BOYS FROM THE BLACKSTUFF 1982 British Drama Mini Television Series Part 1 - Jobs For The Boys

The television play The Black Stuff was written by Alan Bleasdale for BBC1's Play for Today anthology series in 1978. It concerned a group of Liverpudlian tarmac layers (hence the slang for tarmac: 'the black stuff') on a job near Middlesbrough. The acclaim that The Black Stuff received on its eventual transmission led to the commissioning of the sequel serial, of which Bleasdale had already written a considerable amount. The series Boys from the Blackstuff follows the stories of the five now-unemployed men who lost their jobs following the events of the original play The Black Stuff. Set in Bleasdale's home city of Liverpool, and reflecting many of his own experiences of life in the city, each episode focuses on a different member of the group. The series was highly acclaimed for its powerful and emotional depiction of the desperation wrought by high unemployment and a subsequent lack of social support.

The character of Yosser Hughes was widely discussed. He was a man driven to the edge of his sanity by the loss of his job, his wife, the authorities' continued attempts to take his children away from him and his constant attempts at salvaging his male pride (often being the main give-away of his insecurity). His catchphrases, "Gizza' job!" ("give us a job") and "I can do that!" became part of the popular consciousness of the 1980s, summing up the mood of many who sought desperately for work during the era. Hughes was played by Bernard Hill. The serial also helped to establish the career of Julie Walters, who played the most prominent female role as Angie, the wife of Chrissie, played by Michael Angelis. Jobs for the Boys - featuring most of the characters from the initial drama. They take a cash-in-hand job on a building site whilst still claiming unemployment benefit. Typical of the show's humour, it is later revealed that the building being renovated is going to be used by the Department of Employment. They are followed by the authorities and Snowy Malone (Chris Darwin)a plasterer, falls to his death trying to flee during a subsequent raid by the "sniffers" (social security officers working undercover). One of the dole men was played by David Neilson, who played Roy Cropper in Coronation Street for years. A brilliant, gritty, funny, realistic piece of tv history a worthy addition to anybody's viewing list.