As the nation settled into an economically uncertain new decade, there was much change in the city of Edinburgh.
A number of much-loved institutions – among them the Ritz Cinema on Rodney Street, R W Forsyth department store on Princes Street, and jewellers Abbott of Greyfriars – closed their doors for good.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom. A swanky new cocktail bar, Charlie Parker’s, opened up on George Street, while ex-Manchester United and Hibs star George Best returned to Easter Road with his new team San Jose Earthquakes.
We’ve trawled through the photo archives at the Evening News to bring you 18 memories of Edinburgh in 1981.
We’ve trawled through the photo archives at the Evening News to bring you 18 memories of Edinburgh in 1981.
5. Designer Ron McKinven 1981
Ron McKinven, inside the futuristic disco he designed, Buster Brown's in Edinburgh, December 1981. Photo: George Smith
A street artist sketches a woman's face as by-passers look on, at the pedestrian area at the Mound, Edinburgh Festival, September 1981 Photo: Alan Ledgerwood
Edinburgh grocer William Archibald decorated the window of his shop in Roseneath Street with flags and poppies for Remembrance Day 1981. Photo: Joe Steele
Hibs football team headshots and training at Easter Road before the start of the 1981/82 season - Ralph Callachan and Arthur Duncan doing headers. Photo: Alan Ledgerwood Ian Porteous
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