1990s Britain | The People's Archive
Browse a selection of The People’s Archive documenting everyday life in 1990s Britain.
The 1990s was the last decade before the full impact of mobile phones and the internet would change the shape of the world forever. Politically, it saw the end of conservative rule in 1997, which ushered in the New Labour era under Tony Blair. It was a culturally important decade for music, with the dance music and rave scenes continuing into the early 1990s and the explosion of Britpop. Young artists, musicians and designers enjoyed increased spotlight and celebrity with the New Labour government trading on this art movement under the branding of ‘Cool Britannia’.
Photo © Steve Chapple/The People’s Archive®
Photo © Sam Hammond/The People’s Archive®
Photo © John McMahon/The People’s Archive®
John “With friends on our way to the ‘Smashing’ club night at Eve’s on Regent Street. Smashing was our regular haunt, we all ended up in two Pulp videos ‘Common People’ & ‘Mis-Shapes’ after being spotted in the club.”
Photo © Lee Atherton/The People’s Archive®
Lee “When going out at the weekend meant wearing a sovereign ring with cellotape around it to make it fit.”
Photo © Tim Evans/The People’s Archive®
Tim “This image was part of my final portfolio while doing my BTEC in photography & design at Oldham College (94 to 96). I lived in Beswick and asked these local kids to let me take a photo of them acting normal.”
Photo © Lee Camfield/The People’s Archive®
Lee “A photo of me and my mate Kendrick Jamming to some Hip-Hop in his brother’s bedsit in Wakefield, West Yorkshire back in the day, circa 1991/1992. Notice his pendant up in the air! Gives you an idea of the moves we were pulling!”
Photo © The People’s Archive®
Photo © The People’s Archive®
Photo © Keith McColl/The People’s Archive®
Keith “Another World crew, Belfast 1993. A club night held monthly on Friday nights in The Limelight. A club set up to break the paramilitary control of the clubbing experience offered at the Art College. The night had an eclectic music policy. All points from Erik Satie to Plastikman. The night had a strict sensory immersive policy, with the crew providing photos and films, which were self-generated throughout the venue. Organic vegetables and flowers grown by the crew were frozen in ice cubes and handed out to clubbers through the night in what they termed an ‘organoleptic’ experience.”
Photo © Amber Todd/The People’s Archive®
Photo © The People’s Archive®
Photo © The People’s Archive®
All photographs © British Culture Archive/The People’s Archive. All rights reserved.
No usage or reproduction of any kind without prior permission of the copyright holder.
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