The Great Year That Was 1976 ...

Cast your mind back thirty-three years. It was the great year of 1976. We were all 17 years old. We were in Form 5 at St Joe - possibly the greatest set of classes in the greatest school in existence ... obviously! :-)

But in the same year, what else was happening around us? In St Joe? In Kuching? In Sarawak? In the World? I thought it would be fun to recall some things that were somewhat prominent. I'm sure you remember other important events or personalities or products of that year. Do add on your memories in the "Comments" section ...

In 1976 ...

* Bro Columba was the Principal of St Joseph's Secondary School. Sister Sylvia was Principal of St Teresa's School, that other educational institution that many of our form-mates seem to keep a close eye on ...

* Dato' Patinggi Abdul Rahman Yakub was the Chief Minister of Sarawak. The Yang DiPertuan Negeri (or Governor) of Sarawak was Tun Tuanku Haji Bujang.

* St Michael's Canteen was still at its old spot on Jalan Tun Abang Haji Openg, next to the Catholic Centre. Oooh, the ang tau peng & the special & the peppermint drink !

* Men's fashion in 1976 included jeans, bell bottoms, platform shoes (with soles of 2 - 4"), more colourful shirts and broad ties. Long hair for guys was in vogue - and many were playing cat-and-mouse games with Bro Columba & his scissors. The ladies had (sadly) increasingly moved from mini-skirts to skirts below the knee line, with the dancer's leotard beginning to be popular for the more fashion conscious.

* Pop and rock music was an important part of life ...

The most popular pop musicians included singers like David Bowie, Elton John, Lobo .... and bands like Abba, Bay City Rollers, Slade ...

The UK "Top of the Pops" charts in 1976 included the following No 1 hits:

- "Mamma Mia", "Fernando" & "Dancing Queen" (Abba) - nothing has changed here. Abba seems to be still as popular thanks to their stage and movie versions of "Mamma Mia"!!!
- "Save Your Kisses for Me" (Brotherhood of Man)
- "Mississippi" (Pussycat)
- "If You Leave Me Now" (Chicago)
- "Under the Moon of Love" (Showaddywaddy)
- "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (Elton John & Kiki Dee)

The Eagles released one of the best-selling albums of all time, "Hotel California" also in 1976.

And of course, we mustn't forget Asian artistes like Anita Sarawak, Frances Yip, Teresa Huang, Teresa Carpio, Teresa Teng and bands like the Strollers.

Remember those music request programmes on Radio Sarawak, popular among some? And (cringe!) remember those fancy middle names used on air ? "... and now Michael Romeo Tan would like to dedicate this song with all his love to Christina Candice Chin ..."

* On the literature front, Peter Benchley published "The Deep" (building on his previous best-seller "Jaws" which became a top-grossing film in 1976 - just when you thought it was safe to get back in the water), Alex Haley came out with "Roots" (which also became a popular TV series) and Richard Dawkins gave us "The Selfish Gene", which became a classic of science writing.

* On the movie front, "The Omen", "Jaws", "The Pink Panther Returns" and "Rocky" all did well at the cinemas.

* In April 1976 halfway across the world in California, two scruffy friends named Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak registered a little company which they gave the unlikely name of Apple Computer.

* The first commercial service of the supersonic Concorde took off, flying from New York to Europe.

* The USA celebrated its bicentennial on 4th July 1976. A peanut farmer from Georgia named Jimmy Carter was elected the country's 39th President in November 1976.

* North and South Vietnam, divided since 1954, reunited to form the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.

* Finally, a little known fact - in 1976, a certain George W. Bush is arrested and fined for driving under the influence of alcohol. Maybe they should have given him life - then the world might not be in the mess it is now !

Indeed 1976 was a great year. Now it's your turn to add comments on your memories for the year. Over to you, Form 5 classes of 1976 ...