Vintage Film & Old Photos Of Birmingham 1950-1989

Birmingham England local history old photos archive film

Old photos and vintage film are an excellent way to bring the local history of Birmingham to life.

Our previous section about Birmingham’s History in old photos and films took us up to the end of the 1940s.

Now we turn to the 1950s, 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. It’s a period of significant change and transformation in England’s second largest city.

Birmingham In The 1950s

A Drive Around Central Birmingham (1950s)

Idowish12; Published to YouTube on 14 Apr 2011.

A drive around town in the early 1950s, Broad Street, Easy Row, Victoria Square, New Street,  Corporation Street, Bull Street, and Colmore.

Birmingham (1959)

British Pathé: Published to YouTube on 13 Apr 2014.

Birmingham In The 1960s

Birmingham Memories (1960s)

belfast jack: Published to YouTube on 27 May 2018. 

Remember England’s second largest city as it was back in the 1960s.

Trips to Birmingham (1960s)

David MacPherson: Published to YouTube on 20 Aug 2015. 

Trips to Birmingham etc in the 1960s.

Sixties Birmingham (1960s)

Synoneiro: Published on 7 Apr 2013.

Super-8 cine footage of a drive through Birmingham. Then there are shots of the countryside, which may be somewhere near the city.

The date is unknown, but would be in the late 1960s.  

Includes a glimpse of the then-new original Bull Ring centre which was completed and opened in 1964. 

Original footage shot by Pat McKeever , who sadly passed away in 1984.

Birmingham Bullring At Christmas (1963)

MalcB1001: Published to YouTube on 22 Dec 2012.

Also, see older footage in the section Birmingham History In Old Photos & Film, or find other locations on our Sitemap for England

Birmingham Town Centre (1964) 

Km6nab: Published to YouTube on 29 Sep 2011.

An 8mm home movie from 1964, showing the Bull Ring, New Street, and Corporation Street as they were then.

Bull Ring Centre Opened (1964)

British Pathé: Published to YouTube on 13 Apr 2014. 

Full title reads: “Birmingham. Bull Ring Centre Opened”. 

Inside the centre we see a yacht display, butcher’s shop, and an electrical shop with a display of TVs, radios and electric guitars.

Then we see the outdoor market, still part of the city centre despite the new shopping centre.

Next, a car turns off the main road into the Bull Ring Auto Park. The car is pushed onto a trolley and down to a parking bay.

Now we visit the covered bus station, built into the centre. The nearby escalator takes arriving passengers up to New Street and Small Brook.

Inside the shopping centre there’s an aviary. A small boy enjoys a model motorcycle ride.

Birmingham Town Centre (1964)

Km6nab: Published on 29 Sep 2011.

An 8mm home movie from 1964, showing the Bull Ring, New Street, and Corporation Street as they were then.

Bull Ring Shopping Centre (1965) 

Patrick Bradley: Published to YouTube on 29 Jul 2017.

The film was made by the in-house film unit for John Laing & Son. T

In addition to their role leading the Bull Ring Centre’s development t,he firm was also involved with the construction of the M1 motorway and Coventry Cathedral.

The film was not aimed at prospective shoppers, but the town planners and government officials whose financial and political backing was essential to the scheme’s acceptance.

Despite the film’s relentless optimism, Birmingham’s first Bull Ring centre dated quickly. By the time it was twenty years old, plans for a redesign were already in circulation.

The centre’s replacement finally opened in 2003.

“This bright and breezy promotional film explores every concrete corner of Birmingham’s original mega-mall, from planning and construction to the site’s official opening, attended by Prince Philip. Shopaholics, nostalgists and fans of Brutalist architecture alike may marvel at the mall’s serene arcades, continental cafes and modern piazzas – a vision of modernity in concrete and piped muzak.”

Patrick Bradley on YouTube

Old Birmingham Postcards (1960s/1970s)

Mike Newcombe: Published to YouTube on 20 Feb 2018. 

Old Birmingham postcards from the late 1960s to mid-1970s.

Also, see older footage in the section Birmingham History In Old Photos & Film, or find other locations on our Sitemap for England

Birmingham In The 1970s

Birmingham 1970

Geoff Claydon: Published to YouTubeon 15 Jun 2015. 

Old cine film from 1970 of Birmingham the Bullring outside market and other landmarks.

Remembering Old Kong Bullring Birmingham (1972)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frJiEQskG2s

Merlin7huna: Published to YouTube on 3 Aug 2015. 

Bullring Birmingham King Kong 1972.

Pubs and Clubs of Birmingham (1970s & 1980s)

Bunnyman77: Published to YouTube on 30 Sep 2013.

Birmingham (1970s/1980s)

Saj Ali: Published to YouTube on 8 Jan 2012. 

Birmingham 1970s & 1980s. Ali and sharifs.

Pub and Club Scene in Birmingham (1970s & 1980s)

Bunnyman77: Published to YouTube on 1 Jan 2014.

Birmingham In The 1980s

A Drive Around Central Birmingham Bullring (1981)

Paul Donovan: Published to YouTube on 21 Feb 2012.

Central Birmingham Bullring in March 1981.  

Filmed through the windscreen of a Ford Escort.  Shows the old Bullring shopping centre, Smallbrook Queensway and the Rotunda.  

Includes some great old 1970s and 1980s cars.

Bullring Market, Birmingham (1981)

Marian Hall: Published to YouTube on 2 Jun 2014. 

A trip around the Birmingham outdoor market shot by students on work experience at TURC in March 1981.

A Drive Along Birmingham Hagley Road and Broad Street (1981)

Paul Donovan: Published to YouTube on 28 Dec 2013.

Birmingham Hagley Road, Five Ways, Broad Street, and Paradise Circus.

“How Broad Street has changed…..  No ICC !!! Filmed from my Ford Escort on Sony Betamax camera in  March 1981 !!”

Paul Donovan on YouTube

Telly Savalas Looks at Birmingham (1981)

BFI: Published to YouTube on 30 Aug 2013.

“Telly Savalas, best known as the lollipop-sucking New York super sleuth Kojak, lends some ‘street cred’ to this colourful travelogue of Birmingham. In this extract we join an over-40s disco dancing competition and the groovers at Thursdays nightclub.”

Birmingham (1987)

Mark J Hickling: Published to YouTube on 25 Sep 2018. 

Birmingham December 12th 1987.

“Found hidden on one of those video tapes your wife used to record her fave program, just as the credits roll, this little forgotten gem from 1987 appeared,  Birmingham 1987, Symphony Hall is being built and you could drive to the top of New street, cutting up Corporation street going past the now gone John Lewis store to mention just a few.”

Mark J Hickling on YouTube

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