The jangly pop melodies of the 60s were muscled aside by the thudding beat of disco and the DIY energy of punk.
Fashion became even more flamboyant, with the rise of platform shoes, and technological breakthroughs included the Sony Walkman, the VHS video recorder and exciting new video games.
It wasn’t all good though, with the miners strike leading to a three-day week, and the decade ending with a series of strikes during the ‘winter of discontent’.
Below are some of the things you’ll probably remember doing if you grew up during the 1970s, from popular toys you may have played with to restaurants you would have eaten at and the TV shows children watched.
5. Fallen for Bagpuss's gentle charms
Children's TV operates at a breakneck speed these days, packing in the action as if in a constant battle for the limited attention span of modern youngsters. But it wasn't always that way, as Bagpuss proves. The sleepy, sluggish 'saggy, old cloth cat' and his friends - including a grumpy woodpecker bookend called Professor Yaffle, the ragdoll Madeleine and half a dozen mischievous mice - enchanted children during the 1970s. It was a warm hug of a show in which each episode Bagpuss woke with a yawn to discover a new object in the shop where he and his pals lived. They would spend the next 15 minutes discovering the story behind that object, before Bagpuss again grew very tired and they all went back to sleep. Only 13 episodes were ever made by Oliver Postgate and Peter Firmin, but that did not stop it becoming an all-time classic which had youngsters glued to their TV sets in the 70s and in 1999 was voted the UK's favourite children's television programme of all time. Other popular children's TV shows of the 70s included The Clangers, The Wombles, Mr Benn, Rainbow, and Swap Shop. | Yorkshire Post Newspapers Photo: Tony Johnson
6. Dining at Wimpy
Long before McDonald's dominated the nation's high streets, Wimpy was king. It was the first hamburger chain to open in the UK, where it became the biggest fast food restaurant of the 70s. As well as a classic burger, diners could tuck into an 'Eggburger' or treat themselves to a 'Wimpy Special Grill' or 'Delta Brunch'. Soup, 'Bender the meaty frankfurter' and the 'Brown Derby' dessert were among the other popular items on the menu during the 70s. | Ian Tyas/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images Photo: Ian Tyas/Keystone/Hulton Archive/Getty Images
7. Amazed your friends with a paper fortune teller
This was the limit of most children's origami skills back in the 1970s, but it was a great way to impress your mates in the playground. The paper fortune teller was labelled with colours or numbers and would be opened and closed according to the player's choices before revealing the hidden message inside one of the eight flaps. That message was often the answer to a question or sometimes a dare for the player to complete. | National World Photo: John Chambers
8. Cooling down during record-breaking heatwave
Lidos across the nation were packed as the UK sweltered during the famous heatwave in 1976. People sought any means possible of cooling down as the heatwave peaked between June 23 and July 15 that year. | Evening Standard/Getty Images Photo: Evening Standard/Getty Images