The recent news that Terence Conran’s iconic retail brand, Habitat, is to close the doors of all it’s provincial outlets for good, struck a real chord and resonance of sadness. In the 1970s, the decade that style and taste overlooked, Habitat was a beacon of chic, style and invention. As a kid I frequented Habitat continually as my Mum was a devotee of the retail chain…..and to this day I can remember the distinctive aroma and orangey red vista of the masses of rows of terracotta crockery and pots. Habitat was in the vanguard of high fashion and chic in the 1970s, but sadly like many brands of that era it has grown tired and weary and been left behind as a dying legacy of the 1970s.

Thankfully the same cannot be said for the music of that decade!! As time elapses and gives a better perspective on the decade, it becomes very apparent that we were spoilt “Johnny Rotten” in the 1970s by the sheer diversity and eclecticism of the music genres available. The 1970s started with the Beatles splitting up which had a seismic effect and impact on society and the music world. For a generation it was almost inconceivable to imagine a world without the Fab Four!! But life goes on, and new musical genres started to fill the void – slowly and without total confidence, the American singer songwriters like James Taylor, Carly Simon, Carole King, Harry Chapin, Clifford T Ward, Jim Croce and Harry Nillson started to populate the charts. The UK’s singer songwriter contribution came from the self styled Gilbert O’Sullivan, Cat Stevens, Al Stewart and Elton John. Interspersed with these talented solo artists were some appalling bubblegum acts like Lieutenant Pigeon and Middle of the Road, but we took this levity in the spirit it was meant!! And of course there was the inevitable Novelty No1 like Clive Dunn’s “Grandad” and Benny Hill’s “Ernie” which bookended 1971.

From time to time in the early years of the decade, a Heavy Rock band like Deep Purple and Black Sabbath would frequent the chart with “Black Night” and “Paranoid” respectively, whilst Led Zeppelin were sweeping all before them in the Album Charts. Meanwhile a new phenomenon known as Glam Rock was developing, championed by Marc Bolan and T Rex, who broke through in 1971 with four No1s and a succession of No2 hits in 1971 and 1972. Although Marc Bolan was the pin up boy for the Glam Rock movement, he was quickly followed by David Bowie, Slade, The Sweet, Roxy Music, Gary Glitter, Suzy Quatro and Mud who dominated the charts between 1972 and 1974. When these acts weren’t aloft at the top of the charts, the teen idols and early boy bands would be in residence at No1 – led by “heart throbs” Donny Osmond, David Cassidy, David Essex, the Osmonds and Bay City Rollers, surfing a wave of teenage oestrogen!!

Meanwhile the regular Tamla Motown visitors to the 1970s charts were spawning a soul movement spearheaded by solo acts like Marvin Gaye, Isaac Hayes, Al Green and Curtis Mayfield and groups like Chairman of the Board, The Stylistics, Chi-Lites and Three Degrees. And then in the Summer of 1974 a new soul hybrid phenomenon hit the charts, with the No1 “Rock your Baby” by George McCrae. This was quickly followed at No1 by Carl Douglas’ “Kung Fu Fighting” and the Disco genre was born!! Although there were many imitators like Germany’s Silver Convention, it was their compatriots Boney M plus Chic, Donna Summer and the Bee Gees who defined the Disco genre. And of course the watershed moment was the release of the film “Saturday Night Fever” and it’s accompanying album in 1977.

The 1970s was a decade of great social unrest, economic hardship and urban deprivation and the anger of a younger generation manifested itself in the Punk movement, championed by Malcolm Maclaren, Johnny Rotten ( nee Lydon ) and the Sex Pistols. Although their life was short, the Pistols opened the way for the more musically credible The Clash, The Damned and The Stranglers. What quickly followed was a Punk hybrid, called New Wave, fashioned in particular by the incomparable Jam and Police, who between them seemed to rarely vacate the No1 spot in 1979. At the same time there was a revival of the Ska movement of the 1960s, led by the sublime Specials, The Beat and Selecter. In no small way the renaissance of the Ska genre was facilitated by the Reggae movement that saw regular chart excursions throughout the decade for artists like Bob Marley, Ken Boothe, Jimmy Cliff and Johnny Nash.

I defy anyone to say that in terms of diversity of musical genre there has been a better decade than the 1970s…….I will gladly be contradicted, but you will have to leave a very persuasive, powerful argument in the Reply Box at the end of this article to convince me otherwise!!…….

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