You can still see the initials Robson Green scrawled in white paint on the garage wall.
The garage is in the street where Soldier Soldier star Robson grew up, and the scrawl is an early example of his creative talents.
But Robson’s graffiti and the terraced house in Blyth Close, Dudley, near Seaton Burn, North Tyneside, where he spent his formative years are soon to be torn down.
The houses, which were built in the 1960s and given a life expectancy of 20 years, will be bulldozed to make way for a £4m estate of affordable housing.
Yesterday, families in Blyth Close – many of whom will move into the new houses – remembered Robson Green as a cheeky boy who had remained down-to-earth despite his rise to fame.
Elizabeth Campbell, 53, and her husband Robert, 55, who have two sons and a daughter, said they had watched Robson grow up.
Mrs Campbell said: “He was a lovely boy – very cheeky, like the rest of them. They were always hanging around at the end of the road, making mischief. Our children were a little bit younger than him so they didn’t hang out with him as such, but he was well known round here even then.”
“It’s great to see how well he has done and how down-to-earth he still is. We still get American and Japanese tourists coming to the street who want to see where he lived and to see his initials on the wall.”
North Tyneside Mayor Linda Arkley helped begin the demolition job on Blyth Close yesterday, but Robson’s old house will not be bulldozed until December.
The Curry family – Mel, a 46-year-old lorry driver, Michelle, a 40-year-old cleaner, Christopher, 19, and Anthony, 16 – have lived in Robson’s old house for five years.
Christopher said: “Quite a few friends have come round to have a look at where he lived. It is quite a privilege to live somewhere where such a star grew up.”
