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March 18, 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

    2 months ago2 months ago
  • shah of iran

    Iran on the eve of the 1979 revolution

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  • Drought 1976

    1976 – 50 years ago in Britain

    2 months ago2 months ago
  • 1975 summer holiday

    School summer holidays in the 1970s

    3 months ago2 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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  • 1981 riots

Memories of Liverpool in 1981 – part three

The 70s 80s 90s Blog4 years ago4 years ago020 mins

The media faced a huge challenge covering the 1981 riots but ENG technology was revolutionising TV news as Tony McMahon discovers

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  • 1981 riots
  • Music

Amazing pop music in 1980s Liverpool

The 70s 80s 90s Blog9 years ago6 years ago03 mins

The great sound of 1980s Liverpool music was celebrated in the first half of the 80s at a festival called Larks in the Park in Sefton Park

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  • Music

WH Smith goes ska in 1980

The 70s 80s 90s Blog9 years ago8 years ago01 mins

1979 and 1980 were the glory years of the so-called “second wave” of ska music – first wave in Jamaica twenty plus years before and now the 2Tone wave came crashing out of Coventry. The Specials seized the charts by the scruff of the neck with a string of hits. And even WH Smith felt…

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  • Music

David Bowie – it wasn’t always adulation

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago4 years ago01 mins

David Bowie – it wasn’t always adulation. Critics of Bowie could often be very harsh and bitter.

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  • Culture
  • Music

Pop faces of the early 1980s

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago4 years ago41 mins

Pop faces of the early 1980s

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  • Culture
  • Music

Paul Weller justifiably tortures a terrible TV presenter

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago3 years ago01 mins

Paul Weller justifiably tortures a terrible TV presenter

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  • Culture
  • Politics

How Paul Weller reacted to Thatcher being re-elected in 1983

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

How Paul Weller reacted to Thatcher being re-elected in 1983

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  • Music

Our Lips Are Sealed – Go Go’s and Fun Boy Three

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago4 years ago11 mins

Our Lips Are Sealed – Go Go’s and Fun Boy Three

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  • Culture
  • Music

The Beat – Too Nice To Talk to

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

The Beat – Too Nice To Talk to

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  • Music
  • Politics

Ranking Roger in the Record Mirror

The 70s 80s 90s Blog13 years ago6 years ago01 mins

Ranking Roger in the Record Mirror – lead vocalist in The Beat or The English Beat as the band is called in the United States

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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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