"Heart of the Angel" 1980s documentary

[trebor79]

Is this just what the Tube was like in the 80s? Surely not every station was that bad?

Yep, that's what I remember form a couple of visits to London in the 80s and 90s.

Also remember one of the subsurface stations with an arched overall roof (maybe Earls Court) with water literally pouring through the roof like a waterfall.
Sat on a northern line train, wooden floors, wooden seat frames, wooden walls. Rattling and shaking it's way along the tunnels and feeling the floor, seat and walls all moving independently of one another.
Wooden escalators, some very vintage where half the step folded back on itself at the end of the escalator, you could hear a ker-CHUNCK ker-CHUNCK ker-CHUNCK steadily getting louder as you got close to the top. Canvas handrail too.
Everything filthy, old fashioned tube train noises. Man, it had some character!

I love the station manager in that clip "what you telling me for, I don't give a ****" before he reluctantly goes out to see what's up with the lifts.
Brilliantly edited too, to lift bell in the background throughout and perfectly concepts the barely organised chaos typical of the time
They don't make TV like that any more!

Not just the tube mind, the 80s was generally a very grungy, run down time. I'm privileged to have experienced it and be able to remember some of it. I loved it!

 

[Journeyman]

Yep, that's what I remember form a couple of visits to London in the 80s and 90s.

Also remember one of the subsurface stations with an arched overall roof (maybe Earls Court) with water literally pouring through the roof like a waterfall.
Sat on a northern line train, wooden floors, wooden seat frames, wooden walls. Rattling and shaking it's way along the tunnels and feeling the floor, seat and walls all moving independently of one another.
Wooden escalators, some very vintage where half the step folded back on itself at the end of the escalator, you could hear a ker-CHUNCK ker-CHUNCK ker-CHUNCK steadily getting louder as you got close to the top. Canvas handrail too.
Everything filthy, old fashioned tube train noises. Man, it had some character!

I love the station manager in that clip "what you telling me for, I don't give a ****" before he reluctantly goes out to see what's up with the lifts.
Brilliantly edited too, to lift bell in the background throughout and perfectly concepts the barely organised chaos typical of the time
They don't make TV like that any more!

Not just the tube mind, the 80s was generally a very grungy, run down time. I'm privileged to have experienced it and be able to remember some of it. I loved it!

Yeah, I remember all that too - it was quite extraordinary just how grotty and uninviting much of the Tube was. It's amazing how much progress was made in the 90s and 2000s - pretty much everything has been transformed.

If you want a nostalgic blast of "80s grot", the easiest way to find it, as far as I can tell, is to ride a metro system in America. I've been on the Chicago El and the New York Subway in recent years, and both reminded me of the Tube 30 years ago.

 

[AlbertBeale]

Yeah, I remember all that too - it was quite extraordinary just how grotty and uninviting much of the Tube was. It's amazing how much progress was made in the 90s and 2000s - pretty much everything has been transformed.

If you want a nostalgic blast of "80s grot", the easiest way to find it, as far as I can tell, is to ride a metro system in America. I've been on the Chicago El and the New York Subway in recent years, and both reminded me of the Tube 30 years ago.

And for a real sense of menace, straight out of a film of Sherlock Holmes in the fog on the Metropolitan Line, try some bits of the RER in Paris...

 

[Busaholic]

Yep, that's what I remember form a couple of visits to London in the 80s and 90s.

Also remember one of the subsurface stations with an arched overall roof (maybe Earls Court) with water literally pouring through the roof like a waterfall.
Sat on a northern line train, wooden floors, wooden seat frames, wooden walls. Rattling and shaking it's way along the tunnels and feeling the floor, seat and walls all moving independently of one another.
Wooden escalators, some very vintage where half the step folded back on itself at the end of the escalator, you could hear a ker-CHUNCK ker-CHUNCK ker-CHUNCK steadily getting louder as you got close to the top. Canvas handrail too.
Everything filthy, old fashioned tube train noises. Man, it had some character!

I love the station manager in that clip "what you telling me for, I don't give a ****" before he reluctantly goes out to see what's up with the lifts.
Brilliantly edited too, to lift bell in the background throughout and perfectly concepts the barely organised chaos typical of the time
They don't make TV like that any more!

Not just the tube mind, the 80s was generally a very grungy, run down time. I'm privileged to have experienced it and be able to remember some of it. I loved it!

If you went to Wapping when it was part of the neglected East London Line, you'd be forgiven for thinking the Thames was pouring in, which probably in a way it was.

 

[Irascible]

Angel when it was full ( and given how regular the Northern was back then, wasn't uncommon ) was terrifying. I only used it for a year or two before the rebuild started & wasn't my favourite thing to do - back then with Routemasters everywhere the busses were actually pretty fast, especially given you could jump off them without them having to stop.

The Vic was ok in the early 90s, never had reason to use the Jubilee but I'm gonna assume that was ok too...but the rest were in a right state yes.

 

[whoosh]

I know this is a diversion away from the documentary, but these photos capture the feel of the underground in the 80s:

Bob Mazzer On The Tube | Spitalfields Life

spitalfieldslife.com

And here:

More Bob Mazzer On The Tube | Spitalfields Life

spitalfieldslife.com

There is a book available.

Yeah, I remember all that too - it was quite extraordinary just how grotty and uninviting much of the Tube was. It's amazing how much progress was made in the 90s and 2000s - pretty much everything has been transformed.

If you want a nostalgic blast of "80s grot", the easiest way to find it, as far as I can tell, is to ride a metro system in America. I've been on the Chicago El and the New York Subway in recent years, and both reminded me of the Tube 30 years ago.

There was a lot of progress in the 90s and 2000s. I think the Kings Cross fire was probably a catalyst.

I went on the New York Subway back in 2002. It felt like stepping back in time. Filth, and no idea when the next train was coming. It was like a 20 year time travel! Presumably things haven't changed that much then in the intervening 18 years since then?! Apart from some slightly more modern trains perhaps.


Perhaps the closest to 80s grot was the Northern City Line up until recently, with 313s grime and Network Southeast tiling. Alas, 717s and retiling have brightened it up a bit.

 

[Revaulx]

The London I visited as a kid in the mid to late 60s was a magical wonderland, and a fascinating mixture of the traditional and the ultra-modern; the latter encapsulated by the new Euston and the Victoria Line. Most of the other tube lines felt comparatively old fashioned with their wooden escalators (complete with Art Deco uplighters) and 1938 stock, but the system was pretty well maintained and staff were plentiful and much more cheerful than on the contemporary Big Railway.

The decline that started some time in the 70s and continued to the end of the 80s was by no means confined to LT. The whole of London took on a down at heel appearance; Soho went from being a bit naughty but vibrant and diverse to a seedy mass of porno cinemas and dirty mag shops. The utilitarian nature of the original bit of Jubilee Line and the horrible Blackfriars rebuild were examples of the resulting loss of pride (and shortage of cash).

 

[ChiefPlanner]

The London I visited as a kid in the mid to late 60s was a magical wonderland, and a fascinating mixture of the traditional and the ultra-modern; the latter encapsulated by the new Euston and the Victoria Line. Most of the other tube lines felt comparatively old fashioned with their wooden escalators (complete with Art Deco uplighters) and 1938 stock, but the system was pretty well maintained and staff were plentiful and much more cheerful than on the contemporary Big Railway.

The decline that started some time in the 70s and continued to the end of the 80s was by no means confined to LT. The whole of London took on a down at heel appearance; Soho went from being a bit naughty but vibrant and diverse to a seedy mass of porno cinemas and dirty mag shops. The utilitarian nature of the original bit of Jubilee Line and the horrible Blackfriars rebuild were examples of the resulting loss of pride (and shortage of cash).

A good indication of London in those days can be gleaned from Jonathan Raban's "Soft City" , in his early days in London as a not very well off author , particularly his depiction of Earl's Court and Ladbroke Grove , 2 areas which have seen massive gentrification. The contrast between "posh" Notting Hill and "poor" Ladbroke Grove was immense in those days. I remember London in 1979 when I first lived there as having clear areas where you were advised not to go on both tube lines and rail lines. It had a distinct fascination though - and the population dropped by 1984 to an all time low.

 

[Revaulx]

A good indication of London in those days can be gleaned from Jonathan Raban's "Soft City" , in his early days in London as a not very well off author , particularly his depiction of Earl's Court and Ladbroke Grove , 2 areas which have seen massive gentrification. The contrast between "posh" Notting Hill and "poor" Ladbroke Grove was immense in those days. I remember London in 1979 when I first lived there as having clear areas where you were advised not to go on both tube lines and rail lines. It had a distinct fascination though - and the population dropped by 1984 to an all time low.

Have ordered a copy!

 

[greyman42]

A good indication of London in those days can be gleaned from Jonathan Raban's "Soft City" , in his early days in London as a not very well off author , particularly his depiction of Earl's Court and Ladbroke Grove , 2 areas which have seen massive gentrification. The contrast between "posh" Notting Hill and "poor" Ladbroke Grove was immense in those days. I remember London in 1979 when I first lived there as having clear areas where you were advised not to go on both tube lines and rail lines. It had a distinct fascination though - and the population dropped by 1984 to an all time low.

I remember Brixton being a bit of a no go area back in those days.

 

[Wolfie]

Angel is just one stop on the Northern Line from Kings Cross. The fire at Kings Cross Underground Station on the 18th November 1967 saw over thirty people killed, including a fireman. The public inquiry into the fire, and the subsequent report, was highly critical of both the management of London Regional Transport and working practices on the Underground for decades before the disaster. It rightly led to resignations and sackings, up to Chairman level. Your impressions thus equate with general public perception, and as an ex staff member I'd say they are thoroughly justified. It was a necessary kick up the backside: just a crying shame that so many had to die to prove the point.

I moved to London in late 1986, and Islington in 1990, and you are spot on. The tube at that time was grim. The effect of years (decades?) of underinvestment. The scary thing is that l fear we will head back that way.

Not sure many residents of Clapham would count themselves as residing in central London?

True, in the same way that l wouldn't with respect to Islington, but in reality Zone 2 is pretty central!

 

[Hadders]

I moved to London in late 1986, and Islington in 1990, and you are spot on. The tube at that time was grim. The effect of years (decades?) of underinvestment. The scary thing is that l fear we will head back that way.

I agree that with the economic conditions facing the country, we face going back to the 'bad old days' of the 1980s as far as the Underground (and public transport in general) is concerned.

 

[morrisobrien]

An absolute gem of a film, made by Molly Dineen if I am correct.
A must film for customer relation training!
The lady running up to the (trying to hide)Station Manager..."Who's In charge around 'ere"....memorable stuff.

 

[ChiefPlanner]

The track gangers , working in a rough world - and the track cleaners fascinating - "Jesus knows all our problems" , rather moving. Who ever thought about them ? All doing an important job , unseen.