Gallowgate Grain: Newcastle United on 35mm

Words: Richy Southern

Images: Richy Southern

With Newcastle now preparing for a second-leg Champions League tie against Barcelona in the last 16, I’ve found myself reflecting on the journey the club and the city have been on since the takeover by Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.

It’s a situation that understandably provokes a range of emotions. Personally, I’ve reconciled it in the only way I really can: I was a Newcastle supporter long before the Saudis arrived, and I’ll still be one long after they’ve gone.

What can’t be denied, though, is how dramatic the change on the pitch has been.

In just over four years Newcastle have avoided relegation, reached two domestic cup finals, qualified for the Champions League twice and lifted a trophy.

©Richy Southern/ Terrace Edition. Newcastle United vs Paris Saint-Germain.

For a fanbase that spent the better part of a decade in stagnation, that transformation has felt surreal at times.

Thinking back to the Champions League night against Paris Saint-Germain, there was a tangible sense of anticipation hanging over the city long before kick-off. It felt like something historic might happen.

I went to the game with Sam Fender, Casisdead and Asim Chaudhry. It was one of those evenings where football, culture and the city itself seemed to collide.

I found myself documenting the quieter moments before the chaos began: the calm before the game, the nervous energy, the sense that everyone inside St James’ Park understood the scale of the occasion.

Newcastle didn’t just win that night, they dismantled one of Europe’s superpowers. A 4–1 victory over PSG that will live long in the memory of anyone lucky enough to be inside the ground.

All of the photos from that night were taken on a small Olympus MJU-II 35mm point-and-shoot camera. There was nothing overly technical about it. I quite literally did what the camera invites you to do: point and shoot.

That simplicity is part of the charm. Film has a way of capturing atmosphere in a way that feels raw and unpolished. Grain, motion and imperfect lighting somehow mirror the chaos and emotion of football itself.

Those photos eventually became the starting point for a small side project I’ve since started documenting on Instagram under the name @gallowgategrain.

The idea behind the page is simple. It’s about documenting terrace life at St James’ Park and the rituals that surround it.

The commute into town, the pubs and record shops, the smell of food stalls on matchday, the music drifting through the streets, and the conversations you have with strangers who feel like friends for ninety minutes.

Football is never just about the match. It’s about the journey that leads you there.

For Newcastle supporters, that journey has taken some unexpected turns over the last few years. But nights like PSG are a reminder of why people keep turning up.

Because every now and then, football gives you a moment that feels bigger than the game itself.

And sometimes, if you’re lucky, you manage to capture it on film.