33 nostalgic photos showing life and times of the Black Country throughout the 1970s

In the UK, it was the decade of the Ford Cortina, the record player and cassette recorder.

There were also years of industrial action, with walkouts from postal workers, miners and dustmen all partaking in the 70s strikes.

After years of Labour in government, the end of the decade also marked the start of Margaret Thatcher's reign as Prime Minister.

From star-studded weddings and performances at the Grand Theatre to passionate protests and heartfelt funerals, take a look through our archive photos from the super seventies.

Wolves v Spurs

Wolves v Tottenham Hotspur on February 7, 1970 at Molineux. The result was a 2-2 draw.

A right funny Dudley wedding

Comedian and actor Sir Lenny Henry, born in Dudley, acting as best man for a pal on July 16, 1988. Although the photo wasn't taken in the 70s, that is when the pair met. Actress and comedian, and Henry's then-wife, Dawn French stands next to the bride.

Greg Stokes and Lenny were members of the same friend group in their teens when they were both living near Buffery Park. Social worker Greg said the TV star added a special touch to his big day when he tied the knot with 33-year-old teacher Carol Mitchell.

Greg, 33, was himself a guest at Lenny and Dawn's wedding in the West End four years prior. "We have known each other since about 1970 and even though we went to different schools we hung around in the same gang."

The caption ends with: 'The 29-year-old performer certainly raised a few laughs with tales of his childhood during a reception speech at the Saracen's Head pub. Greg said he hopes Lenny, who pays frequent visits to his home town, will be a regular visitor at his new home in Grove Street.'

Gene Pitney at the Gaumont, Wolverhampton

Pop star Gene Pitney signing his autograph for some fans in Wolverhampton, 1970. The archive photo shows Pitney with adoring fans Susan McReady of Wolverhampton, and June Robinson and Janet Rutter, of Cannock on March 24, 1970. Written in pencil on the back of the photo is what looks like 'Gaumont', which points to this photo being taken while Pitney was appearing at the Gaumont in Wolverhampton.

The tragedy of Duncan Edwards

Flowers being laid at the grave of the Manchester United and England footballer Duncan Edwards on October 3, 1970, who died in the Munich air crash in 1958. The tribute was by members of Manchester United's London and District Supporters Club. They stopped at the Dudley cemetery to put red and white flowers on the grave.

An aerial view of West Bromwich

The ground of West Bromwich Albion, The Hawthorns, is at the top of this archive photo which gives a bird's eye view over the region.

'Fight Fascism Now!' – Enoch Powell's toxic legacy

'Demonstrators outside Wolverhampton Grammar School, where Enoch Powell made his speech' is handwritten on the back of this print from June 16, 1970. Demonstrators were protesting against the former Conservative MP and his infamous 'rivers of blood' speech, which was a matchstick in fuelling racial hatred and splitting the nation.

Ballers in training

Walsall Wood FC in training on August 13, 1970. A fitness session for Walsall Wood in the Midland Combination's first division, under the guidance of new manager Derek 'Doc' Pace, the former Aston Villa and Sheffield United centre forward.

'The players are put through press-ups watched by Pace (left) and trainer Albert Tomkinson.'

Future Olympian

An athletics presentation in Wolverhampton Town Hall in 1970 in which one of the recipients was a young Tessa Sanderson, later an Olympics hero, known back then as Theresa. The photographer's datestamp is October 21, 1970. Six members of the Wolverhampton and Bilston club received certificates and free passes to Aldersley Stadium from the Mayor of Wolverhampton, Alderman G A Guy.

From left are Peter Kelly (English schools senior boys 100 metres hurdles champion), Verona Bernard (member of the Wolverhampton and Bilston team who won the women's AAA 1,600 metre relay title), Sidney Hodson (officials award), Gillian Spurgin (English schools junior 200 metres winner), Matthew Cannavan (junior AAA triple jump title holder), Theresa Sanderson (English schools junior sprint relay team member).

The Goodyear Airship, Wolverhampton

The Goodyear airship, possibly in Wolverhampton area as this print has the stamp of 'Magna Pictures (Guy Bowen), 5 Westland Road, Wolverhampton' which was in the Express & Star picture archive at Queen Street, Wolverhampton.

Star Ladies' Club and Frank Ifield at The Grand, Wolverhampton

'Star Ladies' Club organiser Angela Povey (left) and Mrs Winifred Webster (right) from Nordley, near Bridgnorth, come face to face with Frank Ifield, star of the Dick Whittington pantomime at the Grand Theatre, Wolverhampton. They were in a party of Star Ladies' Club members who saw the panto last night,' reads the caption.

'Put Britain First'

'The National Front marchers in Market Street with their big banner and a forest of Union Jacks' on November 28, 1970.

In the ring

'Ringside view at the official opening of Wolverhampton Amateur Boxing Club's premises in Union (words missing, but perhaps Road/Street)' on October 14, 1970. Another caption read: 'Wolverhampton Amateur Boxing Club's new gymnasium - also a venue for official competition at schoolboy level.'

A right royal cuppa

Prince Philip drinking a cup of tea given him by a member of the public during a Wolverhampton royal visit on June 22, 1970.

'The prince downs a welcome cup of tea, made for him by Mrs Kathleen Williams, of the Corner Shop, Park Street South,' reads the caption. The accompanying story told of his walkabout meeting people, including in Haggar Street, where some ground was being cleared to turn into a play area.

'Hardly had he shaken the dust from his feet when out came Mrs Kathleen Williams from her little corner shop - and thrust a cup of tea in front of him. The prince was amused - and drank it. Afterwards Mrs Williams said she had done it for a dare...'

Equal pay for all

Women stage a walkout at Courtaulds' Wolverhampton factory on April 17, 1970 over pay for 220 women workers. Hundreds of other workers joined the strike. Later that year the greater part of the factory, which employed more than 1,300 workers, was closed and the buildings were demolished two years later.

Music makes the world go 'round

A modern lady framed by two old horn-type gramophones in August 26, 1970. Stephanie Wedgbury, from Tamworth, is the niece of the owner of a Wednesbury 'disco sound.' The instrument on the left is over 100 years old and the one on the right about 120.

Hittin' the nursery slopes

Half term in the snow for these youngsters from West Bromwich who tried the nursery slopes of the King George V playing fields. Starting off on a 'threes' duel were Keith Hollis, Kevin Taylor, Terry Rushton, Alan Moore, Clive Ford, and John Reed. February 17, 1970.

It's a Knockout!

The story accompanying this photo, taken on April 11, 1973, reads: 'This bevy of beauties will soon be cheering for Wolverhampton in a televised heat of It's A Knockout. Eight cheerleaders will be chosen from this lineup for the triangular match against Sandwell and Redditch at Wolverhampton Stadium on April 30. They got the chance to appear before the TV cameras after entering a contest run by the Express & Star in association with the town council. Each girl is now in training at a dancing school in Oxley under the guidance of Miss Sheila Groom.'

Morecambe and Wise

March 31, 1973: While the crowds blocked the pavements outside Wolverhampton's Gaumont Cinema last night, impatient to see the most famous double act in the business, Ernie Wise was inside the cinema, quietly and modestly revealing the best kept secret in the literary world. On Monday he was flying to Sweden in a aeroplane to collect the Nobel Prize for Literature - or so he said...

'Afterwards, I shall be going on the Broads,' he added. 'On the broads in Sweden?' asked Eric Morecambe. 'No, no. In Norfolk.' The story added later: "It is exactly 20 years since the partnership made its first appearance on television. Specifically, on the BBC. Ronnie Waldman saw it, was impressed, and offered them a series. It was called Running Wild, and it was a disaster. One critic afterwards defined a television set as 'the box they buried Morecambe and Wise in.'

Slade takes time for fans

June 5, 1973: Fan Jeremy Newell was very much looking forward to his 12th birthday treat – a visit to Wolverhampton Civic Hall to hear Slade. But Jeremy, who used a wheelchair, had his night spoiled when fans surged forward blocking his view of the concert.

A short time later, he returned to the Civic Hall as Slade's guest. Jeremy, of George Road, Coseley, also met the band before the performance. He was invited by the group after the Express & Star had shown them a letter his father had written asking for an assurance that handicapped fans, like his son, always got a chance to see as well as hear concerts.

Award-winning nurses

This archive photo from January 23, 1974, shows the award-winning Netherton nursing team and other members of the local St John Ambulance Division proudly displaying their trophies. Front: Olwen Jones (divisional superintendent); rear (left to right): Elsie Willets (divisional sergeant) and Hazel Hindmarsh (all from Netherton team); Carol Smith (division); Pauline Nicholls (Netherton team); Pat Hipkiss, Gwen Herbert, and Brenda Oldfield (division).

The Milhench Case

John Lishman in 1974 represented Wolverhampton fraudster and playboy Ronald Milhench, who famously forged the signature of then Prime Minister Harold Wilson in an attempt to pull off a property deal. The datestamp is April 19 – the year cannot be read as it is too faint, but is conceivably 1974 at the time of the Milhench case.

Phoning home

November, 1975: "Suzy the circus elephant caused quite a stir in Dudley today when she stopped to make a trunk call at a public telephone box. Suzy is one of the star attractions at Austen Brothers Circus which is in town this week. She turned her attention to the telephone box while she was out for her morning walk with Mr Michael Austen, who helps run the circus."

Teen's lucky escape

May 31, 1974: "Mike Jeavons took an unexpected mud bath on a walk across rough ground at Dudley, and he wants to make sure no-one else will do the same. He was strolling across crusted mud at the side of a sun-dired pool when it gave way beneath him. As he disappeared up to his hips in the slime he threw himself flat to stop sinking any further.

'If I'd stood up I'd have gone straight down,' said 15-year-old Mike, who lives in Eagle Close, Russells Hall. His friend, Gary Holt, also 15, of Waverley Street, Holly Hall, gave him a hand to get out of the sticky mud on ground off Himley Road. Here he points to the danger surface - on an old opencast mine site. Mike had an uncomfortable walk home to change, but he reckons he had a lucky escape."

Even famous people read the Chronicle

January 23, 1975: 'It is unlikely that film star David Hemmings is looking through the situations vacant columns of the Wolverhampton Chronicle. After all, his latest film Juggernaut is a great box office success. But he and a friend are certainly engrossed in the Chronicle while they take a break on the set of Juggernaut. Must be our first class film coverage that appeals to him.' At a guess this was a supplied picture, with him reading the Chronicle as a stunt (to ensure something went in the Chronicle about his latest film!)

Bus drivers in dispute

'Queues of passengers waiting for buses in Ridding Lane, Wednesbury,' reads the caption pasted to the back of this February 11, 1975 print. Hundreds of people in Wednesbury may have been walking home from work that evening due to a bus drivers' dispute, which last night hit rush hour services. Busmen at West Bromwich bus station said that it had been caused by a dispute over pay for manning one-man buses. Mrs Catherine Bagnell (sic), of Carisbrooke Crescent, Friar Park, said: 'I waited for an hour for the bus in Ridding Lane. It is just not good enough but there's not much can be done...'

The Queen visits Walsall

The Queen in Walsall on July 27, 1977 during a Silver Jubilee visit to the Black Country. Sonia Hurley, aged five, of Stanbury Avenue, Darlaston, presents a bunch of pink rosebuds to the Queen as she leaves Walsall en route to the M6 via Bescot and on to Birmingham.

Willenhall floods

A flood which swept through homes in Willenhall was claimed to be caused by a new drainage system. One million gallons of water cascaded two feet deep down Cedar Road in Willenhall swamping cars and bungalows, lifting paving stones and damaging the road surfaces. Residents blamed the floods on heavy cranes which they say weakened a bridge where the 18-inch main burst.

A fun day out

An outing by Bloxwich Memorial Club to Blackpool on August 18, 1975. The story pasted on the back of the print reads: 'Bloxwich Memorial Club lived up to its boast of providing the biggest and best outings in the Midlands when it took 3,500 people on the annual seaside trip to Blackpool. The club hired 70 coaches and had to book an entire car park at Blackpool to accommodate them all. Each child on the trip was given £1 spending money by the club and thousands of bottles and pop and packets of crisps were distributed. The Blackpool outing is run each year by the Harrison Street Club and is believed to be one of the biggest of its kind in the country. Other outings for club members have included trips to Moscow and New York.'

Hell Drivers of Walsall

Hundreds of people were treated to a display of daredevil driving in Walsall on June 10, 1977. The Hell Drivers team visited the Arboretum, and despite bad weather kept the crowds on their toes with car and motorcycle stunts. In this picture, a stuntman slid from the back of a car as it raced through a pool of flaming petrol. In another a rider 'flew' his machine up a ramp and over five men.

Carnival queens

Halterneck tops and floaty frocks were all the rage in April 1979 when 16 girls took part in the West Bromwich Carnival Queen contest.

Frozen milk

Temperatures were so cold on the morning of February 16, 1979, that receptionist Mel Roche, aged 18, found the daily pint had grown an ice cap after the early morning delivery outside her office at Cannock.

Raw sewage canal

The late West Bromwich West MP Betty Boothroyd on August 16, 1974 (in checked outfit). The published story attached to the back of the print begins: 'A West Midland MP is to ask a major water authority 'to get on with the job' of improving a polluted canal at Tipton. Miss Betty Boothroyd, Labour, West Bromwich West, is to ask the Severn Trent Water Authority for remedial work to start immediately following her latest visit to the polluted canal arm at Gospel Oak. Residents in the Newman Road area have complained bitterly about the problem from the 'raw sewage' canal at the rear of their homes...'

MP Helene Hayman

February 9, 1974: "Mrs Helene Hayman in 1974, who hailed from Wolverhampton and became an MP. She is today in the House of Lords as Baroness Hayman. She was Miss Helene Middleweek at the time this picture was taken. Britain's youngest MP, Mrs Helene Hayman, is expecting a baby in October. Mrs Hayman, aged 27, broke the news last night to the Labour Party general management committee of her Hatfield and Welwyn constituency but said she had no intention of giving up her seat. Helene, then Miss Middleweek, first hit the public eye when she was picked to fight Enoch Powell in her home town of Wolverhampton. But on the eve of the February 1974 general election he withdrew and voted for her instead."