LOSE YOURSELF IN 1979
CHRYSLER TO TALBOT
There’s a Chrysler in the main image so it’s worth looking at the sale of the US giant’s European division to PSA Peugeot Citroën, completed in January 1979. The American conglomerate had progressively taken over the British Rootes Group, France’s SIMCA, and Barreiros of Spain during the Sixties in an attempt to gain a foothold in Europe to match Ford and General Motors. But it consistently struggled with protability, especially with its Rootes Group products, even after killing o the nal remaining brand, Hillman, in 1976. The ailing European arm was the prime candidate for selling o when Chrysler’s nancial problems back in the States also got too much and it was facing bankruptcy. PSA Peugeot Citroën bought the entire operation for just $1 although it also inherited the huge debts as well as the factories. The re-introduction of the Talbot name in August 1979 did little to halt the decline.
FROM RUSSIA WITH ELTON
Elton John played eight concerts in the Soviet Union during May, making him one of the rst British pop musicians to perform in Russia (although not actually the rst, as is often claimed; Cli Richard and Boney M got there before him). Permission being granted for the gigs – four in Moscow, four in Leningrad – represented part of an easing of tensions between the USSR and the West. Elton’s amboyant persona may have been at odds with Russia’s strict principles but 90 per cent of tickets ended up in the hands of senior Communist Party members, diplomats and military ocers. However most of these left before the encores during the rst show in Leningrad and things became a lot wilder when Elton returned to the stage with the now rather less formal crowd cutting loose and singing and dancing. The night ended with a cover of The Beatles’ Back in the USSR, which apparently went down very well indeed.