Personal memories of Southborough’s lost Secondary Modern school from 1969 to 1974 by Gary James.

Gary was born in Tunbridge Wells in 1958 and grew up in Silverdale Road and the Montgomery Road estate off Powdermill Lane. He was schooled at St Lukes Infants’, High Brooms Boys and then Ridgewaye in Southborough before leaving for college in 1974.

He trained for theatre at the Royal Court in London’s Sloane Square in the late 1970s as a founder member of the Young People’s Theatre Scheme and has worked extensively in theatre, television and radio. He is probably best known by those of a certain age for co-presenting on the ground breaking TV music show 'The Tube' for Tyne Tees TV/Channel 4 in the early 1980s.

In 2019 his memoirs were published in a book called ’Spangles, Glam, Gaywaves & Tubes’ - a title which he freely admits rolls off the tongue like a brick. The first part of the book is about growing up in the 1960s and 70s in High Brooms and Southborough.

The Ridgewaye School, unlikely as it might sound, became the catalyst for his acting and creative career. His illustrated talk will outline the history of the now demolished seat of learning from a personal perspective rather than historical and acknowledges his fondness of what were, for him, halcyon days.

Free to members and non-members. For non-members, please email us at thesouthboroughsociety@gmail.com to request an invite to the Zoom presentation.

Looking forward to ‘seeing’ you all there!

Gary with John Peel on The Tube, shown on Channel 4, November, 1983.