1970s Trivia: Fun Facts From The Decade

Trivia from the 1970s, all of it dateable and checkable.

Every fact below has its year in brackets, so you can read the fact out, hide the year and use it as a quiz round - or leave the year in and use it for a birthday card or a reminiscence session.

For the same decade laid out year by year, use the 1970s calendar linked at the bottom.

Years covered in the 1970s

• 1970 - England defended the World Cup, the Beatles ended and eighteen-year-olds got the vote. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1970
• 1971 - Decimal Day, the first Glastonbury as we know it and Slade on the way up. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1971
• 1972 - Miners' strikes and power cuts, Ziggy Stardust and a very good year for glam. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1972
• 1973 - Britain joined the EEC, the oil crisis hit and Slade wrote Christmas. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1973
• 1974 - Two general elections, the three-day week and Abba winning Eurovision. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1974
• 1975 - Bohemian Rhapsody, the EEC referendum and Fawlty Towers. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1975
• 1976 - The heatwave, the drought and the first stirrings of punk. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1976
• 1977 - Silver Jubilee street parties, Star Wars and the summer punk went overground. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1977
• 1978 - Grease, the first test-tube baby and the start of the winter of discontent. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1978
• 1979 - The winter of discontent, the first woman Prime Minister and the last year of the seventies. Full year: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1979
• That is every 1970s year we have written up so far: 1970 to 1979.

News facts from the 1970s

• Edward Heath won the June general election. (1970)
• Decimal currency was introduced on 15 February. (1971)
• A miners' strike in the winter led to power cuts and a state of emergency. (1972)
• The UK joined the European Economic Community on 1 January. (1973)
• The three-day week ran from 1 January to 7 March. (1974)
• The referendum on 5 June voted to stay in the EEC by roughly two to one. (1975)
• The summer brought a long heatwave and the worst drought in living memory, with standpipes in some areas. (1976)
• The Silver Jubilee was celebrated in June with street parties across the country. (1977)
• Louise Brown, the first baby born after IVF, was born in Oldham on 25 July. (1978)
• The winter of discontent ran through January and February with widespread public sector strikes. (1979)

More from the news

• The voting age was lowered from 21 to 18. (1970)
• The Open University took its first students. (1971)
• Bloody Sunday in Derry on 30 January killed thirteen people, with a fourteenth dying later. (1972)
• The oil crisis from October pushed up fuel prices sharply. (1973)
• There were two general elections, in February and October; Harold Wilson returned as Prime Minister. (1974)
• Inflation reached its post-war peak during the year. (1975)
• The Drought Act was passed in August, and a Minister for Drought was appointed; heavy rain arrived in September. (1976)
• The Grunwick dispute ran through the year. (1977)
• The winter of discontent began in late 1978, with widespread strikes into 1979. (1978)
• Margaret Thatcher won the general election on 3 May and became the first woman Prime Minister. (1979)

Television and film in the 1970s

• Colour television licences were still new and most viewing was in black and white. (1970)
• The Two Ronnies began on BBC One. (1971)
• Are You Being Served? and Emmerdale Farm both began. (1972)
• Last of the Summer Wine began; Some Mothers Do 'Ave 'Em followed in 1973. (1973)
• Tiswas began on ATV; Porridge began on BBC One. (1974)
• Fawlty Towers began in September; The Good Life also started. (1975)
• The Muppet Show began on ITV. (1976)
• Star Wars opened in the UK in December. (1977)
• Grange Hill began in February. (1978)
• Life of Brian was released and banned by several local councils. (1979)

Music in the 1970s

• 'The Wonder of You' by Elvis Presley and 'In the Summertime' by Mungo Jerry were two of the year's biggest sellers. (1970)
• 'My Sweet Lord' by George Harrison was the year's best-selling single. (1971)
• 'Amazing Grace' by the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards was the year's best-selling single. (1972)
• Slade's 'Merry Xmas Everybody' was the Christmas number one and the year's best-selling single. (1973)
• Abba won Eurovision in Brighton on 6 April with 'Waterloo', which went to number one. (1974)
• Queen's 'Bohemian Rhapsody' went to number one in November and stayed there into the new year. (1975)
• 'Save Your Kisses for Me' by Brotherhood of Man won Eurovision and was the year's best-selling single. (1976)
• 'Mull of Kintyre' by Wings was the Christmas number one and the year's biggest seller - and for a while the best-selling UK single ever. (1977)
• 'Rivers of Babylon' by Boney M. was the year's best-selling single, and the Grease soundtrack was everywhere. (1978)
• 'Bright Eyes' by Art Garfunkel was the year's best-selling single. (1979)

Sport in the 1970s

• England were knocked out of the World Cup by West Germany in the quarter-final in Mexico. (1970)
• Arsenal won the league and FA Cup double. (1971)
• Leeds United won the FA Cup. (1972)
• Sunderland beat Leeds United in the FA Cup final, one of the great upsets. (1973)
• West Germany won the World Cup; England were not there. (1974)
• West Ham United won the FA Cup. (1975)
• Southampton beat Manchester United in the FA Cup final. (1976)
• Red Rum won a third Grand National. (1977)
• Argentina won the World Cup; Scotland went and England did not qualify. (1978)
• Arsenal beat Manchester United 3-2 in the FA Cup final with two goals in the last five minutes. (1979)

Everyday life in the 1970s

• The Chopper bike was launched in Britain and became the object of every playground argument. (1970)
• Everyone carried a decimal conversion card for months. (1971)
• Candles and paraffin heaters sold out during the power cuts. (1972)
• The three-day week was announced in December and began in January. (1973)
• Petrol prices rose sharply and smaller cars started to look sensible. (1974)
• Space hoppers, Evel Knievel toys and Action Man were the Christmas list. (1975)
• Ladybird books, Chopper bikes and Raleigh Grifters were the things children wanted. (1976)
• Jubilee mugs, bunting and trestle tables in the street were the summer's defining image. (1977)
• Space Invaders arrived in arcades. (1978)
• The Sony Walkman was launched in Japan in July and reached Britain the following year. (1979)

How to use these as a quiz round

• Read the fact without the year and ask for the year - closest answer wins the point.
• Ten facts makes a round. Mix news with television and music so nobody sweeps it.
• For a care home or reminiscence session, use the everyday life facts first - they get the most talk.
• Anyone born in 1970 turns 50 in 2020, 60 in 2030 and 70 in 2040.

Shop birthday cards

How to write it so it lands

• Hide the bracketed year and you have a guess-the-year round ready to go.
• For a card, use the year they were born rather than the decade.
• In a reminiscence session, stop on whatever gets a reaction rather than finishing the list.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1970
• Look back to 1971
• Look back to 1972
• Look back to 1973
• Look back to 1974
• Look back to 1975
• Look back to 1976
• Look back to 1977
• Look back to 1978
• Look back to 1979
• 1970s calendar: year by year
• The 1970s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1970s
• 1970s party playlist
• 70s kids' TV shows
• 70s quiz questions
• British Bulldog rules
• Kerby rules
• Sweets that disappeared
• Test card, Ceefax and three channels
• Decade history: key events, politics and culture by era
• Decade books: best novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade calendar: every year from 1920
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Decade guides: books, films and TV by era
• Decade recipes: dishes and food trends by era
• Music by decade: albums, artists and songs
• Decade fashion: clothes, hair and accessories by era
• Nostalgia gift shop
• Retro party supplies
• Guess the year quiz
• Care home reminiscence quiz
• Milestone birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Birthday cards for kids
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are some fun facts about the 1970s?

England defended the World Cup, the Beatles ended and eighteen-year-olds got the vote. The lists above give the news, television, music, sport and everyday facts for every year from 1970 to 1979, each with its date.

What good 1970s quiz questions are there?

Any fact on this page works as a question if you read it out and ask for the year. Ten of them makes a round, and the answers are already in the brackets.

Where do these facts come from?

They are the same checked facts used on our year pages - real, dateable events only. The official UK singles chart begins in November 1952, so earlier years list popular songs rather than chart positions.

Do you sell anything to do with this decade?

We make greeting cards, art prints and pin badges in the UK, including milestone birthday cards. This page is free to read and free to copy.