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In the early 1970s, Amber documented the large-scale demolitions that were transforming the fabric of Newcastle. The footage captures the reshaping of areas including Scotswood, Ouseburn, the Quayside and parts of the city centre. Filmed in silence and on 16mm, these observations remain a raw and powerful record of urban change at a moment of accelerated redevelopment.
The material was never used in any of Amber’s completed films, but it sits alongside the research process that led to Six to Midnight (1974), the group’s early documentary portrait of a day in the life of the city. Shot with a quiet attention to both structure and atmosphere, the demolition footage reflects the group’s early interest in the changing nature of place and its impact on the communities who lived there.
Though not originally shown publicly, the work contributes to the wider body of Amber’s engagement with Tyneside’s social history and has come to be recognised as a significant visual record of Newcastle in transition.
