The 80s At Eight
One hour dedicated to the eighties every night, except Saturday, from eight till nine.
1980’s Britain heralded the age of computer technology, but not as we'd recognise it these days, with Apple home computers and Sinclair computers on everyone's Santa list. The first mobile phone 'bricks', spotted in films provided a hint of our future connectedness. Those who had time and were lucky enough to have the chance, played video arcade games like Pacman and Asteroids on their televisions and home computers. Meanwhile, irreplaceable memories were captured instantly on our polaroid cameras.
There was the love story of the century as Prince Charles and Lady Diana’s relationship unfolded culminating in the ultimate fairy-tale wedding of the century, complete with princess wedding dress and golden carriage, the nation remained transfixed. We witnessed a remarkable thaw of east-west relations between Reagan and Gorbachev with the US president challenging the Russian leader to “tear down the <Berlin> wall”. Two years later, uprising German citizens, on either side of the wall, did just that. Watched by an incredulous international audience, all remained critically aware of the significance of the act.
Pushing the boundaries of space and time, and Looking suspiciously like Albert Einstein, Doc Brown took Marty McFly Back To The Future in an innovative, gull wing De Lorean car. St Elmo’s Fire, Pretty in Pink and Footloose uplifted us and made us feel like we could take on the world! TV favourites including the Kids from Fame, Dynasty and Dallas, influenced fashion, shoulder pads and power dressing a must! New soap operas arrived from down - under. Many will remember Charlene and Scott, from sunny 'Neighbours', as they fell in love and got married.
It was a sad goodbye to John Lennon heralding the end of innocence and the age of peace and love in 1981. With the launch of MTV that same year, music videos dominated Top of the Pops. Ghetto Blasters and Walkman’s blasted tunes like 'Walk This Way' by Run DMC. Disco music fell out of fashion, replaced by soft-rock, synth-pop and R & B genres, to name but a few. Notable artists included Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, Wham, and Duran Duran.
1980’s toys we played with included Mattel's Barbie dolls and Palitoy's Action Men. Techno toys, like Simon Says and Nintendo games consoles became popular. Teenage mutant ninja turtles lived underground and crept into Santa's sack in the form of cuddly toys. We all fell in love with Donatello, Raphael, Michelangelo and Leonardo and their love of pizza! Finally, you cannot discuss toys in the 80's without recalling the Cabbage Patch craze that hit in 1983. Scenes of panicked parents, literally fighting over the dolls in toy shops across the globe filled the TV headlines! No two dolls looked the same and they came with a unique name and birth certificate - who wouldn't want to have one!
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