The evocative 1990s pictures of life in Wales that bring it all straight back
Because it really wasn't that long ago (honest)
The time has passed in a flash but somehow the end of the 1990s was a quarter of a century ago. And while a whole lot has changed in that time for an awful lot of us the 90s still only feels like yesterday – and pictures like these just bring all those memories flooding back.
As with every decade the 1990s saw a lot of change in Wales following the major societal shifts of the preceding decade. Heavy industry continued to decline as the era of devolution arrived and the millennium came into view.
Significant cultural changes ran alongside economic ones with the Welsh language gaining equal legal recognition with English in the public sector and the Church in Wales ordaining its first female priests.
The Welsh music scene also saw something of a purple patch in the Britpop decade with the Stereophonics forming in 1992, Manic Street Preachers securing their first number one single with If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next, Super Furry Animals officially becoming a band in 1993, and Charlotte Church beginning her recording career in 1998. A host of international acts also came to Wales.
The face of the capital changed, too, with the old Cardiff Arms Park demolished and work on Cardiff Bay steaming ahead. Here are 25 of the best photos of the 1990s in Wales from our archive:
A worker grimaces while operating in hostile conditions during steel production at Llanwern Steel Works near Newport (October 1, 1990)
(Image: Getty Images)1 of 24
July 11, 1997: The fleet at the start of round three of the Frontera Ultra 30 Grand Prix off the coast of Penarth in Cardiff, Wales
(Image: Getty Images / Stephen Munday / Allsport)2 of 24
Cardiff's St Mary Street in 1994
(Image: ullstein bild via Getty Images)3 of 24![A huge audience watches American rock group REM, and Del Amitri perform at Cardiff Arms Park (Sunday, July 23, 1995)]()
A huge audience watches American rock group REM and Del Amitri perform at Cardiff Arms Park (Sunday, July 23, 1995)
(Image: Getty Images)4 of 24
