Read this year's headlines in our monthly calendar of events and discover snippets about everyday life with our FLASHBACK facts. It's time to go back to the Winter of Discontent, the election of Margaret Thatcher, the American hostage crisis in Tehran and watching Shoetring and Fawlty Towers on TV. It's time to go back to... 1979.
Timeline '79 Close All
January |
Snow, ice and Siberian winds bring widespread chaos as temperatures fall to -20°C over the New Year |
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David Attenborough's seminal natural history series Life On Earth airs on BBC2 |
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"The Winter of Discontent" begins as public sector workers go on strike – more days will be lost due to industrial action this year than any other in UK history |
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Militant union leader Arthur Scargill urges strikers to defy a High Court ban on secondary picketing |
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In San Diego Brenda Spencer opens fire at her school killing two people – when asked for a motive she replies "I Don't Like Mondays" |
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Terry Wogan hosts the first Blankety Blank show on BBC1 |
 |
Ian Dury tops the chart with his zany Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick |
From the ad pages: "Who pays 12% on deposits? National Savings Bank"
February |
The on-going haulage strike forces over 1,000 schools close due to lack of heating oil |
 |
In New York Sid Vicious dies after choking on his own vomit while awaiting trial for murder |
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Deer Hunter – the acclaimed movie about the horrors of the Vietnam War – is released in the UK |
 |
Trevor Frances is football's first £1M player when he signs for Nottingham Forest |
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Peter Frampton's ex-girlfriend is suing him for half of his reported £34M fortune |
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"Woolies Bomb Terror" (Daily Mirror) – IRA bomb several big-name stores in Yeovil |
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Queen release their perennial party favourite Don't Stop Me Now |
It costs Paddington Bear 27½p to buy a jar of Robertson's Golden Shred marmalade
March |
PM James Callaghan loses a vote of no confidence and a general election will be held on 3 May |
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Porridge star Richard Beckinsale dies suddenly aged 31 from a congenital heart condition |
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Roald Dahl's Tales of the Unexpected debuts on ITV |
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Conservative politician Airey Neave is killed by a car bomb in the House of Commons car park |
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"Eric's Heart Drama No. 2" (Daily Mirror) – comedian Eric Morecambe suffers his second heart attack and is recovering in hospital |
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Wales win a record fourth successive Triple Crown to win rugby's Five Nations |
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The brilliant Oliver's Army by Elvis Costello is the unofficial No. 1 |
Unemployment drops slightly to 1.43M
April |
Teacher Blair Peach is killed by police during an anti-fascist demonstration in London |
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After disagreements with their manager The Specials have set up their own label to promote their brand of Ska music – it is called 2 Tone |
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"After-Sex Pill Gets The OK" (Daily Mirror) – doctors have been given the go-ahead to prescribe a morning-after to pill to prevent unwanted pregnancy |
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The Police are receiving airplay in America after a budget tour of the East Coast propels Roxanne into the Billboard Top 40 |
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Iran votes to become an Islamic Republic after the Shah is deposed – Ayatollah Khomeini will become Supreme Ruler |
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Terry Griffiths beats Dennis Taylor to win snooker's World Championship |
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The Jam's Strange Town is the first of three stunning singles this year |
"They doubled prices… And then, they doubled your tax" (Conservative election ad)
May |
"Maggie's Made It!" (Daily Mirror) – Margaret Thatcher is the UK's first female prime minister after the Conservatives win a 43 seat majority in the general election |
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Over 35,000 people attend the Loch Lomond Rock Festival to see a dozen sets including The Stranglers, The Buzzcocks, Dr Feelgood and The Boomtown Rats |
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Nurse Helen Smith dies after falling from a 6th-floor balcony in Saudi Arabia – her body is not buried for 30 years as her father investigates her death |
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A DC-10 crashes during take-off at Chicago O'Hare Airport killing 273 people in America's worst air disaster |
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The London Underground's Jubilee line is opened – its 22½ miles has stops at Waterloo and Baker Street (both titles of hit singles) |
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Nottingham Forest beat FC Malmo to win the European Cup |
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The beautiful ballad Dance Away by Rocky Music is the unofficial No. 1 |
A pink of milk costs 15p (or 26p per litre)
June |
Jimmy Carter and Leonid Brezhnev sign the SALT II agreement in Vienna |
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Bryan Allan cycles across the English Channel in the Gossamer Albatross in the first non-powered flight to France |
 |
The world's first spread sheet is launched – VisiCalc for the Apple II computer will shift nearly 1M copies and show the business potential of computers |
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McDonald's introduces the Happy Meal |
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The Muppet Movie is released – the musical comedy features characters from the TV show that has been seen by 235 million people in 95 countries |
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England lose the Cricket World Cup to the West Indies at Lords |
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Tubeway Army's synth masterpiece Are 'Friends' Electric? is No. 1 |
A London bus driver earns £95 for a 40 hour week plus overtime
July |
MPs vote 362 to 243 against re-instating the death penalty |
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US Disco is not dead – the top positions in the Billboard Top 10 are occupied by Donna Summa, Anita Ward, Chic and Earth Wind And Fire |
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Britain is facing an Olympic spat due to its sporting ties with South Africa – African nations might boycott the Moscow games next year if Britain participates |
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Daredevil Robin Winter-Smith dies while attempting to jump over 32 Rolls Royce limousines on his motorbike in a world record bid |
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Sony's Walkman portable cassette player goes on sale for the first time in Japan |
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"Coe, Man, Go!" (Daily Mirror) – Sebastian Coe sets the world record time for running a mile |
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The Boomtown Rats secure their second No. 1 with I Don't Like Mondays |
House prices surge again – the average property now costs £21,966
August |
Lord Mountbatten and two others are killed by the IRA when a bomb explodes on his holiday boat in Northern Ireland |
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"TV On The Blank" (Daily Mirror) – ITV schedules are affected by striking electricians who are demanding a 25% pay increase |
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Fifteen yachtsmen die in a Force 10 gale off the southern Irish coast during the Fastnet Yacht Race – it is the world's worst yachting disaster |
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Keith Castle undergoes the UK's first heart transplant operation at Papworth Hospital |
 |
The price of a first class stamp rises to 10p despite the Post Office delivering a record annual profit of £375M – more than £1M per day |
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The Cars play at the Dr Pepper Festival in New York's Central Park to an estimated audience of over 100,000 |
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When You're Young makes it a hat-trick of Top 20 hits for The Jam |
From the ad pages: "Dutch Edam – it's never a round for long"
September |
Sci-fi horror movie Alien is released – the "xenomorph" will become one of the most iconic monsters in Hollywood history |
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"Death Of A Nation" (Daily Mirror) – over five million people have been killed by the murderous Khmer Rouge regime in Cambodia |
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Wolves set a new transfer record by paying almost £1.5M for Aston Villa's Andy Gray |
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Shoestring airs on BB1 – the first episode "Private Ear" introduces Trevor Eve as the private detective with a radio show |
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After a journey of six years Pioneer 11 becomes the first spacecraft to visit Saturn |
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Robin Day hosts the first episode of Question Time on BBC1 – the political debate show is still with us over 40 years later |
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The Police have the first of five No. 1s with Message In A Bottle |
From the ad pages: "Mary Berry's recipe for a rousing cup of tea – a Goblin Teasmade"
October |
"Spend All You Want Abroad!" (Daily Mirror) – exchange controls are abolished allowing free movement of capital from the UK |
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The Invergowie train crash leaves four dead and 49 injured including Scottish footballer Doug Wilkie who is paralysed from the waist down |
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The final episode of classic comedy Fawlty Towers is broadcast on BBC2 |
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Margaret Thatcher tells Radio Luxembourg listeners that Britain's £1B annual contribution to the EEC is unsustainable |
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ITV's comedy drama Minder starring George Cole begins on ITV |
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Electronic games Merlin and Simon go on sale in the UK priced at £10 |
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The Buggles have a massive global hit with Video Killed The Radio Star |
At Peter Dominics you can buy a bottle of Golden Oktober Liebfraumilch for £1.99
November |
The Iran hostage crisis begins when 500 radicals storm the US Embassy in Tehran and take 53 American hostages |
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TV series Mighty Micro is broadcast showing the expected impact of computers on our lives in the near future – e-books are predicted |
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An Air New Zealand DC-10 crashes into Mount Erebus in Antarctica killing all 257 people on board |
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The final episode of BBC's To The Manor Born draws one of the biggest TV audiences of all time |
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The Times newspaper is published for the first time in almost a year after industrial action over the introduction of new technology is resolved |
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Cult comedy Not The Nine O'Clock News airs on BBC2 at nine o'clock |
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The Jam have their biggest hit to date with the blistering Eton Rifles |
Entering a column of 11 crosses on your Vernons Pools coupon costs 22½p
December |
The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan with a massive airlift of 280 transport aircraft into the capital Kabul |
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Eleven fans are killed at a rock concert by The Who in Cincinnati |
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Star Trek: The Motion Picture premieres in the US – it features most of the cast from the original 1960s TV series |
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Stuntman Stan Barrett sets a new land speed record in the Mojave Desert as the Budweiser Rocket breaks the sound barrier |
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The Atari 800 is unveiled as the most graphically advanced home computer |
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Sebastian Coe wins the BBC Sports Personality of the Year |
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Pink Floyd's first single in 12 years Another Brick In The Wall is No.1 |
The number of singles sold reaches an all-time high of 89M