We have a timeslip moment to round off a long dreary week, dear reader, and we're off to the shifting landscape of 1979 - the year Margaret Thatcher became our first female Prime Minister; the year of Monty Python's Life of Brian, the fall of Pol Pot, and the murder of Lord Mountbatten by the IRA; and the year of Apocalypse Now, Donna Summer, Space Shuttles, Milk & Honey's Hallelujah winning the Eurovision Song Contest, Blair Peach, Jimmy Carter, Harvey Milk, Off the Wall, Anthony Blunt, and the eradication of the smallpox virus.
In the news headlines in July '79? The scandalous trial and aquittal of former Liberal Party leader Jeremy Thorpe on the charge of attempted murder of his gay lover still raised a lot of eyebrows, Skylab began breaking up and heading back to Earth, Sebastian Coe set a record time for running a mile - 3 minutes 48.95 seconds, the Sandinistas came to power after the civil war in Nicaragua, and the first Sony Walkman went on sale in Japan; in the ascendant were Saddam Hussein (who became president of Iraq), and Kiribati (formerly Gilbert Islands, which became independent of the UK), but we waved a sad farewell to the trill-voiced singer Minnie Riperton, aged just 31. In our cinemas: Moonraker, The Champ, The Muppet Movie. On telly: Sapphire & Steel, The Paul Daniels Magic Show, Shelley.
And in our charts this week forty-two years ago? The groundbreaking Are Friends Electric? by Tubeway Army (Gary Numan) was at #1, beating off the challenge of both Janet Kay and The Sex Pistols. Also present and correct were Dave Edmunds, the Beach Boys, Amii Stewart, Gerry Rafferty, Squeeze and the Dooleys - but just entering the Top Ten - in the very same week as the infamous Redneck "Disco Demolition" rally took place in the good ol' "Land of the Free" - was a monster choon, from the coolest band on the planet in those decadent Studio 54 days. Thank Disco It's Friday, indeed!
Have a great (hopefully sunny) weekend, my dears!
One of my favourite music years! And I don't care that it was 43 years ago!!
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Mine too - Blondie, Ian Dury, Bowie, The Buggles, Roxy Music, Squeeze, Abba, Three Degrees, Gloria Gaynor, Boogie Wonderland, Pop Musik, Flying Lizards, Lene Lovich, Village People, Amii Stewart, Patrick Hernandez, Madness and Queen were all huge that year... I was sweet sixteen. Sigh. Jx
DeletePS just realised that neither of us are very good at maths - it's 42 years ago, and I have amended the post.
DeleteHaha! I've always been rubbish at maths, but I do know that I was 14 in 1979. Bless. I loved Money by The Flying Lizards, and Lucky no.1 by Lene Lovich - all taped from the radio on Sundays!
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...trying to edit out Simon Bates announcements! Jx
DeleteThe year I left England...
ReplyDeleteAnd it's just popped into memory...I flew from Gatwick on a Freddie Laker flight.
His reign was a "flash in the pan" - yet little did he know that little more than a decade later, his innovative "no frills airline" idea would become the predominant type of passenger flight in the sky... Jx
DeleteYeah, bloody Easyjet!
DeleteAnd Freddie was a good bloke.The Big Boys hounded him all the way.
Worse than Easyjet - bloody Ryanair! If ever there was a more shoddy, sub-standard, grasping little operator, I'd love to know what it is. Jx
DeleteI've have extremely vague recollections of the Space Shuttle testing, but that's about it (I was only 4). However, I caught up with some of those choons and films in later years.
ReplyDeleteHappy Weekend, Jon!
It was the year the first Star Trek movie was released, so I imagine you did! Jx
DeleteAdore Chic... and the woman in the gif certainly fits the bill. Loved 1979. One of my favorite years. Thanks for the time capsule.
ReplyDelete"A rumour has it that it's getting late
DeleteTime marches on, just can't wait
The clock keeps turning, why hesitate?
You silly fool, you can't change your fate"
Words to live by... Jx
What 'Good times' they were too.
ReplyDeleteWell, I wouldn't exactly put my angst-ridden teenage years into the "good times" bracket, but... Jx
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