There are some things about living in Britain that are written into unofficial law. Firstly, if someone drops a glass in a pub, you have to all go “waaaaay”. Secondly, if the weather is anything slightly different than overcast drizzle, you either have to post on Facebook about it, or make generic small-talk to everyone around you.
Thirdly, if you’re from the north east, specifically Teesside, and of a certain age group… Let’s say 35+ at the time of typing, there is one specific unwritten rule that stands to this day.
Whenever “The Best” by Tina Turner comes on the radio, you have to add lyrics. And it goes something like this.
“You’re simply the best…. SOUTH CLEVELAND GARAGES!”
There are clips of nightclubs erupting into song whenever this came on. When the Premier League Darts came to Newcastle, and Mensur Sulevik walked on, a large portion of the crowd also erupted into song.
Anyway, apparently, this particular jingle has been hard to find. And because I’ve typed all of this, you’e already worked out that I’ve found a copy within my own tapes. Therefore, I shall not detay you any longer. Here’s a copy of the advert from around 1999/2000.
It’s funny how just one jingle is probably more fondly remembered than what is on the rest of the tape. For instance, the next song on the tape is “Radio” by The Corrs. I wonder how many people wake up at 4AM in the morning with that going through their head on infinite loop? Nobody. Yet, I’m sure, at some point today, that “The Best” will get played somewhere in Middlesbrough, and 90% of the listenership will add “South Cleveland Garages”.
Also, did you know that “The Best” was originally sung by Bonnie Tyler? And yes, it was me who uploaded the video to Youtube in case anyone thinks I plagarised it for the sake of hits.
Amazing work! Historical artefact preserved!
Absolute legend! Been looking for a decent quality version of this ad for years (or indeed *any* quality). Now I can pass on to my own children so the legend will never die.
That was my hope, glad you liked it!!
I have randomly searched for this now and then over the years when trying to explain it to people. You have done important work preserving this online.
Thanks Tom, I didn’t think, for a second that when I recorded it, it’d ever be lost media that anyone would look for. Even when I digitised the tapes several years ago did I know it was lost media. It wasn’t until a work colleague explained that it was lost media that I knew people were looking for it!