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May 3, 2026
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The 70s 80s 90s Blog

Three Decades of History with TV historian Tony McMahon

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    1986 – 40 years ago in Britain

    4 months ago3 months ago
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    Iran on the eve of the 1979 revolution

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    1976 – 50 years ago in Britain

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  • 1975 summer holiday

    School summer holidays in the 1970s

    5 months ago3 months ago
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    Zoomers challenge Boomer office culture

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    Plane hijacked by samurai wielding terrorists

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January 2013

  • Politics

Labour PM Callaghan loses to Thatcher

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago3 years ago213 mins

1979 saw Tory leader Margaret Thatcher defeat Labour Prime Minister James Callaghan in a stormy general election as Tony McMahon remembers

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gay skinhead
  • 1981 riots
  • London
  • Music

1980s Skinhead Gays – a complicated story

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago4 years ago018 mins

The 1980s gay skinhead scene involved both an element of cosplay but also some individuals who were neo-Nazis and LGBT

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  • Culture

Brick Lane and Petticoat Lane in the 70s – my memories

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago8 years ago04 mins

Brick Lane and Petticoat Lane in the 70s – my memories

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  • Politics

Short sharp shock – Thatcher’s regime for wayward youth

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago6 years ago516 mins

Short Sharp Shock was a prison regime introduced by the Conservative government in the early 1980s for young people that was brutal and didn’t work

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  • Culture
  • Politics

Margaret Thatcher as the Queen

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago3 years ago01 mins
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Toxteth riot
  • Politics

NME in Liverpool after the 1981 riots

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago6 years ago07 mins

The NME (New Musical Express) visited the Toxteth district of Liverpool after the 1981 riots and got a very frosty welcome from local youth

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  • Politics

Jobs Express in 1981 – unemployed protest

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago6 years ago02 mins

Youth unemployment skyrocketed between 1979 and 1983 and hundreds of youth travelled the country on the Jobs Express to highlight their plight

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  • 1981 riots
  • fascist
  • Politics

The National Front in Bradford in the 70s

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago6 years ago14 mins

In 1976, the National Front held a major march through Bradford that ended in a battle with anti-fascists and proved to be their high water mark in the city

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  • Politics

Love on the Dole under Thatcher

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago4 years ago23 mins

Love on the Dole was tough in the 1930s and still challenging in 1981 when the Jobs Express train campaign saw one couple pop the question

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Wood Green Riot 1977
  • Politics

Wood Green Riot of 1977

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago4 years ago05 mins

The Wood Green riot in 1977 was a prelude to the 1981 summer of riots as a large crowd tried to halt a planned National Front demonstration

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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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