Do you remember when New Street looked like this? - Birmingham Live

It used to be the epicentre of the city –  the place you queued for hours to see world famous bands and shopped for the latest fashion

It’s always been the first street you entered when arriving via Birmingham’s main train station.

You’d come up those escalators like a mole from a dark hole into Pallasades, a drab and rather gloomy shopping centre full of discount shops.

From here, you’d wander past Claire’s Accessories and Woolies down the famous ramp and onto New Street itself.

What a welcome to Birmingham.

Today, there’s Grand Central with its gleaming white walls, independent boutiques and fancy cafes. You can eat tapas whilst waiting for your train now, or maybe go and spritz a little Jo Malone fragrance.

But what about New Street itself?

It wasn’t that long ago that New Street really was the epicentre of the city – it was the place you queued for hours to see world famous bands and where you shopped for the latest fashion.

Even the Queen drove down New Street with her convoy of Royal cars in the days before it was pedestrianised.

Do you remember ...

When you could shop at Etam, BHS and Kensington Freak

Etam was once a staple of every teenage girl’s wardrobe, and her sister’s too, thanks to its younger department called Tammy Girl. This affordable French brand initially moved from New Street to Bullring then closed in 2005.

Kensington Freak was the menswear shop where all of Brum’s dapper blokes shopped ahead of a big night out at the Ritzy, Central Park or The Dome.

When you’d walk down New Street bleary-eyed from an all-nighter like Tin Tin’s

This dance club used to be opposite New Street Station, on Smallbrook Queensway, and played a huge part in putting Birmingham on the map when it came to clubbing.

It used to be where Debenhams is now, couldn’t get much more different really.

When the Rotunda signalled the end of the shops and the start of the markets

This picture shows the Bull Ring Market lit up at night, overlooked by the Rotunda, in 1986.

You’d head down New Street and past the Rotunda to get to the rag market and bargain shops like Mark One.

Unlike today, where Bullring is the first place most shoppers head for, this area was where you’d go if you wanted a dress for less than a fiver, some material to make your own clobber or a pound of apples.

When the Odeon hosted bands like the Rolling Stones

Rolling Stones fans queued outside the Odeon in New Street, Birmingham getting ready to see Mick, Keith and the boys perform live on stage at their gig on September 19, 1973.

And fans queued through the night for a chance to see The Beatles

The queue began to form outside the Odeon more than 10 hours before the box office was due to open on November 1, 1965 ready for their gig on December 9.

Crush barriers had to be put in place to man the crowds and a mass of bedding and haversacks were left behind by those who’d slept on New Street to make sure they didn’t miss the chance to see the Fab Four.

When the Queen drove down New Street (in the days before it was pedestrianised)

Crowds came to wave and cheer as Her Royal Highness was driven down New Street on June 9, 1951.

People travelled from far and wide to catch a glimpse of Queen Elizabeth and wave their Union Jack flags, with crowds of people stretching the length of New Street.

The Royal party were actually on their way to Villa Park.

When New Street was put under complete lockdown

Sadly, New Street was not a nice place to be in August 2011 when hundreds of rioters went on the rampage.

Extra police were called in as around 300 youths, masking their faces with scarves and hoods, smashed shop windows, looted stores and even tried to hijack a bus.

Staff in New Street shops locked themselves in for their own protection as Greggs, Jessops and the Orange store, amongst others, had their windows smashed.

• What are your memories of New Street?