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May 5, 2026
  • 1986 – 40 years ago in Britain
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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

    4 months ago3 months ago
  • shah of iran

    Iran on the eve of the 1979 revolution

    4 months ago4 months ago
  • Drought 1976

    1976 – 50 years ago in Britain

    4 months ago4 months ago
  • 1975 summer holiday

    School summer holidays in the 1970s

    5 months ago3 months ago
  • Zoomer Boomer office culture

    Zoomers challenge Boomer office culture

    5 months ago3 months ago
  • hijacker

    Plane hijacked by samurai wielding terrorists

    6 months ago3 months ago
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  • Pauline Black

Pauline Black

  • Music

Missing Words – The Selecter and Pauline Black

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago8 years ago01 mins

Missing Words – The Selecter and Pauline Black

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  • 1981 riots

Ska and 2Tone – the sound of Coventry

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago15 mins

Walk down Oxford Street today and it’s impossible to avoid glimpsing the ever present influence of 2Tone whether it’s the black and white check patterns, porkpie hats, tonic suits, etc, etc. The style pioneered by The Specials, The Selecter and The Beat has proved to be timeless. Don’t believe me – look at these images…

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four Coventry heroes
  • 1981 riots
  • Politics

Four Coventry heroes in the Ghost Town

The 70s 80s 90s Blog14 years ago4 years ago05 mins

Four Coventry black British heroes of the late 1970s and early 1980s should be immortalised argues author 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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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

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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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