70S AND 80S FOOD - BRITISH SNACKS
By Mark Nobes, chief editor
On this page, I'll be taking a look back at some old snacks from the eighties (mostly junk food!) including including Walkers, KP and Smiths Crisps. Who else agrees with me that you used to get more crisps in a packet back in the day - they seem to be half filled with air these days!
By the way, I have not listed any of the old food snacks on this page in any particular order of preference or in a tidy A-Z format. Instead, I've written "off the cuff" and added photos as I have come across them on the web. Enjoy!
That lonesome waffle is waiting for a good dollop of spaghetti hoops in tomato sauce!
Remember that 80s British tv ad for Birdseye Potato Waffles? This
had to be one of the most irritating TV ad's ever! An annoying tune
sung by someone with an annoying voice. Thankfully, it only lasts for ten
seconds. Looking
back, I suppose potato waffles were pretty tasteless really, but pour
some baked beans over them and they tasted great - waffily versatile!
You may remember drinking orange Quosh throughout the 1970s and 80s, which came in large glass bottles and was undiluted. But were you prepared for these new-fangled "ready to drink" Quosh squash drinks cartons which are featured here in a 1982 advert?
Who remembers buying this from their local shop? Top Deck alcoholic shandy drink was advertised to kids from the 1960s to the 1980s. The alcohol content was extremely low though, thankfully!
King Cone was an alternative to Wall's Cornetto. This rather erotic ad is a fine example of what they used to get away with back in the day!
Also in the video playlist is a classic Walkers Crisps advert from the 80s, before Gary Lineker got involved. I remember the styling of those crisp packets like it was yesterday. This was before they started using foil on the inside, so you could actually see the real crisps through the clear window. Those packets look like they're bulging with crisps, too. So what is my favourite flavour? Well, I have three actually; Ready Salted, Cheese & Onion and Roast Chicken.
Walkers Snacks was founded in the 1880s by Henry Walker and now has a 47% slice of the UK Crisps market.
This empty crisp packet is from 1997 and features Baby Spice on the front
Staying with crisps, can you remember the TV advert for KP featuring the cartoon monks?
KP Snacks are more famous for their nuts, which they started producing in 1948, although the brand "KP The No.1 Nut" didn't start until 1953. The company itself founded in 1853 as Kenyon & Son and became part of United Biscuits in 1968. The KP initials originally stood for Kenyon Produce.
Smiths produced quite a wide variety of snacks back in the day, and I remember when comedian Lenny Henry helped to advertise a slightly unusual snack back in the 80s called square crisps. Such crisps aren't unusual now as they come in all shapes and sizes, but I do remember they had quite a different taste to the normal Smiths crisps. I used to like Salt 'N Shake and occasionally you would get more than one salt packet in the bag - this made me extremely excited! Hmm, it takes a lot more to excite kids these days.
Walker's French Fries 1980s packet with Free AGFA C90 Audio Tape offer
This is a packet of Smiths Flavour 'n' Shake from 1988 - anyone remember these?
An old Smiths Crisps packet (Ready Salted) from the 1980s featuring a Kevin Keegan Superstar Tracksuit Offer.
Smiths Crisps Smokey Bacon (1979)
Named after a variety of potato, Golden Wonder produced a wide range of snacks which are still available, but are now produced by various companies after the brands were separately sold off. Back in the 70s and 80s, Golden Wonder produced snacks such as Ringos, Wotsits, Crackles, Pot Noodle and, of course, potato crisps in various flavours.
This empty packet of Salt & Vinegar crisps featuring an offer on rose bushes is from 1975.
Smiths Crisps Pickled Onion flavour 1980s
KP Dry Roasted Peanuts packet from the 1980s
1980s Smiths Square Crisps ready salted
Murphy ready salted crisps 1980s packet
Smiths Square Crisps cheese & onion (1985)
Royal Wedding 1981 Smiths Crisps - Ready Salted
No eighties party was complete without a tub of Cheese Balls or Cheese Footballs. The Planters Cheez Balls shown below are American and are no longer made, but I have seen some other varieties in British supermarkets (such as Jacobs and KP) which are still available to buy - real 80s party food!
With the advent of the microwave oven, convenience food became ever more popular during the 1980s. Findus Crispy Pancakes (these are still available to buy, apparently) were always in the freezer and I haven't tasted any since I was in my teens. I do remember burning my mouth on the piping hot filling, though - as a typical teenager I couldn't wait for the filling to cool down!
I have to admit that I quite liked them, especially the curry ones, and they always went well with chips. These have to be in my top five list of favourite 80s foods.
The Pot Noodle probably gave 80s food a bad reputation, but I used to take one of these to work back in the late eighties, and a particular favourite of mine was beef & tomato which is still available today. Adding boiling water to a dried mix of vegetables, noodles, textured soya and a powdered sauce isn't everyone's idea of food heaven, but they were preferable to cold sandwiches in the winter months. You could boost the flavour with an extra sachet of sauce which came in the pot.
You can now get them in fifteen varieties, and the chip shop curry one sounds interesting. In the 80s, it was Golden Wonder who produced the snack, but the brand was sold to Unilever in 1995, and they sold Golden Wonder to Tayto in 2006. However, Unilever kept the Pot Noodle brand and are still selling them today.
Bird's Ice Magic was a chocolate syrup that used to form a hard shell when you poured it over ice cream. I remember there being mint and orange flavours, although I think there may have been a caramel flavour, too. I used to love this stuff and liked to crack it with my spoon, although it certainly wasn't to everyone's liking.
New Stork SB Margarine advert from 1981. Do you remember the TV adverts which used to feature Leslie Crowther and his clipboard doing a taste test?
Coffee-Mate advert from 1981. This stuff was always handy for when you ran out of milk. Did it make your coffee taste nicer? At the time I used to think so. I drink it black these days, so it would probably make me feel sick now!
Peek Freans Assorted Cocktail biscuits. I'm not sure of the exact date of that old tin, but it looks very 1970s.
For a special occasion, a tin of Crawford's Rover Biscuits would be opened which included favourites such as custard creams, milk choc digestives, pink wafers and bourbon creams.
1970s Fizzy Cola Spangles
1970s Sunblest Bread Pin Badge
Lyons Maid Haunted House Ice Cream - had quite a few of these!
Marathon before it became Snickers in 1990.
Wrigley's Spearmint Chewing Gum
I Used to adore Chocolate Minstrels!
Birds Eye Haddock Pastry Lattice
Who could resist one of these?
I remember the Space 1999 TV series being a very popular talking point in the school playground, and Lyons Maid were quick to cash in on the popularity with this lime, vanilla and strawberry flavoured ice lolly. This wrapper is from 1975, and, no doubt, I ate one at some point, but I really can't remember what it tasted like.
Smash
instant potato mix was launched in the 60s by Cadbury. It became really
popular during the 70s after an advertising campaign featuring the
Smash Martians, who would laugh at us humans wasting our time peeling
real potatoes! First shown in 1974, it became one of most well-known
ads of the decade.
Snaps!
Still being made by walkers, the flavours I remember most were spicy
tomato and cheese. I can't seem to find a photo of the original packets
which cost 5p or less back in the 70s, so you'll have to make do with a
more modern photo - they cost around 45p in some shops these days!
Space Raiders
Space Raiders were launched in the late 1970s and were just 10p. Remarkably, they remained at 10p all the way until late
October 2007, when the price was hiked to 15p, causing much uproar!
Each crisp was shaped like an alien head, and before the change in
EC food colouring laws (miserable lot!), Roast Beef Space Raiders were bright red and
pickled onion ones were green. They are now a boring light brown colour,
reflecting the maize / corn ingredients - yawn.
Very popular in the 70's, Cresta Pop
used to be advertised by a cool-looking, cartoon polar bear who wore shades. I'm
pretty sure it also came in large bottles that we used to return to our
local shop to get 10p back. Great idea, they should bring back glass
bottles!
Corona pop (not the virus) was another popular brand back in the day. Bring back glass bottles, I say!
The Lyons Maid Goal! ice lolly - remember this one?
