New developments sprang up as post-war housing was torn down, the disco and punk era was replaced by a fresh wave of post-punk and alternative bands, and people ditched their flares for power suits and statement shoulder pads.
These photos capture a Leeds in flux during the early 80s, when the Sony Walkman became the latest must-have gadget, and E.T. and Raiders of the Lost Ark delivered the biggest box office thrills.
They show sights around the city between 1980 and 1983, including some of the most popular shops, pubs and restaurants of the time.
This trip down memory lane takes you through an eerily quiet Leeds City Station, inside Leeds Market while it was recovering from a brutal battering, along school corridors and into the heart of a captivated crowd at Roundhay Park enjoying a seminal performance by the Rolling Stones.
These nostalgic images capture shops ranging from the much-missed Woolworths, famed for its pick ‘n’ mix, to independent stores around Leeds, at a time when Sunday trading was still banned.
They offer a glimpse inside Leeds General Infirmary as it looked then, they show dancers gracefully cavorting across the floor of a legendary ballroom, they capture the thrill of the carnival, and they feature a TV crew in town to shoot a children’s show.
Do these photos bring back any happy 80s memories for you, and what do you miss most about Leeds as it was back then?
1. Market special
Trevor Middleton, of Middleton Hargreaves butchers, pictured at Leeds Market on February 2, 1983, with staff members Carl Hilton, Brian Longbottom, Christopher Farmer, Roy Marsden, Colin Clark, Jackie Morgan and Graham Wray. He cut prices 'to the bone', thinking his shops might be closed due to storm damage. | YPN
4. Cheers
Wendy Pratt, 18, winner of the Yorkshire Evening Post's Miss Tetley Contest, held at Foxes, Mexborough Arms, Harrogate Road, Chapel-Allerton, Leeds, in November 1983. Wendy, who was representing the Old Halfway House, Horbury, near Wakefield, is pictured with runners-up Susan Lane, 23 (North eastern Hotel, Castleford), Sally Ann Johnson, 18 (Queens Arms, Chapel-Allerton, Leeds), and Sharon Hoddy, 22 (Robin Hood, Undercliffe, Bradford). | YPN Photo: Mel Hulme
5. End of an era
Demolition workers remove the remains of the ballroom of the Capital at Meanwood, Leeds, in January 1980 | YPN
