Skip to content
March 27, 2026
  • 1986 – 40 years ago in Britain
  • Iran on the eve of the 1979 revolution
  • 1976 – 50 years ago in Britain
  • School summer holidays in the 1970s

The 70s 80s 90s Blog

Three Decades of History with TV historian Tony McMahon

  • Home
  • About the blog
  • My published books
  • Contact for interviews
Headlines
  • 1986 Britain

    1986 – 40 years ago in Britain

    2 months ago2 months ago
  • shah of iran

    Iran on the eve of the 1979 revolution

    2 months ago2 months ago
  • Drought 1976

    1976 – 50 years ago in Britain

    3 months ago3 months ago
  • 1975 summer holiday

    School summer holidays in the 1970s

    3 months ago2 months ago
  • Zoomer Boomer office culture

    Zoomers challenge Boomer office culture

    3 months ago2 months ago
  • hijacker

    Plane hijacked by samurai wielding terrorists

    5 months ago2 months ago
  • Music
  • Politics

The John Lennon Tapes and the FBI

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago010 mins

John Lennon was put under surveillance by the FBI under President Nixon in 1972 over his anti-war activities and youth influence

Read More
Ronald Reagan
  • Odds and sods

Pop stars who played for Ronald Reagan

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago03 mins

Several pop stars played at the inauguration of Ronald Reagan in 1980 including the Beach Boys and Donny Osmond plus Frank Sinatra

Read More
Pen Pal
  • Odds and sods

Pen pals – making friends pre-digital

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago6 years ago13 mins

In an age before social media, dating apps and mass travel, Pen Pals was how we found out about far off exotic parts of the world

Read More
Steve Strange
  • Music

Steve Strange and the Moors Murderers

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago05 mins

Steve Strange of Visage and the night club Blitz started out with a punk band he formed called the Moors Murderers and a single Free Hindley

Read More
pop groups 1983
  • Music

Pop groups that crashed in 1983

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago15 mins

1983 was the year that many pop groups bit the dust with Yazoo, Roxy Music and Scritti Politti calling it a day and hanging up their microphone

Read More
Mod Vespa
  • Music

The 1980s Mod Revival

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago516 mins

The Mod Revival of the late 1970s to early 1980s saw an attempt to recapture the glory days of Mod in the 1960s

Read More
cassette tape
  • Odds and sods

The thrill of the TDK C120 cassette tape!

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago23 mins

C120 cassette tapes were infuriating even though they could record two hours of music they were prone to snarling up and then breaking

Read More
  • Music

Ghost Town – The Specials and the 1981 riots

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago15 mins

The Specials number one song Ghost Town brilliantly summed up the mood of Britain as it embarked on a summer of riots in 1981

Read More
  • Music

Rush – Permanent Waves in 1980

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago05 mins

Tony McMahon saw Rush on the Permanent Waves tour in 1980s and a brief crush on the band that was a very guilty pleasure

Read More
  • Music

Yes and the Buggles in disastrous merger

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago06 mins

In 1980 prog rock group Yes and New Wave electro band The Buggles merged in one of the oddest musical marriages of all time

Read More
  • 1
  • …
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34

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

Boxing and racism in the 80s

Keep updated on my new posts

tonymcmahon@rostraconsulting.com

Join 1,185 other subscribers

Categories

Tony McMahon – your blogger – circa 1982

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

Are you looking for something?

Newsmatic - News WordPress Theme 2026. Powered By BlazeThemes.
 

Loading Comments...