- They were the most ubiquitous fashions, pastimes, foods and drinks of their day
- You couldn’t avoid them in the 70s, but they have largely disappeared from modern life
- How many of these once-popular sights and activities do you remember?
They were everywhere in the 70s, but have largely disappeared from modern life.
These are some of the most common sights and activities of the 1970s, from fashion trends and foods to popular pastimes.
Some were particularly prevalent in the north west, while others could be seen up and down the UK.
If you grew up during the 70s, these nostalgic pictures are bound to bring memories flooding back.
We’ve tried to find photos from around the North West, where possible, with many taken from our archives.
What was the best thing about life in the 70s, and what was the worst?
For more nostalgia from the era, why not check out our look back at some of the most dangerous things we all did in the 60s and 70s?
. There are some things you saw all the time in the 70s but rarely see today
There are some things you saw all the time in the 70s but rarely see today | Various Photo: Various
1. Smoking in pubs
Enter most pubs in the 70s and you'd usually be engulfed in a thick fug of smoke. That all changed in 2007, of course, when smoking was outlawed at pubs across England. Pictured here in 1979 are regulars at the Saddle Inn, Woodplumpton, celebrating after it was named the Lancashire Evening Post Pub of the Year. | Iconic Media Group
2. Ice cream floats
Ice cream floats were among the most popular treats of the 70s, as anyone who grew up then will surely recall. Who remembers enjoying chips and a coke float at Wimpy, pictured? | Getty Images Photo: Ian Tyas/Keystone/Hulton Archive
3. Dancing The Hustle
Dance crazes often define an era, and one of the most popular of the disco-mad 70s was The Hustle. Its popularity peaked in the mid-70s, with The Hustle, by Van McCoy, reaching number 3 in the UK charts that year. Pictured here is a farewell disco for army firefighters in 1978. | Iconic Media Group
4. Hot peas and cold onions in the school playground
Not the meal, but the popular children's game of the 70s. Hot peas and cold onions involved someone standing with their back to the other players and throwing a ball over their shoulder. Whoever caught it would shout 'hot peas and cold onions', at which point the thrower would turn round and try to guess who had the ball. Pictured here are energetic youngsters at St Stephen's Primary School, in Whelley, Wigan, in 1970. | Iconic Media Group
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5. Clackers
Clackers were among the most popular, and most dangerous, toys of the 70s. They consisted of two acrylic balls on a piece of string, which you had to make collide to produce the addictive 'clacking' noise that gave the toy its name. Sadly, the balls had an alarming tendency to 'explode', which led to clackers being banned by some schools over safety concerns. | Getty Images Photo: Keystone/Hulton Archive
6. Platform shoes
If it felt like everyone was looking down on you in the 70s, you were probably one of the few people not wearing platform shoes. They made a brief resurgence in the 90s and early noughties, thanks to the Spice Girls, but you don't see them so much anymore. | Getty Images Photo: Evening standard