BRITISH MUSIC IN 70S

British music became quite rich during the 70s. New genres and subgenres never seen before are
being noticed. They mostly affected teenagers. They most liked to fill their time watching music
show ''Top of the Pops'' with good music content. The most influential music magazine in the
UK during the 1970s was the ''New Musical Express''.
UK was surely the cradle of pop-rock music.

MUSIC IN THE PERIOD FROM 1970. TO 1976.

The United Kingdom has continued to hold the title of cradle of rock music in this decade, along
with America.
In the early 1970s, rock music in Britain lost some of the sharpness and rebellion of the 1960s.
*With the advent of the cassette player, adults were also able to listen to the music they chose in
their cars for the first time, in the 1970s.
*The interesting thing is also that, following the example of the legendary Woodstock Festival
in the USA in 1969, free festivals were organized in Britain, such as the Glastonbury Free
Festival in 1971 (picture 2.).

Picture 2.- The first free festival in 70s (UK)

*One of the directions that appeared at the beginning of this decade is glitter rock, whose
representatives were, forexample, the group Sweet and singer Gary Glitter.
 BRITISH SOCIETY IN 70S
*June 18, 1970- The Conservatives won the general election, and Edward Heath (picture 16.)
became prime minister. They won the general election with 330 seats compared to 287 Labor
MPs.

Picture 16.- prime minister

Edward Heath

*February 6, 1971- The first British soldier, gunner Robert Curtis (20 years old), was killed in
Northern Ireland’s ‘Trouble’ by the self-proclaimed ‘Irish Republican Army’ (IRA). He was shot
while on foot patrolling North Belfast. British troops were sent to Northern Ireland in 1969 in a
"limited operation" to restore law and order.
*August 20, 1971- The discovery of oil under the North Sea was a major boost to British public
finances. Drilling and exploration concessions were auctioned to maximize government revenue,
and the first oil was brought ashore in Teesside in 1975. Complete exploitation of the field would
not begin until the 1980s, when rising oil prices made it economically viable.
*January 30, 1972- British army killed 14 in Londonderry, Northern Ireland, on Bloody Sunday
British troops opened fire on a crowd of civil rights protesters in Londonderry, Northern Ireland,
killing 13 civilians and wounding another 17.
*During the seventies (on July 1, 1972) a historic event took place in England regarding the
fight for the rights of homosexuals (picture 17.). Namely, then the first British gathering of gay
pride passed through London, that is, the first gay parade was held in this country.
*The 1970s also left their mark on political life in Great Britain. The country has successfully
developed from a former classical industrial to a modern post-industrial state with service
industries as the most important industry, modern and competitive industry on the world market
and productive agriculture. However, in the second half of the 1970s there was a major crisis in
the UK that took on dramatic proportions in the winter of 1978-1979, known as the Winter of
Discontent (picture 21.)

Picture 21.- Newspaper

Article from the time
of Winter of Discontent

The dissatisfaction expressed in the strikes was not only a sign of workers' turmoil for the
realization of social rights, but a much deeper indicator of a serious state crisis. The number of
workers in trade unions was higher than ever before in British history, more than half of the total
workforce, and trade unions seemed unbreakable. It was the beginning of a winter of
dissatisfaction expressed by numerous union strikes such as those from the car industry, nurses,
utilities, undertakers. Britain has come under fire from more than 2,000 strikes that have
completely blocked life in the country. Food shortages, cities littered with rubbish, closed
schools, petrol stations, hospitals that only accept emergencies and the dead who have not been
buried for weeks speak of the drama caused by the mass work stoppage.

*May 3, 1979- Conservative Margaret Thatcher became the first woman prime minister in the
UK. Because of her tenacity in pursuing the policy by which she solved the economic crisis in
Great Britain, she was nicknamed the "Lady of Steel'' (picture 22.)