Britain lost a beautiful part of its culture and heritage with the loss of Woolworths. My parents and grandparents had such fond memories of that store, and the joy and value for money it gave people on a tight budget. And as a young woman in the 1980 and '90s it was my first port of call for the festive essentials - sparkling decorations, pretty wrapping paper, chocolates and sweets, records, and all manner of exciting gifts that didn't break the bank. The first family Christmas tree I recall as a child in the 'Seventies, was a huge, silver tinsel one my mum and dad had bought from Woolworths in the 'sixties. I always felt a Christmas tree should be silver, as a result! To my innocent young eyes that towering, metallic tree was magical, every time we got it out of the attic, and spent the day decorating it for another Christmas. I can still feel that thrill of excitement and anticipation even now, looking back on that family ritual. Hanging our treasured, multi-coloured glass baubles on each glittering branch, knowing that one by one, mysterious, brightly wrapped gifts would start appearing, stacked underneath them, as the glorious 25th of December loomed ever closer... We had that artificial Woolies tree for 20 years or more, and I loved it. I wouldn't give you a thank you for a real tree - That silver monster that towered over the room WAS Christmas to me. Even as its branches got thinner and thinner with the years, we just wound more tinsel on it to disguise the balding patches. Christmas without out Woolies tree was unthinkable! If ever a store deserved to survive every economic downturn, it was Woolies. Why is the soulless, overpriced 'WH Smith' still going strong??? What a joke! Thanks so much for the video Steve. Merry Christmas! XXX 🎈⭐🎄🎈⭐🎄🎈⭐🎄🎈⭐🎄🎈⭐🎄🎈⭐
You're welcome! Always a pleasure. We had the same artificial tree for years too until it wore out (a green one though). The first year we got a real tree, well I just have memories of constant hoovering and pine needles sticking in my bum on Christmas morning round a threadbare tree. Never bothered with real again.
As a kid I remember the Woolworths Christmas advert being a big deal. Waiting to see which celebrities were in it. Miss the pick and mix and going in to buy singles back in the early 1980s.
It's funny how things get so much more valuable as we get older. I have a Rubik's cube that my dad got me ( after constant nagging from me) in 1981 from someone selling them out of a suitcase. I can remember it as clear as day even now much like you can with your Ghostbusters
The fact that an entire ad break was one Woolies advert used to be impressive, and we used to look forward each year to seeing it. I was disappointed when they finally stopped doing that.
I always hated Rubiks cubes 'cause I could never do it! I love them now though, since learning how to solve one as an adult. Great way to feel like a smart**se! 🤣
Great video, thank you for a great look back at an old favourite, losing woolies was like losing a limb. Did anyone ever buy pic n mix or try before you don't buy. I felt towards the end, it had lost its way, was sad, I agree re the vulture comment, plenty of those who were in the shops, probably hadn't been in in years
The lost it's way thing .. I agree. Towards the end I bought less games, music & stuff from there. The prices inflated noticeably in the final years, eg. they were selling video games at full RRP when all the other shops (even in the same shopping centre) had them at £5 to £10 cheaper.
So many memories . First games console, Phillips videopac. First album, dire straits money for nothing. Met my first girlfriend in Woolworths and managed to buy an Xbox 360's for my friend's little boy at Christmas. My best Woolworths year was 1982!
So many memories of stuff I bought over the years, but the most endearing has to be when I was ten, my Mum bought me a Ghostbusters logo pendant from Woolworths while I was ill in hospital. I still have it, (minus the neck chain.)
I always find it sad that Google Street View only started in late 2008, so any time you look back your local High Street, all you can see is Woolies with store closing signs plastered all over them.
An interesting look into the history of Woolworths and their Christmas ads. I still have Christmas decorations on our tree that I purchased back in 87 😂 I bought albums and singles from there in the nineties. I also remember sneakily buying pick n mix to take in the cinema. Merry Christmas 🎄 Thank you Steve.
You are very welcome. All our decs came from Woolies back then, too. Sadly all gone now - what was left of the old decorations stayed at my mum's house and she's thrown them all away since.
You're welcome. I remember always having those type of plimsoles for PE lessons at school in the 70s & 80s, and those waterproof drawstring PVC school bags, too.
Loved Woolworths. You could get all your Xmas presents there, so only had to visit one shop! Suppose the public are to blame for it shutting too, for not going there
I have very fond memories growing up of Woolworths, especially at Christmas time where it seemed a magical place to visit. What's very telling is that where my favourite Woolworths used to be is now a Tesco Express. 13:53 that's a proper tin of Quality Street! Not like the half-filled micro-tubs you get nowadays.
@@RetroSpectives Interesting they didn't book the full set of 'Goodies', isn't it? Bill Oddie did have a reputation for being difficult. A friend of mine knew the late Tim Brooke-Taylor well, and said he was a really lovely guy.
We still buy a TV or Radio Times at Christmas. Don't really read it, though - it just looks nice and Christmassy on the coffee table! 🤣 Which issue we buy depends entirely on which cover looks more Christmassy.
OMG - Thank You! LINK: czcams.com/video/zuWQitNlvf0/video.htmlsi=BN6YEhYywQ81YW5t I just looked it up, I had totally forgotten that pop video filmed in Woolies, though the song is as clear in my head as it was in 1982. I bet I bought my copy in Woolworths too, as I did most of my singles back then - sheer nostalgia! I don't mind telling you, seeing lead singer Dave Gahan looking about 15 years old (he was actually 20), brought a tear to my eye. Where did all the years go?!
I have a strong mental image now of toddler Steve standing staring at the stop button on the escalator like Dougal in the Christmas special of _Father Ted_ , unable to not touch the giant red button in the aeroplane cockpit labelled "Do Not Touch". 😆 I can't believe there were more than 1,100 shops at their peak - that feels like maybe they stretched themselves too thin, but then it was something you'd expect every high street to have. Their "Big W" stores probably were a step too far, though - huge warehouse-y places in out-of-town retail parks - as by that point supermarkets had started very much to eat their lunch, and I don't think they were ever likely to turn that trend around.
I think the Father Ted scene you've described is pretty much it, only I remember going in faster. No hesitation there! 🤣 As for the decline of Woolies, although it was a number of factors that led to it, I think the growth of supermarkets was probably the thing that inevitably tightened the noose.
@@RetroSpectives Yeah, it's what I'd put my money on, too. They've been doing other stuff a long time - I can clearly remember buying 7-inch singles in Asda in 1989/1990 - but they've gradually increased their range over the years, and when it's already a place you _need_ to go to regularly for groceries, then many people won't bother going anywhere else. RIP Woolworths, killed by convenience.
Quite the line-up of celebrities in those old Woolies ads - Leslie Crowther, Windsor Davies, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie, Kenny Everett (like Woolies, someone I only truly appreciated after they were gone), Stirling Moss, Geoff Capes, Eric Bristow, Daley Thompson (and, like the turd in the punch bowl, Tony Blackburn, because they didn't want to seem _too_ appealing, maybe? 😛🤣) - they used to go all-out, didn't they? It felt like they got a bit more generic as time went on, though I don't know if that was a sign of their dwindling fortunes or just the trend in advertising, as so much of it is so milquetoast nowadays.
@@RetroSpectives Oh yes. But I'm personally captivated by the similarly gloriously-bad hair-do he's sporting: I think he must have nicked it off of one of those life-size Lego mini-figures you often see in toy departments and toy shops 😂
Great Video Woolworths Loved the shop had everything just another example of a great business failing into the wrong hands and changing times . 👍
I can't believe how sad and emotional I feel after digging up these old feelings. Silly, really.
Britain lost a beautiful part of its culture and heritage with the loss of Woolworths. My parents and grandparents had such fond memories of that store, and the joy and value for money it gave people on a tight budget. And as a young woman in the 1980 and '90s it was my first port of call for the festive essentials - sparkling decorations, pretty wrapping paper, chocolates and sweets, records, and all manner of exciting gifts that didn't break the bank.
The first family Christmas tree I recall as a child in the 'Seventies, was a huge, silver tinsel one my mum and dad had bought from Woolworths in the 'sixties. I always felt a Christmas tree should be silver, as a result! To my innocent young eyes that towering, metallic tree was magical, every time we got it out of the attic, and spent the day decorating it for another Christmas.
I can still feel that thrill of excitement and anticipation even now, looking back on that family ritual. Hanging our treasured, multi-coloured glass baubles on each glittering branch, knowing that one by one, mysterious, brightly wrapped gifts would start appearing, stacked underneath them, as the glorious 25th of December loomed ever closer...
We had that artificial Woolies tree for 20 years or more, and I loved it. I wouldn't give you a thank you for a real tree - That silver monster that towered over the room WAS Christmas to me. Even as its branches got thinner and thinner with the years, we just wound more tinsel on it to disguise the balding patches. Christmas without out Woolies tree was unthinkable!
If ever a store deserved to survive every economic downturn, it was Woolies. Why is the soulless, overpriced 'WH Smith' still going strong??? What a joke!
Thanks so much for the video Steve. Merry Christmas! XXX 🎈⭐🎄🎈⭐🎄🎈⭐🎄🎈⭐🎄🎈⭐🎄🎈⭐
You're welcome! Always a pleasure. We had the same artificial tree for years too until it wore out (a green one though). The first year we got a real tree, well I just have memories of constant hoovering and pine needles sticking in my bum on Christmas morning round a threadbare tree. Never bothered with real again.
sadly missed but never forgotten
😢
Happy times, broght a tear to my eye
Glad I'm not the only one. 🥹
As a kid I remember the Woolworths Christmas advert being a big deal. Waiting to see which celebrities were in it. Miss the pick and mix and going in to buy singles back in the early 1980s.
It's funny how things get so much more valuable as we get older. I have a Rubik's cube that my dad got me ( after constant nagging from me) in 1981 from someone selling them out of a suitcase. I can remember it as clear as day even now much like you can with your Ghostbusters
The fact that an entire ad break was one Woolies advert used to be impressive, and we used to look forward each year to seeing it. I was disappointed when they finally stopped doing that.
I always hated Rubiks cubes 'cause I could never do it! I love them now though, since learning how to solve one as an adult. Great way to feel like a smart**se! 🤣
I used to buy singles in the 70's.
Great video, thank you for a great look back at an old favourite, losing woolies was like losing a limb. Did anyone ever buy pic n mix or try before you don't buy. I felt towards the end, it had lost its way, was sad, I agree re the vulture comment, plenty of those who were in the shops, probably hadn't been in in years
The lost it's way thing .. I agree. Towards the end I bought less games, music & stuff from there. The prices inflated noticeably in the final years, eg. they were selling video games at full RRP when all the other shops (even in the same shopping centre) had them at £5 to £10 cheaper.
I know - you know. Never the same again.
So many memories . First games console, Phillips videopac. First album, dire straits money for nothing. Met my first girlfriend in Woolworths and managed to buy an Xbox 360's for my friend's little boy at Christmas.
My best Woolworths year was 1982!
So many memories of stuff I bought over the years, but the most endearing has to be when I was ten, my Mum bought me a Ghostbusters logo pendant from Woolworths while I was ill in hospital. I still have it, (minus the neck chain.)
Nice 😊
Thanks 😊
I always find it sad that Google Street View only started in late 2008, so any time you look back your local High Street, all you can see is Woolies with store closing signs plastered all over them.
After reading your comment I was going to go have a look, but that amount of emotion might tip me over the edge. 🥹😆
An interesting look into the history of Woolworths and their Christmas ads. I still have Christmas decorations on our tree that I purchased back in 87 😂 I bought albums and singles from there in the nineties. I also remember sneakily buying pick n mix to take in the cinema. Merry Christmas 🎄 Thank you Steve.
You are very welcome. All our decs came from Woolies back then, too. Sadly all gone now - what was left of the old decorations stayed at my mum's house and she's thrown them all away since.
❤Thank you mentioning me, I really miss Woolies and their beautiful black slip on pe Pumps. Fantastic video, Merry Xmas
You're welcome. I remember always having those type of plimsoles for PE lessons at school in the 70s & 80s, and those waterproof drawstring PVC school bags, too.
@@RetroSpectives Oh yeah, good old pe, I still wear black slip on pe Pumps
Loved Woolworths. You could get all your Xmas presents there, so only had to visit one shop! Suppose the public are to blame for it shutting too, for not going there
Ironically, it was only having to go to one shop (the supermarket) that kind of killed off Woolies.
Great vid
Cheers. 🙂
worked one xmas at my local Woolworths. ill never forget refilling the pick n mix and sweets :)
When you say 'refilling' .. did that include your tummy? 😉👍
Great vid . I miss wollies soo much it was the start of the death of the high street .
Me too, the dog that featured on some of the kids lines towards the end was cute!
It's frightening to see how much the high street has changed, and how it's going.
I think there was a sheep and a dog wasn't there? Wool and Worth.
@@RetroSpectives i have the worth toy big version and wollie and worth key rings .
I have very fond memories growing up of Woolworths, especially at Christmas time where it seemed a magical place to visit. What's very telling is that where my favourite Woolworths used to be is now a Tesco Express. 13:53 that's a proper tin of Quality Street! Not like the half-filled micro-tubs you get nowadays.
My old Woolworths was split into two shops. One is now a River Island. The other I forget but it's another clothing shop.
Every year, Yeah, we'll have Bill and Tim, Graeme Garden, nah just Bill and Tim.
Makes you wonder if they had a falling out or something.
@@RetroSpectives Interesting they didn't book the full set of 'Goodies', isn't it? Bill Oddie did have a reputation for being difficult. A friend of mine knew the late Tim Brooke-Taylor well, and said he was a really lovely guy.
I wonder if in 20 years' time, will people talk about Wilko like this?
Hmm.. you never know.
Two things meant Christmas was here. Woolworths adverts and the Christmas editions of the TV and Radio Times. Beautiful memories.
We still buy a TV or Radio Times at Christmas. Don't really read it, though - it just looks nice and Christmassy on the coffee table! 🤣 Which issue we buy depends entirely on which cover looks more Christmassy.
@@RetroSpectives I left the UK ten years ago but a friend sent me a PDF of Radio Times this year for Xmas. I loved it.
I don't know if you can get the Readly (magazine reading app) over there, but it allows access to international magazines. Might be worth a look.
Check out the music video for Depeche mode "see you" [They basically wander around Woolworths]
I'll have to look that up.
OMG - Thank You! LINK: czcams.com/video/zuWQitNlvf0/video.htmlsi=BN6YEhYywQ81YW5t
I just looked it up, I had totally forgotten that pop video filmed in Woolies, though the song is as clear in my head as it was in 1982. I bet I bought my copy in Woolworths too, as I did most of my singles back then - sheer nostalgia!
I don't mind telling you, seeing lead singer Dave Gahan looking about 15 years old (he was actually 20), brought a tear to my eye. Where did all the years go?!
I just watched it for the first time yesterday. I did think he looked a bit on the 'young' side. 😂
The UK got to keep Woolworths 12 years longer than the US.
Funny really, considering it originated in the States.
I have a strong mental image now of toddler Steve standing staring at the stop button on the escalator like Dougal in the Christmas special of _Father Ted_ , unable to not touch the giant red button in the aeroplane cockpit labelled "Do Not Touch". 😆
I can't believe there were more than 1,100 shops at their peak - that feels like maybe they stretched themselves too thin, but then it was something you'd expect every high street to have. Their "Big W" stores probably were a step too far, though - huge warehouse-y places in out-of-town retail parks - as by that point supermarkets had started very much to eat their lunch, and I don't think they were ever likely to turn that trend around.
I think the Father Ted scene you've described is pretty much it, only I remember going in faster. No hesitation there! 🤣 As for the decline of Woolies, although it was a number of factors that led to it, I think the growth of supermarkets was probably the thing that inevitably tightened the noose.
@@RetroSpectives Yeah, it's what I'd put my money on, too. They've been doing other stuff a long time - I can clearly remember buying 7-inch singles in Asda in 1989/1990 - but they've gradually increased their range over the years, and when it's already a place you _need_ to go to regularly for groceries, then many people won't bother going anywhere else. RIP Woolworths, killed by convenience.
Quite the line-up of celebrities in those old Woolies ads - Leslie Crowther, Windsor Davies, Tim Brooke-Taylor, Bill Oddie, Kenny Everett (like Woolies, someone I only truly appreciated after they were gone), Stirling Moss, Geoff Capes, Eric Bristow, Daley Thompson (and, like the turd in the punch bowl, Tony Blackburn, because they didn't want to seem _too_ appealing, maybe? 😛🤣) - they used to go all-out, didn't they? It felt like they got a bit more generic as time went on, though I don't know if that was a sign of their dwindling fortunes or just the trend in advertising, as so much of it is so milquetoast nowadays.
I just love the pure awkwardness of Tony Blackburn's attempt at acting. It's gloriously bad! 🤣
@@RetroSpectives Oh yes. But I'm personally captivated by the similarly gloriously-bad hair-do he's sporting: I think he must have nicked it off of one of those life-size Lego mini-figures you often see in toy departments and toy shops 😂