It used to be in a very prominent location just outside of town and was also a big favourite with acts who appeared on The Tube and a long gone Newcastle pub has now also been revealed as the first place The Hairy Bikers had a pint together.
Given that it was right next to the old Tyne Tees building on City Road, up from the Quayside, Egypt Cottage was a very popular drinking haunt for both the broadcaster’s staff and the stars who stepped in front of its camera; most notably the world famous artists who headed up to the North East to appear on much loved music show The Tube.
The likes of Elton John, Bono and Paul McCartney are all reported to have enjoyed a drink at Egypt Cottage, which opened way back in the 1700s and speaking on Good Morning Britain earlier this week, Hairy Biker Si King told how it was also the place where he and late best mate Dave Myers, who passed away earlier this year after a battle with cancer, enjoyed a pint and a curry, during a break in working on Catherine Cookson TV adaptaton, The Gambling Man, which famously starred Robson Green in the lead role.
Long before The Hairy Bikers became one of the BBC‘s most recognisable duos, Si and Dave hit it off behind the camera, with Si an assistant director on the show and Dave working as a makeup artist on set. Having bonded over a shared love of fishing, food and motorbikes, Si and Dave persuaded BBC bosses to give them their own series in 2004, with Si explaining: “First of all we were told it’s going to be celebrity led, so Dave and I were like, ‘no we want to do it, why would we give this idea to somebody else, are you mad?’”
“We were two working class lads from the north, and we had an extraordinary career, but those careers were behind the camera. It was very rarely that you made the transition from behind the camera.”
Much to the upset of its regulars and stars like Jools Holland and The Tube’s producer Geoff Wonfor, Egypt Cottage called last orders for a final time in 2009, the same year that the Tyne Tees studio next door was demolished, following its closure four years earlier.
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