The 1970's

Some of the performers who were famous during the 1970’s (some of them are still working) are ABBA, Donna Summer, Amii Stewart, Boney M, Rick Springfield, Jackson Browne and Suzi Quatro. Thomas Ledin and Magnus Uggla started out back then and as most people in Sweden know, they’re still popular.

Very wide trousers and long skirts became popular. Guys still wore their hair long, and it kept getting longer, in fact so long we would actually see it as long today. The beards too, unfortunately. People wore platform shoes or boots.

The protests became more widespread, the equality movement gained momentum, and the beginnings of the environment movement can be traced to the 1970’s, or even the late 60’s. Nuclear power was the main enemy. See the movie the China Syndrome to see why – there was also a serious incident in the US – Harrisburg/Three Mile Island.

A little later in the decade heavy metal became popular, and the guys in those bands really had long hair. People still crowded together to live away from society. They also used drugs in large quantities.

Towards the end of the 70’s, disco music became popular. Disco dancing became a lifestyle. See the movies the Last Days of Disco and Boogie Nights, and you’ll see how important disco music was for a few years. Those two movies are really good examples of how the 1970’s looked and sounded.

Towards the end of the 70’s the movie Star Wars opened. The younger girls dreamed about Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), and the older ones about Han Solo (Harrison Ford). I don’t know about Swedish actors. Most of the ones from the 50’s and 60’s were still working. Janne “Loffe” Carlsson, Lasse Åberg and Kjell Bergqvist were already working back then. I don’t think there were any really hot guys though (well, Kjell Bergqvist isn’t exactly ugly).

Looking at the 70’s from today’s perspective, I can’t say I liked the fashion, the architecture and the interior decoration. Of course, there’s no accounting for taste. The creators of those fashions probably thought they were making something really pretty.