Shared TV Favourites
With only three channels, the whole nation watched the same shows, from The Generation Game to Morecambe & Wise. Fifty years ago this weekend, millions enjoyed Seaside Special from the BBC1 Big Top at Southsea, featuring Mary Chipperfield and her tigers.
Blockbuster Cinema
The 1970s brought Superman, Saturday Night Fever, Grease, Jaws, Roger Moore as James Bond, Star Wars, The Godfather, Alien, Rocky, The Exorcist, Monty Python’s Life of Brian, and the biggest UK hit of 1971 – On the Buses.
Incredible Music
The decade produced David Bowie, Elton John, Slade, Queen, ABBA, Pink Floyd, Genesis, Rod Stewart, ELO, The Jam, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, and Fleetwood Mac.
Sweet Shops and Terrible Teeth
Everyone had bad teeth – yellow or rotting – thanks to sweets like blackjacks, fruit salads, flying saucers, and sherbet fountains, all costing half a new penny.
Memorable Hairstyles
Farrah Fawcett’s feathered flip, David Bowie’s prototype mullet, the Jackson 5’s full-volume afro, and Mick Jagger’s shag.
Fashion Extremes
Flared trousers, giant collars, platform shoes, kipper ties – then punk brought skinny jeans, skinny ties, spiky hair, and safety-pin jewellery.
Footballers Like Regular Blokes
Stars such as George Best, Stan Bowles, Alan Hudson, and Malcolm Macdonald enjoyed a drink or 12, yet were still great players.
Cars with Character
Models like the Mini, Ford Capri, Ford Cortina, and Morris Marina – and the Austin Absolute Bastard that wouldn’t start on cold mornings.
Toys Without USB
Space Hoppers, Hot Wheels, Spirographs, Subbuteo, and Action Man needed no charging or plugging in.
Schools Like the Song
As Madness sang in Baggy Trousers: “Lots of girls and lots of boys, lots of smells and lots of noise” – plus surreal puddings like chocolate concrete and pink custard.
Funny TV Adverts
The PG Tips chimps, Milky Bar Kid, Cresta polar bear, and Cadbury’s Smash Martians became huge stars.
Holidays Abroad
Brits began visiting a strange new land called Abroad, where locals spoke Foreign – but tourists just shouted to be understood.
Wacky Kids’ TV
The Clangers were whistling mouse-aliens, Ivor the Engine was a singing steam train, and Hattytown Tales had characters that were all hats – a sombrero hero and a helmet policeman.
Slow Photography
You used a camera with film, dropped it at Boots, and a week later paid £15 equivalent for 36 prints – usually of your thumb.
Pan’s People on Top of the Pops
If a band couldn’t appear, the all-female dance troupe Pan’s People performed instead, having raided the BBC dressing-up box 10 minutes before airtime.
Eurovision Success
From 1970 to 1977, the UK never finished outside the top four; now it averages 21st.
Unlikely TV Stars
Barry Bucknell put up shelves, Fred Dibnah climbed chimneys, Johnny Morris made animals talk, and cricketer Fred Trueman hosted arm-wrestling and shove ha’penny.
Boiling Water Dinners
Vesta curries, Pot Noodles, and Smash instant mash – all needed only boiling water.
Cheap Beer and Fags
A pint cost about 30p (roughly £2.60 today), and 20 cigarettes about 45p.
Everyone Smoked
Smoking was everywhere – in pubs, at work, on TV – with no health warnings, just an implied message that it made you look cool.
