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November 6, 2026
  • The late 1980s love affair with French movies
  • Demonising people with ‘Yuppie Flu’
  • Teaching adult literacy in the 1980s
  • Was TV better in the 1970s and 1980s?

The 70s 80s 90s Blog

Three Decades of History with TV historian Tony McMahon

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  • French movies 1980s

    The late 1980s love affair with French movies

    4 days ago4 days ago
  • yuppie flu

    Demonising people with ‘Yuppie Flu’

    5 days ago5 days ago
  • 1980s illiteracy

    Teaching adult literacy in the 1980s

    5 days ago5 days ago
  • TV 1970s 1980s

    Was TV better in the 1970s and 1980s?

    2 months ago2 months ago
  • 1976 drought summer heat climate change

    Summer of 1976 and Climate Change

    5 months ago5 months ago
  • 1986 Britain

    1986 – 40 years ago in Britain

    10 months ago9 months ago
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  • 2013
  • January

January 2013

  • Politics

TV roasting of Margaret Thatcher

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago04 mins

One TV viewer gave Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher a roasting over the sinking of the Belgrano putting the Iron Lady on the back foot

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Ken Livingstone
  • Politics

Ken Livingstone versus Sir Horace Cutler

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago06 mins

The Greater London Council in the late 1970s and early 1980s saw Tory leader Sir Horace Cutler fighting Labour’s Ken Livingstone

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  • Culture
  • Music

Prince Edward hot and Donny Osmond not – a view from 1981

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago03 mins

Prince Edward hot and Donny Osmond not – a view from 1981

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  • Politics

The last years of the Greater London Council and the battle with Thatcher

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago02 mins

The last years of the Greater London Council and the battle with Thatcher

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  • 1981 riots
  • Music

The Specials in Northern Ireland

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago6 years ago43 mins

In early 1981 The Specials and The Beat were set to play gigs in Northern Ireland to raise money for deprived children in Ulster

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  • Culture
  • Music

Pop faces of the early 1980s

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago41 mins

Pop faces of the early 1980s

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Thatcher miners
  • Politics

When Thatcher caved in to the miners

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago09 mins

In 1981, Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher caved into the miners but was simply biding her time for a future showdown

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James Anderton
  • 1981 riots
  • Politics

1981 Moss Side riot – police station mobbed

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago3 years ago011 mins

The 1981 Moss Side riot followed on from similar violence in Toxteth, Brixton and Southall but was largely over in 48 hours

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nuclear free zone
  • Politics

Nuclear free zones – the early 80s movement

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago14 mins

The early 1980s saw many local councils in the UK declare themselves to be nuclear free zones but what did this actually mean?

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  • Culture
  • Politics

Postcards from the Thatcher years

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago9 years ago01 mins

These were blu-tacked to my bedroom wall when I was a student – found them yesterday languishing at the bottom of a plastic bag unopened since 1984.  I am a terrible hoarder! Don’t know who the artist was or whether these are in any way collectable – your views or info appreciated.

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Buy Original Rude Boy – biography of Neville Staple, The Specials

Boxing and racism in the 80s

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Tony McMahon – your blogger – circa 1982

TV historian Tony McMahon journeys through the politics, culture, and history of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s

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