This is London - 1981 | The Archivist Presents |

[@Onyesoh]

Born there in ‘65 and left for NY in ‘85. Even from here I see how much it’s changed and not for the better!

[@zivkovicable]

You know how the crime rate in NY has fallen dramatically since the 1980's?...same thing has happened in London. I moved to NYC in 1985, left in 1994. I was also born in London in 1965..

[@Onyesoh]

@@zivkovicable did you move back to London? I’m hesitant to because of the stabbings, i have teenagers

[@zivkovicable]

@ Yes I moved back to London, but I visit NYC for business at least four times a year. While the total murder rate has halved since 1985, teen knife crime is undoubtably got worse...But just like in NYC these things are highly dependant on location...& I mean specific estates and socio economic groups. There are youth gang members who rarely leave their immediate area. When my son was at school at least i didn't worry about school shootings, or guns in general. Certain areas in London that used to have a bad rep are now gentrified. I grew up in Balham which is unrecognisable and solidly middle class. Also important to remember when reading stats that the vast majority of knife crime arrests are for mere possession of a knife. That's not even a crime in the US.

[@lewisjones4158]

The promise of the future back then was so bright. Look what we've done.

[@wanderingsoul7935]

Look at what has been done to us, most of us did not agree with any of it, it was imposed on us.

[@benhartley2486]

Hang on, who's this "we" you're referring to? Unless you're a politician of course.

[@lewisjones4158]

@@benhartley2486we as in humanity and society. Not a specific group that I’m a part of. I don’t work in politics. A huge amount of blame can be apportioned to politicians of course. There are many variables

[@benhartley2486]

@@lewisjones4158 Fair enough. Are you referring to London in particular or Britain in general?

[@liamo8932]

That would be an ecumenical matter

[@paulkersey9857]

I was 21 in 1981. The U.K. London included, was a much better place. I would go back to those days in a heartbeat.

[@Norfolkbiker50]

The decline started in 1948.

[@XTSu-sl1bb]

Me too

[@XTSu-sl1bb]

@@Norfolkbiker50maybe a few years before that

[@927ismynumber]

@@Norfolkbiker50 Foundation of the NHS>

[@Norfolkbiker50]

@@927ismynumber the year Clement Atlees Labour government decided to start bringing in uneducated 3rd world peasants to replace the English lads who had given their lives,

[@johnobrien8398]

London before the invasion was such a great place it really was a fantastic city to live and work in back then.

[@alanm6454]

My wife and I left the UK in 1981 to come to Sydney. I had recently completed my apprenticeship as a toolmaker and that was in big demand here at the time. It was a move we have never regretted as we both found good jobs the week we arrived and settled into life here. We have travelled back to the UK many times and each time the changes became more apparent. Our last visit was three years ago and we vowed never to return. I will admit that during this time Australia has seen many changes too, and not all of them are bad, but nothing like the UK has witnessed. Looking at videos like this, and dreaming of a past that has gone forever, always leaves me with a smile on my face, for these were the best of times. No doubt about it.

[@agfagaevart]

you were lucky tho. they were not the best of times for all. rampant inequalty and unemployment in 1981 made worse by the Tories.

[@westaussie965]

Sydney has changed for the worst too😉

[@NotesOfBoredom]

Horses for courses -one relative and 3 friends went to Sydney full of hope and couldn't wait to get away from the middle of bumfuck nowhere.. I live in Italy and it's a nightmare - and after China which can't believe I'm saying was at times easier than this nightmare every day.. Japan was better than both..it's shite and good wherever you are..

[@timmyhiggins5220]

I did 18 months in Australia and thought is was very boring. As bad as London is, I had a more meaningful existence there. Australians are incredibly annoying.

[@borderlord]

​@@NotesOfBoredomWhy is Italy not finding favour with you?

[@D-osOrg]

oh dear ... I am literally in tears ... thank you and no thank you for the wee reminder of what life used to be in my early teens ...

[@ktwashere5637]

this has made me cry too. I moved to London from Australia in 1992 and London was still like this. Its devastating what's happened to it.

[@bobgorman9481]

We had no idea just how lucky we were back then 😢

[@setter501]

I'm Lucky, this is the London I last saw, it's how I will always remember it, early September 1981 My wife me and friends did a days sightseeing in London(I'm originally from Reading) we did the whole tourist bit, loads of photos of THIS LONDON ❤ We had early dinner at lovely restaurant then we got on the tube to Heathrow, we said our goodbyes to our friends and boarded the BA 002 for Sydney Australia, I've never been back but Wife has a couple of times, I'm just glad to have THIS LONDON still in my mind ❤❤❤🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺 v

[@AlexDuggan68]

When London was a good place to live, work and visit.

[@mildlydispleased3221]

It still is, the rest of the country is mostly a poor shithole.

[@NJ-pu4dt]

It very much still is.

[@roboko6618]

@@NJ-pu4dt I live here. It isn't.

[@Di.Iv.555]

⁠@@NJ-pu4dtused to live in London. It’s unliveable.

[@Norfolkbiker50]

I didn't live in London in 1981 but I did in 1985 and it was a filthy subhuman craphole full of the worst people in the world, I lived and worked there on and off for the next 20 years and watched it get steadily worse.

[@Bill-uf6os]

All gone now in just 40 years.

[@leehighland5435]

Vote reform

[@Norfolkbiker50]

@@leehighland5435 won't make any difference, we're the minority now.

[@leehighland5435]

@@Norfolkbiker50 I thought we would not get brexit, I remember that night, I voted and what a night. Get out and vote, you maybe right, but has an Englishmen, it's in our blood to fight to the last, because what we are fighting is pure evil. I am going to fight, are you?

[@quaid667]

@@leehighland5435 we have to.

[@colinlock-lv9vv]

EXACTLY RIGHT

[@LondonPride25]

I grew up in London in the 80s and 90s. That city has gone. Incredibly sad.

[@SleepscapeSerenity]

London was terrible in the 80s

[@halloweenville1]

It's now just a theme park for tourists.

[@halloweenville1]

@@Spectrescup I was a young Londoner in the 80's, and it wasn't just dirty and grimy, it was heaven compared to now.

[@halloweenville1]

@@SleepscapeSerenity Oh that's terrible for you. It was great for me, lot's of fun during the 80's in London. Going out without being spied on by endless CCTV cameras.

[@Siwahib]

Gone how?

[@richardgill9484]

And, in the blink of an eye it’s gone. I’m so glad I was a child in the 80s. It wasn’t all roses, but we had our culture and we’re proud of it, as I still am.

[@Crypto-Live]

Deffo. I had to move away from London in 1998, it just stopped being home. Was more like some bloody mish mash of cultures and religions. Barbarians all of them.

[@donaldjuan4934]

What are you on about?

[@luyolomify]

@@donaldjuan4934😂😂😂

[@MrMarcy76]

it was far from rosey in 81. The recession, and the constant threat of nuclear war was very worrying.

[@Crypto-Live]

@@MrMarcy76 you prefer things today? Take me back any time and I’ll stay there

[@alexf7377]

Born in 1960, I moved to the East End of London to get involved in youth work in 1981. It could be rough there (the tail end of the gangster era) but was fascinating and full of culture. Going to old pubs where pearly kings and queens would turn up. And then driving into the West End for nights out. No problem parking even in the centre. Charing Cross bookshops, music shops in Denmark Street, computer/tech shops in Tottenham Court Road, HMV and Tower Records, wine bars all around Leicester Square, and amazing cinemas everywhere for the golden era of movies.

[@BillyBanter100]

Don't forget all the free museums and galleries. Hundreds of free night classes and free further education, affordable public transport and, most important of all, real indiginous communities.

[@alexf7377]

@@BillyBanter100 Actually IIRC, the major museums and galleries weren't free in the 1980's. And yes, evening classes were a part of my London lifestyle.

[@agfagaevart]

shops in the glorious west end like Bournes / virgin / saxone / etc.

[@Siwahib]

@@BillyBanter100 What happened to the 'real indigenous communities'

[@angelacooper2661]

I am therefore ten years younger than you, born in 1970, and so eleven here. Moved from junior to senior school that year!

[@crystalencore91]

If you change the people, you change the culture

[@raywilson3166]

If you import the third world, you become third world..

[@JohnVITW]

The British government invited people from the Commonwealth to help build up the country that was bombed by the Second World War. If there was no immigration the UK would still be in a very dilapidated state. Furthermore, the UK had stolen treasures from many different countries and brutally treated them as slaves and inferiors, a mind-set that many people in the UK still have now. But it is too late. There is a God in heaven who rules and metes out judgment in accordance to the crimes. All that is happening in the UK is because of how it treated people in its Empire. The same people who were robbed are now getting their share. If the UK would have gone forward strengthening its Christian roots and serving, as Queen Victoria desired, rather than oppressing, as it still does now, then it would not have degenerated. Most of the middle-class want to do Yoga and Pilates rather than to pray and repent of their sins. It is an easy religion with no repentance towards God. Most of the working-class worship reality shows and sports and social media rather than the living God. Again, no self-denial there but self enjoyment. Life is to be about serving others not oneself. Ask yourself, how are you spending your money and what morals do you have in life? Blame the UK Labour and Conservative governments who have systematically destroyed the industries that made the UK strong, and allowed some immigrants to come in the UK who are organised criminals. These are the same people who want many people to believe that foreigners are to blame for the country's crisis. They are laughing at people who believe this lie. Only God can clean up the mess, not only in the UK, but in the world as a whole, and He will. He knows full well that there is organized evil in this world, who plan and calculate to stir up hatred and distrust in all sections of society. And you can know this too. Just turn to Psalm 2 and Revelation 18 in your Bible. God bless you.

[@abulkalam2671]

True now your not french any more lol

[@eleanordavies9815]

🙌🏼

[@davescottyhen]

which is one of the goals of Un Agenda 21

[@Jomo-x6n]

Just visited London a week ago. Been there several times in the past. My trip made me realize what a wonderful city Manchester is!

[@lecaprice2572]

Back in the 1970’s it was a wonderful place, despite economic challenges.

[@SiggyHaroldson]

That's nostalgia talking.

[@AFAskygoddess]

London was my favorite city back in the 1980s. Today, not so much.

[@mildlydispleased3221]

London is still the greatest city on Earth.

[@NJ-pu4dt]

@@NickGillings-vf3yetell me you don’t go to London, without telling me etc etc

[@mildlydispleased3221]

@@NickGillings-vf3ye It's literally the safest large city in Europe and one of the safest in the world.

[@TopCatsBack]

​@@mildlydispleased3221do you mean Londonderry ?

[@mildlydispleased3221]

@@TopCatsBack Londonderry isn't safe at all.

[@KarlGerrin]

No boats no machete attacks acid knives, no walking tents or men in bed sheets roaming the streets no Gestapo stopping us from freedom of speech and debate and discussion

[@zeddeka]

Eh? You some kind of troll or is your memory dodgy? 1981, the year the historian Dominic Sandbrook described as one of "unprecedented misery". Mass unemployment. Rioting. The worst recession since the 1930s. If you want to see what 1981 was actually like, go back and listen to "Ghost Town" by the Specials, which was #1 in 1981.

[@peternagy-im4be]

​@@zeddekabetter society in general back then

[@RAWRUSS]

@@zeddeka just goes to show it isn’t much better then.

[@driskoolio]

Jesus what a lot of bollocks. Football hooligans,glue sniffers, population decline, mass squatting, riots, bombings

[@andybaker2456]

I think it's time you put those rose tinted glasses away.

[@xr6lad]

@ 12:30. Well we can definitively say that part isn’t 1981. Lord Mountbatten is on that balcony with the Queen. He was killed in 1979 (August) so it’s before then.

[@Barbara.Lerner.Spectre]

It was the Silver Jubilee in 1977.

[@JohnKobaRuddy]

@02june80 you seem like a chump then. Your profile picture is a classic example too.

[@grinsko6741]

Well spotted!

[@dclxvi.tattoo]

@02june80I feel the same, it doesn’t feel real still!

[@Alan-ss3xp]

@@apm763This is London - 1981. A tad misleading I would suggest. Almost like Daly Tours of Minder fame.

[@samleggatt9533]

Back when London was great, thanks for the memories

[@SteveSmith-zo4ml]

I lived and worked in London at the time. I still visit central London now and then, mostly on business. Visually speaking, the differences are a lot more people everywhere, less native Brits, more rules and restrictions, plus the streets are cluttered with traffic signs, road markings and CCTV. Generally, I would say it feels more claustrophobic and oppressive. And less like a city for normal living and working.

[@2icelollys1goat]

fewer* natives

[@SteveSmith-zo4ml]

@@2icelollys1goat Yes, you are correct. I am ashamed and embarrassed at my mistake.

[@lucaarr_8574]

This is true - but probably this is not just London - as I find it’s the more or less the same for the biggest cities around Europe and rest of the world.

[@TheFirstCalled.60.A.D]

I'd say you're on the money with that analysis Steve.

[@davethehat]

Poor old London😢

[@SimonLloydGuitar]

This is the London I grew up in. Then the politicians gave it away to people who neither know or about it's magnificent history.

[@hendriktonisson2915]

"who neither know or about" It seems you did not type all the words you meant.

[@leehighland5435]

@@hendriktonisson2915 Johnnies

[@michellecollins290]

I’ll help, perhaps ‘care’ should have been included.

[@BootneckAlphaKilo]

@@hendriktonisson2915ooh a typo! 🤓🥸🤓

[@kitdouglas9295]

@@hendriktonisson2915London is a third world cesspit. Do you comprehend that ?

[@Littlepocketrocket81]

How beautiful did London look in the 80s to now its heart breaking 😢

[@terencejay8845]

'Looking at those great works of Western Man, and remembering all that he's achieved, in philosophy, poetry, science, lawmaking, it does seem hard to believe that European civilisation can ever vanish, and yet it has happened once... when the Barbarians ran over the Roman Empire. For two centuries, the heart of European civilisation almost stopped beating, and we got through by the skin of our teeth.. In the last (few) years, we have developed the uneasy feeling that this could happen again..' Kenneth Clark, 'Civilisation' BBC Series 1969

[@peteking8063]

Much better nowadays

[@bobbennett4813]

I lived in London in the early 80s I can assure you much of it was a dirty, in desperate need of updating and shut about 10.30pm. Whilst there’s probably too many concrete glass boxes these days it’s a much improved today more deserving of its place as a global capital city

[@dvened]

@@bobbennett4813 shut the hell up old man

[@halloweenville1]

@@peteking8063 Yea because you are probably a pink haired nose bolt wearing Gen Z.

[@seanhedley8028]

As Uncle Albert said on Only Fools, “ look what they done at it now” I would go back to 1981 tomorrow!

[@Costa_del_Artlepool]

I'd prefer 1881. Peak intelligence levels for the people of the British Isles incidentally...

[@61sven]

Back in 81 people thought London was a shadow of it’s past and in decline. We had no idea how much worse it was going to get and what awaited us. The once great city is unrecognisable now and squalid.

[@patcom1013]

Fascinating. I could watch this type of film for hours. Great narration too.

[@tedoneilclark4710]

Definitely something magical and entertaining about it.😊

[@philipmcdonagh1094]

Mr Country File himself.

[@johngower2208]

if this film was made today, it would be narrated by a 15 year old black girl

[@stephengraham5099]

Bob Danvers-Walker.

[@debrawhite751]

Watching this in 2024, it breaks my heart. England, including London, was still so English then. It's so sad to see how quickly it has fallen.

[@FrithonaHrududu02127]

Damn I'm American and it breaks MY heart

[@debrawhite751]

@@FrithonaHrududu02127 I'm American, too! But I have been in love with England since a little girl.

[@FrithonaHrududu02127]

@@debrawhite751 yeah I'm an inveterate anglophile. Started with music I think, the smith's the wedding present etc. but even as a little kid british tv on PBS looked more like my home than stuff made in Hollywood. I'm from Boston. Plus all of the town names in MA are british, Boston. Worcester Gloucester etc.

[@Dbdbe1]

More fool you for your idiotic nostalgia then

[@PincoPallino-zh8wm]

fallen how? It's great. I was there in the 80s when I was a teen and still love it today in my late 50s. I think you are just being nostalgic.

[@vectortransport9762]

In 1981, I was a young USAF airman stationed in East Anglia. At every opportunity, we would head into London and thoroughly enjoy ourselves until our money ran out. Such fond memories of all of England!

[@anthonyhulse1248]

Was at London University in 1981. I loved London. The pubs, the theatre, the parks, kebabs or fish and chips on the way home. The Thames. I would love to go back in time and walk around the old London once more.

[@Greatest1979]

When London was still LONDON. Now look at it....

[@tudormiller887]

Well both the Conservative & Labour governments are to blame. The Mayor of London ? He can't even influence the Met Police to stop these endless Pro Hamas protests every weekend in central London.

[@leehighland5435]

Vote reform

[@canman5060]

Londonistan !

[@EightyFour-s3z]

Was awful then, too.

[@stevecostello4278]

Non native people illegally taking over a part of the world thousands of miles from their homeland! How does it feel?

[@AJWRAJWR]

Back in the 70's and 80's, Londoners used to complain about too many Irish and us Aussies staying there 😅. Now it's like Kuwait City.

[@Norfolkbiker50]

I would've said more like the Yemen

[@tedoneilclark4710]

​@@Norfolkbiker50Beirut 😅

[@psychedelicelvis-777]

All roads lead to Rome and the Vatican(head of the serpent!) The Jesuit led Roman Catholic Church waging a centuries old "Counter Reformation" war on "Protestant" Countries using "Weaponised Immigration"!

[@martin-mi3cg]

Except Kuwait City is safer

[@Norfolkbiker50]

@@tedoneilclark4710 ironically Beirut used to be a stunningly beautiful holiday destination, but then some peaceful people decided that wasn't ok.

[@andywilson1325]

Absolutely disgusting what we have let happen to our capital city 😢

[@annabellesapphire]

Majestic, handsome London, sadly being slowly destroyed by evil people who just can't respect the ancestors or her history. She will rise again, that's for sure 🇬🇧

[@bond0666]

Ancestors of your history?, robbers, thieves

[@greatdelusion7654]

@@bond0666 Robbers and thieves? Some of them, perhaps... But at least they were smart and literate robbers and thieves. What say you now?

[@bond0666]

@@greatdelusion7654 all of them, not some of them, your royals are perverts

[@bond0666]

@@greatdelusion7654 not that smart, your country taken over by them, lol, you ain't got say in your own country anymore, you cannot even fly union jack, you muppets

[@bond0666]

@@greatdelusion7654 now everybody else stealing back what's theirs, so what you say? You clown

[@davidv.8655]

In Just 40 years our capital has gone😢😢 . Replaced with division and hatred, drugs ,knife crime and weekly marches on issues that have nothing to do with our country.

[@Angela-kc5ui]

Did the gassing of the Jews have nothing to do with us either ?

[@deedee46x]

All done on purpose starting with Thacher…

[@rushshukla4636]

You're clearly ignorant of your own history as a nation. You need to read up on the crimes of the British Empire! All the world's problems are caused by British Imperialism. Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Israel being a few of your monstrosities you created and now the genocide in Gaza all are a result of colonialism and corporate greed. But yeah like most ignorant Brits you bury your heads in the sand and blame others! It's easy to romanticize the past if you weren't there to live through it!

[@bert23337]

October 1981 my first visit to London. I was impressed and I moved there on a Monday in 1985 and got a good paying job on Tuesday and started Wednesday. I bought a nice flat for £60000 and 5% down. Had two interactions with police in 10 years in London, both pleasant. I returned in 2022 to visit and had two unpleasant interactions with police over one weekend and was aghast at what has happened to Oxford Street. After I left London - Blair.

[@dvened]

that flat is now £1,200,000

[@theapavlou3030]

​@@dvened😂😂😂😂😂

[@danyoutube7491]

@@dvened If I may add a correction; that's the price of what used to be the living room, which is now a separate flat :)

[@Thenogomogo-zo3un]

@@danyoutube7491 THIS^

[@louiseglaser3382]

I was 17 wow it was so different. If only it could return to how it used to be. No internet and just one phone at home. We were definitely happier then, there were all kinds of dramas but not like today.

[@angelacooper2661]

I was 11, so six years younger than you. In 1981 I moved from junior to senior school!

[@davidkennedy8929]

Also 17 at the time, acquired my first car and used to drive everywhere in London with little restrictions anywhere.

[@richrootes]

I’d like this London back please

[@danielosullivan7940]

Never will London be like before… London is finished… it will only get worse

[@phillipgriffiths6591]

The same with Birmingham too

[@danielosullivan7940]

Rip London 🪦

[@sh-ig9fm]

Labor and conservative said no they like the new London.

[@dvened]

HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHA

[@California265]

Heartbreaking. I grew up in London in the 70s. mum and dad fought so hard and sacrificed so much I’m so angry

[@Isaac-cc9tm]

Angry about what?

[@Timur18056]

@@Isaac-cc9tmAngry about everything. It’s all they have.

[@Isaac-cc9tm]

@@Timur18056 fr

[@mancunianinlondon]

It was British then. That was only 40 years ago and now look at it. In just 40 years it has turned into a stabby hell hole

[@londo776]

the trouble with You sort of people Is that you think KZbin how most people think. but that's not true it's just a little racist Echo chamber bubble for you.

[@staedlerok]

Thank the jews. Their plan of white replacement has succeed

[@angelalacey1060]

When london was beutiful and our history miss how wonderful london used to be to live in thankyou for your vidio uk 🇬🇧 😊😊❤❤❤❤❤❤😊

[@raymondhoward9173]

When Oxford Street was magnificent in 1981 but in 2024 shadow of its self

[@mildlydispleased3221]

That's due to money laundering and chain shops.

[@2icelollys1goat]

It was always ghastly and tacky.

[@acceptableandbornind80s32]

No Longer a Land of hope and Glory 😢😢

[@hyzia18]

The decline is palpable

[@DavePocklington]

Ah, when it used to be an English city. The last 4o years are nothing to celebrate. Diversity has not made it a better place. The opposite is true.

[@jamesdouglas6652]

Yes but think you mean British - as back then there were so many Scots (my family) and Irish and probably Welsh in London, not just English. Now, it’s about 60% born outside the U.K. and about 80% with grandparents from outside the U.K. no government ever asked…..

[@dougie1968]

It's about human civilization, not tribalism.

[@rogerclark6605]

Thank you Tony

[@leetaylor8967]

Beautiful place back then

[@Legionnaire1992]

I was born and raised in London in 1992, but feel emotional for a time I never saw. My city has become almost unrecognisable in just a couple decades

[@petekennedy8444]

This was 35 years after the end if ww2 and it is fabulous! Now we aare 44 years past this film and, well,uhm,aw,You sure there hadn't been some huge war recently?

[@LSDHECKLER]

How quickly it’s changed. The people.

[@markfrench9004]

"Best High Street names" followed by a shot of C&A, is probably the most 80s thing of the whole video.

[@Kenistyless]

C&A still lives; albeit in Antwerp!!!

[@markfrench9004]

@@Kenistyless God bless the Belgians.

[@MichaelJay-rr2vz]

And in Poland too C&A

[@markianclark9645]

It was always DH Evans for me..I was HiFi fanatic and they showcased all the latest components so bought my stack system from them..I never bought anything from C&A..I liked British Home Stores and Woolworths too..doesn't it make you nostalgic..sigh

[@MichaelJay-rr2vz]

@@markianclark9645 Yep much better days back then for sure , loved Woolworths and Benetton too

[@annabellesapphire]

To all those who've left negative and nasty comments. Yes I agree all cities change, grown and modernise with new technologies etc. Yet as we see, London has changed in a very different way to what most are commenting on. My feeling is that although some changes are welcome, there are certain evil people who never stop to ask the indigenous folk what they think, which is where a lot of these current problems stem from. Folk are not racist, ignorant, right wing or any other crass words you can hurl. Wr just love our capital city, our homeland, regardless of race, creed, gender. Go to othe countries and you will know most folk want to make their country and lives better. Sadly due to very bad decisions and vile ideology we're in trouble. To aknowledge that is not wrong or hateful. Freedom of speech that we all enjoy came at a price for those who died in the world wars. Please never forget that. Till we have built Jerusalem on England's green and pleasant land 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧😘

[@nygelmiller5293]

To ANNABELLE SAPHIRE. Remember to vote for the English Democrats party in the election. At the end of party conferences we song "till we have built Jerusalem in ENGLAND's green and pleasant land", as our REAL national anthem - because it actually MENTIONS England. The official national anthem doesn't mention that and is just the King or Queen's birthday song!

[@missingno88]

FYI there’s nothing wrong with being “right wing” or holding anti immigrant views lol

[@gouthamvidyasagar]

This is what globalization looks like. It doesn't differentiate between capital and labor. As long as a corporation seeks cheap capital, it will also pursue cheap labor too. And UK cant be an exception.

[@vinniechudam1835]

I can't believe how little traffic there is in all the aerial shots of central London and how fast they are going. As a motorist in London I don't think any other developed city in the world is as bad as London is today.

[@avtar1699]

New York is mess. Rather walk than go in a car. London for it's fault has one of the best traffic management systems in the world. it might not be as good as asian countries but given it's size and population it's punching above it's weight.

[@msbecks7004]

It was safe to get on the tube 😊

[@msbecks7004]

They didnt have stupid bike lanes then

[@DJ_Dopamine]

Paris is terrible. It takes hours and hours to get nearly nowhere most days in a car.

[@mats7492]

That what car centric policies generate.. traffic!

[@humayunkabir9279]

Thanks for taking me down the memory lane. I lived in London in 1975 and then again in 1985 / 1986 . It is a great city ..

[@lefroy1]

Terrifying how little time it's taken for this once great city to become unrecognizable.

[@jamesb6080]

Exactly. In the space of a couple of decades, one of the most ancient, and beautiful cities in the world... destroyed.

[@barbarahalkyard1901]

Its all in your head. Nothing stays the same .Live with it or move out. I wish i could go back to the sixties but i cant. Its the circle of life. And take it from me .There will be more imigration into this country.Its happening all over the world .Not even Reform will change that.Of course they will tell you they can.Its called politics. And there are plenty of mugs on here who believe them.

[@blackporscheroadster-yw8hb]

Just imagine going into the future to see London in 2124? That would be equally terrifying and fascinating. St Paul's Cathedral and all the other churches would be mosques and the old buildings will be in ruins and all the roofs caved in due to lack of maintenance. Trafalgar Square would be a central square for Ramadan prayer with the call to prayer and not Big Ben sounding across London.

[@hazchem1]

80's and 90's, the pinnacle of British society.

[@paulcampbell1596]

it was for sure ...never to return........just be thankful you witnessed it. All things must PASS.

[@chantul_van]

Are we too late?

[@chiarabay9364]

Life was good then! Music was great! No internet! I was 19 working my first job for an air freight company. My boyfriend and I rented a bedsit. Life was pubs and music and weekend trips to Paris once a year or driving round England to see bands. My parents ran a successful shop. The future seemed bright! You could always get a job. Then in 1983 I moved to London. I still miss the old Charing cross Road and walking home safely from the west end at 2 am.

[@zivkovicable]

Violent crime rates in London are lower now than they were then. Domestic abuse was rarely reported, and was generally ignored by the police. Child abuse was swept under the carpet. The era off Saville.

[@petekennedy8444]

​@@zivkovicableMost ​ contradictory comment I have ever seen. Lol.😅😅

[@zivkovicable]

@@petekennedy8444 How? Everything I wrote was factual.

[@havingalook2]

How fun was that look back. So much has changed while so little as not.

[@Bezart34]

It"s earlier than 1981. When the RF appear on the balcony, Mountbatten is also there. He died in 1979!

[@jimsimpson1006]

I would have tended to agree with you. The Queen and Duke of Edinburgh look too young and all the cars appear to be 1970s models. However, at 23:30 "No Sex Please, We're British" 😂 is showing at the Strand theatre and the banner clearly says "10th hysterical year". Since it premiered in 1971, that makes the year 1980. I think it might just be that this film is using a lot of old stock footage?

[@Bezart34]

@@jimsimpson1006 I reckon you're right. Cobbled together.

[@wobblybobengland]

@@jimsimpson1006 Football is from 1979

[@liamb8644]

26:32 MCMLXXXI - that’s 1981

[@andrewlucas9282]

Or more accurately, “was murdered” in 1979 mate ☹️

[@xlr82u]

Would love to visit THIS London. The London of today is a very different place, sadly.

[@dougie1968]

You wouldn't last 5 minutes without your precious iPhone and social media. 😆

[@glenmorgan4597]

This was my first year starting work, was in same job till 2019

[@JestersDeadUK]

What 1981-2019?!?!??! Hahah, what's wrong with you 😢

[@mark..A]

Blimey !!!!!!!!!!

[@benmacdui9328]

Who cares

[@greatdelusion7654]

@@JestersDeadUK Huh?

[@natashas.o.6380]

That’s amazing and so rare, well done!

[@lordjimmyjimbok3067]

I was a London living in my teens back then London was great ❤ went back last year I was so lost where I lived is unrecognisable how has this lovely place a crap whole it broke my heart 😢 didn’t feel safe not 1 bit how can this happen to a once great capital now London is a foreign land to me I’m glad I never took my family rip England

[@jahurakhanam3148]

i want the old london back

[@tancreddehauteville764]

I want the Vikings back! 😄

[@keithb2055]

I want the old England back. What we have now isn't worth crap.

[@dougie1968]

The Blitz, The Kray Twins, Jack the Ripper, Sweeny Todd, The Great Fire, The Black Death, IRA bombings, abject poverty, slums etc.

[@keithb2055]

@dougie1968 yeah, yeah, yeah, we know there was bad history. You know what people mean when they say they want the old England back. Don't be a stupid.

[@careytitan9097]

@@dougie1968 Today - drug gangs, grooming gangs, terrorism, st*bbings, k*llings, r*pes, muggings, b*mbing pop concerts, buses and the tube!

[@peterdixon7734]

It was made in 1981, but there is a lot of late 1970s footage. You can tell from the clothes, cars, etc. The Connors vs Borg final was 1977 (their 1978 final was only 3 sets, whereas they are in the 4th set here), and the plays were circa 1980, apart from No Sex Please, We're British, which ran for about 16 years. No sign of the 1981 royal wedding, so the film was finished early in the year. It all looks very analogue, but in 1981 video suddenly became more clear and crisp. I cite DVDs of old tennis matches as evidence. If I had known how London was going to turn out, I would have appreciated it more.

[@Vertigo121]

Back in the days when London felt like you where in a British city.

[@leehighland5435]

Vote reform

[@YJB8CCFC]

@@leehighland5435and hand the leadership to labour. Because that’s what in effect you’re doing.

[@Norfolkbiker50]

You jest, by 1981 London was finished, my parents left that toilet in the 60s because they'd had enough "cultural enrichment".

[@Norfolkbiker50]

@@apm763 I had cousins in high school in the 70s who were the only white kids in their class.

[@leehighland5435]

@@YJB8CCFC A conservative voter, lol, you have some guts to admit that. Vote for those t*ssers, never again.

[@MrObiwan1]

How nice was our capital when it was just us!!!!

[@dougie1968]

Just us? White middle - upper class snobs who looked down on the white and ethnic minority working class?

[@chrisnewman7281]

1981 seems like yesterday to me seeing something something titled. Archivist makes me feel like I should be in a museum.

[@FallonLockwood]

Breaks my heart to see London now. Glad I got to see it before it was destroyed 😢😢😢😢

[@americaneejit9993]

40 years ago London was 85% English, Today it is 37%. That is a nearly 50% reduction in less than 40 years. This is an unprecedented shift in demographics with no equal cultural assimilation. The only remnants of Old London are the buildings. They are monuments to a people no longer there.

[@dvened]

people hate statistics

[@philipmcdonagh1094]

Dublin and the whole of Ireland has gone the exact same way. 800 years of grief with your good selves to get our independence and currency and what do we do, give it to Germany and the EU. God you couldn't make that up.

[@americaneejit9993]

@@philipmcdonagh1094 hopefully we can let the past be the past mate, and at least bury most of the hatchet. We presently face a threat greater than I think we both originally realized.

[@MrMarcy76]

Now its full of people who hate London, and hate British culture. Not everyone though.

[@donaldjuan4934]

It's better nowadays.

[@hendriktonisson2915]

Someone should make a video that shows side by side comparison of London in 1981 vs London in 2024.

[@BootneckAlphaKilo]

They have. Also Tehran, Kabul and many other cities, pre extremism. It's very enriching, go search.

[@TheAurelianProject]

So basically this video vs a literal landfill.

[@michaelc3977]

Would that be in colour, or black and white. Oh wait...

[@dougie1968]

London in 2024 is gleaming with fabulous new structures like the London Eye, The Shard, The Gherkin etc. In 1981 it was squalid, wretched and bleak.

[@richardsmith2825]

@@dougie1968 For the billionaire oligarch, and the hoards of cheap labour he demands. For the indigenous population pushed out of their own capital…not so much. Could you see any MENA country allowing this to happen?

[@Maverick1.]

Back when London was British

[@leod-sigefast]

Shouldn't have had the British Empire then should we.

[@Maverick1.]

@@leod-sigefast do you by any chance mean that we shouldn’t have ever dissolved the British empire. If so I agree wholeheartedly lol

[@robinj6137]

​@Maverick1. You had no choice son. And what goes around come around. 😉

[@canman5060]

@@Maverick1. The empire has to be dissolved because of astronomical burden on expenses in overseas expansive.All except Hong Kong and with the annual revenue from the Hong Kong jockey club alone enough to feed the British people on council welfare !

[@paulprice8541]

@@leod-sigefast”we” didn’t. The elites did. And more often than not in collusion with the disgruntled elites of those same colonised countries

[@zoesmith5687]

In my opinion 1960s 1970s 1980s happiest times in the world. People were were happy back then. The country didn’t have these huge problems it has today. Everyone was just happy. I think the world has lost its way. We have so much darkness in the world these days. So many people complaining about everything. So many people not happy at all. This footage shows when England and London was at its happiest and best in my opinion. England was a simple and happy place. All the royal families subjects were happy going back many years ago. Now everyone’s unhappy standard of living and illegal immigration it’s got out of control

[@edorourke9223]

I wish I'd gone to visit when I first had the chance - back in the early 80s. No point now, I guess.

[@ebismusic8813]

It may well be 1981 but the film style and music is very old fashioned for then. Is that John Craven?

[@SteveInScotland]

It makes it feel like the 60’s! It’s not my recollection of the 80s.

[@SteveInScotland]

No, it’s not.

[@xr6lad]

It’s well before 1981 in some parts. Lord Mountbatten is on that balcony with the Queen. He was killed in August 1979 so can’t have been there in 1981.

[@martinsmith4840]

It sounds like Bob Danvers Walker the voice of Pathe news

[@louise_rose]

It could well have been made in connection with the wedding of Charles and Diana in the summer of 1981, while reusing some older footage (edit: I see someone suggested the Silver Jubilee of 1977)

[@UrbanPicturesUK]

Buildings were caked in so much grime back then, they look a lot better today!

[@mrn13]

the camera does most of that work, even brand new buildings looks scruffy

[@spidyman8853]

There was too much soot

[@JJONNYREPP]

This is London - 1981 | The Archivist Presents | #445 2338pm 11.6.24 sadly some unfortunate school child who was overheard to say, whilst sat in the tower's grounds: i'd like to stay here............................................................................ was taken literally. 40 odd years later...... erm go figure, eh?

[@wattyler2994]

Covered in Pigeon poo as well..

[@JJONNYREPP]

@@wattyler2994 Comments on ‘This is London - 1981 | The Archivist Presents | #445’ 12.6.24 2201pm there's two wood pigeons who sit atop a street light on new line, britannia.... and crap on unsuspecting passers-by. nearly!!, was the cry..... can relate to being nigh-on shat on by local bigwig birdlife or having a ghost manifest before you... two chances, i suppose...

[@JohnDoby-f1f]

You know the world is cong to an end when videos of the past are popping up everywhere and more frequently than ever before.

[@EmpiricalMind]

The lion has been asleep, but it has been kicked too often and it stirs, when it wakes it will roar, love to England, love to the English 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

[@SuperRobertballard]

I used to love visiting London in the 80's. Too scared to go near it now.

[@NOWThatsRichy]

Last time I went there, was in 1987, a day long wander around the record shops of Oxford street!

[@MrStraightGangsta]

Only been once, back in 2008 was staying for a week but left in under 48 hours and vowed never to return I couldn't believe back then that the least British place in the country was London so no chance I'd ever go now or ever again I think

[@jamesb6080]

There is a lot of violence there now. The violence in London today, makes Jack the Ripper look like a Disney princess.

[@sararichardson737]

Why scared? It’s no more dangerous than any other city.

[@jamesb6080]

@@sararichardson737

[@58stoddart]

I was 16 back then, used to travel around London on a Red Bus Rover for 10p. Great times, sadly missed

[@andrewhutchinson36]

I believe, although I am not entirely certain, that this film was made to mark the final closure of British movietone Cinema news service in 1979.

[@danielesteves4320]

O was only 19 years old then. Great memories. Still a amazing city even though much has changed. And no traffic jams back then. Thank you very much for sharing this short.

[@TheMRmatt007]

I was 12 and London was less chaotic than now. I remember the pungent smell of the beer brewing factories in wandsworth, the ice cream vans, on the weekends, the paper boys, the eletric milk vans. When wimpy was the best burger in town.

[@MegaTrueTalk]

You Still get All These!!!

[@MegaTrueTalk]

You Still get All These!!!

[@DanDan-lr7og]

I was 16 in 1981 , I cannot believe we threw away this for what this country has become , thousands of years of shared community gone in 40 years and replaced and teaching our children that it never existed and we have always been in this terrible state

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

What shared community has gone? If there's anything to blame, it's capitalism that enables the rich to buy up all the housing.

[@DanDan-lr7og]

@@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx the shared community of the English race , the essence of what made this island race the greatest people this world has ever seen , London is not a English place anymore , more than 50% of the population are not English , when this film was made 40 years ago 95%of London was English

[@RebeccaTurner-ny1xx]

@@DanDan-lr7og Shared community? When I was growing up in the 60s and 70s, disabled people were routinely mocked, single mothers were stigmatised and it was common for gay men to be assaulted, even murdered, and little or nothing was done. As for 'race', that's not a real thing at all, it's merely a social construct. The UK is a far friendlier place than it was then. If you can't remove your rose-tinted glasses, that's _your_ problem.

[@chucky2316]

What what what

[@vincentadultman6226]

​@@RebeccaTurner-ny1xxlmao, you must be blind to see how far London has fallen. I'd take a gay hating London over the modern dumpster

[@ForeverEarthFootage]

It's really saddening to see just how much London and the UK as a whole has declined since these days. It used to be a fantastic place to live and was the envy of the world. The UK is nothing but a human toilet now and Brits are a broken people with no fight left to give. Damn our politicians 😢

[@realsteviem]

Ahh, London, before Kahnt turned it into Londonistan, The Muslim Brotherhood, Wokeness, Month of Debauchery. Then London had some of the best entertainment and restaurants in the world.

[@thegroovetube3247]

When I was born in 1963 London was around 2% ethnic minorities. Now that figure's heading towards 70%. How on earth has that been allowed to happen?

[@ant713m]

​@thegroovetube3247 it's not being allowed, its maths. White ppl moved out of inner London to posh suburbs, the white ppl don't want to do the rubbish jobs so minorities took them. White ppl choose to have less kids or no kids or be gay so birth rated plummeting. Minorities choosing to have 2 or more children and don't mind accepting tough jobs or poor living standards as they have less ego/snobbery/entitlement than whites

[@derbysouthwick7360]

racist biggot

[@Return_oftheMac]

You realise Sadiq Khan has no control over immigration, yeah? and the number of migrants entering the country per year is higher under the Tories than it was under Labour? Didn't think so.

[@dvened]

@@thegroovetube3247 so you're saying they are now majorities

[@finnmanproductions9240]

The narration and music makes it sound like 1951.

[@None-zc5vg]

There IS a similar documentary from the early '50s somewhere on KZbin: the voice over sounds the same.

[@Kingsblue11]

I was in tears watching that and there was a kind of innocence about it all , UK politicians have now ruined this country by letting all those violent criminals in with no contribution to our society and a burden to us taxpayers , so sad

[@angelwingz892]

I was 18, just left school Summer '81. Id grown up in London and would stay until mid 80s when i moved to Norfolk. Many years later and a worldwide living experience. There is no place as thrilling to live than London. I feel very privileged to have grown up there. Accident of birth.

[@bm6563]

Why is this presentation so old fashioned? This really was not that long ago, and I remember 1981 vividly.

[@mellowfellow4755]

It’s British Movietone and it is the best part of 45 years ago

[@Norfolkbiker50]

If you look you will see this was filmed in 77, 47 years ago. To put that into perspective this footage was just 32 years after the end of WW2, we're just getting old mate!

[@bm6563]

@@Norfolkbiker50 😅 you're right and it shows you how quickly time goes. I remember 1977 vividly too.

[@Norfolkbiker50]

@@bm6563 doesn't it just👍

[@skadiwarrior2053]

Sounds like an old tourist film. I think it used some clips from older film.

[@vincentdavis3453]

So much for the 'Big Smoke' now we are stuck with the 'Big Woke' from Mecca.

[@richardenglish2195]

Can't help wondering if the ceremonial passing of the keys would've been shorter if the cameras weren't on. "Alright, John. Here you go." "Cheers, pal. Be lucky."

[@paulashford4155]

I am in Wales so don't know what it was like living there everyday, but some of my favourite films like Quadrophenia and Breaking Glass was made there. And going to the museums there is excellent. Still great today.

[@headshot6959]

The very stones of these great buildings weep at what London has become.

[@Dunbar0740]

I suspect this film was a response to the image of London ablaze in 1981: Riots, terrorism, strikes, record unemployment, sharp recession, crumbling high rise estates, increasing poverty. The city was becoming a "Ghost Town", in the words of the Specials who were number one in the charts that year. It was a grim time for many people.

[@lyndiss9861]

This is why we were great Fabulous

[@TheTW11]

I left London 9 years ago. I moved out to England.

[@shane_and_sue]

It's not just London,all our major cities have gone to the dogs..

[@dvened]

London is probably the best off

[@saifabbas5197]

Yeah, the dogs you colonized and looted for 200 years!

[@saifabbas5197]

Yeah, the dogs you colonized and looted for 200 years.

[@saifabbas5197]

Yeah, the dogs you colonized for 200 years!

[@dazauto1400]

And when we left it went back to the shithole it was originally!

[@NathanEllisBodi]

I was 19, oh to go back with what I know now at 62 .

[@samuelknight957]

I'm 19. I think we might be the first modern generation to wish we were born earlier.

[@almartin115]

😂Narrator at 18:50 says you can find mountain's of merchandise available as the camera has a "35mm Pornography Shop" in the centre of the shot. No way was that a mistake, cheeky humour by the editing team I'd wager.

[@Thenogomogo-zo3un]

Yeah I saw that. That looks like Berwick St. Market in Soho. I think the market is still there.

[@Karrllson]

"When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life". Very wise words.

[@tomster1414]

Not anymore

[@benhartley2486]

Lots of Far Right supporters on here ready to disagree with you there.

[@Paul-zu2hf]

​@@benhartley2486yeah you have to be furthest to the right to not support the importing of so many people from low quality countries

[@benhartley2486]

@@Paul-zu2hf They're here because we need nurses, care workers and other low skilled and semi-skilled workers. We're not prepared to do that work in sufficient numbers so we have to recruit elsewhere.

[@Paul-zu2hf]

@@benhartley2486 utter rubbish. If none of them came the market and the country would adapt. It's not that you can only get immigrants to do those jobs, it's that you can only get immigrants to do it for those wages and working conditions. So it's a race to the bottom. The rich love immigration because it doesn't affect them and they get all the benefits. So sod the poor of the country, they can just deal with being displaced.

[@ianrobert6239]

Great days. Great country back then.😢