Some Great 1970s Resources on the Web

One of the joys of the 1970s was that life was so much less competitive back in those days. We felt the love, we shared the love.

So in the spirit of those lazy, hazy far-off days let me give you my thoughts on some other websites, forums and resources which are available out there to fellow nostalgics, or indeed to anyone with an interest in the life, the times, the music and the popular culture of that wonderful decade…

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Websites

The sites I have selected here are not necessarily the biggest, the flashiest or the most well supported. Many “nostalgia” sites offer reams of helpful information yet seem primarily driven by the desire to sell you something or to maximise their advertising revenue. More often than not they are also oddly reluctant to engage with others within the niche. I’ll leave them to their marketing strategies, and bring you instead three which really touched me as sincere and worthy of support:

1. Once Upon a Time in The ’70s. “Nostalgia & Memories of the 1970s” – a delightful Scottish-based nostalgiafest born, we are told, from a group of folks of a certain age reconnecting during lockdown and reminiscing about those glory days and the things they did.

With two editors (Colin “Jackie” Jackson and Paul Fitzpatrick) and five regular contributors, the real gem here is a well-maintained blog to which visitors can subscribe and be sent regular updates each and every time a new article is published. Guest articles are also encouraged.

Well worth signing up to, some of the articles are real quality and invoke great memories.

2. The 70’s Preservation Society. A US-based service streaming 1970s music through its 24-hour music channel 70’s Classics. Listen to some of the best sounds from the greatest decade in the history of popular music, or purchase some quality ’70s-themed merchandise.

There’s a Facebook page attached to the website too, well worth a visit and of course a much-deserved like.

3. 1970s Britain. A website designed to promote the book In The News: the 1970s by the author Michael Southwick, which at the time of writing I am presently ploughing excitedly through.

Some facts and information from each individual year during the 1970s, some handy catchphrases and a promise of some more content to come, which the author assures me is a work in progress. As is the website itself, but one which certainly deserves all encouragement and support.

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Facebook Groups

There is a vast and growing number of Facebook groups which exist exclusively to celebrate the 1970s – many of them with five, six or even seven figure memberships. Once again, large doesn’t always mean engaging. So I have opted for a cross-section of those which I particularly enjoy following, and contributing to:

1. Purely 1970s
https://www.facebook.com/groups/162721591005478/

2. Awesome ’70s
https://www.facebook.com/groups/609919612500360

3. The Bygone Decades
https://www.facebook.com/groups/835342273232377

4. It’s Yesterday Once More (the nostalgia years)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/itsyesterdayoncemore

5. Growing Up in the ‘60s and ‘70s UK
https://www.facebook.com/groups/437339326610005

6. The Original Glamrock of the ‘70s
https://www.facebook.com/groups/31302119898

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Facebook Pages

Pages are generally less interactive than groups, but they can be a mine of information and intelligence. This one is attached to an excellent, if rather neglected website. I only recently discovered the site, although I had been a subscriber to the Facebook page for some time already:

1. Escape to the Seventies
https://www.facebook.com/EscapeToTheSeventies

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Forums

I found a number of old-style community forums which included threads about the 1970s, but none which were themselves subject specific. Maybe readers could help me out here?

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My 1970s Resources

Finally, as well as my author website I manage the following, which support my efforts as a nostalgia writer:

1. The Best Year Of Our Lives (Blog).

Titled after my retro novel of the same name, set in 1976, this Blogger resource contains some of my briefer articles as well as updates and snippets of information. If you enjoy the articles, please feel free to leave a comment at the end of each.

2. The Spirit of 1976 (Facebook Group)

With around 2,000 members at the time of writing, at this group we discuss anything connected with the life, times, music and popular culture of that greatest among years.

3. The Best Year Of Our Lives – Book (Facebook Page)

Updates about my literary efforts, as well as ongoing information about my signature novel.

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Unlike most articles on my blog, this one is intended to be fluid and will be updated with fresh information if and when required. So if you feel I’ve left anything out, please pop it into the Comments below and hopefully I’ll include it at the next edit.