M.E.N headlines 40 years ago: Gang wars, rotting flats, electric cars and the city's first Aids death

It's always fascinating to look back at what was making the headlines in Manchester years ago.

Some things, such as crime, politics, and yes, even good news, will always make the headlines no matter what year it is. But what's always interesting to see looking back is how modern-day concerns compare to those from decades ago—essentially, what changes and what stays the same.

Thanks to newspaper archives, we can revisit who and what was making the headlines in the Manchester Evening News decades ago. Today, we're travelling back 40 years to February 1985.

It was the year of the Manchester Airport disaster, the release of The Smiths' Meat is Murder album and Manchester United's FA Cup triumph. But the headlines also reflect what was happening nationally and internationally—the 1984/85 miners' strike, new technology and the Aids epidemic.

We've put together a small selection of the front-page headlines from the M.E.N. from February 1985. Let us know in the comments if you remember any of the stories below.

On the front page of the M.E.N on February 1, 1985, was a story on fears a gang war was escalating after two youths were stabbed in a night of violence in Dukinfield, Tameside. A large gang of youths set upon a 14-year-old walking along Gorse Hill Road with a friend, we reported.

One of the youths, 14, was "slashed across the back". A second incident at a telephone box on Concorde Way an hour later saw a 16-year-old receive knife wounds to his arm.

The story goes on to report that residents had complained that gangs of up to 60 were congregating in the streets. Cllr John Taylor said: "I am prepared to meet these youths to find out why they are causing trouble." The report ends saying the town had suffered from