigrants they have there own ghettos. Us British taxpayers are sick to death of being fleeced by East Europeans and the rest of the world. We are not lazy or stupid. At least not the true Brits. Still, glad you are enjoying all of that free money you get from us. Ironically us Brits are poor now having to subsidize freeloading foreigners like you.
In the late 1950s my parents moved to Birmingham from Jamaica. Everyone lived together and got along well. We were all neighbors - we all worshiped at the Holy Trinity church, Birchfield, where my brothers and I were baptized. My friends and I went to the same schools - I never felt any different, we were all British. I'm now living in America and I recently, went home to visit my aging family in Birmingham, and yes it did change a great deal. We have to find our way back to living together, peacefully and respectably like we did in 1964.
I was told the reason why the ugly buildings from the 60's was built was because Birmingham was heavy bombed in WWII. Looking at this it seems Birmingham was just fine as it was. If only I could go back in time to stop them demolishing those beautiful buildings. I dont know understand why they knocked them all down. What hell was they thinking at the time?
There is quite a well known saying, "what the Germans started in the 1940's Birmingham City Council continued". Sadly it affected most of our big towns and cities in the 50's to the 70's I would say Birmingham being one of the most scarred. Among buildings knocked down were several old churches a Georgian Crescent and Snow Hill Station which has been shown to be a very short sighted and misguided deed as they re-opened a new one 20 years later, and what a soul-less place that is. The obsession with the motor car was another factor, as there seems to be attempts to do something about that by the current authorities.
Anyone who says the fountain and grass by the war memorial at the top of Broad Street on this video is not better than the mess we have now is clueless lol
Great to see the old Birmingham . My Aunt who is now 94 worked at Lewis's ,some of the happiest days in her life were spent there. Unfortunately she contracted TB there as did many others and had to leave . Birmingham is much more pedestrian friendly now.
@ArielHS If having soulless glass and chrome towers in place of old Victorian buildings and corporate chains like Carphone Warehouse, Starbucks and Subway in place of independent shops is your thing, then yes, I guess Birmingham has never looked as good as it does today.
As a Kid I remember the entrance to Snow Hill Station and the large colour advertisement for Arco Rewinds which I thought was a work of art in itself!!
Take a good hard look at Victorian photos of New Street station and its hotel before the city council allowed that to be demolished back in 1965 then tell me if the currnet station and the new station are / will look better. People are already laughing at the new station and how silly it will look but also how it will fit in with all the other silly modern building that have already gone up in Brum city centre.
New Street Station was technically two separate stations, the Northern part being LNWR and the Southern part MR, with Queen's Drive dividing the two parts. After the 1923 Grouping, there were connections between the two parts. The LNWR side had the largest-diameter overall roof in the country, except St Pancras. Unfortunately, the Luftwaffe scored a direct hit on the roof, and it was never replaced. The roof on the Midland side had several spans, and escaped serious damage in the Second World War. The station had to be rebuilt, largely because there were only eight through platforms, four on each side, plus several bays, so Queen's Drive had to go. People used to complain about the smell on the Midland side; that part of the station was adjacent to the City's fish market. The New Street Station after the initial rebuilding was a ghastly place, a dark subterranean station with no facilities on the platforms. The station reeked of diesel fumes. Only the London to Wolverhampton and beyond trains were electric, and they only used about three or four of the station's twelve platforms. I have only been to New Street once since its latest rebuild, so I cannot say whether it is any better; but it is still subterranean.
My mom used to work in Lewis's in the 60's, my mom and dad met in Nora Dickson's I think it was called my dad lived in Ellen st ladywood next to pats shop my mom live in billsley, told me a few things but they are there memories
I came to Birmingham in 1960, it looked much the same then as in this video. I particularly recall Lewis's Dept store, it was a wonderland to my young eyes, the roof garden was a favoutite place to visit and the food hall with it's lovely smells. The Bull ring I feel ruined the city centre
What a fantastic film. I was born in 59 so dont really remember town until late 60 early 70s but it doesnt look much different. But the change since then has been incredible.
@idowish12 I much preferred the way it used to be 15-20 years ago before the Corporate chainstores totally took over and monstrosities like the new Bullring were built. Cities like Birmingham may be cleaner, more efficient and safer than they used to be but they're also a lot duller.
Hi, nd thanks for your comments. I still believe that Brum was a really great city in the 1950s, but then I would, because I was there at that time. I loved it as it was, and really do not like what it has become. Love the film though. Thanmks.
@HeartOfTheBeat Problem is--we can't pick and mix the good from the bad. Depending on your circumstances, life was tougher then, but so were we, could we cope with all those restrictions and post war shortages ?-- I doubt it--I lived through it---just.
Extraordinary - grimy yes, but a real place with character. I assumed that most of this was destroyed in the war, but in fact it was the planners and developers who did for it. What a shame. Perhaps we can restore a bit of a sense of place and humanity...
I was born in Great Barr in 1949 and have Great memories of 'old Birmingham' in the 50's and 60's. I started my working life at Lewis's in 1966 and had very happy times there there
There were two problems with Central Birmingham. First, the City Centre was very small, compared to other major provincial cities in Britain, and the streets were parts of through routes, such as A34, A38, and A41. The City Council had planned an Inner Ring Road before the Second World War, but, because of it, construction did not start until early 1957, and took fourteen years to build. It was originally called Ringway, but when the Queen opened the final stage in 1971, by a slip of the tongue, or otherwise, she called it Queensway. Second, many of the buildings of Central Birmingham dated from the 1880s, and were on 75-year leases. As the leases were about to expire, c1960, it was relatively easy not to renew them and demolish the buildings. However, I bet that Brummies were astonished to find that City Centre thoroughfares like Martineau Street, Stafford Street, and Easy Row would be completely obliterated. (I am not a Brummie, by the way.)
The whole block on easy row was demolished including the imposing buildings of the B and MI plus the library which were replaced with a square concrete monstrosity which has just been demolished for another pointless block of glass. paradise street was once beautiful. Now they are trying to take cars out of the city
Historical buildings and street patterns ripped apart by 1960s planners...but what must be remembered is Victorian type architecture was disliked by many back then, the planners thought that they were doing the right thing
Now it is full of aimlessly driven buccaneers trying to distract anyone who is vunerable enough to fall into this now cesspit of doom.Brummie born and bred but now the adventure of travelling into town has lost all purpose.
Brum looked tired and grim in the fifties. Sadly the technology for jet-cleaning the very sooty looking buildings in the centre hadn't yet been invented and this meant that a lot of buildings, fine beneath the grimy surface were demolished. Some of the comments here are very cynical, and I agree with "idowish2" that much the city centre looks fine at present.
first came to Brum shortly after this was filmed, and saw it change from this fine old Victorian city to largely what it is now i.e The Bull Ring etc. It did rather take the heart out of the place which has never really been replaced. The GOOD thing was the great mix of immigration and it added a lot of good to the City's culture particularly with vry strong Irish & West Indian populations. But with the influx of Islamic immigrants from the early 70's who have rarely even tried to integrate, it gradually became a rather depressing and dark City. I rarely venture there now but I have very happy memories of the 60's there
Mum was born in Birmingham in 1945 and lived in the back to backs. She has bittersweet memories of latchkey life, sharing a toilet between several families, collecting scraps from the market to augment the family's diet, and bricks taking down the chimney during storms. But freedom to roam and community with the other kids. Her whole childhood was erased by the high rises.
Aaaaaaaahhhh me old square peg when it was Lewises - I'm old enough to remember it and the big circular shoping area down at another level that had another entrance to Lewises. Thanks for the memories :)
At least back in these times it was safe to walk the streets in Birmingham. Now look at it in 2011? My god. In saying this every large city in this country is no longer safe. I wonder why this is??
A great snapshot of the city I grew up in that has changed beyond all recognition now. Does anyone have any film or photo's of the old wholesale markets of the 1950-60s particularly the meat market Christmas show?
Yes, I used to do a large amount of location photography years ago, however, rather than be accused of "casing a joint" I complete the majority of my image making through Photoshop and other programs.
@paulph12002 You're pining for days which the world forgot ages ago, life moves on. Yes architecture and design has changed for the worst (IMO too), but try getting treatment for cancer in Birmingham today compared to when this video was shot... some things change for the better I guess. Lets not lament too much.
Born in 1963 I barely remember Snow Hill Station before it was levelled. The Bull Ring I knew in the 1970/80/90’s was a damp and subterranean world. I think my home City is nowadays a place fit for purpose. It’s continuing evolution can’t be stopped. (Now resident in South West England)
Just happened upon my father's birth certificate and I can see he was born in Birmingham in 1925 at little Barr st In the parish of st Bartholomew. wow if he was still alive he would have turned 90 on August the 31st.
There were still some horses and carts around then on the streets maybe belonging to rag and bone men like Steptoe and Son.My father took me around Birmingham a lot in his car back then as his parents owned a knitwear factory in Loveday Street and he worked for it.Lots of bombed out buildings still around then and lots of rubble.
I enjoyed watching the film and listening to the music which really grew on me - the first piece is "The Freeze" by Lena Lovich, the second is "I'm Cramped (Original Mix)" by The Cramps.
In the late 1950s my parents moved to England from Jamaica. In 1964 we were living in Birmingham. Everyone lived together and got along well. We were all neighbors - we all worshiped at the Holy Trinity church, Birchfield, where my brothers and I were baptized. My friends and I went to the same schools - I never felt any different, we were all British. I'm now living in America and I recently, went home to visit my aging family in Birmingham and yes, it did change a great deal. We have to find our way back to living together, peacefully and respectably like we did in 1964.
There always has to be racism in the comments with these old videos. you should all go and live in 1950 and take your racism there. Birmingham is more diverse now
That situation lasted until into the 80's surprisingly. Loads of politics involved as ever but...whats new. Great film, with a John Peel-esque soundtrack especially the second track, is this the Fall? (And btw is the first one Sparks?)
It would have better to use music that people would most likely had listen to on the radio at that time so as capture the atmosphere of the clip, instead we get eighties music that was decades out of time. Great clip just a shame about the music
What the music should have been was jimmy Powell.......remember then.a great artist from brum rip jimmy may 16 2016.your memories of him on here please,did you play in his band did you see him at the clubs and venues.ray Drury.
Thank you for taking me back to when I was proud to say this is my city. Take a look at it now.............
May our great city that once was, rest in peace
It's really weird to see the place I grew up in look like this; I was born in the 80s. This is beautiful. Really good to see what it looked like before the introduction of all the ugly post-war Brutalist architecture that has finally been demolished recently.
Depending on how early this is, there were still plenty of WAR damage to be seen in the 50's---in most large cities.
Amazing lovely old buildings what a shame so few are left would have been a much nicer city today
So many beautiful buildings that were pulled down, such a pity. Developers have a lot to answer for.
They're cunts
What beautiful buildings, there were no beautiful buildings in Birmingham in the 1960's, just a load of back to back slums, bomb craters and bombed ot buildings and what old building that existed in Birmingham City Center were grimy and black and it was great to see them demolished and Birmingham rebuilt, I know mistakes were made in the 70's and 80', but even a lot of those buildings have been demolished now and Birmingham City Center has been rebuilt, I know I lived in that period and found Birmingham as a kid depressing, now 60 odd years later my City has been transformed and are very proud of it.
i think people would have prefered to have seen the old buildings that were left more preserved than they were, and i think people now definetley wish for more stylistically interesting buildings like the ones that were torn down instead of the smooth, detail and featureless blocks they liked to build after the war and until the present. Iam not from Birmingham but it is my closest city, and i feel a certain connection to it and i love the small old parts that still remain and hate to walk under the public toillets that are the underpasses and alongside the car chocked inner motor ways. this may in part be nostalgia for something i never actually witnesed , but i really yearn for that kind of architectural drama again, and to be proud of something that was built recently
The old buildings were pulled down through legalised vandalism by the city councillors, blame those ideats😢😢
I was born in Birmingham and would have been a toddler when this film was taken. Brought back many happy memories. Thanks for posting it.
This is before my time but I can still remember seeing some of the things shown here, such as the old fountain on Broad Street and Lewis's store on Corporation Street. I totally agree with what you say about the way the stupid city council have ruined things.
Wow I'm in this bit of old film, that's me walking across camera in front of the Hall of memory.
I even remember where I was going, to tax my Father's car in Oozells St.
The year was 1960, so there's a bit of a mixture of years of filming but still great to see.
Yes..car tax Oozells St.!!
A lovely friend of mine called Ralph Evan age 84 from bham passed away in august 2013 he was In hospital for 3 months and I didn't once go to see him as I was told by his son that he was fine and will be coming back home very soon, he used to tell me about these good old days I wonder how he looked like in 1950s miss you Ralph, I miss the old stories that you used to share with me, I was blessed to have an old friend at the age of 25. When I miss you I just go near the window and look at your garden were your son has written Dads garden xx
Got to lament the passing of the British auto industry. Spotted many "Made in Britain"
models. RIP!!
A precious snapshot of how my hometown used to look. Great upload.
Same here. And like you, I got the hell out when it turned to S.
I Love these past times. Beautiful. Great. Thanks for the video.
Many thanks for uploading this video, it is quite a precious piece of history.
A beautiful montage of the golden era of Brum...
Thank you a great insight into the city as it was then.
Birmingham was once a great British city - industrious and inventive. Then it all went wrong. It was ruined. First by the city planners who demolished the old buildings (this never happened in Vienna, or Stockholm, or Cambridge). Then by the systematic erosion of the community by migrants who had no connection to, or interest in keeping Brum alive. Birmingham. R.I.P
UPDATE: 07-May-2020. My original message was posted here 6 years a go. I spent 3 months living in Birmingham in 2018 - and I have to admit that Birmingham has improved in leaps and bounds compared to the run-down city I was remembering when I originally lived there from 1967-87. Those were rapidly changing times - crime was very high in the early 1980's and many areas were just too badly dilapidated. But it seems the city has re-emerged in the 21st century as a vibrant conurbation and I hope the current custodians will keep it as vital to the UK as it once was in its heyday.
Completely agree. People were poor - but happy. And all one! Now, it's simply too fragmented. No one cares about their neighbour now and, if they did, probably couldn't speak their language. Oh well.
***** Immigrants were welcome many years ago and integrated very well. They had too. Now there are so many immigrants they have there own ghettos. Us British taxpayers are sick to death of being fleeced by East Europeans and the rest of the world. We are not lazy or stupid. At least not the true Brits. Still, glad you are enjoying all of that free money you get from us. Ironically us Brits are poor now having to subsidize freeloading foreigners like you.
Gary Walton reality is a load of you are too lazy to do the jobs anyways
In the late 1950s my parents moved to Birmingham from Jamaica. Everyone lived together and got along well. We were all neighbors - we all worshiped at the Holy Trinity church, Birchfield, where my brothers and I were baptized. My friends and I went to the same schools - I never felt any different, we were all British. I'm now living in America and I recently, went home to visit my aging family in Birmingham, and yes it did change a great deal. We have to find our way back to living together, peacefully and respectably like we did in 1964.
same happened to bradford
My mum worked on the buses in the early 50s in Birmingham. Strange to be looking at things she would have seen every day.
I was told the reason why the ugly buildings from the 60's was built was because Birmingham was heavy bombed in WWII. Looking at this it seems Birmingham was just fine as it was. If only I could go back in time to stop them demolishing those beautiful buildings. I dont know understand why they knocked them all down. What hell was they thinking at the time?
There is quite a well known saying, "what the Germans started in the 1940's Birmingham City Council continued". Sadly it affected most of our big towns and cities in the 50's to the 70's I would say Birmingham being one of the most scarred. Among buildings knocked down were several old churches a Georgian Crescent and Snow Hill Station which has been shown to be a very short sighted and misguided deed as they re-opened a new one 20 years later, and what a soul-less place that is. The obsession with the motor car was another factor, as there seems to be attempts to do something about that by the current authorities.
You need to consider the cost of restoring and maintaining old buildings especially post war
The council blamed the Germans for knocking down
the buildings in the post war years.
Anyone who says the fountain and grass by the war memorial at the top of Broad Street on this video is not better than the mess we have now is clueless lol
Great to see the old Birmingham . My Aunt who is now 94 worked at Lewis's ,some of the happiest days in her life were spent there. Unfortunately she contracted TB there as did many others and had to leave . Birmingham is much more pedestrian friendly now.
@ArielHS If having soulless glass and chrome towers in place of old Victorian buildings and corporate chains like Carphone Warehouse, Starbucks and Subway in place of independent shops is your thing, then yes, I guess Birmingham has never looked as good as it does today.
Wow, looks way better than it does now.
The only black face you saw in those days was on the side of a jam jar
As a Kid I remember the entrance to Snow Hill Station and the large colour advertisement for Arco Rewinds which I thought was a work of art in itself!!
Whatever the time, Day or Night, Arco Rewinds Put it Right!
That was their advert on ATV.
The Company was on Coventry Road near the Wheatsheaf pub
Take a good hard look at Victorian photos of New Street station and its hotel before the city council allowed that to be demolished back in 1965 then tell me if the currnet station and the new station are / will look better. People are already laughing at the new station and how silly it will look but also how it will fit in with all the other silly modern building that have already gone up in Brum city centre.
New Street Station was technically two separate stations, the Northern part being LNWR and the Southern part MR, with Queen's Drive dividing the two parts. After the 1923 Grouping, there were connections between the two parts. The LNWR side had the largest-diameter overall roof in the country, except St Pancras. Unfortunately, the Luftwaffe scored a direct hit on the roof, and it was never replaced. The roof on the Midland side had several spans, and escaped serious damage in the Second World War. The station had to be rebuilt, largely because there were only eight through platforms, four on each side, plus several bays, so Queen's Drive had to go. People used to complain about the smell on the Midland side; that part of the station was adjacent to the City's fish market. The New Street Station after the initial rebuilding was a ghastly place, a dark subterranean station with no facilities on the platforms. The station reeked of diesel fumes. Only the London to Wolverhampton and beyond trains were electric, and they only used about three or four of the station's twelve platforms. I have only been to New Street once since its latest rebuild, so I cannot say whether it is any better; but it is still subterranean.
Great video. Just as remeber it when I was (very) young...
Can you remember just as it got to dusk all the starlings started to roost. Then pooed over your best suit.
I wish Birmingham looked like this now, I don't like the 60s 70s building in Birmingham. Nice to watch too see what Birmingham use too look like.
My mom used to work in Lewis's in the 60's, my mom and dad met in Nora Dickson's I think it was called my dad lived in Ellen st ladywood next to pats shop my mom live in billsley, told me a few things but they are there memories
I came to Birmingham in 1960, it looked much the same then as in this video. I particularly recall Lewis's Dept store, it was a wonderland to my young eyes, the roof garden was a favoutite place to visit and the food hall with it's lovely smells. The Bull ring I feel ruined the city centre
What a fantastic film. I was born in 59 so dont really remember town until late 60 early 70s but it doesnt look much different.
But the change since then has been incredible.
@idowish12 I much preferred the way it used to be 15-20 years ago before the Corporate chainstores totally took over and monstrosities like the new Bullring were built. Cities like Birmingham may be cleaner, more efficient and safer than they used to be but they're also a lot duller.
Hi, nd thanks for your comments. I still believe that Brum was a really great city in the 1950s, but then I would, because I was there at that time. I loved it as it was, and really do not like what it has become. Love the film though. Thanmks.
@HeartOfTheBeat Problem is--we can't pick and mix the good from the bad. Depending on your circumstances, life was tougher then, but so were we, could we cope with all those restrictions and post war shortages ?-- I doubt it--I lived through it---just.
Extraordinary - grimy yes, but a real place with character. I assumed that most of this was destroyed in the war, but in fact it was the planners and developers who did for it. What a shame. Perhaps we can restore a bit of a sense of place and humanity...
our beautiful beloved Brum :)
Brilliant footage, thanks for making this available!
Thankyou Slender Sausage...I have now downloaded 'The Freeze'. I think it's brilliant
Its a shame to see how all this has been ruined over the decades. It's the same all over the world, too many people and too much so called progress.
I was born in Great Barr in 1949 and have Great memories of 'old Birmingham' in the 50's and 60's. I started my working life at Lewis's in 1966 and had very happy times there there
The white people turned brown happen in Bradford too.
Thank you for the memories
There were two problems with Central Birmingham. First, the City Centre was very small, compared to other major provincial cities in Britain, and the streets were parts of through routes, such as A34, A38, and A41. The City Council had planned an Inner Ring Road before the Second World War, but, because of it, construction did not start until early 1957, and took fourteen years to build. It was originally called Ringway, but when the Queen opened the final stage in 1971, by a slip of the tongue, or otherwise, she called it Queensway. Second, many of the buildings of Central Birmingham dated from the 1880s, and were on 75-year leases. As the leases were about to expire, c1960, it was relatively easy not to renew them and demolish the buildings. However, I bet that
Brummies were astonished to find that City Centre thoroughfares like Martineau Street, Stafford Street, and Easy Row would be completely obliterated. (I am not a Brummie, by the way.)
The whole block on easy row was demolished including the imposing buildings of the B and MI plus the library which were replaced with a square concrete monstrosity which has just been demolished for another pointless block of glass. paradise street was once beautiful. Now they are trying to take cars out of the city
I love that haunting song. Does anyone know what it's called?
@paulph12002 I think it's perfect.
Oh and the vid is awesome, many thanx.
Historical buildings and street patterns ripped apart by 1960s planners...but what must be remembered is Victorian type architecture was disliked by many back then, the planners thought that they were doing the right thing
Now it is full of aimlessly driven buccaneers trying to distract anyone who is vunerable enough to fall into this now cesspit of doom.Brummie born and bred but now the adventure of travelling into town has lost all purpose.
I agree, I couldn't stand to see my home destroyed by all the awful people they let in I am sorry but i had to leave!
Brum looked tired and grim in the fifties. Sadly the technology for jet-cleaning the very sooty looking buildings in the centre hadn't yet been invented and this meant that a lot of buildings, fine beneath the grimy surface were demolished.
Some of the comments here are very cynical, and I agree with "idowish2" that much the city centre looks fine at present.
first came to Brum shortly after this was filmed, and saw it change from this fine old Victorian city to largely what it is now i.e The Bull Ring etc. It did rather take the heart out of the place which has never really been replaced. The GOOD thing was the great mix of immigration and it added a lot of good to the City's culture particularly with vry strong Irish & West Indian populations. But with the influx of Islamic immigrants from the early 70's who have rarely even tried to integrate, it gradually became a rather depressing and dark City. I rarely venture there now but I have very happy memories of the 60's there
It's not a depressing and dark city.
Substance oh it is
What a find! Marvellous.Who are the people in the Standard Tourer? And what`s that music?
Mum was born in Birmingham in 1945 and lived in the back to backs. She has bittersweet memories of latchkey life, sharing a toilet between several families, collecting scraps from the market to augment the family's diet, and bricks taking down the chimney during storms. But freedom to roam and community with the other kids.
Her whole childhood was erased by the high rises.
The freeze-- Lene Lovich. 1979..Just in case you wanted to know.
Now the cesspit of England.
Agree
The song is The Freeze - Lene Lovich
Aaaaaaaahhhh me old square peg when it was Lewises - I'm old enough to remember it and the big circular shoping area down at another level that had another entrance to Lewises. Thanks for the memories :)
Such a simpler life back then the society we live in today has go e wrong on so many levels. Hope alot of the people are still with us.
You live on another planet!
@allfantasticimages ...Thank you for the info....I have now downloaded it...I think it's a brilliant song.
Thank you for posting.
I like odd music; is it by any chance anything to do with the Mael Brothers aka Sparks?
At least back in these times it was safe to walk the streets in Birmingham. Now look at it in 2011? My god. In saying this every large city in this country is no longer safe. I wonder why this is??
A great snapshot of the city I grew up in that has changed beyond all recognition now. Does anyone have any film or photo's of the old wholesale markets of the 1950-60s particularly the meat market Christmas show?
Yes, I used to do a large amount of location photography years ago, however, rather than be accused of "casing a joint" I complete the majority of my image making through Photoshop and other programs.
Life is all memory
Great Video ;-)
Our moms and dad right there
Haunting !
Great video. Spooky music. 😆
@paulph12002 You're pining for days which the world forgot ages ago, life moves on. Yes architecture and design has changed for the worst (IMO too), but try getting treatment for cancer in Birmingham today compared to when this video was shot... some things change for the better I guess. Lets not lament too much.
The planners is the 1960's really messed up Birmingham
Born in 1963 I barely remember Snow Hill Station before it was levelled. The Bull Ring I knew in the 1970/80/90’s was a damp and subterranean world. I think my home City is nowadays a place fit for purpose. It’s continuing evolution can’t be stopped. (Now resident in South West England)
I wonder if the flower seller at 5.12 is the same one as seen in the Birmingham 1964 clip on you tube.
She died 10 year ago
Just happened upon my father's birth certificate and I can see he was born in Birmingham in 1925 at little Barr st In the parish of st Bartholomew. wow if he was still alive he would have turned 90 on August the 31st.
He would have been 90 in 2015.
+Ron Judd your right
you're right.
so tell me folks ( what went wrong ) it looks like england back then peace and trust.so yeh what went wrong .....?
There were still some horses and carts around then on the streets maybe belonging to rag and bone men like Steptoe and Son.My father took me around Birmingham a lot in his car back then as his parents owned a knitwear factory in Loveday Street and he worked for it.Lots of bombed out buildings still around then and lots of rubble.
.
No fast food outlets?? Wtf
dawg, this is in the UK.
And now it looks like India
I enjoyed watching the film and listening to the music which really grew on me - the first piece is "The Freeze" by Lena Lovich, the second is "I'm Cramped (Original Mix)" by The Cramps.
I was born 1951 in Johnstreet West went to live in Perry common
❤ neat music 🎶📻🔌.
And, the second part of the music simply has to be the so-non Birmingham band, the Fall...
Nice video, brilliant music.
birmingham before the arabs
+Graham Scott u racist
+Graham Scott its just the truth
knickers. I like the Arabs
In the late 1950s my parents moved to England from Jamaica. In 1964 we were living in Birmingham. Everyone lived together and got along well. We were all neighbors - we all worshiped at the Holy Trinity church, Birchfield, where my brothers and I were baptized. My friends and I went to the same schools - I never felt any different, we were all British. I'm now living in America and I recently, went home to visit my aging family in Birmingham and yes, it did change a great deal. We have to find our way back to living together, peacefully and respectably like we did in 1964.
There always has to be racism in the comments with these old videos. you should all go and live in 1950 and take your racism there. Birmingham is more diverse now
What statue was the beside the queen Victoria one, that isn't there anymore is it?
Edward the Seventh
We will never see this again because of traitors and degenerates. Creepy music wasn't needed though.
What are you looking for? Promotion.
I remember very fond!y, the games we played on a bombpeck.
actually muted the video and was listening to harptones
Does anyone know what the song is in the soundtrack? And who is singing it?
Desi Corcoran she has a beautiful voice whoever it is.
When they turned onto corporation street and there’s a sign up on the right for SGB Scaffolding.
That situation lasted until into the 80's surprisingly. Loads of politics involved as ever but...whats new. Great film, with a John Peel-esque soundtrack especially the second track, is this the Fall? (And btw is the first one Sparks?)
why on earth would you convert old shaky footage into an interlaced format...... not liking the the lines every time the camera moves......
Scary!
It would have better to use music that people would most likely had listen to on the radio at that time so as capture the atmosphere of the clip, instead we get eighties music that was decades out of time. Great clip just a shame about the music
What the music should have been was jimmy Powell.......remember then.a great artist from brum rip jimmy may 16 2016.your memories of him on here please,did you play in his band did you see him at the clubs and venues.ray Drury.
it aint what it looks like mate, its the scumbags and scroungers in it.
ha Lewis's. me nan worked their
So did my mom in 50s/60s she met Norman wisdom he came into Lewis's one day