Living in the 70s

This week it’s our Easter show, and just in case you haven’t yet had sugar overdose on chocolate eggs and hot cross buns, we thought we might add just a little more sweetness to your system. Yes, all our songs this week are sweet as – but amazingly calorie free. The post Sweet treats for Easter appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Some weeks we just aren’t feeling a theme. So instead we just pick a handful of songs each that we have lying around and put them together to make a show. And some how, it’s always magic. This week it’s your hosts’ choice. Five tracks from Marty, five from Venetia, and ta da! The post It’s the hosts’ choice appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Down here in Australia’s South, the days are getting shorter, the mornings crisper, the leaves are turning and we are all putting on extra layers to stay warm. There’s a definite feeling of Autumn in the air. So, this week, we thought we would play some Seventies tracks with an Autumn feel. It’s turned out to be a lovely, mellow playlist, perfect for relaxing around a cosy fire on a crisp evening. So make yourself a hot cup of cocoa and pull up a comfy chair. Welcome to our Autumn show. The post Autumn melodies appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This weeks show went to air on the 23rd of March 2025. We thought we would look back through the Seventies and see what notable musical events happened on this date. Turns out, quite a few – bands signing to record labels, singles released, concerts held. As a theme, it’s created a great mix of classic 70s tracks – all related in some way to a single date in March. The post On this day appeared first on Living in the 70s.

It’s Marty’s birthday. Hip, Hip, Hooray! And for his birthday, Venetia has put together a playlist of some of his favourite artists. It’s a Marty flavoured blend of pop and rock with a sprinkling of country and a pinch of soul. All it needs is a great big bow and some candles on top. Happy birthday, Marty. The post Happy Birthday Marty! appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week our show is made up of all women artists of the Seventies – in part to balance our recent show featuring all men called David, and also to celebrate International Women’s Day on March 8. And what a show we have. Women really were doing it for themselves in the 1970s, and doing it well. We have funk, we have pop, we have a little bit of punk. Women were everywhere, making their mark and, luckily for us, sharing their immense talent with the world. The post Oh bondage, up yours! appeared first on Living in the 70s.

It’s Venetia’s birthday this week, so she got to sit back and relax while Marty did all the hard work of picking the tracks, finding some of her favourites as a little birthday treat. He did a wonderful job – as usual – including some of the usual suspects but also a few extra special artists that haven’t made an appearance in her birthday list previously. Venetia thinks it’s a brilliant mix, hopefully you do too. The post Happy birthday Venetia! appeared first on Living in the 70s.

So many Davids! When you think of Seventies music it’s hard not to think of at least a few artists called David – David Bowie, David Crosby, David Cassidy, David Essex, to name but a few. As an organising theme, it makes for an easy to put together play list and it’s a bit of fun too. So this week, all our artists have the first name David. What is the collective name for a group of Davids? A derby? A dreamboat? A depth? You decide. The post All the Davids appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week our hosts are going a wee bit dark and playing tracks from the Seventies all about murder and death. The murder ballad has a long history, all the way from folk through country and even pop. Along with love and money, it’s one of life’s great themes, after all, explored in every art from, including music. And Seventies music is no exception. But despite the gruesome subject matter, some of these tracks really are killer. The post It’s a killer show appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Aaah love. The obsession of songwriters since time immemorial. And just as well, as every relationship and every breakup must have its soundtrack. Who hasn’t wept into their pillow after finding just the right song to express their heartbreak, or sung along to a joyful ditty while in the grip of heart racing new love. Well, if you are experiencing either of those states, this show can provide some inspiration, if not consolation. Perhaps love is in the air, or perhaps it hurts right now. Either way, we’ve got you covered. The post Love hurts appeared first on Living in the 70s.

As we do every year, on this weeks show we look back and pay tribute to just some of the fabulous artists active in the 1970s that we lost in the previous year. Though they are gone, their music lives on. Some of them were well known to all, some were only well known to those who utilised their talents, like the fantastic session musician who created the iconic bass line for Walk On the Wild Side. What riches these artists have left behind. And how grateful we are that they did. Vale The post Dear departed appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week it’s our annual all Australian show, featuring Australian tracks by Australian artists (and perhaps a wee contribution from across the ditch). Some of these we’ve played before, some we haven’t, but they are all fabulous and serve to showcase the incredibly diverse musical talent present in Australia in the Seventies. Enjoy The post Wizards of Oz appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Welcome to 2025. As has become tradition, here on our little radio program, on our first show of the year we look back to songs released 50 years ago. Which means, of course, that this year we are playing tracks from 1975. Songs released a whole half century ago, but just as vibrant, wonderful and engaging today as they were back then. What a great year it was for music. And what a treat to listen to today. The post Songs of 1975 appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Happy New Year! Yes, 2024 is coming to a close and it’s out with the old and in with the new – except for Seventies music, that is, particularly Seventies dance music. What better way to bring in a new year than by dancing, and what better music to dance to than those great disco and funk dance tracks from the Seventies. So cheers, everyone. Here’s to a fabulous 2025! The post NYE Dance party appeared first on Living in the 70s.

After five years of crafting Christmas shows from cheesy Seventies Christmas albums, Venetia put her foot down and declared this year a cheesy Christmas free zone. Instead we offer for your listening pleasure some of the tracks we might ourselves choose to play on Christmas day, as we prepare and share a meal with friends and family and then repose in a food coma on the couch. We wish all of you, our lovely listeners, very happy holidays, and hope our little show adds to your cheer and joy. And for those of you missing the Christmas theme, no doubt order will soon be restored and Marty will bring it back next year 🙂 The post It’s a carol free zone this Christmas appeared first on Living in the 70s.

It’s almost the end of the year. And as has become tradition on our show, at this time of year we look back to the songs that made it to the top of the charts 50 years ago. This year, that means the tracks we play on this weeks show are all number one hits from 1974. Not all of them were number one in America, or on the pop charts – they may have been number one in Australia, or the UK, or on the R&B charts. But they all made it to the top of the list on some chart, somewhere in the world. The post Number one songs from 1974 appeared first on Living in the 70s.

On the third of November this year, Quincy Jones passed away at the age of 91 after a 70 year career in music. Acclaimed producer, songwriter, multi instrumentalist and film scorer, Jones produced and/or contributed to some of the biggest hits of the 1970s and helped shape the raw talent of some of that decades brightest stars, including Michael Jackson, Patti Austen and Chaka Khan. On this weeks show we pay tribute to the jazzy, funky, soulful musical genius that was Quincy Jones. The post Vale Quincy Jones appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week the show went to air on December 1, which happens to be both World AIDS Day and JOY’s 31st birthday. Arising from a desire by JOY’s founder, John Oliver to bring community and comfort to HIV positive gay men isolated in hospital during the AIDS crisis, JOY first went to air on World AIDS Day in 1993. 31 years later, Australia’s first LGBTIQ radio station is still going strong. JOY has a commitment to strongly feature LGBTIQA+ musical content across its programming. For niche shows like ours, it can be hard to do this every single show – a lot of artists in the 1970s were not as open about their sexuality and/or gender as they might have been today and there also may not be a lot of information about the personal lives of every band member, producer, song writer or session musician that never became a huge star. Nevertheless, every now and then we like to dedicate a whole show to featuring artists who we know for certain were part of our rainbow community. It seemed appropriate to do so this week. Happy birthday JOY – may we see many more. The post Happy birthday JOY appeared first on Living in the 70s.

A few weeks ago we shared a show featuring tracks from classic Seventies debut albums. Well, there are so many to choose from that we had to do another show. This week we feature tracks from Foreigner, Blondie, Elvis Costello, Marcia Hines and more. All great artists, and all debuting in the Seventies. The post More classic debut albums appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Soul – one of the great musical genres to come out of mid 20th Century America, and a sound that still reverberates through pop music today. Sharing it’s gospel roots with jazz, funk, blues and even rock, soul can be a hard genre to draw a neat boundary around, but it’s one of those things that you know it when you hear it. Tending to favour virtuoso vocals, horns, rhythm sections at the forefront and a passionate feel, soul was the secular sibling to gospel and originally exclusively performed by African American artists. But many white artists from around the globe who grew up loving soul, started incorporating a soul feel into their sound. This week’s show explores just a few of these soul influenced tracks. The post Soulful sounds appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Fifty years ago, on November 8, 1974, the first episode of Countdown went to air on the ABC. It would go on to have many Australians glued to their TVs for an hour a week, getting their dose of Australian and international pop music news, performances and interviews for the next 13 years. The impact of Countdown on Australian music culture cannot be overstated. It was an institution, a cultural phenomenon, and it helped to shape the musical landscape of a whole generation – a generation which included the hosts of this show. This week’s show celebrates the 50 year anniversary of Countdown’s first airing, featuring artists that performed during the Seventies. The post Countdown Anniversary appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week our hosts are taking a break from the themes and just picking a few tracks they feel like playing. As usual, it’s an eclectic but tasty mix. Some we’ve played before, some entirely new. But all guaranteed to satisfy even the pickiest Seventies connoisseur. Enjoy The post We’re a bit picky appeared first on Living in the 70s.

We’re super excited! This week we explore superb, superior, supreme Seventies songs with super either in the title or in the name of the artists. Why? Well, because it’s super fun. And we’ve certainly found some super tracks. Proving, once again, that there is no decade like the Seventies for truly super music. The post Super Seventies appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Long live the cover version! Sometimes other artists do it better, sometimes they just do it differently, but it’s always interesting to hear a great song reinterpreted. In the Seventies great cover songs could be released practically on the heels of the original. On this week’s show we explore just a few of these Seventies cover versions that had already been released in the same decade. The post Seventies covers of Seventies songs appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Yes it’s happy birthday, happy anniversary and how-the-heck-is-this-little-show-still-going to us! We have had the enormous pleasure of bringing fabulous Seventies music to you for the past five years. So this week’s show is all about the number 5 – whether that’s band members, band names or song titles, the number 5 is where it’s at. Cheers! And may there be many more. The post We’re turning five! appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week we are showcasing tracks from what we consider to be some of the great debut albums of the 1970s. There are way too many to cover them all in just one show, but we think we’ve put together a great selection, including Patti Smith (or course), The Saints, Skyhooks, Kate Bush and many more. The post Great Debut Albums appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Life is full of ups and downs and it turns out that the Seventies music catalogue is as well. In this week’s show, all of our songs feature either up or down in the title, demonstrating that there’s nothing like a bit of turbulence to generate some good lyrics. So let’s get up and dance, get down tonight, give it up and stir it up with some great Seventies tracks. The post Up and down appeared first on Living in the 70s.

We have learned doing this show, that any band with a long and successful career will inevitably become woven into a tangled web of musical connections. People from other well known bands will produce their albums, cover their songs, sing back up vocals or play an instrument on a recording or even leave their original bands and become part of the group, or leave the group and go on to record their own music. On today’s show, we explore just some of the connections that thread their way through the life of that iconic Seventies band, Fleetwood Mac. The post The Fleetwood Mac Connection appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Who are they, and what are they to you? That’s what we want to know this week, as we explore Seventies songs about cheating and affairs. It’s all about lying eyes and cheating hearts and the wrong kind of loving. Oooooh you done me wrong! But you know what? After all is said and done, can we still be friends? The post Your cheating heart appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week we are revisiting the Sixties by way of the Seventies. A few weeks ago we looked at what the individual Beatles members got up to in the Seventies after they disbanded. On today’s show we explore how the music of the Beatles continued to reverberate through the Seventies by playing some of their most well known songs as covered by other artists. It really is hard to overstate the significance of the Beatles to modern music, and just how loved so many of their songs are. The post We can work it out appeared first on Living in the 70s.

On this week’s show we’re mining the archives for Seventies songs featuring some kind of metal in the title. We’ve found rich seams of gold rings and hearts, and silver eyes and ladies, and some less flashy metals, like tin men and brass bands. But whether they are pure or alloy, all the tracks on today’s show are precious in their own way. The post Precious (not heavy) metals appeared first on Living in the 70s.

While undeniably most songs about people are simply written to a nameless ‘you’, ‘she’ or ‘he’, some songwriters seem to be inspired by particular individuals and want to name names. This week we return to a theme we haven’t visited in a while and bring together tracks from the Seventies featuring a person’s name in the title. Kiss apologises to Beth, Billy Paul yearns after Mrs Jones, ABBA encourages Helen, and Rick James expresses his love for Mary Jane, in just a few of our selection. The post More songs with names appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week we are bookending last week’s all black show with a show featuring all tracks with white in the title. Simple! We do love an easy theme 🙂 But while the theme may be a bit trite the music is anything but. There’s some punk, some easy listening, some rock – we’ve got it all. So let’s fade to white…. The post Fade to white appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week we’re getting a bit dark and moody. We thought to do a ‘black and white’ show, in which all the songs had either black or white in the title, but there turned out to so many we decided to break it up into two shows. This first one features the black songs – Seventies tracks with black in the title. There’s leather, there’s water, there’s coffee, there’s paint. Turns out there are many black things that inspired songwriters from this era. The post In the black appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week we’re getting a break from the heavy lifting as we have asked YOU, our listeners, to pick the tracks for the show. And, as usual, you’ve done a brilliant job. What a great show! What great taste you all have! A little bit of rock, a touch of glam, a pinch of folk. Overall a very tasty mix. Nice work gang. The post Over to you appeared first on Living in the 70s.

The Beatles were the band of the 1960s, but released their final album in 1970 and broke up amid bad feeling and significant artistic differences. Each member of the Fab Four went on to release solo recordings in following decade, as well as produce records and write songs for other artists. On this week’s show we explore what happened after the biggest band in the world broke up. The post After the Beatles appeared first on Living in the 70s.

We had so much fun getting glam last show, we thought we would do it again. So strap yourselves in for even more glam rock. Yes, bigger, hair, longer lashes, tighter pants and higher platform shoes – this show we’re dialing it up to 11. You’re welcome The post Even more glam appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Tight satin pants? Check. Long flowing locks? Check. Bit of lippy and some eye liner? Check and check. It’s glam rock! Where boys and girls will be whatever they like as long as the fans are adoring and the records are selling. We’re not trying to be all earnest and authentic here, we understand the game and we’re in it for the fame. Bring it on. In fact, get it on. The post Getting glam appeared first on Living in the 70s.

It’s the end of the financial year and everyone is having a sale. We’ve scrabbled through the bargain bin and found a few fabulous musical items that need to go. All our tunes this week have something to do with money, dollar bills or gold. Get in now, because it’s all going for a song. The post Money, money, money appeared first on Living in the 70s.

We just can’t get enough horns! And it seems our listeners can’t either. After our last show featuring Seventies tracks with fantastic horn sections we got a request to play some more. So without further ado, here are some more punchy, snappy, bright and brassy horns. The post Even hornier appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Aah the guitar. Perhaps the quintessential instrument of the modern era. So popular that nearly everyone cans strum a few chords and whip one out round a campfire for a singalong, and so versatile that guitar is a central component of almost all modern musical genres. Yet only a few players have risen to the dizzy heights of guitar virtuoso, and many of these were wielding their instruments and thrilling us with compelling riffs and beguiling solos in rock bands of the Seventies. On this week’s show we highlight these guitar heroes and their talents. Long may they rock. The post Guitar heroes appeared first on Living in the 70s.

How do you add brightness, punch, syncopation, emphasis and groove to a song? Why add a horn section of course! And the Seventies featured some fantastic horn sections and horn players. Tower of Power, the Memphis Horns, the Phoenix Horns, Maceo Parker, the list goes on. This week we highlight the glorious, joyous horns of Seventies music. The post Feeling Brassy appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Way back in the 1970s, not everyone was getting sweaty at a disco or grooving to soul music. No indeed, for some music lovers, nothing could be more transporting than settling in to the bean bag and poring over the latest fantastical triple-gatefold album cover while listening to some complex, lengthy, and conceptual progressive rock. Its critics often characterised prog rock as pretentious, pompous, and taking itself way too seriously, but for its fans, progressive rock has always had the power to exhilerate in a way other music cannot. On this weeks show, we explore some tracks from prog rock’s hey day in the early 1970s and find out just why the fans love this genre so much. The post Taking a progressive turn appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Today’s show is a tribute to the humble cowbell. So, uncelebrated and yet such an essential feature of rock, funk and latin music. It doesn’t play melody, being only one note, but it does add texture, syncopation and drive to any track. For as long as we’ve been human we’ve clapped our hands, stamped our feet and hit two sticks together to create a beat. The cow bell is the perfect beat keeper, resonant and loud enough to cut through amplified rock guitars and the noise of a full drumkit. Even today, along with all the other bits and pieces of expensive and elaborate kit in the studio or on the stage, the simple cow bell has pride of place. The post The only prescription is more cowbell appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Happy mother’s day to all the boogie mamas! Yes it’s that time of year again where we all say a big thank you to the mamas. Mamas who rock, mamas who boogie, mamas who get down and mamas who keep it funky. Today’s show is for you. The post Boogie Mama appeared first on Living in the 70s.

This week it’s part three of our exploration of Seventies musical artists in alphabetical order. On this week’s show, we continue our journey through the alphabet, covering the letters Q to Z. Yes, it’s all the tricky letters, including Q, U, X, Y and Z. And what do you know? We managed to find tracks for them all. The post The A to Z of Seventies music, part three appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Last week we brought you part one of our exploration of Seventies musical artists in alphabetical order. On this week’s show, we continue our journey through the alphabet, covering the letters I to P. From Iggy Pop to the Pointer Sisters, it’s an orderly progression through some Seventies fabulousness. The post The A to Z of Seventies music, part two appeared first on Living in the 70s.

We love a theme challenge here at Living in the Seventies. A little while ago the team from Saturday Breakfast gave us the idea to create some shows using the alphabetical as an organising theme. Of course 26 tracks is more than we can fit into one show, so welcome to part one of three shows featuring tracks from Seventies artists in alphabetical order! And yes, we even got tracks from artists starting with U and X. Cool, eh? The post The A to Z of Seventies music, part one appeared first on Living in the 70s.

Last week we celebrated Marty’s birthday, this week it’s Venetia’s turn. All of the tracks this week have been chosen by Marty in Venetia’s honour. Did he choose as well as Venetia did? We’ll soon find out. Happy birthday Venetia! The post Happy birthday to me appeared first on Living in the 70s.

It’s Marty’s birthday! To celebrate, this week all of the tracks have been chosen by Venetia in Marty’s honour. Did she choose well? Marty will be the judge. Happy birthday Marty! The post Happy birthday to you appeared first on Living in the 70s.