70's

 The 70’s Cover Art Collection

It was the decade many of us wish we’d grown up in. Needless to say, some of those who did live through the 70s probably felt fortunate just to make it out the other side. It was a time in Australia when a younger generation was questioning attitudes towards, war, work, sex, drugs and the entire status quo in which they’d been raised. Rock music was in its prime and surfing was emerging as the ultimate counter-culture lifestyle choice. Then as equipment evolved waves became even more fun to ride. As surfing grew in popularity many surfers sought solace in the country-coastal locales yet to be tarnished by more aggressive development and commercial forces. Tracks attempted to capture these colliding forces and give their exponents a voice in a single broadsheet publication. Not surprisingly the magazine was way ahead of its time on environmental issues and many of the articles published on the subject retain their relevance to this day. As the decade unfolded, professional surfing progressed to another level and consequently occupied more pages in the magazine; but never at the expense of the reader who surfed for other reasons. Indeed, by virtue of the diversity of its articles and the irreverence of its tone by the end of the decade, Tracks had given surfers an identity that was at once informed, original and always a little ‘f&%k you!’