Newcastle away promotion May 79 plus Goldstone homecoming + Hove Town Hall old pics

[RowleyBirkinQ.C(deceased)]

I was too young to appreciate us getting promotion, but was chuffed to hear many years later that the night before the Newcastle game, the Albion team went out to the cinema and watched National Lampoons Animal house and put them in a top mood for the game next day. It's mine and my mates favourite film comedy, I've seen it about 50 times and still love it.

 

[Grassman]

Brilliant days. I remember listening to the Newcastle game outside a mates house in Forge Close, Portslade - alas I was far too young to have made the trip.

 

[Smithy]

Before my time but great to see anyway. How many made the trip? 10,000 odd? Amazing.

 

[Goldstone Rapper]

I was watching from the car park, with my home made Andy Rollings scarf.

The scene from the dressing room would have made you blush even more!

 

[NUFC1892]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TJvDionCiQ

Watched that a while ago and the description made me smile

The crowd was made up of three sets of fans - Sunderland fans wanted Newcastle to win to help the Rokerites go up, Newcastle fans wanted Brighton to win to keep Sunderland down, and Brighton fans wanted the Seagulls to win, which they did!

 

[daveinprague]

I was working as a radio operator in a hut in the middle of the Qusumah desert in Saudi Arabia at the time, at a place called KingKhalidMilitary City... glamourous name, but, at the time, it was a few huts and foundations marked out with string.. decided to telex BBC Brighton local radio, and told them to leave the connection open, and to keep me updated with the score or any bits that were interesting...bless them...they DID!!! Even got a few mentions on the show haha...

 

[Jack Straw]

Amazing times.
I was on a coach which left the McKellar pub in Peacehaven at 11.30pm on the Friday night. After a minor collision with a kerb or road sign, and some makeshift panel beating by a passenger who could do that sort of thing (Kenny Baverstock?), we arrived in Newcastle at about 8.30am the following morning.
As the day moved on, the coach, now parked in a market car park, started coming under seige from Newcastle fans.
Each time we repelled them. Each subsequent attack had more numbers.
Inbetween these attacks, we scavenged for missiles and piled them up under the coach.
The first group of Geordies numbered a dozen or so, but by midday, there was a hundred.
We needed police protection at this point, so we plonked one of our ladies on the hooter, and left her there for quite a while until the police arrived.
Then the organised coaches starting arriving - the cavalry.
At 2.30pm we were marched on mass up the hill to St. Jame's Park.
The ground was absolutely packed, with Sunderland fans who didn't travel, I think, to Wrexham, cheering for us at the other end of the main stand to our left, next to the Gallowgate end.
My Grandad told me that one day, Brighton would have a team in the first division. I thought that there's more chance of me winning the pools. He died in 1977. In 1978, his prophecy came true. When the whistle went at St. Jame's Park that Saturday afternoon, I suddenly burst in to tears, hearing my Grandad in the back of my head utter those words.
I'm sure I went on the pitch too.
When we left, the convoy of coaches were sitting ducks for the kiddie at the side of the dual carriageway just outside of the city, with his mountain of rocks. Bang. Bang. He scored two direct hits, but fortunately no windows broke. However, just on from there was a line of Brighton coaches which did have windows smashed.
I don't remember sleeping that night, but do remember on that Sunday afterwards, being in the North Stand singing my head off. It was just like a match was being played.
The pitch had been ploughed up, in case the FA made us replay the last home game again against Blackburn I think, where we scored a goal through a cloud of smoke from a smoke bomb thrown on the pitch by a spectator.
Then there was the open-top bus parade The large Union Jack in the photos? That was me.