1970
Top Selling Singles 1970
- Elvis Presley – The Wonder Of You
- Mungo Jerry – In The Summertime
- Freda Payne – Band Of Gold
- Simon & Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
- Rolf Harris – Two Little Boys
- Lee Marvin – Wand’rin’ Star
- Norman Greenbaum – Spirit In The Sky
- England World Cup Squad – Back Home
- Free – All Right Now
- Christie – Yellow River
Christmas No.1: Dave Edmunds – I Hear You Knockin
Top Selling Albums 1970
- Simon and Garfunkel – Bridge Over Troubled Water
- Led Zeppelin – Led Zeppelin II
- Original Soundtrack – Easy Rider
- Original Soundtrack – Paint Your Wagon
- Various Artists Motown – Chartbusters Volume 3
- The Beatles – Let It Be
- The Beatles – Abbey Road
- Deep Purple – Deep Purple In Rock
- Paul McCartney – McCartney
- Andy Williams – Andy Williams Greatest Hits
At the Box Office 1970
- Love Story
- Airport
- M*A*S*H
- Patton
- The Aristocats
- Woodstock
- Little Big Man
- Ryan’s Daughter
- Tora! Tora! Tora!
- Catch-22
Cost of Living
Average house price | £4,975 |
Average salary | £1,700 (£32pw) |
Average car price | £1,998 Range Rover / £600 Mini |
Petrol | 6 Shillings/gallon |
Pint of beer | 20p |
Packet of 20 Cigarettes | 20p |
Pint of milk | 1 Shilling |
In the News 1970
- Prime Minister: Harold Wilson (Labour) until 19 June then Edward Heath (Conservative)
- The National Westminster Bank begins trading following merger of National Provincial Bank and Westminster Bank
- A Boeing 747 lands at Heathrow Airport, the first jumbo jet to land in Britain
- Chrysler UK launches its new small family car, the Hillman Avenger
- Richard Branson starts the Virgin Group with discounted mail-order sales of records
- The importation of pets is banned after an outbreak of rabies in Newmarket
- The government makes a £20 million loan available to help save the financially troubled luxury car and aircraft engine manufacturer Rolls-Royce.
- The Methodist Church allows women to become full ministers for the first time.
- There was a big docks strike that raised fears of food shortages and led to a proclamation of a state of emergency by Queen Elizabeth II.
- The last issue of grog in the Royal Navy is distributed
- There was a festival on the Isle of Wight that year that was attended by 600,000 – the biggest ever
- The first Glastonbury Festival is held
- BP discovers a large oil field in the North Sea
- The Mark III Ford Cortina goes on sale
- The first Page Three girl appears in The Sun newspaper
- The first Iceland frozen food supermarket is opened, in Oswestry,
On the Telly 1970
- The Goodies is first broadcast, on BBC Two. [theme]
- Jon Pertwee makes his first appearance as the Third Doctor in the Doctor Who serial Spearhead from Space. It also marks the first time that the series is in colour.
- A Question of Sport debuts on BBC1 [theme]
- The Banana Splits airs on BBC1 [theme]
- Tyne Tees Television starts broadcasting in colour [jingle]
- ITV broadcast the children’s sitcom Here Come the Double Deckers. [theme]
- The first colour edition of Blue Peter is aired on BBC1
- Scooby-Doo, Where Are You? makes its first UK television appearance on BBC1.[theme]
- London Weekend Television launches its famous river ident
- The American cartoon series The Pink Panther Show makes its debut on BBC1. [theme]
- The first episode of the long-running children’s movie themed quiz show Screen Test is broadcast on BBC1. [theme]
In Music
- Black Sabbath release their self titled debut album in the UK, credited as the first major album in the heavy metal genre
- Paul McCartney publicly announces that he has left The Beatles in a press release. He later files a lawsuit against the other members of The Beatles to dissolve their partnership, effectively ending the band
- “The Long and Winding Road” becomes the Beatles’ 20th and final single to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart
- The musical album Jesus Christ Superstar, by Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice, is released.
Top Selling Christmas Toys of 1970
- Nerfball – £1.25
- Sindy – £3.99
- Apollo Moon Rocket – £1.16