So what is a Gang Show?
In 1932, to raise money for Downe Campsite, the Boy Scouts of London held a show at the Scala Theatre. This Show was a celebration of comedy, dance and song, a collaboration of the works and talents of Ralph. To make the boys look like a cast, they were all given a neckerchief of the same colour, red. Gang Show was born. The Show was an instant smash hit, leading Stoke-On-Trent to start their own very soon after, under the title, ‘Screamline’. This show, the oldest living Scout Show continues to this day in the District of Newcastle and Stoke-On-Trent and now has Gang Show status.
There has been much debate over the origin of Newcastle Gang Show, with various sources crediting our conception to dates varying from 1934 to 1937.
Following extensive research (and much debate), we at Newcastle Gang Show believe that the Gang Show spirit extended from Stoke-On-Trent to Glasgow, starting in 1936 and Newcastle followed suit in 1937. You can read more about the first Newcastle Gang Show HERE.
This makes Newcastle the FOURTH oldest Gang Show in the World and the THIRD oldest surviving Gang Show.
While World War II put a hold on Scout Gang Shows, the RAF kept the Gang Show flag flying, fostering the careers of such names as Tony Hancock, Dick Emery and Peter Sellers.
Newcastle Gang Show was the first to resume after the war but almost followed London's lead in having its curtain come down a final time in 1992. Then, after an absence of five years, we returned in 1998 and have grown from strength to strength ever since.
Today, Newcastle Gang Show is the third oldest living Gang Show, and is the largest Red Neckerchief Gang Show in Northern England, mixing the most contemporary material with true traditional material , in a blend that we hope Ralph Reader himself would be proud of. The modern Newcastle Gang Show takes a cast of around 100 Cubs, Scouts, Explorer Scouts, Network Scouts, Leaders, Guides, Rangers and Guiders and, in a seemingly impossible 12 weeks, teaches them how to use their two left feet and voices they never knew they had, to produce a Show of incredible professionalism and entertainment for all the family.
We at Newcastle are proud to work closely with and support several neighbouring Shows in Tynemouth, Whitley Bay, Blyth Valley and many others, near and far.
It is said that every day of the year there is a Gang Show taking place somewhere in the world. So, from all at the third oldest Gang Show in the world, to Gang Shows around the globe, past, present and future, we echo Ralph Reader's words:
TO ALL YOU WHO WEAR THE RED SCARF. OR WHO HAVE EVER WORN A RED SCARF, MAY ALL YOUR DAYS, YOUR WEEKS, YOUR HOURS, MAY YOUR HOURS BE SPENT RIDING ALONG ON THE CREST OF A WAVE.
These are the times we shall dream about,
And we'll call them the Good Old Days.
