Newcastle & Get Carter's 'Long Bar'

I am sure there's many of you out there who are fans of the 1971 film Get Carter, starring Michael Caine. Say what you like about the film itself (I love it, by the way), but it is a fascinating watch for us Novocastrians - and indeed for those interested in the North-East in general - due to the fact that it was shot, pretty much in its entirety, on and around Tyneside. If you haven't seen it, then where have you been these past 50+ years?

Anyway, there is something about one of the early scenes in the film that I have kinda known all my adult life, but which has been lied about for ages. And that is the identity of the bar to which Caine heads after he exits the Central Station upon arrival in Newcastle. Me and my contemporaries (I am 58, BTW) have always known this to have been The Long Bar, roughly opposite and slightly to the right as you leave the station. Now this pub disappeared when the whole block was demolished and redeveloped donkey's ago. It is now occupied largely by the Hampton by Hilton Hotel. I was always told that The Long Bar stretched all the way through this block - hence its name (though its real name was The North Eastern Bar).

Lately, though, the Victoria Comet, which sits exactly opposite the station, has laid claim to being the old pub in question. It is plastered with Get Carter commemorative plaques and information panels inside and out, but no one seems to have been bothered about the fact that they've got it wrong (either deliberately or accidentally, I'm not sure which). 

I, for one, have never really given it much thought. Until, that is, I was prompted by a five minute YouTube video by Eddy of 'Tyneside Life' - check it out here. It really is quite extraordinary, and what a strange old story. There is also another video, here, which correctly identifies The North Eastern Bar as the site of the scene in question. 

When scrolling through the comments of the first video I also found reference to the apparent appearance of a teenage Jimmy Nail in Get Carter - see here. Amazing!

Anyway, if you've got a spare day or two you really could get well and truly lost down the Get Carter rabbit-hole on YouTube. So, good luck with that...