Curators of Retro and Vintage Pop Culture

The Changeover – 1971 Decimal Day

• 1970s • 14226 Views

We grew up in a time when pocket money was paid in pence and (If you were lucky) pounds, so we don’t really know our shillings from our thrupenny bits. Now we go back and take a look at some of the publications and images that would prepare you for Decimal Day back in 1971.

For Youngsters the popular comic The Dandy published a Decimal Day cover warning readers to get their new pennies ready for Korky the cat. And if you missed the comic cover there were new decimal chocolate coins and ..um a knitting pattern to remind you. Continue Reading

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Time For Tee – T-Shirt Adverts From The Past

• 1960s, 1970s, 1980s, Retro Advertising • 19929 Views

If a James Brown T Shirt is good enough for James Brown, then it’s good enough for us. However we’re not sure that wearing a Jethro Tull T shirt did drive girls wild with desire in the seventies.

Here we have a draw full of T shirts from the past. From a Drac-tastic Christopher Lee-Tee that you could wear to scare your friends to a T shirt that you could wear to show the world how much you love Weetabix.

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Flashback To The Future – Tinker The Robot

• 1960s • 14897 Views

Tinker the remote-controlled robot was the work of inventor David Weston from Yorkshire. His metal friend could wash the car, take the baby for a stroll down the road, go on a shopping expedition and weed the garden. However, all of of these tasks had to be done within 200 metres of David’s garage, where he controlled Tinker through a control panel.

Due to lack of space at David’s home the robot was eventually passed on to a family friend in 1974. Sadly the inventor passed away at the age of 71 in 1995. Continue Reading

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Dressed To Kill with Twiggy and The Avengers

• 1960s, Fashion, Television • 14776 Views

Here at Voices of East Anglia we’re no strangers to the world of sixties Spy-fi duo John Steed and Emma Peel. In the past we’ve covered the very short lived 1971 London stage play of The Avengers and cleaned up with some 1960s lux soap ads featuring Diana Rigg. This time we take a look at the fashion side of the popular television series with a couple of videos courtesy of British Pathe. Continue Reading

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Flight of your Life – Pan Am Posters

• 1960s, 1970s, Ephemera, Poster • 38517 Views

Pan American World Airlines or Pan Am as they were known throughout the World was from 1927 through to 1991 the largest airline in the States and also the unofficial flag carrier for the US. During their existence they were pioneers within the industry trialing as they did jet engines, jumbo jets and computerised reservation systems. Throughout the 1970s and 80s their blue globe logo was synonymous with the glamour of air travel but an almost perfect storm of unfortunate circumstances saw their untimely demise in the early 1990s never to be seen again. Continue Reading

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Martha Jean ‘The Queen’ Steinberg – African-American Icon

• 1950s, 1960s, Music • 11964 Views

As one of the first female DJs and also one of the first African-American DJs in the States Martha Jean ‘The Queen’ Steinberg was hugely influential, progressive, inspirational and not one to shy away from a challenge.

Born Martha Jean Jones in Memphis, Tennessee in 1930 she married Luther Steinberg, qualified as a nurse and had three children before entering a talent contest in 1954 hosted by local radio station WDIA. She came second but was still offered a spot on the weekend show and from there progressed to become host of the prime time weekday evening show. Her sultry vocals became popular with the listeners and her unique role as a female DJ cemented her popularity. Continue Reading

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Seventies London Motor Shows

• 1970s, Transport • 19030 Views

Previously we’ve mirror, signal and manouvered and head on down the highway to the Motor city to visit the Detroit Auto Show during the sixties. We have also reversed back in time and parked up in the the windy city to stroll around the Chicago car show. This time we stay a bit closer to home as we pay and display and have a look around the London car Shows of the seventies that were staged at Earls Court. Continue Reading

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Detroit and Beyond

• 1970s, 1980s, Everyday People, Photographers • 17824 Views

Now we go back to a time when Budweiser six pack vans cruised the streets of Michigan, Darth Vader walked amongst the surfers of Whitmore Lake and a 1972 film titled “The Man” starring a young James Earl Jones had a ridiculous tagline.

Here we have a small selection of photos taken from a collection called From The Archives by amateur Michigan photographer Don Hudson. Since the early seventies he documented life on the streets of the home of Motown and other smaller towns in Michigan, taking in events such as fairs, political rallies and the odd Blues festival. Continue Reading

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Common Scents – Fragrance Adverts From The Past

• 1960s, 1970s, Retro Advertising • 32702 Views

Back in the day, when it came to advertising men’s fragrances, (or after-shave as it was universally known back then) the more macho the message the better. Square-jawed actors and models rubbed shoulders with sultry beauties to promote such legendary brands as Moustache and 007. Continue Reading

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Frank McCarthy’s Movie Poster Magic

• 1960s, 1970s, Art, Film, Poster • 5307 Views

In another of our occasional posts on little-known artists who created very well-known film posters we take a brief look at the life and art of Frank McCarthy a man you quite possibly have never heard of but, if you have even a passing interest in movies (and you are of a certain age), you will have almost certainly seen his work adorning the walls of your local fleapit. Continue Reading

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