The 1970s was a colourful and culturally important decade – from the breakup of The Beatles to the birth of Punk. Politically, a decade of industrial upheaval and strikes brought us the winter of discontent and the onset of Thatcherism.

The visibility of women’s liberation and gay rights movements increased, as did the emergence of a more diverse, multicultural society. However, the decade also experienced tensions related to immigration and race relations, highlighted by events such as the Notting Hill Carnival riots in 1976. Musicians and people came together in the form of the Rock Against Racism movement to fight the far right and the rise of the National Front.

Our crowdsourced archive brings you selected snapshots of this influential decade in 20th-century Britain.