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May 4, 2026
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The 70s 80s 90s Blog

Three Decades of History with TV historian Tony McMahon

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  • 1986 Britain

    1986 – 40 years ago in Britain

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    Iran on the eve of the 1979 revolution

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  • Drought 1976

    1976 – 50 years ago in Britain

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  • 1975 summer holiday

    School summer holidays in the 1970s

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    Zoomers challenge Boomer office culture

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    Plane hijacked by samurai wielding terrorists

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2tone

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Best five movies of 1981

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago114 mins

1981 was a great year for movies and TV historian Tony McMahon picks out the best five and why he thinks you should view them

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  • Culture

Did your T-shirt have these band logos in the early 80s

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago11 mins

The world’s first talking watch in 1980

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four Coventry heroes
  • Music

1981 riot in Coventry

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

1981 saw a riot in Coventry over racism attended by boxer Errol Christie while The Specials played a gig of unity at The Butts stadium

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  • Music

Neville Staple at a book signing in 2009 for Original Rude Boy

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago01 mins

Neville Staple at book signing in 2009 for Original Rude Boy

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original rude boy tony mcmahon
  • Music

Neville Staple joins The Specials

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago08 mins

Tony McMahon co-wrote the biography of Neville Staple of The Specials titled Original Rude Boy published by Aurum Press in 2009

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Dead Kennedys Jerry Brown
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Dead Kennedys and Governor Jerry Brown

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago16 mins

California Über Alles was an American punk onslaught by The Dead Kennedys on Democrat governor Jerry Brown in 1979

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Neville Staple biography
  • Music

Neville Staple biography reviewed in the Huffington Post

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago04 mins

Original Rude Boy is the biography of Neville Staple front man in The Specials and the book was co-authored with Tony McMahon

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four Coventry heroes
  • 1981 riots
  • Culture
  • Music

Young, black and British in 1970s Coventry

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago315 mins

Being young, black and British in 1970s Coventry was tough but Neville Staple and Errol Christie escaped from the Ghost Town

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  • 1981 riots
  • Music

Ghost Town – my ska 2tone optioned drama

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago29 mins

Ghost Town is a ska 2Tone drama set in Coventry and optioned by author Tony McMahon based on real-life stories from the 1980s

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  • Music

Walthamstow – Mecca of Punk and New Wave

The 70s 80s 90s Blog15 years ago4 years ago09 mins

Walthamstow in north east London has a proud Punk and New Wave history centred on Small Wonder Records as Tony McMahon reports

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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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