Vintage Photos: What the World Looked Like in January 1970 (50 Photos)

Check out this collection of fascinating and rare vintage photos taken over 50 years ago. Inside, you'll find stunning women, far-off lands, rock 'n' roll, and the glamour of a bygone era—so different from today. What an incredible year it was!







January 1970. Khabarovsk.





January 2, 1970. Chigwell, Essex, England. Michelle.



Playboy's Miss January.



January 1970. Vogue. Model Jean Shrimpton, photographed by David Bailey.



January 5, 1970. Gina Lollobrigida. Photo by David Cairns.



January 1970. Palm Springs, California.



January 1970. American rock band Quicksilver Messenger Service.



January 1, 1970. Mururoa Atoll, French Polynesia. French nuclear testing.



January 7, 1970. Beachwear fashion.



January 1970. Princess Anne.



January 8, 1970. Freezing weather in New York City.



January 3, 1970. American actress Victoria Principal. Photo by Steve Wood.



January 8, 1970 — Premiere of the Hungarian film "Crazy Night".



January 8, 1970. United Kingdom. Schoolchildren working on an Elliott Brothers 405 computer.



January 9, 1970. London. Led Zeppelin performing live at the Royal Albert Hall.



January 1970. West Berlin. Clearance sales.



January 1970. French Alps. American actress Natalie Wood and Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau.



January 10, 1970. American actress Goldie Hawn with her husband, director Gus Trikonis.



January 10, 1970. Newcastle. Jennifer Hosten, Miss World 1970.



January 12, 1970. Princess Muna al-Hussein with her son Abdullah (now King Abdullah II of Jordan) at Heathrow Airport, London.



January 10, 1970. Lou Reed, the godfather of 20th-century alternative music and frontman of The Velvet Underground. Back then, hardly anyone bought their records. Yet years later, countless artists would cite The Velvet Underground as a massive influence—and the reason they picked up an instrument in the first place. As the famous joke goes: "Everyone who bought one of those records started a band."



January 12, 1970. German model and actress Helga Kine.



January 12, 1970. United Kingdom. Disc jockey Annie Nightingale in the recording studio.



January 12, 1970. Sydney. Surfing club. Photo by George Lipman.



January 1970. Algeria. Photo by Abisag Tullmann.



January 12, 1970. Iggy Pop.

Scott Kempner (The Dictators):

Seeing The Stooges at Ungano's completely terrified me. I went there to see an incredible band, thinking I was ready for anything. The reality was ten times crazier than anything I could have imagined. I was scared and nervous, yet totally euphoric and completely immersed in that sound. And then there was this unbelievable guy, Iggy—a wiry little kid—who hit you harder than all the neighborhood kids put together. Other guys might punch you in the mouth and it heals over time, but Iggy tore into your psyche, leaving permanent scars.

I couldn't stay the same person after the first twenty seconds of that night—and I didn't. We went back the next night; they played the exact same songs, but it was completely different. Nothing like the night before. It wasn't about rehearsals or soundchecks; they were just alive, creating right before your eyes, delivering the lesson right there in front of you... No matter how many times I saw them, it happened every single time—never like yesterday, playing in a way they never had and never would again. Iggy poured his heart and soul into every show. Every time, it felt like he was bleeding up there. Every performance had real fucking blood in it.

From that moment on, rock 'n' roll couldn't mean anything less to me. Whatever I did, there had to be blood on the paper, blood on the strings, because if you gave anything less, it was total bullsh*t—a complete and utter f***ing waste of time. Legs McNeil, "Please Kill Me!"



January 1970. Oslo, Norway.



January 17, 1970. London. Arsenal vs. Chelsea. A young woman injured during a clash between rival fans before the match.



January 1970. London. Crowds gather outside a store before the opening of the holiday sales.



January 9, 1970. British actress Alison Fraser.



January 19, 1970. Easter Island emerges as a trendy new tourist destination. Photo by George Bryant.



January 19, 1970. Easter Island emerges as a trendy new tourist destination. Photo by George Bryant.



January 19, 1970. Easter Island emerges as a trendy new tourist destination. Photo by George Bryant.



January 1970. Sweden.



January 21, 1970. United Kingdom. The cast of the film "The Breaking of Bambo". Joanna Lumley as Susie, Richard Warwick as Bambo, and Natasha Pyne as Sheila. Photo by Maurice Kaye.



January 21, 1970. British musician Mick Farren. Photo by Keith Morris.



January 1970. Swiss actress Liselotte Pulver.



January 22, 1970. Boeing 747's inaugural commercial flight. First-class cabin.



January 1970. Paris. Ice-skating models at Piscine Molitor. Photo by Jean-Claude Deutsch.



January 22, 1970. Parking lot at Burlington Airport, Vermont, USA.



January 22, 1970. Nigerian leader Major General Yakubu Gowon (wearing a side cap) at a press conference in Lagos.



January 23, 1970. Vietnam.



January 23, 1970. United Kingdom. Ballet dancers Marilyn Trounson and Karl Myers.



January 25, 1970. Times Square, New York.



January 25, 1970 — US premiere of the movie "M*A*S*H". Produced on a budget of $3,500,000, it grossed $81,000,000 in the US. Pictured above: Sally Kellerman as Major Margaret "Hot Lips" Houlihan.

Wikipedia:

"Sally Kellerman adamantly refused to strip naked for the iconic scene where the main characters try to determine if she is a natural blonde. The director shot several takes, but every time the tent flap was pulled open, Kellerman was already lying flat on the floor. Altman decided to try a different tactic. During the next take, Kellerman suddenly caught sight of Gary Burghoff (Radar O'Reilly) standing off-camera with his pants down. Only then did they manage to get a usable shot."



January 25, 1970. English actor Ian McKellen. Photo by McCarthy.



January 1970. A tobacconist shop in Algeria. Photo by Abisag Tullmann.



January 1970. Evening gown by Pierre Cardin. Photo by Richard Avedon.



January 1970. British actress Glenda Jackson.