In Sunderland to Ask the Mackems if They Know Why They’re Called Mackems

Lost for words with the fella in the grey tracksuit….shame he kept interrupting the man who actually knew what he was talking about

You picked a right bunch of wallopers to interview there like Eddie 😂

Despite being a proud Geordie, I worked in Sunderland and went to uni there for 15 years. I loved it in all honesty, great laugh and banter. We love to hate each other, but when the chips are down, we'd be there with each other!

I met a lovely guy back in '74 from Sunderland when he came to Luton to work, he met my dad who happened to be from Newcastle and they hit it off straight away, infact my dad idolised him, we fell in love but I was only 16 and he was 21 and my parents said I was too young to get involved with him seriously, so when his work in Luton was finished (roughly 3mths later) he said he would come back for me when I was 18, we never stayed in touch so I didn't think he would come back for me, but when I was nearly 19 my dad came back from the Luton Labour club and told me Norman had turned up asking after me, my dad broke the news that I was now married and his face dropped, I was gutted and tried to find him but with no luck. I'm many years divorced now and I often wonder what happened to him. 'The love I lost.!! I've always regretted not waiting for him 😢

That lad from Sheilds made me chuckle 😃 another fantastic video Eddie 👌

The word knacker is best described as lad in the white trackie called Ra 9 game r 😂

I was the interpreter for a lad from Sunderland and I was from Wallsend. As a soldier SAS I had to speak with the Queen Mother and they sent a Scotsman to be my Interpreter. The queen Mother said she loved my Geordie accent.

Don't forget most of the Naval Fighting Ships were built on the Tyne.

that guy recording you was doing my head in haha

im a walker boy & Sunderland folk are the same as us, football caused bad blood , but i respect people from Sunderland , i think some Geordies could start a fight in an empty room

The lad that answered "Sunderland" when asked where's does it come from, made me chuckle.

I've always thought it was as the older gentlemen said: Make 'em and Take 'em. Ship building was huge in the wear valley but the complicated and higher wage job of rigging was done on Tyneside. The bit about 'Marra' was fascinating. Never heard that before. Would LOVE to see a video on the civil war era.

Great stuff Eddy. I once worked with a Sunderland lass, she was harder than any man I've ever known but took a shine to me. She took me back to her parents place to pick something up and her dad was a legend. She told him that I was a Geordie and in his best disgraced voice he told me. Well, you know why we hate the Geordies? I said, "no" he said, we built all the ships and you took them i.e. Sunderland yard Mackem and the Geordie lad's Takem (we took them as we were superior in our finishing skills) makes sense to me like! Great stuff!

My father (1926 - 2012) was from Sunderland but moved away when he was about 10yrs old. He always said that he'd never heard "Mackem" when he lived there and folks always referred to themselves as Geordies. Either he had a bad memory or the term is more recent than we think?

Seriously great rivalry, proud of our sunderland heritage. Greatest shipbuilding town, mines, engineering, ropery, glass making, Venerable bede. Not bad for a little place in the North East of England

That sand dancer was class😂

I’m from Sunderland originally and left many years ago. I have to say watching this it is a rough rough place. On a positive note the blue sky looks nice

That South Shields lad knows the score

The combed forward hair and gormless face, identifies them before they even open their mouths.

I'm currently having my post graduate medical studies @ Newcastle. Lovely city with great friendly people. Struggling a bit with the accent but I'm gradually getting a hang of it.

07:58 - Definitely a contender for the worst chat-up line of the year 😂😂

The lad from Shields in the bus station spoke the most sense.

Eddie you’re top class man! The way you felt with him was spot on! N yeas would love to here more about the battle! Keep up the great work

Although I come from the south I was a Newcastle fan as a kid. Later in life I wanted to experience life in the north east so I went to study at Sunderland uni. Now I genuinely have a soft spot for both teams and north east football in general. The passion for the sport throughout the region is infections and cannot be replicated anywhere else to the same degree imo.

The 84 year old bloke was great for his age but he should curl up in embarrassment for not knowing the answer.

I love being a Mackem, I'm 47 & it's something I've always heard being said. I recall it mostly through football, being a fan of the red & whites, however I had heard the shipyards reference as my Dad worked for Doxfords in the late 70's and that would have been my answer. I also really enjoyed the explanation of Marra, which makes a lot of sense, though I have never used the word. I always thought it more of Durham word.

The shields lad is a pure legend 😂 Went to Sunderland only a couple of times in me life , both times genuinely felt like I was on enemy lines 😬😅

Yet again learned loads! I always thought the term Mackem was a recent thing and linked to football rivalry. Thanks Eddie

Great job Eddie. Entertaining interviews, and for the most part, the punters hadn’t a clue.

Your'a an historical fountain of North East knowledge Eddie. another great video. you must have scouted around to find particularly thick members of the Sunderland youth!

Inthe 70s we used to sing we are geordies, at sunderland games. Its due to the shipyards, when we went to to the docks in NEWCASTLE and take their jobs and take their money...

Would love to hear about that civil war battle Eddy! Keep up the great vids

You should do a video on the civil war and the history behind both Newcastle & Sunderland in that would be great to hear your perspective because the videos that I've watched so far you are sound so keep producing excellent content for us all to watch 👊

We haven't had a derby in ages so would love to hear about that battle if u get around to it Eddie!! Grand content as always lad

Great video with loads of humour as usual. I've only ever heard 'yee mackem, and we'll takem' story. Fascinating that there really isn't any concrete reason for Geordies or Mackems at the end of the day. The 'marra' story was very intesting to hear and laughed as he cut off Mr. a few too many sherberts to tell it, brilliant stuff. Also loved the honesty of the lad from South Shields. Would love to see a video on Civil War.

It's the only origin story i've ever heard of. Well done getting home with your kit. ;-) And that kid from shields proving his indisputable intelligence, what a champion.

Great video by the way love it 😀

That gent at 6.40 ish minutes in this video was amazing and I had heard the Maccum n Taccum as he said as well. Loved the marra explanation from him. The more you know right

It was interesting listening to the explanation about the origins of the term "marra". The miner's version of the 'buddy-buddy system" ;) Another great video. (Love your new sidekick 🤣) You could always try contacting the history and or anthropology departments at the Universities of Newcastle and Durham to see if they have anyone who can point you in the right direction. 🙏 (Personally, I think the original Geordies were the miners from Durham and Northumberland before being appropriated by the people of Newcastle.) " Mackems, Geordies and ram-raiders: documenting regional variation in historical dictionaries" Published online by Cambridge University Press: 01 July 2015

I've heard the ship building theory before but I'm surprised nobody mentioned that it's also the way they pronounce the the word "make" as "mak". Great video btw I love any local history stuff.

I'd be well up for a Battle of Boldon Hill Video Eddy, would be great in fact. 👍Look forward to it.

Loving the historical content Eddie, would love to learn more about that battle on Boldon Hill 👍

Hello bro, I used to live in Sunderland for 5 years. Unfortunately I'm french but I really love this city. A day I'm coming back for long. I really appreciate to have news update from my heart city. You made a good job. God bless you cheers hope meet you then around a tea cup why not . If you're agree say 100 % percent. 🎉🎉🎉🎉

Great video Eddy, very interesting stuff.

Great video!

“Most people in Sunderland don’t have a clue” never a truer word said😂

So glad to discover your chanel. Thankyou

Great video Eddy, I live in Washington but I’m a Toon fan. Always worked with a mixture of Geordies and Mackems and had some great banter over the football. Sunderland folk are lovely people. TBH I don’t even know where the name Geordies came from 😂. The Scott’s say we’re just Scottish with our heeds kicked in 🤣

Good video, originally from there, left after 4 years in the merchant navy in the early 70's been living in the USA since then. My first years here got mistaken for german and dutch as the accent is so gutteral, I found my accent changing over time just so I wasn't constantly repeating myself, but if I am around anyone from that area it comes back instantly!

I lived in Newcastle for 10 years as a football consultant for Newcastle Utd. Originally from Leeds so I learnt a lot about makhams and takhams. Most I learned from managers and players at Newcastle and Sunderland

I arrived in Sunderland around 1956 and was unaware of the expression mackem and takem (which then got abbreviated to makem) until about the 80's. I realize it was a reference to a slight speech difference between Sunderland and Newcastle but initially all the people in the North East sounded the same - though to this day I have great difficulty with Pitmatic. I believe the local dialect features many Danish words due to the various contacts with invaders and settlers from the 600's. I once was doing a gig in Newcastle and the pub was full of guys in football strips (Magpies) and I said to the crowd, ''Please join in and singalong; we're from Sunderland and need all the help we can get.'' The bass player went white and as we survived pleaded I never do that again. :) I liked the Hollywood star crack you made just after the drunk guy promoted his channel. I find all speech difference fascinating which is just as well, as I currently live in Prague.

Very interesting eddy enjoyed that

cheers again for the vids Eddie 🤣that kid from South Shields was kinda on point to be fair . 🤣🐜

My grandad was born in Sunderland moved to Scotland in the 50s and met my gran had a massive family died in 2010 never lost his accent guy was a legend , been to Sunderland few times when I was younger bit of a rough area my grandad always said he grew it rough was born in the 30s so dosent surprise me ❤

Really interesting stuff this. I'm quite fascinated by the whole north east history and the rivalry between the cities putting football aside

Fantastic informative thanks.im from South Shields and it's Newcastle and Sunderland 50/50....here

Great video Eddie 👍

what a hoot that lad was with the cans, always wanted to be in every shot!

I come from a mixed family- my eldest brother, my Parents and my uncle and cousins all support Newcastle and my younger brother, myself and next brother up in age all support Sunderland- grew up for the first few years in Hebburn and My Mam is from Jarrow- but then we moved to Washington in the early 80’s- none of us including my parents were born in Sunderland or Newcastle- mainly South Shields… when I left school I worked in Gateshead and Newcastle and found the people spot on… never had an issue… always had a bit of banter with workmates and loved a night out in Newcastle… weirdly when I get the train back up to the North East and see the Tyne Bridge etc it feels as much home as Sunderland does for me cos of the memories! I’ve always been referred to as a sand dancer, but I always knew the story of Mackems being to do with ship building and also how the people of Sunderland say make (mak)… usually more to it than that but there must be some truth in it with so many people also being passed down this story! All the best to all you people of the North East whichever side you come from or live - smashing bunch of people in this part of the world 👍👍👍

Thanks , thoroughly enjoyed that. Bit of background: Supported Sunderland for about 50 years then saw the light (dismayed with the Premiership and EFL basically) and so have been going to support Gateshead for about 12 years now. I am from Washington originally and definitely NOT from Sunderland. Used to work and drink in both Newcastle and Sunderland and didn't hear the term 'Mackem' as applied to a group of people until the early 70s when, and I think you will like this, it was used among posher people I knew from Sunderland as a derogatory term for folk from the dock areas like Hendon. As for 'Geordie' : back in the 50s and early 60s just about all of us from north of Durham used the term for ourselves reflecting the Radio programme 'What Cheor, Geordie' and songs like 'Wherever ya Gan ya Sure To Find A Geordie.' It was always easier than trying to explain which pit village or town we might have come from. But in contradiction to that I find the miners' lamp stuff interesting. I was brought up to believe that miners North of the Tyne used 'Geordie' lamps and Durham miners used Davy lamps. Loved the bit about 'marras' , great story .

Really enjoyed this insightful vlog Eddy 👍. The shipbuilding story is most likely & plausible for the word Mackem.

That put a smile on my face Eggie, funny not a Sunderland strip in sight. Growing up in N. Shields then college in South Shields Marine we heard the story re the ship building origin and it certainly is plausible back in the day when NE built ships for fun, that might be a canny follow up the heavy industry of the region, though that might take hours. Another top notch job long may you reign as our talk show ambassador for wor great area.

Learned where "marra" comes from now. Up my way in Northumberland we use that word a lot

Hope you had a bath when you got home Eddie 😉😂😂🤍🖤👍

Micky at 2:12 said what I'd always heard. Good video, mate!

I live in Lancashire but was born and brought up in Seahouses Northumberland. Here in Lancashire they call me a Geordie along with people from as far south as Middlesbrough and they don't know what a Makam or a Takham is!

Best fans ever to come to anfield we’re Sunderland there max up there.

Off to pilgrim street for interview today love watching these videos mate

Al from Brisbane love what you do

My understanding of where the term Mackem comes from is from the shipyard industry and also the wider use of the term Geordie in the North East came from George Stephenson's lamp otherwise known as the Geordie lamp so this video confirms my understanding.

Enjoyed that 👍🏻

If ever you need to describe a mackem , every single one of them looked exactly like.. Bless em

I'm from Sunderland and we do have educated people I swear... They're usually hiding in a nice coffee shop away from the scary day drinkers.

Grew up in Stanley so had a few Mackem mates, me Dad raised us as Newcastle fans though as he grew up in Gateshead and prides himself as the only true geordie in the family being born across the water in Newcastle. He’d have been livid known I knocked about with a few Mackems and they had to tuck their shirts in and zip up before they came in my house!

I was on holiday in Cyprus this year, met a footy fan from Sunderland, having banter as I am Ipswich town fan, I asked him this. He said ship building, also. Makem and Tackem, sea trials

Thanks for another interesting video Ed.. It's got to originate from ship building surely. The one thing that struck me was the majority of the people you spoke to were as thick as mince or short of a full shilling.

Thanks for another interesting video and thanks for doing your civic duty - yes, I saw you on a 'Litter pick' this morning! 😀

Great video love to see the battle between Sunderland and Newcastle roundhead and the Royalists Mike UK

God bless Comprehensive education...

Great video....civil war video for sure 👏

This proves there is no no go area for wor Eddy! Classic man!

Another cracking video, you going World Cup? That would be awesome! 👍😎

As always Eddie a great video. I'd love to see one on the Battle at Boldon Hill. I live quite close to it. Pity Rocky 4 got involved

This was great to watch. Really fascinating. Great accents by the way. Amazing how different you sound to us down in Bristol. When we came to SJP (we were actually once in the same division amazingly) my daughter genuinely thought the steward was talking in Italian 😄 Can I ask a probably daft question? Is there any detectable difference between a Geordie accent and a Mackey accent?

When I was in hopital in Sunderland, I asked the same question. One chap informed me that people (on a Friday night) would congregate outside 'Mackeys' (a shop in the high street)......... hence Mackems.

My understanding of the term Makem and Takem came from when shipyard workers from the wear built ships on the Tyne and took their wages back to Sunderland Sunderland

Ahhh so Many memories in that place.

I was told as a child that the mackem and tackem, from make them and take them, was from the shipyards, because in Newcastle or Northumberland we would say mek ‘em and tek ‘em instead. Down to small difference in the dialect?

My Dad was born in Sunderland in 1910 and left for Canada in 1927. He referred to himself as a “Geordie”.

Great question eddy. I was adopted at 6 weeks old, by a makem family. Dad from whitburn, mam from silksworth. Lived in dunston most of my life. And my understanding from my parents, is the dialect. And, coz people mak things, and people tak them. I,e wee,s keys are these keys etc etc. By the way NUFC through and through.

Excellent video Macum and takum We have Marras in west Cumbria I’d love a one on the civil war battle Quality stuff “I don’t like talking either” lol quality! Credit to the Sunderland public I thought there were some real super stars there.

Mixed feelings and emotions about this place can’t work it out if I love it or hate it I have good memories of this place growing up but think it’s all over for the place now like a forgotten land the people are lost souls

By 'eck Eddie, I bet you were ready for a pint after that?!! Well done on keeping your cool with yer man Jack the lad!

Fascinating again. I heard the term "marra" a lot when i was at college in ashington.

I used to always just joke that "When Geordies won't, Sunderland Mackem"

Spot on video eddy from my side of tyne 👍 and guess what I new what where the term came from my dad but definitely didn't know about been a Geordie 😯..

04.40 best bloke lol

That was fantastic Eddie. Thanks , i smiled the whole way through. Brave man at times . Class

😂😂😂 Eddie you're hilarious, you know how to get those views bro . 83k 😂

1 of my friends is from Sunderland and occasionally while texting he will use local Mackem lingo occasionally and im just like "Huh? What are you saying?" It gets confusing occasionally (Find it hilarious tho) As im not from the NE area 😂 But god the accent i LOVE it could listen to someone from there talk for hours