My Top Thirteen 1988

1. Robbie Robertson – Somewhere Down The Crazy River – 08-1988
2. Deacon Blue – Dignity – 02-1988
3. Guns N’ Roses – Sweet Child O’ Mine – 09-1988
4. INXS – Never Tear Us Apart – 07-1988
5. The Bangles – Hazy Shade Of Winter – 02-1988
6. All About Eve – Martha’s Harbour – 08-1988
7. The Commodores – Easy – 09-1988
8. Robert Palmer – She Makes My Day – 10-1988
9. The Christians – Harvest For The World – 10-1988
10. Whitesnake – Give Me All Your Love – 02-1988
11. George Michael – Kissing A Fool – 12-1988
12. Michael Jackson – Dirty Diana – 07-1988
13. Patrick Swayze featuring Wendy Fraser – She’s Like The Wind – 04-1988

And the ones that got away:
The Hothouse Flowers – Don’t Go – 05-1988
Bon Jovi – Bad Medicine – 09-1988
Def Leppard – Armageddon It – 04-1988
Iron Maiden – Can I Play With Madness – 03-1988
Glenn Medeiros – Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love For You – 06-1988
Climie Fisher – Love Changes (Everything) – 03-1988
Whitney Houston – One Moment In Time – 09-1988
Danny Wilson – Mary’s Prayer – 04-1988
Womack & Womack – Teradrops – 08-1988
Freiheit – Keeping The Dream Alive – 12-1988
Everything But The Girl – I Don’t Want To Talk About It – 07-1988
Tnita Tikaram – Twist In My Sobriety – 11-1988
Fairground Attraction – Perfect – 04-1988
U2 – Angel Of Harlem – 12-1988
Kylie Minogue – I Should Be So Lucky – 02-1988
Phil Collins – In The Air Tonight – 06-1988
Enya – Orinoco Flow – 10-1988
The Travelling Wilburys – Handle With Care – 11-1988
Cher – I Found Someone – 01-1988
Billy Idol – Hot In The City – 01-1988
New Order – Blue Monday 1988 – 05-1988
Art Of Noise featuring Tom Jones – Kiss – 10-1988
Belinda Carlisle – Circle In The Sand – 05-1988
The Christians – Ideal World – 02-1988
Deacon Blue – Real Gone Kid – 10-1988
Michael Jackson – Smooth Criminal – 11-1988
Phil Collins – Groovy Kind Of Love – 09-1988
Rick Astley – Together Forever – 02-1988
Scritti Politti – Oh Patti (Don’t Feel Sorry For Loverboy) – 05-1988
S-Express – Theme From S-Express – 04-1988
Pet Shop Boys – Left To My Own Devices – 11-1988
Prefab Sprout – The King Of Rock ‘N’ Roll – 05-1988
Aztec Camera – How Men Are – 03-1988
Bananarama – Nathan Jones – 11-1988
Bros – When Will I Be Famous – 02-1988
Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is A Place On Earth – 02-1988
Tracey Chapman – Fast Car – 06-1988
Neneh Cherry – Buffalo Stance – 12-1988
Bobby McFerrin – Don’t Worry, Be Happy – 10-1988
Tnita Tikaram – Good Tradition – 08-1988
Belinda Carlisle – I Get Weak – 03-1988
Yazz & Plastic Population – The Only Way is Up – 08-1988
Vanessa Paradis – Joe Le Taxi – 02-1988
Pet Shop Boys – Domino Dancing – 09-1988

1980s Men’s Fashions

’80s fashion was bold, bright and decadent. And that was just the men! In many ways, the 1980s were like any other decade, they just contained a little bit more of everything. Although the 60s and 70s had brough bright primaries and psychedelic combinations, the 80s had to up the ante with day-glo pink, orange and red (all in close proximity), and for me the stand-out colour: lime green – the neon version, of course. Fluorescent (aka neon) colours took over the decade, not just restricted to fashion, hair dyes and advertising. Here’s a top-to-toe of some of the 80s classic men’s fashion choices.

Crowning Glory – the Mullet
Every bit as important as the gear was the hairstyle. 80s were synonymous with big hair – back-combed to within an inch of life and kept in place with gel and mousse. The subject of much ridicule, nothing shouts 80s more than the mighty mullet. Popular among jocks, movie stars and everyone in between, it consists of hair that’s short in the front and on the sides, and then long in the back. Also popular were heavy metal perms, spiky mohawks, slicked-back ‘dos, buzzcuts, and casual side parts.

Highlights and a Pierced Ear
Ear piercings and highlights were to 1980s what tattoos are today. Whereas some guys had indulged in the 70s, it was mostly hippies and more often than not a single ear. Punk in the late 70s had people piercing all manner of body parts, and all of a sudden a discrete stud in the ear was okay for even the most conservative of guys. And the likes of George Michael paved the way for blonde highlights as lads attempted to emulate this bronzed Adonis.

Shirts: Oversized Printed/Hawaiian
With loud patterns and bright colours, the oversized printed shirt was NEVER tucked in, and often worn unbuttoned over a figure-hugging sports vest. The more garish the better – the tropical designs turned it into a full on Hawaiian, as popularised by Tom Sellick in Magnum PI. Frequently teamed with a curly-perm and moustache.

Slogan and Logo T-shirts
Logo t-shirts were definitely nothing new in ’80s men’s fashion, but the decade saw merchandising and sloganeering go to extremes, as brands and logos all but took over the nearest apparel store or gift shop. Certain (cheeky) slogans made your attitude/affiliations perfectly clear and rock band shirts advertised your musical tastes for all to see.

Baggy Jumpers
At least 2 sizes too big, with the sleeve seam so far off the shoulder it nearly reached the elbow, the baggy jumper usually featured loud, contrasting colours and bold patterns, although not as loud as the women’s, whose sweaters often featured puffed sleeves or my personal favourite, the batwing sleeve.

Jackets: Bomber, Letterman or Leather
Even before Top Gun in 1986, leather bomber jackets were popular, as were their close cousin the letterman (or varsity) jackets, brought over here from the US via movies like the Breakfast Club, Teen Wolf, and the ground-breaking Thriller video from Michael Jackson. You weren’t officially an ’80s bad boy if you didn’t have at least one leather jacket, if not a closet full of them. Continuing a trend set forth by previous decades, the popular item was worn by bikers, punks, heavy metal rock gods, and pretty much anyone with a sense of fashion.

Double Denim
Started in the 70s with Status Quo being the poster boys, this scandalous pairing of blue jeans and denim jacket (and/or shirt) trended throughout the decade.

Tracksuits/Shell suits
It was definitely hip to be hoppin’ in any kind of sports gear, and the heavily branded, conservatively-coloured gym gear popularised by the coolest of hip-hop acts evolved into the most disastrous colour combinations (lime green and purple or pink was de-rigeur) in shiny, crumpled lightweight materials.

Power Suits
No list of ’80s men’s fashion trends is complete without the power suit – the choice suit for powerful businessmen or those who sought to become such, as popularised by Gordon Gekko in Wall Street. Power suits will only die when mob-films stop being made i.e. never. As much a uniform as it was a style statement, the most common examples delivered sharp cuts and wide shoulder pads, worn with brightly-coloured braces (known as suspenders across the pond). Designers like Armani Versace employed bolder colours and lighter fabrics than his predecessors.

Shoes: Sporty, high-top sneakers
 Air Jordans struck a balance between fashion and function while paving the way for an industry-wide trend. Originally available as high tops, these more than must-have footwear, also turned Nike into the global behemoth it is today. Notable mentions go to the Converse Chuck Taylor and Adidas Tennis shoes such as the Stan Smith, Superstar, or Spezial.

My Top Thirteen from 1987

1. Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes – (I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life – 11-1987
2. Heart – Alone – 07-1987
3. Gary Moore – Over The Hills And Far Away – 01-1987
4. Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe – Barcelona – 11-1987
5. Kiss – Crazy Crazy Nights – 10-1987
6. Level 42 – Running In The Family – 02-1987
7. Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me – 09-1987
8. Europe – Carrie – 05-1987
9. John Farnham – You’re The Voice – 05-1987
10. Black – Sweetest Smile – 07-1987
11. Randy Crawford – Almaz – 01-1987
12. Chris Rea – Let’s Dance – 06-1987
13. Whitney Houston – I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) – 05-1987

Here’s the first lot of bubbling unders – more to come.
The Bee Gees – You Win Again – 10-1987
George Michael & Aretha Franklin – I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)
Bon Jovi – Wanted Dead Or Alive – 04-1987
Belinda Carlisle – Heaven Is A Place On Earth – 12-1987
The Christians – Ideal World – 12-1987
Crowded House – Don’t Dream It’s Over – 06-1987
Fleetwood Mac – Little Lies – 10-1987
The Gap Band – Oops Upside Your Head – 07-1987
Terence Trent D’Arby – If You Let Me Stay – 03-1987

And here’s the rest:
A-ha – The Living Daylights – 07-1987
Rick Astley – Never Gonna Give You Up – 08-1987
Bananarama – Love In The First Degree – 10-1987
The Bangles – Walking Down Your Street – 01-1987
Black – Wonderful Life – 08-1987
The Blow Monkeys – It Doesn’t Have To Be This Way – 02-1987
The Christians – Forgotten Town – 02-1987
Eric Clapton – Behind The Mask – 02-1987
The Communards – You Are My World – 02-1987
Michael Crawford & Sarah Brightman – The Music Of The Night – 02-1987
Curiosity Killed The Cat – Down To Earth – 01-1987
Terence Trent D’Arby – Wishing Well – 06-1987
Def Leppard – Animal – 08-1987
Fleetwood Mac – Big Love – 04-1987
Peter Gabriel – Big Time – 03-1987
Jan Hammer – Crockett’s Theme – 09-1987
George Harrison – Got My Mind Set On You – 10-1987
The Hooters – Satellite – 12-1987
Whitney Houston – Didn’t We Almost Have It All – 08-1987
Hue & Cry – Labour Of Love – 07-1987
Billy Idol – Mony Mony – 10-1987
Janet Jackson – Let’s Wait Awhile – 03-1987
Michael Jackson – Bad – 09-1987
Johnny Hates Jazz – Shattered Dreams – 05-1987
Tom Jones – A Boy From Nowhere – 04-1987
Kenny G – Songbird – 07-1987
Kiss – Reason To Live – 12-1987
Level 42 – To Be With You Again – 05-1987
Living In A Box – Living In A Box – 04-1987
Los Lobos – La Bamba – 07-1987
Madonna – La Isla Bonita – 04-1987
Madonna – Who’s That Girl – 07-1987
Marillion – Incommunicado – 05-1987
Mel & Kim – Respectable – 03-1987
Mental As Anything – Live It Up – 02-1987
Freddie Mercury – The Great Pretender – 03-1987
George Michael – Faith – 10-1987
Mötley Crüe – Girls Girls Girls – 08-1987
Alison Moyet – Weak In The Presence Of Beauty – 03-1987
Alison Moyet – Love Letters – 12-1987
New Order – True Faith – 08-1987
Robbie Nevil – C’est La Vie – 01-1987
Alexander O’Neal – Criticize – 11-1987
Pet Shop Boys – It’s A Sin – 06-1987
Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield – What Have I Done To Deserve This – 08-1987
The Pogues featuring Kirsty MacColl – Fairytale Of New York – 12-1987
Iggy Pop – Real Wild Child (Wild One) – 01-1987
Prince – Sign ‘O’ The Times – 03-1987
Prince – U Got The Look – 08-1987
The Proclaimers – Letter From America – 11-1987
Linda Ronstadt & James Ingram – Somewhere Out There – 08-1987
Labi Siffre – (Something Inside) So Strong – 04-1987
Carly Simon – Coming Around Again – 02-1987
Nina Simone – My Baby Just Cares For Me – 11-1987
Simple Minds – Promised You A Miracle (Live) – 06-1987
Simply Red – Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye – 12-1987
Siouxsie & The Banshees – This Wheel’s On Fire – 01-1987
Bruce Springsteen – Brilliant Disguise – 10-1987
Squeeze – Hourglass – 09-1987
Starship – Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now – 04-1987
The Style Council – Wanted – 11-1987
Swing Out Sister – Surrender – 01-1987
T’Pau – Heart And Soul – 08-1987
T’Pau – China In Your Hand – 10-1987
UB40 – Rat In My Kitchen – 01-1987
U2 – With Or Without You – 03-1987
U2 – I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For – 06-1987
U2 – Where The Streets Have No Names – 09-1987
Luther Vandross – I Really Didn’t Mean It – 07-1987
Suzanne Vega – Luka – 06-1987
Was (Not Was) – Walk The Dinosaur – 10-1987
Wax – Bridge To Your Heart – 08-1987
Wet Wet Wet – Wishing I Was Lucky – 05-1987
Wet Wet Wet – Sweet Little Mystery – 08-1987
Whitesnake – Still Of The Night – 04-1987
Whitesnake – Is This Love – 06-1987
Whitesnake – Here I Go Again – 11-1987
Bruce Willis – Respect Yourself – 03-1987
Bruce Willis – Under The Boardwalk – 06-1987
Steve Winwood – Valerie – 10-1987

1980s TV Shows

1980
First Children in Need, first Ceefax transmission, Corrie celebrates 20 years and 2000th edition,
Hi-de-Hi!, Yes Minister, Hammer House of Horror, The Gentle Touch, Juliet Bravo, Family Fortunes, Play Your Cards Right, Russ Abbot’s Madhouse
From USA: Hart to Hart, Taxi, Knots Landing (Dallas spinoff), Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Battlestar Gallactica, Diff’rent Strokes

1981
Dr Who: Tom Baker last show, UK wins Eurovision,
Ken marries Deirdre 2 days before Charles marries Lady Di, ORACLE teletext (Scotland)
Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Only Fools and Horses, Bergerac, Brideshead Revisited, Sense & Sensibility, Great Expectations, Sons & Lovers, Tenko, Wood & Walters, A Fine Romance, Kenny Everett TV Show, Three of a Kind, Game for a Laugh, Bullseye, Postman Pat, Danger Mouse, Stig of the Dump,
From USA: Scoobie Doo, Magnum, PI

1982
Falklands War, Satellite Channel launch, Pope John Paul II visit’s UK, Channel 4 starts broadcasting in November, Dr Who: Peter Davidson 1st show,
Shine on Harvey Moon, Boys from the Blackstuff, Harry’s Game, Brookside, The Tube, The Young Ones, Shogun, An Inspector Calls, ‘Allo, ‘Allo!, Smiley’s People, Muck & Brass, Brookside, Countdown, The Bounder, Odd One Out, Wogan (chat show), Late, late Breakfast Show, Saturday Superstore replaces Multi-Coloured Swap Shop,
From USA: The Fall Guy, Cagney & Lacey, Dynasty, Fame (series), Hill Street Blues, Falcon Crest

1983
Top of the Pops 1000th episode, Dr Who 20th anniversary, Michael Jackson’s Thriller video
Black Adder, The Godfather (miniseries), Auf Wiedersehen, Pet, Dombey & Son, Mansfield Park, Brass, Widows, Taggart, Who Dares Wins, Blockbusters, SuperTed, Tucker’s Luck
From USA: Cheers, Knight Rider, T.J. Hooker, The A-Team, St Elsewhere Sons & Daughters (Aus)

1984
Torvill & Dean win Olympic Gold for Bolero, DR Who: Peter Davidson replaced by Colin Baker, Band Aid
Alas Smith & Jones, Spitting Image, Robin of Sherwood, The Bill, Miss Marple, Ever Decreasing Circles, The Living Planet, The Price is Right, Surprise, Surprise, Crimewatch UK, Bob’s Full House, Thomas the Tank Engine
From USA: The Thorn Birds, Fraggle Rock, V, Airwolf, Prisoner: Cell Block H (Aus)

1985
First televised debate in House of Lords, Live-Aid, 1000th episode of Emmerdale Farm, CBBC
Eastenders, No Limits, Howard’s Way, Open All Hours, Girls on Top, The Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, Dempsey & Makepeace In Sickness & in Health, Copycats, Telly Addicts, Blind Date, Victoria Wood As Seen on TV, Max Headroom
From USA: Miami Vice, The Cosby Show, Murder, She Wrote, Family Ties, A Woman of Substance

1986
Prince Andrew marries Sarah Ferguson
Lovejoy, Boon, Bread, A Very Peculiar Practice, Kane & Abel miniseries, Brush Strokes, Casualty, Life & Loves of a She-devil, The Singing Detective, First Among Equals, Catchphrase, Every Second Counts, The Russ Abitt, The Really Wild Show, Equinox, Strike it Lucky, Beadle’s About, Yes, Prime Minister, The Chart Show
From USA: Moonlighting, The Golden Girls, The Equalizer, North & South, Neighbours (Aus)

My Top Thirteen from 1986

1. ZZ Top – Rough Boy – 05-1986
2. Peter Gabriel & Kate Bush – Don’t Give Up – 11-1986
3. Spandau Ballet – Through The Barricades – 11-1986
4. Status Quo – In The Army Now – 10-1986
5. Mr Mister – Kyrie – 03-1986
6. Lionel Richie – Dancing On The Ceiling – 08-1986
7. Queen – A Kind Of Magic – 03-1986
8. Bon Jovi – Livin’ On A Prayer – 11-1986
9. Robert Palmer – I Didn’t Mean To Turn You On – 07-1986
10. Berlin – Take My Breath Away (‘Top Gun’) – 10-1986
11. Simply Red – Holding Back The Years – 05-1986
12. The Style Council – Have You Ever Had It Blue – 04-1986
13. Level 42 – Lessons In Love – 04-1986

Yet another year when I was spoilt for choice, although I will admit some of the also-rans are only there to remind of the diversity of music in this decade, and were NOT songs I’d ever have on a playlist.
David Bowie – Underground – 06-1986
Cutting Crew – (I Just) Died In Your Arms – 09-1986
The Damned – Eloise – 02-1986
Bon Jovi – You Give Love A Bad Name – 09-1986
Europe – The Final Countdown – 11-1986
The Police – Don’t Stand So Close To Me ’86 – 10-1986
Cindi Lauper – True Colours – 10-1986
Swing Out Sister – Breakout – 11-1986
Van Halen – Why Can’t This Be Love – 05-1986
Run-DMC/ Aerosmith – Walk This Way – 09-1986
Blow Monkeys – Digging Your Scene – 03-1986
Wham! – The Edge Of Heaven – 06-1986
George Michael – A Different Corner – 04-1986
Dire Straits – Walk Of Life – 01-1986
Billy Ocean – When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going – 01-1986
Double – The Captain Of Her Heart – 01-1986
A-ha – Cry Wolf – 12-1986
The Bangles – Manic Monday – 02-1986
Big Country – One Great Thing – 09-1986
It Bites – Calling All The Heroes – 08-1986
Janet Jackson – What Have You Done For Me Lately? – 04-1986
Mike & The Mechanics – Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground) – 03-1986
Patti LaBelle & Michael McDonald – On My Own – 05-1986
The Pretenders – Don’t Get Me Wrong – 10-1986
Bruce Hornsby & The Range – The Way It Is – 08-1986
Whitney Houston – The Greatest Love Of All – 05-1986
Genesis – Land Of Confusion – 11-1986
The Housemartins – Happy Hour – 06-1986

1980s Sporting Events

A round-up of some of the popular sports in the UK in the 80s.

1980
Wimbledon singles winners were Björn Borg (SWE) and Evonne Goolagong (AUS).
World Snooker champion was Cliff Thorburn (CAN) and World Darts Champion was Eric Bristow (ENG).
FA Cup – West Ham United won 1–0 over Arsenal.
Tour de France – Joop Zoetemelk of the Netherlands
Robin Cousins (Figure skating) won BBC Sports Personality of the Year award, beating Sebastian Coe (Athletics).
The 1980 Summer Olympics, held in Moscow, were boycotted by 65 countries, led by the United States in protest of the 1979 Soviet–Afghan War.

1981
Wimbledon singles winners were John McEnroe (USA) and Chris Evert Lloyd (US).
World Snooker champion was Steve Davis (ENG) and World Darts Champion was Eric Bristow (ENG).
FA Cup – Tottenham Hotspur won 3-2 over Manchester City.
Tour de France – Bernard Hinault of France.
Ian Botham (Cricketer) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Steve Davis (Snooker).

1982
Wimbledon singles winners were Jimmy Connors (USA) and Martina Navratilova (USA).
World Snooker champion was Alex Higgins (NIR) and World Darts Champion was Jocky Wilson (SCO).
FA Cup – Tottenham Hotspur won 1–0 over Queens Park Rangers.
Tour de France – Bernard Hinault of France
Daley Thompson (Athletics) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Alex Higgins (Snooker).

1983
Wimbledon singles winners were John McEnroe (USA) and Martina Navratilova (USA).
World Snooker champion was Steve Davis (ENG) and World Darts Champion was Keith Deller (ENG).
FA Cup – Manchester United won 4–0 over Brighton & Hove Albion.
Tour de France – Laurent Fignon of France
Steve Cram (Athletics) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Torvill and Dean (Figure skating).

1984
Wimbledon singles winners were John McEnroe (USA) and Martina Navratilova (USA).
World Snooker champion was Steve Davis (ENG) and World Darts Champion was Eric Bristow (ENG).
FA Cup – Everton won 2–0 over Watford.
Tour de France – Laurent Fignon of France
Torvill and Dean (Figure skating) were voted Sports Personalities of the Year, beating Sebastian Coe (Athletics).
The 1984 Summer Olympics, held in Los Angeles, are widely considered to be the most financially successful modern Olympics, despite a Soviet-led boycott of 14 Eastern-bloc countries.

1985
Wimbledon singles winners were Boris Becker (FRG) and Martina Navratilova (USA).
World Snooker champion was Dennis Taylor (NIR) and World Darts Champion was Eric Bristow (ENG).
FA Cup – Manchester United won 1–0 over Everton.
Tour de France – Bernard Hinault of France
Barry McGuigan (Boxer) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Ian Botham (Cricketer).

1986
Wimbledon singles winners were Boris Becker (FRG) and Martina Navratilova (USA).
World Snooker champion was Joe Johnson (ENG) and World Darts Champion was Eric Bristow (ENG).
FA Cup – Liverpool won 3–1 over Everton.
Tour de France – Greg LeMond of the United States
Nigel Mansell (Formula One) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Fatima Whitbread (Athletics).

1987
Wimbledon singles winners were Pat Cash (AUS) and Martina Navratilova (USA).
World Snooker champion was Steve Davis (ENG) and World Darts Champion was John Lowe (ENG).
FA Cup – Coventry City won 3–2 over Tottenham Hotspur.
Tour de France – Stephen Roche of Ireland
Fatima Whitbread (Athletics) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Steve Davis (Snooker).

1988
Wimbledon singles winners were Stefan Edberg (SWE) and Steffi Graf (FRG).
World Snooker champion was Steve Davis (ENG) and World Darts Champion was Bob Anderson (WAL).
FA Cup – Wimbledon won 1–0 over Liverpool.
Tour de France – Pedro Delgardo of Spain
Steve Davis (Snooker) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Adrian Moorhouse (Swimming).
The 1988 Summer Olympics, held in Seoul saw the boycotts virtually disappeared, only 5 socialist countries led by North Korea.

1989
Wimbledon singles winners were Boris Becker (FRG) and Steffi Graf (FRG).
World Snooker champion was Steve Davis (ENG) and World Darts Champion was Jocky Wilson (SCO).
FA Cup – Liverpool won 3–2 over Everton.
Tour de France – Greg LeMond of the United States.
Nick Faldo (Golf) was voted Sports Personality of the Year, beating Frank Bruno (Boxing).

Who sang what? Rock Bands 70s/80s

There are certain songs from the 70s/80s/90s that I struggle to figure out which band sang because there were a number of similar sounding bands out at the time who never quite caught my imagination. Hopefully this list will straighten things out. We’ll start with the heavier, hard rock bands.

AC-DC (1973) Aus
Dirty deeds done dirt cheap 1976
Whole lotta Rosie 1977
Rock ‘n’ roll damnation 1978
Highway to hell 1979
Too much 1980
You shook me all night long 1980
Rock ‘n’ roll ain’t Noise Pollution 1980
Back in Black 1980
For those about to rock 1982
Shake your foundations 1985
Who Made Who 1986
Heatseeker 1988
Thunderstruck 1990
Hard as a rock 1995		Kiss (1973) US
Then she kissed me 1977
I was made for loving you 1979
A world without heroes 1981
Creatures of the night 1983
Lick it up 1983
Heaven’s on fire 1984
Tears are falling 1985
Crazy crazy nights 1987
Reason to live 1987
Turn on the night 1988
Hide your heart 1989
Forever 1919
God gave rock ‘n’ roll to you 1991
Unholy 1992
Iron Maiden (1975) UK
Run to the hills 1982
The number of the beast 1982
The trooper 1983
2 minutes to midnight 1984
Aces high 1984
Running Free 1985
Wasted years 1986
Can I play with madness 1988
The evil that men do 1988
Bring your daughter to the slaughter 1990
Be quick or be dead 1992
Fear of the dark 1993
Hallowed be thy name 1993
Man on the edge 1995		Judas Priest (1969) UK
Take on the world 1979
Living after midnight 1980
Breaking the law 1980
United 1980
Don’t go 1981
Hot rocking’1981
You’ve got another thing coming 1982
Freewheel burning 1984
Some heads are gonna roll 1984
Love bites 1984 (not same as Def Leppard song)
Johnny be Goode 1988
Painkiller 1990
A touch of evil 1991
Nightcrawler 1993

My Top Thirteen from 1985

With Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s the Power of Love still riding high in the charts after its release in December last year, there were two further songs with the same name by Jennifer Rush and Huey Lewis and the News. Which was your favourite?
Personally, I’ve always defended the 70s as being way better musically than the 80s. I still think that, but was kinda surprised by quite how many of this year’s releases deserved a mention. However, I suspect quite a few of these made it into the also-rans pile simply because people would expect to see them there and may even riot if they’re not.
As if!

1. Don Henley – The Boys Of Summer – 02-1985
2. Ashford & Simpson – Solid – 01-1985
3. Mr Mister – Broken Wings – 12-1985
4. Katrina & The Waves – Walking On Sunshine – 11-1985
5. Starship – We Built This City – 11-1985
6. Sister Sledge – Frankie – 06-1985
7. Gary Moore & Phil Lynott – Out In The Fields – 05-1985
8. Glenn Frey – The Heat Is On – 03-1985
9. Marillion – Kayleigh – 05-1985
10. Kate Bush – Running Up That Hill – 08-1985
11. Jimmy Nail – Love Don’t Live Here Anymore – 07-1985
12. John Parr – St. Elmo’s Fire (Man In Motion) – 09-1985
13. Tina Turner – We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome) – 07-1985

Here are some of the ones which didn’t make the cut:
Simple Minds – Don’t You (Forget About Me) – 04-1985
Tears For Fears – Everybody Wants To Rule The World – 03-1985
Bonnie Tyler – Holding Out For A Hero – 08-1985
A-Ha – Take On Me – 09-1985
The Rah Band – Clouds Across The Moon – 03-1985
Lionel Richie -Say You, Say Me – 11-1985
Billy Ocean – Suddenly – 05-1985
Bruce Springsteen – Dancing In The Dark – 01-1985 (re-entry)
Freddie Mercury – I Was Born To Love You – 04-1985
REO Speedwagon – Can’t Fight this Feeling – ??-1985
Kool & The Gang – Cherish – 05-1985
Level 42 – Something About You – 09-1985
Kirsty MacColl – A New England – 01-1985
Jennifer Rush – The Power Of Love – 06-1985
Huey Lewis & The News – The Power Of Love – 08-1985
Simply Red – Money’s Too Tight (To Mention) – 06-1985
The Style Council – Walls Come Tumbling Down! – 12-1985
The Eurythmics & Aretha Franklin – Sisters Are Doin’ It For Themselves – 11-1985
Bryan Adams – Run To You – 01-1985
The Commodores – Night Shift – 01-1985
DeBarge – Rhythm Of The Night – 04-1985
Dire Straits – Brothers In Arms – 10-1985
Duran Duran – A View To A Kill – 05-1985
Bryan Ferry – Slave To Love – 05-1985
The Fine Young Cannibals – Johnny Come Home – 06-1985
Aretha Franklin – Who’s Zoomin’ Who – 11-1985
James Ingram & Michael McDonald – Yah Mo B There – 01-1985
Whitney Houston – Saving All My Love For You – 11-1985
Queen – One Vision – 11-1985
David Bowie & Mick Jagger – Dancing In The Street – 09-1985
Sarah Brightman & Paul Miles-Kingston – Pie Jesu – 03-1985
UB40 Feat Chrissie Hynde – I Got You Babe – 08-1985
Philip Bailey & Phil Collins – Easy Lover – 03-1985
Paul Young – Every Time You Go Away – 03-1985
Midge Ure – If I Was – 09-1985
Billy Idol – White Wedding – 07-1985
Wham! – I’m Your Man – 11-1985
Alison Moyet – That Ole Devil Called Love – 03-1985
Phyllis Nelson – Move Closer – 02-1985
Elaine Page & Barbara Dickson – I Know Him So Well – 01-1985
The Pet Shop Boys – West End Girls – 11-1985
Prince & The Revolution – 1999 / Little Red Corvette – 01-1985
Grace Jones – Slave To The Rhythm – 10-1985
Madonna – Crazy For You – 06-1985
Howard Jones – Things Can Only Get Better – 02-1985
Go West – We Close Our Eyes – 02-1985
David Grant & Jaki Graham – Could It Be I’m Falling In Love – 03-1985
Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Welcome To The Pleasure Dome – 03-1985
Paul Hardcastle – 19 – 05-1985
The Eurythmics – There Must Be An Angel (Playing With My Heart) – 07-1985
Dire Straits – Money For Nothing – 07-1985
Stephen ‘Tin Tin’ Duffy – Kiss Me – 03-1985
Far Corporation – Stairway To Heaven – 10-1985
Harold Faltermeyer – Axel F – 06-1985
Five Star – Let Me Be The One – 07-1985
King – Love And Pride – 01-1985
Dead Or Alive – You Spin Me Round (Like A Record) – 03-1985
The Talking Heads – Road To Nowhere – 10-1985

1980s Food and Drink

In the 1980s the increasing number of working women helped to change the face of food in the UK. The declining use of fresh vegetables started in the 70s continued, with a marked reduction in root vegetables and others, especially carrots, turnips, parsnips, cabbages and sprouts. Out went the standard meat, potato and two veg; in came sauces, casseroles, the microwave and pasta-based meals. This was also the decade in which takeaway hamburger began to eat its way into our culture. Milk was no longer something always found in glass bottles, now it came in waxed cardboard or plastic cartons.

It was at once the era of convenience-driven microwave dinners and the newly popular global-inspired fine dining, known as “Haute Cuisine” which we remembered as lots of courses with artistically presented food, but very little on each plate. More exotic world foods gained popularity, e.g. sushi, beef stroganoff and pesto. Vegetarian options were still limited, especially when eating out, many vegans and vegetarians built their diets around tofu, lentils, chickpeas and brown rice, with foods like nuts and homemade granola for snacks and breakfast.

Back in the sixties, my mum used to add salt to everything savoury and sugar to anything sweet, especially corn flakes and strawberries. Probably why I never add either, and cannot bear the majority of processed foods because they’re aimed at people with similarly inactive taste buds. In an effort to get kids to eat cereal, the cynical bods added sugar and used cartoon characters to appeal to the kids. Probably most famous in the UK are Tony the Tiger’s Frosties “They’re Grrrreat!” Originally billed as Sugar Frosted Flakes (basically Corn Flakes plus extra sugar) they prudently dropped the sugar when it suffered from poor press. Kellogg’s also sugar-coated Rice Crispies and called them Ricicles, and there were plenty of other examples like Sugar Puffs (subsequently changed to Honey Monster Wheat Puffs).

The artificial flavourings used in crisps such as Walkers and Golden Wonder originally only available in ready salted, Salt and Vinegar and Cheese and Onion, had branched oy in the 70s with roast chicken and prawn cocktail. The snack market burgeoned with many other corn, wheat and non-potato vegetables being used, whose texture made them a good marriage with all manner of obscure flavours such as bacon and mushroom. The 80s saw attempts at every flavour known to man from Oxo (or Bovril/Marmite), through spicy beef to good old fish and chips. These included: sweet chilli, chicken tikka, beef and mustard, tomato ketchup, pickled onion, scampi.

Here are some foods and drinks popular in the 1980s in the UK, many of which are no longer available. With some memorable slogans.
Heinz Baked Beans Pizza, Cadbury’s Smash “for mash get smash”
McCain Microchips, Birdseye Potato Waffles “waffily versatile”
Pot Noodle “just add boiling water”

Smiths Salt ‘n’ Shake Crisps, KP Space Raiders corn snacks
Cadbury Wildlife Bars, Burton’s Cartoonies (biscuit snacks filled with chocolate)
Rowntree Mackintosh’s Toffo, McVitie’s Trio “I want one now!”
St Ivel Fiendish Feet Yogurts
Bird’s Ice Magic and Angel Delight “it’s delicious, it’s delovely”
Walls’ Cornetto “Just one cornetto – give it to me”

Drinks
Quosh “ready to drink” cartons (complete with plastic straw!)
Cresta pop “it’s frothy, man”
Coffee-mate “coffee tastes nicer with …”

Puddings
Jelly and blancmange
Bananas and custard
Banana split
Mousse

Not much different to 70s, with sandwiches being the staple – usually on sliced white bread, but brown was creeping in. They would generally have the crusts cut off and sliced into triangles. Fillings would be ham, cream cheese, tuna or salmon and cucumber and maybe egg mayonnaise.

So many snacks to choose from, but you couldn’t go wrong with a big dish of ready salted crisps, and some twiglets, hula hoops, mini cheddars, skips, wotsits, and quavers.

The cheese and pineapple hedgehog was still a firm favourite, as were cocktail sausages (in sticks), sausage rolls and the much-maligned vol-au-vents, although the fillings were more adventurous than their stodgy 70s counterparts. New, tastier recipes included various fish/seafood as well as the addition of more exotic flavourings such as fennel, turmeric and coriander. The quiche fillings became more unusual, and the more adventurous tried salmon rillette, samosas and spring rolls.
Puddings: Good old Trifle, Black Forest Gateau and Arctic Roll were joined by Viennetta
Drinks: Babycham, Pina Colada

My Top 13 from 1984

Two things I remember from this year: firstly Frankie Goes to Hollywood dominated the charts, with The Power of Love, the awesome Two Tribes and their single Relax was banned, so of course it made #1. And there were two songs in the chart called Jump, by Van Halen and the Pointer Sisters (which I can never hear without seeing Hugh Grant’s dad dancing scene in Love Actually).

1. Billy Joel – An Innocent Man – 03-1984
2. Cyndi Lauper – Girls Just Want To Have Fun – 02-1984
3. George Michael – Careless Whisper – 07-1984
4. Sister Sledge – Lost In Music – 09-1984
5. Jim Diamond – I Should Have Known Better – 11-1984
6. Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is – 12-1984
7. Van Halen – Jump – 03-1984
8. Queen – I Want To Break Free – 04-1984
9. Lionel Richie – Hello – 03-1984
10. Bruce Springsteen – Dancing In The Dark – 05-1984
11. Tina Turner – What’s Love Got To Do With It – 06-1984
12. John Waite – Missing You – 09-1984
13. Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Relax – 01-1984

And the bubbling unders:
The Pointer Sisters – Jump (For My Love) – 06-1984
Cyndi Lauper – Time After Time – 06-1984
Kenny Loggins – Footloose – 05-1984
The Cars – Drive – 09-1984
Chicago – Hard Habit To Break – 10-1984
Tears For Fears – Shout – 12-1984
Deniece Williams – Let’s Hear It For The Boy – 05-1984
Frankie Goes To Hollywood – The Power Of Love – 12-1984
U2 – Pride (In The Name Of Love) – 09-1984
Phil Collins – Against All Odds (Take A Look At Me Now) – 04-1984
Wham! – Last Christmas/Everything She Wants – 12-1984
Michael Jackson – P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) – 04-1984
Kool & The Gang – Joanna/Tonight – 03-1984
Stevie Wonder – I Just Called To Say I Love You – 08-1984
Chaka Khan – I Feel For You – 10-1984
The Bluebells – Young At Heart – 07-1984
Madonna – Like A Virgin – 11-1984
Alison Moyet – All Cried Out – 10-1984
Nena – 99 Red Balloons – 02-1984
Billy Ocean – Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run) – 10-1984
Ray Parker Jr. – Ghostbusters – 08-1984
Prince & The Revolution – Purple Rain – 09-1984
The Thompson Twins – Doctor Doctor – 02-1984
Nik Kershaw – The Riddle – 11-1984
Ultravox – Dancing With Tears In My Eyes – 06-1984
The Weather Girls – It’s Raining Men – 03-1984
Joe Fagin – That’s Living (Alright) – 01-1984
Matthew Wilder – Break My Stride – 02-1984
Murray Head – One Night In Bangkok – 11-1984