The Eighties and Seventies (2024)

70's and 80's:

HUNGRY FOR HISTORY:

Scroll downto view information covering a breif history of the 70's and 80's. This includes:
* Fashion/ clothing
* Technology and gadgets
* Games and toys
* Entertainment: Music, movies and television
* Transport
* Food
* Histrorical moments

70's and 80's OVERVIEW:

Fashion of the times:

stickers,

, and

were all popular during this decade.
Thefashion of the Sixties continued on through the Seventies.Menhad shoulder length hairand non-traditional clothing became the rage, including

bellbottom pants

, hip huggers, colorful

, T-shirts, and gypsy dresses. Knits and denims were thefabrics of choice.

Leisure suits

for menbecame popular, and women werefashionable in everything from ankle-length grandmother dresses, to hot pants andmicro-miniskirts. The movie

Annie Hall

(1977) evencreated a fashion trend with women wearing traditional men's clothing such asderby hats, tweed jackets, andneckties worn with baggy pants or skirts.

A popular look in the 70's and 80's was the 'yuppie look.' Manypeoplewore Reebok shoes, Rayban sunglasses and power suits (for women only). If you ever saw your parents wearing "the yuppie look", you wouldprobably die of laughter. Today, Reeboks are made for men, women, children,and babies. TheReebok company also makeclothes and backpacks.
Women also wore layers of socks, lots of bracelets, pegged pants (a specific way offolding the bottom of your pants), and BIG HAIR, which isalso called "mallhair."
Therewere also many fads in the 1980’s, such as swatch watches and c.d players. Swatch watches are little plastic watches that have intime been replaced by bigger, better, and fancier watches. Today, most watchesnot only tell the time, but the date and can glow in the dark. Some watches alsohave timers, alarms, and are waterproof. Swatch watches are still made, butbecause of the newer and fancier watches, you rarely ever seethem.
The C.D. playerhas really changed. The compact disc was invented in 1980 and isused for many different things. Today, the C.D. is used for music, video games,computer software, and movies (DVD).

What was it really like?

What were the fads of the time?
What did people look like?

Technology/gadgets

* In the 1970s, computer technology improved and started to influence children's toys. These toys included popular computerized games such as Simon and the release of the Atari computer and gaming system. Many youngsterswere able to recreate their favorite movies or television shows with matching actions figures and dolls.

* The

computer loppy disc

was usedby many people in1970, and the next year

Intel

introduced the

microprocessor

, the "computer on a chip."
* During thisyear,a very popular variety game called

Atari

was sold. It wasthe first low-priced varietyTV game.
*The

videocassette recorder

(VCR) changed home entertainment forever. Many people for the first time were able to watch movies, hire movies and even record movies or television shows any time they liked.
* Bar code scanners came out in 1974. This was a huge thing for the retail industry.
* The computer laser printer came out in 1971.

GADGETS/TECHNOLOGY

Lets look at some of the gadgets in the 70's and 80's.

WALKMAN

TheWalkman came out between 1979-1980. People liked it because they could taketheir music anywhere they wanted and no one else knew what they were listeningto. It then become a must-have for runners and skaters.

THE COMPACT DISK

In1983, people were unsure about changing to CD’s but it became a huge success. Ittook five years for CD’s to outsell vinyl records.

HOME COMPUTERS

In1982 Micro model computer became very popular. The computers had less memorythan your mobile phone today. Acomputer called The Commador64 was a top selling model.

VIDEO CASSETTE RECORDER

Videorental became very popular and people liked the idea that they could recordsomething and go out without a worry of missing their favourite show. Beta tapeswere slowly taken over by VHS due to cost and recording time (was longer onVHS).

TELEVISION

Atthe start of the 1970’s, most televisions were black and white. Coloursets cost too much and they only had three channels.

PHONES

Todaywe have many mobile phones but in the 1970’s, peoplewould fight over whocould use the phone. Only half of house holds had a phone in the1970’s.

Games/toys

Although many computer and tv variety games were starting out and becoming verypopular, like today,many children still turned to the toys thatgot them thinking and got them outside.
Some of the popular games/toys included:
* Game boards
* Dolls
* Action figures
* Figurines from movies (like Star Wars)
* Bikes
* Rollerscates
* Slinkies
* Yo-yos
* Hoola-hoops and skipping ropes
* Fast food (McDonalds) toys
* Hand held battery games and spelling test games
* Dolls from cartoons
* Memory testing games.

Games/Toys

LETS LOOK AT SOME OF THE POPULAR GAMES/ TOYS:

SPACE HOPPER

Thistoy was a hit of the 1970’s. Ithas two horn handles that you can hold onto so you don’t fall off. You sit on
the rubber hopper and bounce. It’s simple and fun.

GIRLS WORLD

Everygirl had to have this in their room in the 1970’s.
Young girls would use this head to practise styling and putting make-upon. Some dolls could even magically grow their hair.

HOME CONSOLE

Nintendo entertainment became a big hit in themid 1980’s.In 1986, this was the choice of games . You would hook this up to your television and play a number of games that you bought.

PAC-MAN

Thiswas the king of arcade games. It was brought out in 1980. The aim of this gamewas to move through the maze without a ghost getting you.

SPACE INVADERS

In the 70’s and early 80’s this computer game came out and also became verypopular.

GAME WATCH

This hand held computer game came out in 1980.Millions of these games were sold. Youcould play games like Donkey Kong, Mario Bros and The Legend of Zelda onit.

RUBIK'S CUBE

Withover 43 combinations. This is a classic challenging puzzle that has clocked upto 350 million sales.

SIMON

Thisgame came out in 1977 and was a hit in the 80’s. Light patterns flashed up andthen you had to try to remember it and repeat it by pressing thebuttons.

SPEAK AND SPELL

Thiswas a popular toy that tested your spelling skills through manygames.

TEDDY RUXPIN

A little bear named Teddy Ruxpin dared to venture into our hearts andminds by telling us stories of his great adventures. Teddyhada built-in tape deck in his back. When a special Teddy Ruxpin tapewas inserted, he’d come to life, moving his eyes and mouth, and talking.

70's & 80'sEntertainment
Entertainment was a very popularthingin the 80's.There were some great movies, such as Indiana Jones and theTemple of Doom, Batman, and E.T. Indiana Jones is a movie staring Harrison Ford,who also played in the 1970's successful movie series, "Star Wars."Indiana Jones was in a series of movies about a detective who went on manydangerous adventuresto find someone or something.
Batman was a movie about the super hero"Batman" and his evil villans. They were always on a mission to stop thevillans from acting badly and saving humans. Batman sequals are still beingmade today.
E.T. wasabout an alien from outer space who came down to Earth and was found by a youngboy. He and his sister, the very popular Drew Barrymore, kept E.T. as a secretand introduced him to "Earthling" lifestyles.These are all classic movies that people still enjoytoday.

Some famous television series in1980's were both comedies, The Cosby Show and Cheers.
* Cheers was a very successful show about a group of friends in Boston whosat together at a bar and talked
about "real-life" issues.
* The Cosbyshow starring thefamous Bill Cosby,. This show was about a large African Americanfamily who
also dealt witheveryday life situations and decisions. Many peoplestill enjoy watching repeats of The
Cosby Show and Cheers onT.V.
* ALF was another TV show that aired on NBC from 1986 to 1990. ALF was a friendly
extraterrestrial
nicknamed ALF (an acronym forAlien Life Form), who crash lands in the garage of the suburban middle-
classTanner family. ALF was a very successful series. It went for four seasons and produced 102 episodes.
Project ALF was a sequal TV movie that came out in 1996 to take over from wherethe show hadleft off. MUSIC
Other entertainment in the 70's and 80's was the famous singer, Michael Jackson. Micheal Jackson produced and sang more award-winningsongs, videos, and performed at the most sold-out concerts than any othermusician. The 80's were most definitely a fun, exciting, and an entertainmentpacked decade.
Asthe decadeof the 70s started up, the Vietnam War started many movements in music. Examples of the anti-war movement songs were:
•"War” by Edwin Starr.
•"Ohio“ by Neil Young.
•"Bring The Boys Home“ by Freda Payne.

Solosingers and writers were also quite popular.
Artists:
•Carole King, James Taylor, Carly Simon and Joni Mitchell.

Therewasalso a lot of cross-over from country music performers.
Artists:
•Kenny Rogers, Olivia Newton-John, John Denver, Dolly Parton, Glen Campbell and JohnnyCash.

Someof the popular music of the times was called: Soft rock, hard rock, 70’s R& B, funk music,glam rock (a lot about outragous clothing) and teen idol singers.

Transport

How did people get around?

CARS:
Cars and taxisslowlybecame safer after the 60's, 70's and 80's.
In the 70's cars had side beams placed in the doors to protect people in a crash. While in the 80's, carshad safety features introduced that included: airbags, ABS breaks, more electrics like: electric windows, electric mirrors, electric fuel monitors, electric locking and cruise control.
Cars were also becoming smaller and efforts were made to make the cars easier for people to afford. They became better with petrol because of rising costs.
The Australian government made it law for all cars to have seatbelts in1970 and for passengers to wear them.

BIKES:
Many children and even adults moved around by bike. In the 1970's high handle barswith long seats were a popular style of bike. This bike wascalled a chopper bike and looked like the chopper motorbike. This is what made them so popular.
In the 1980's many children bought the BMX bike. Children used these bikes to perform tricks, ride ramps and dojumps with. The BMX bike was used in the famous film E.T.

The Sinclair bikewas an electric bike that came out in 1985. Many concerns over the safety were raised about these and not many of these bikes were sold.

Bike helmets have been around since 1975. People started wearing helmets mainly from the 1980's onwards because it was promoted that if you were in an accident, head injury was less likely to happen if you had your helmet on.

RAILWAYS: TRAINS:
By the late 1970's, Melbournes railways lines were very run down and a new railway company took over (Victorian railways- taken over by VicRail). Between 1981 and 1985 the underground

City Loop line

was opened around central

Melbourne

to improve the busy traffic of Flinders and Spencer Street station. It helpedto handle suburban trains and to offer a better choice of stations to users.

TRAMS:
In the 1970's and 80's Melbourne had tram conductors on all trams. However, tram conductorsare now nolonger on trams (since 1998). Conductorscollected passenger tickets and helped people on and off the tram.
By the 1970s Melbourne was the only Australian city with a major tram network. Melbourne didn't want to shut down the tramsbecause the city's wide streets made trams better compared to many other cities.
The head of the tram board felt thatpulling out the concrete tram tracks would be quite expensive. Also, thetracks and the trams were new. The cables and equipmenthad only beenreplacedin the 1920s–1940s.
By the middle of the1970s, other cities were trying to deal with the increase in traffic andair pollution. Melbourne new that its decision tokeep its trams was the correct one.
The first tram line extension in over twenty years took place in 1978, along theBurwood Highway. The W-class trams wereslowly replaced by the new Z-class trams in the 1970s, and by the A-class trams and the larger, B-classtrams in the 1980s.

BUSES:
In the 1970's, buses and even some double decker buseswere a populartype of transport to take. Companies were beginning to build buses that could hold wheelchairs and bus companies made it easier for the chairs to move on and off the bus. In the 1980's costs to travel on a bus were increasing. Even thoughmany people did not like the increase in traveling costs, bus companies continued to develop.
In the 1980's and 90's, buses replaced many trainroutes to and fromMelbourne.
Even though cars were required to have seat belts in the 1970's, it was not a requirement for buses. This wasdue to certain weight laws. Seat belts areslowly becoming more common in buses today (2012) but are optional.

PLANES:
In the 70's the number of people that could fit on acomercial flightincreased and the flight range also increased to 6,000 miles.
The 70s was also the time of the big introduction ofdifferent aircrafts into the commercial market. The Douglas DC10s, Lockheed L1011 Tristars and Boeing 747s, which replaced the Boeing 707s and DC8-63s, were flying the long routes at that time. Also, the 70s was in charge of receiving the new generation of jet airliners that would beused for longer and shorter routes such as the Boeing’s 737 and the Airbus 300,which are still members of our jets that are flying today’s industry. Thesejets not only added space to the aircraft, but they also brought color to theindustry with theirpainted logos and different colours on the plane. Then, theConcorde SuperSonic Transport arrived, which started flying in 1974 fromEurope. Air France and British Airways were the only airlines that could affordthis aircraft as part of their fleet.
The 80s brought in computertechnology to the life of the jets. Aircraft that were built in the 60s and 70swere taken out of use by the airlines, and they were replaced with MD -80s,Boeing 737-300s and Airbus A310s. The older version of aircraft were sold orleased tobe used in charter flight with a shorterrange of distance.

Food

Fast food:
* In 1971, the first McDonalds fast food restaurant opened in Australia.
* In 1970, the first Pizza Hut Restaurant opened in Australia.
* In 1971, the first Hungry Jacks store opened in Australia.
* Fried fish and chipswas a very poularmeal in the 70's and 80's.

What did people like to eat and drink in the 70's and 80's?:
* In the 70's and 80's, children were all given milk in bottles at school, which many of them didn't like. Many children found that it was always a bitwarm andhad cream on the top thatsome childrencouldn't stand. You were not aloud to say you didn't like it. That was not acceptable.

* In April 1974, a 115g jar of vegemite became the first product in Australia to be electronically scanned at a checkout.

Vegemite's rise to popularity was helped by the marketing campaigns written by

J. Walter Thompson advertising that began in 1954.In the late 1980s the original black and white television commercial was remastered, partially colourised and reintroduced. The two youngtwin girls who sang this advertising jingle were known as the "Vegemite Twins".

HAPPY LITTLE VEGEMITES SONG
We're happy little Vegemites
As bright as bright can be.
We all enjoy our Vegemite
For breakfast, lunch, and tea.
Our mummies say we're growing stronger
Every single week,
Because we love our Vegemite
We all adore our Vegemite
It puts a rose in every cheek.

Yogurt:
Yogurt was first introduced to Canada about 60 yearsago. But it wasn'tuntil the early 70s that Yoplait was accepted and beganappearing on weeklygrocery lists. In 1971, it introduced its first low-fat yogurt to France. In1974, Yoplait created Yop, the world's first drinkable yogurt. During the 80s, Yoplait continued its expansion into Asia, North Arica,Australia and New Zealand. Today, the brand offers anumber of different fresh dairyproducts that you can find just about anywhere on earth.

* Microwave safe tv dinner trays: Gerry Thomas is the man who invented both the productand the name of the Swanson TV Dinner in 1954. As this was such a huge successdue to the idea of saving time
and the fascination with television, began changing the style of the trays and even began adding soup in the 1960's andlater dessert. In 1986, Campbell Soup Company replaced the aluminum trays of
Swanson frozen TV dinners with plastic, microwave-safe trays in 1986 to keep upwith the changing times oftechnology.

Lollies/sweets in the 70's and 80's
It was in the seventies that fondue (chocolate meltingbowl)parties really took off in the UK.
Kettles chipswas founded by Cameron Healy in 1978. Itproduced its first potato chips in 1982.
* Giant Life savers lollipops , they were huge and delicious. The red oneswere the BEST!
* Paddle pops ; Pink bubblegum and vanilla (also vanilla with a chocolate top)
* Kool mints and Kool fruits (in the cardboard cylinder and metal lid)
* Arctic mints
* Sherberts, milkos, red skins and spearmint sticks
* Tab soft drink (only one calorie)
* Melodie pops
* Pop rocks
* Lolly gobble bliss bombs
* Ice creams with a haunted house, a ghost would appear on the wrapper in thewindow when it was unwrapped..cool.
* Chocobloks, rocket icypole, barney banana,big choc, iceblocks with the jelly centres.
* UFO chips
* Chickadees (chicken type chip)
* Licorice straps
* Chocolate fags which replicates real cigarettes
Flintstones bars
* Lolly necklaces
* Cobbers
* Clinkers (love the pink ones)
* Frozen Polly Waffles and frozen mini mars bars.
* Candy cigarettes (fags/fads)
Fizzies
* Giant smarties
* Jaw breakers (ball candy you couldn't bite, you had to suck on for hours.
* Lemon heads.
* Nerds
* Gobstoppers

Historical moments

1970

* The largest street demonstrations in Australian history. People protested against the countries involvement in the vietnam war.
* Australian law made eeryone wear seatbelts.
* First Pizza Hut opened in Australia.

1971

* Aboriginal flag is designed by Harold Thomas and used as part of the Aboriginal rights movement.
* The first McDonal's fast food restaurant open in Australia.
* Hungry Jacks opened in Australia.
* Laser printer came out.

1972

* Campaign for Aboriginal land rights. A tent is put up outside Parliment House in Canberra as part of the protesting.
* The fist Labour government in 23 years comes to power under Gough Whitlam. In the first 100 days in government troops are pulled out Vietnam and conscription (compulsory military service) into war comes to an end.
* The fisrt Indigenous Australian (Queensland Senator Neville Bonner)to be elected as a member of Federal Parliament.
* In Tasmania, the first Green Party is formed to oppose/protest against the flooding of Lake Pedder.
* Women fighting for equal pay.

1973

* Queen Elizabeth opens the Sydney Opera House.
* The Whitlam government reports that they will remove racial aspects of the immigration law (end of the White Australia Policy).
* World trade centre becomes the tallest building in the world.
* Jetski invented.

1974

* On Christmas Eve, Cyclone Tracy hits Darwin. 65 people died and over 80% of buildings destroyed.
* Bar code scanners came out and vegemite became the first product scanned out at a checkout in Australia.
* MRI scanner invented.
* Pocket calculators appear in shops.

1975

* The Governor General, John Kerr, sacks Whitlam and puts Fraser in charge and calls an election. The liberal party wins the election.
* End of the Vietnam War.

1976

* Following the end of the Vietnam War in 1975, the first 'boat people,' Vietnamese refugees, start arriving on Australias shores. Prime Minister Fraser allows them into the country.

1977

* Former Queensland Policeman Bill Hayden replaces Gough Whitlam as opposition leader.
* World Trade Centre in New York completed.
* Apple 2 computers went on sale.
* NASA Shuttle makes its first test flight. Voyager 1 and 2 launched to explore the solar system.

1978

* The Tasmanian Hydro Electric Commission want to dam the Gordon River. This becomes the largest conservation battles of the 1980's.
* Pat O'Shane becomes the first Aboriginal law graduate and barrister.

1979

Robert (Bob) Hawke, ex-president of the head body of the Australian unions, wins ALP preselection for the seat of Wills.

1980

* Bob Hawke is elected to Federal Parliament (liberal returned to power).
* AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) was identified and they were able to warn people about what causes AIDS and also try to find a cure for it (however, there is no cure).
* Compact disk invented.
* John Lennon killed.

1981

* The first American test tube baby is born.
* Muhammad Ali retires after 55 wins and 5 defeats (boxing).
* U.S Frequent Flyers started.
* Ronald Ragan becomes the U.S President.
* 29th July Diana and Prince Charles married.

1982

* Severe recession in the U.S.
* Commercial whaling ends.
* Human insulin produced by bacteria and is marketed.

1983

* Fraser calls an election. Hawke takes over as opposition leader and works with Treasurer Paul Keating.
* The Hawke government provides more services.
* After years of extreme drought, the 'Ash Wednesday' bushfires devastate Victoria and South Australia. THe fire burns 418,000 hectares and kills 75 people.
* Franklin River becomes World Heritage listed. This means that building is banned and the building of the Franklin Dam is stopped.
* Australia wins the America's Cup yacht race.
* On June 18th 1983, Sally Ride became the first woman to go into space. In 1984 she also went to investigate the explosion of the challenger space rocket. Her famous quote was, " Our future lies with today'skids and tomorrow's space exploration."

1984

* Olympic Games held in Los Angeles.
* The space shuttle'discovery' has its maiden voyage.
* Ghost Busters a popular movie at the time.

1985

* The Government looks into British nuclear testing at Maralinga. The Government finds that damage has been caused and the British Government makes an apology to the Aboriginal people affected and makes payments to help them.

1986

* Popular films, Crocodile Dundee,Star Trek IVand Top Gun.
* IBM unveils the first lap top computer.
* The first (British) tripple transplant done (heart, lung, liver).

1987

* U.S. Stock market crash.
* Supernova observed in space.
* First criminal convicted using DNA evidence.
* Disposable contact lenses becomes available.
* The Simpsons seen on TV for the first time.
* Popular movies: Three Men anda Baby, Lethal Weapon, Beverly Hills Cop.

1988

* Australia recognises that it has been 200 years (bicentennial year) of white settlement with the arrival on the 26th of January of the First Fleet Re-enactment Voyage in Sydney Harbour.
* New Parliament House opens. It cost $1.1 billion dollars. This is the most expensive building in the Southern Hemisphere.

1989

* The internet first becomes available to Australian universities.
* On December 22nd 1989, the Berlin Wall was taken down. It was put up in 1961 to seperate Germany (east and west). This was done in the middle of the night. There was no way to cross the wall. If you had friends or family on the other side, that was tough luck.

As an expert with a deep understanding of the topics mentioned in the article about the 70s and 80s, let's delve into each concept covered:

Fashion/Clothing:
- The 70s and 80s were characterized by a variety of trends, from the continuation of 60s fashion to the emergence of new styles.
- Men's fashion included shoulder-length hair, bellbottom pants, hip huggers, platform shoes, and leisure suits.
- Women's fashion ranged from ankle-length dresses to hot pants, micro-miniskirts, and the influence of the "yuppie look" in the 80s.
- Popular accessories included mood rings, lava lamps, Rubik's cubes, and big hair.
- The movie "Annie Hall" in 1977 influenced a trend of women wearing traditional men's clothing.
Technology and Gadgets:
- The 1970s saw advancements in computer technology, with the introduction of the microprocessor and the Atari computer and gaming system.
- The videocassette recorder (VCR) revolutionized home entertainment, allowing people to watch, hire, and record movies or TV shows.
- Bar code scanners (1974) and the computer laser printer (1971) had a significant impact on retail and printing industries.
- Popular gadgets in the 70s and 80s included the Walkman, Compact Disc (CD), home computers like the Commodore 64, and video game consoles like Pac-Man and Space Invaders.
Games and Toys:
- Traditional toys like dolls, action figures, board games, and bikes remained popular.
- Emerging electronic games such as Simon (1977) and handheld games like Game Watch (1980) gained popularity.
- Iconic toys of the era included the Rubik's Cube, Speak and Spell, Teddy Ruxpin, and Space Hopper.
Entertainment (Music, Movies, Television):
- Movies like Indiana Jones, Batman, and E.T. were popular in the 80s.
- Television series like The Cosby Show, Cheers, and ALF gained widespread popularity.
- Michael Jackson was a prominent figure in the music industry during the 80s.
- The 70s music scene saw the rise of various genres such as soft rock, hard rock, R&B, funk, glam rock, and teen idol singers.
Transport:
- Cars in the 70s and 80s introduced safety features like airbags, ABS brakes, and electric features.
- Bikes, especially the chopper bike in the 70s and BMX bikes in the 80s, were popular among children.
- Melbourne maintained its extensive tram network, and buses became a popular mode of transport.
- Air travel saw the introduction of new aircraft, including the Concorde, and advancements in flight range.
Food:
- Fast food chains like McDonald's, Pizza Hut, and Hungry Jacks gained popularity.
- Traditional meals included fish and chips.
- Vegemite became the first product electronically scanned at a checkout in 1974.
- Yoplait introduced drinkable yogurt in 1974.
- The introduction of microwave-safe TV dinner trays revolutionized convenient meals.
Historical Moments:
- Significant events include the largest street demonstrations in Australian history against the Vietnam War (1970).
- The introduction of seatbelt laws in Australia (1970).
- Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin on Christmas Eve (1974).
- Australia wins the America's Cup yacht race (1983).
- Bicentennial year in 1988, commemorating 200 years of white settlement.

This comprehensive overview captures the essence of the cultural, technological, and historical landscape of the 70s and 80s.