Activists campaigning against Britain's military presence in Northern Ireland faced surveillance and prosecution during the 1970s In August 1972 the Liverpool Daily Post held a competition for boys aged 13–16. The ten lucky winners would spend an “action...
News from Nowhere: the story of a radical bookshop
One notable survivor from the 1970s is News from Nowhere, the not-for-profit "radical and community" bookshop. MANDY VERE started working there in 1976 – and stayed until her retirement 45 years later. This is her account of the shop's history. On Mayday 1974,...
Remember Liberty Hall?
"Liberty Hall" was the name of a social club "for people who are interested in politics but don't wish to belong to a political party". Meetings were held weekly on Sunday evenings, with a variety of activities that included talks, discussions, music and films....
Pirates of the airwaves
"Radio Free Liverpool" was one of several clandestine broadcasters on Merseyside in the 1970s. The enthusiasts behind these pirate stations played a cat-and-mouse game with the authorities who often confiscated their home-made transmitters by BRIAN WHITAKER In...
Recent posts
The Bridewell and the Boys from the Blackstuff
Much of Alan Bleasdale’s acclaimed TV drama was filmed at a former police station on Prescot Street.
Scotland Road Free School
Come to school when you want and do what you like. The Free School was a bold experiment in classroom democracy that didn’t work out.
Police, drugs and ‘agriculture’ in Toxteth
In 1971 there were two notable court cases where black men accused of possessing cannabis were acquitted after claiming police had planted it.
The battle to save Fisher Bendix
The Fisher Bendix factory in Kirkby had been built with government help to ease unemployment in the area. It wasn’t a success and in 1972 when the owners tried to shut it down workers occupied the factory in an effort to save their jobs. Three years later they began running it themselves.
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