in Places & People

Amazing Vintage Photos Show The Street Life Of London From The 1980s

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The 1980s was an era of rapid change for London, the social and political atmosphere changed so drastically. It began with Margaret Thatcher having just been voted into office in 1979, the streets were lined in anticipation for Prince Charles and Lady Diana‘s wedding in 1981. It is a decade when the streets of London were scattered with punks and mods, with record shops and rock stars — and today’s Canary Wharf skyscrapers were barely a gleam in a developer’s eye. Unions and family-owned shops gave way to privatization and impersonal, foreign-owned stores.

Take a look at these amazing photos from the 1980s that show the street life of Londoners.

#5 On the town… Hackney pensioners 1985

On the town… Hackney pensioners 1985

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#6 A Tonibell ice cream van in Montague Place, London, 1980

A Tonibell ice cream van in Montague Place, London, 1980

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#10 Trafalgar Square, London, 1982

Trafalgar Square, London, 1982

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#14 Hackney school children protest to highlight the sale of radioactive lamb in UK supermarkets following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986

Hackney school children protest to highlight the sale of radioactive lamb in UK supermarkets following the Chernobyl disaster in 1986

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#15 Hackney Show June 20 1987

Hackney Show June 20 1987

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#16 Dalston style 1984 snapped for the One Day Off In Hackney project

Dalston style 1984 snapped for the One Day Off In Hackney project

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#19 Parliament Square, looking down Whitehall, London, 1985

Parliament Square, looking down Whitehall, London, 1985

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#20 Oxford Street, London, 1980 (outside Selfridges looking east)

Oxford Street, London, 1980 (outside Selfridges looking east)

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#21 A puppeteer outside the Earl of Lonsdale Pub, Portobello Road, London, 1980

A puppeteer outside the Earl of Lonsdale Pub, Portobello Road, London, 1980

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#24 Oxford Street, London, 1980 (corner of Duke Street)

Oxford Street, London, 1980 (corner of Duke Street)

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#25 Portabello Rd Market, London, 1980

Portabello Rd Market, London, 1980

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#30 Buckingham Palace, London, 1982

Buckingham Palace, London, 1982

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#33 Fulham Palace Road (northbound by junction of Lillie Road), London, 1983

Fulham Palace Road (northbound by junction of Lillie Road), London, 1983

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#34 Picadilly Circus looking down Coventry Street, London, 1983

Picadilly Circus looking down Coventry Street, London, 1983

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#35 Daily Express building, Fleet Street, London, 1984

Daily Express building, Fleet Street, London, 1984

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#36 Junction of South Molton Street and Brook Street, London, 1984

Junction of South Molton Street and Brook Street, London, 1984

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#38 Oxford Street, London, 1984 (looking west towards Marble Arch)

Oxford Street, London, 1984 (looking west towards Marble Arch)

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#40 South Molton Street, London, 1984

South Molton Street, London, 1984

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#45 London Underground, 1985

London Underground, 1985

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#47 Trafalgar Square (looking down Whitehall), London, 1985

Trafalgar Square (looking down Whitehall), London, 1985

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#48 Wimpy restaurant, 425 Oxford Street, London, 1985

Wimpy restaurant, 425 Oxford Street, London, 1985

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#50 London, 1987

London, 1987

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#55 Rock Circus, London Pavilion, Picccadilly Circus, 1989

Rock Circus, London Pavilion, Picccadilly Circus, 1989

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#60 Church Street, Stoke Newington, 1984.

Church Street, Stoke Newington, 1984.

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#62 Acclaimed Trinidad born writer Rosa Guy visits Centerprise in the mid 80s

Acclaimed Trinidad born writer Rosa Guy visits Centerprise in the mid 80s

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#65 Hackney Empire Mecca Bingo, 1980s

Hackney Empire Mecca Bingo, 1980s

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#70 Spitalfields Market, Brushfield Street, 1988

Spitalfields Market, Brushfield Street, 1988

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#71 On the DLR travelling from Westferry to Poplar, 1988

On the DLR travelling from Westferry to Poplar, 1988

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#75 High Road Leytonstone, 1987

High Road Leytonstone, 1987

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Husband + Father + librarian + Poet + Traveler + Proud Buddhist. I love you with the breath, the smiles and the tears of all my life.

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