Bull Ring Shopping Centre, 1965

I've posted a clip of this film before, but here is the full version. John Laing's 1965 promotional film advertising the newly completed Bull Ring shopping centre in Birmingham. It's narrated in breezy style by newsreader Richard Baker. There's a bizarre moment where he questions one of the architects through the narration – although this is a brilliant part of the film.

Throughout the height of enthusiasm and modernity prompts an overuse of the words 'gay' and 'continental'. Shots of people shopping, eating in the cafes, drinking in the bars, dancing in the nightclubs, are all so gentle and innocent, and don't reflect the pop-cultural boom of the era. Instead it's shot to the pace of the muzak pumped through the centre, an innovative touch meant to inspire people to buy more. We see shots of byegone businesses: Woolworths, Ratners, Richards Shops, BEA, and, of course, the centre itself.

The 23 acre shopping centre was opened on 29 May 1964 by Prince Philip and two of Birmingham's pushiest: Alderman Frank Price and engineer Sir Herbert Manzoni. Laing failed to let all of the shop units, rents spiralled and maintenance was an issue. After decades of disrepair demolition began in 2000. The whereabouts of the centre's modernist cave painting-inspired bull signs remains a mystery on a par with old wiped episodes of Doctor Who.

You can watch the film here.

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