Wp3719627 3234879266

The '80s

By Tgrk1
  • 1980 in Film

    1980 in Film
    Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
    The Shining
    Raging Bull
    Airplane!
    The Elephant Man
    The Blues Brothers
    The Fog
    Caddyshack
    Kagemusha
    Dressed to Kill
  • 1980 in Music

    1980 in Music
    Rush - Permanent Waves
    David Bowie - Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)
    Bob Marley & the Wailers - Uprising
    Motörhead - Ace of Spades
    Judas Priest - British Steel
    Joy Division - Love Will Tear Us Apart & Closer (both posthumous)
    The Police - Zenyatta Mondatta
    Genesis - Duke
    Kate Bush - Never For Ever
    Ozzy Osbourne - Blizzard of Ozz
  • Miracle on Ice

    Miracle on Ice
    At the Lake Placid Winter Olympics, the US hockey team makes a stunning victory against the Soviet team, considered the best hockey team in the world.
  • Rubik's cube

    Rubik's cube
    The Rubik's Cube, created by Hungarian sculptor Ernő Rubik in 1974, hits store shelves worldwide in May.
  • CNN

    CNN
    Cable News Network, the 1st 24-hour news Network, launches on June 1st.
  • 1981 in Film

    1981 in Film
    Raiders of the Lost Ark
    Das Boot (The Boat)
    Evil Dead
    The Road Warrior
    Escape from New York
    An American Werewolf in London
    Halloween II
    Blow Out
    Possession
    Time Bandits
  • 1981 in Music

    1981 in Music
    Rush - Moving Pictures
    Siouxsie & the Banshees - Juju
    Phil Collins - Face Value
    The Police - Ghost in the Machine
    Soft Cell - Non-Stop Erotic Cabaret
    Prince - Controversy
    Van Halen - Fair Warning
    Duran Duran - eponymous debut
    Rick Springfield - Working Class Dog
    Journey - Escape
  • Ronald Reagan: 40th President of the United States

    Ronald Reagan: 40th President of the United States
    Ronald Reagan is sworn in.
  • End of the Iran Hostage Crisis

    End of the Iran Hostage Crisis
    The Iranian government frees 52 American hostages the day of Ronald Reagan's election. The hostages were kidnapped from the US Embassy 444 days earlier by pro-Ayatollah Khomeini students outraged that the Shah of Iran was allowed to travel to New York for dire cancer treatment.
  • Sandra Day O'Connor: 1st Supreme Court Justice

    Sandra Day O'Connor: 1st Supreme Court Justice
    Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O'Connor to the Supreme Court on July 7th. She was confirmed in September by a Senate vote of 99-0, and she was sworn in on September 25th.
  • 1982 in Music

    1982 in Music
    Rush - Signals
    Billy Idol - eponymous debut
    Marvin Gaye - Midnight Love
    The Cure - Pornography
    Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
    Bad Brains - The Yellow Tape
    Fleetwood Mac - Mirage
    Toto - Toto IV
    Prince - 1999
    Michael Jackson - Thriller
  • 1982 in Film

    1982 in Film
    Blade Runner
    E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
    The Thing
    The King of Comedy
    Poltergeist
    Tootsie
    Star Trek II: the Wrath of Khan
    Koyaanisqatsi
    Fast Times at Ridgemont High
    Sophie's Choice
  • Breakup of the Bell System

    Breakup of the Bell System
    The American Telephone & Telegraph company/AT&T, which had held a monopoly over the phone system across the continental US and parts of Canada since 1885, is ordered to break up, or "divest", into smaller, regional companies.
  • Argentina Invades Falkland/Malvinas Islands

    Argentina Invades Falkland/Malvinas Islands
    The Argentine military launches an amphibious invasion of the Falkland/Malvinas islands off the coast of mainland Argentina. The attack begins a 10-week undeclared war between Argentina and Great Britain, with the latter coming out victorious.
  • 1983 in FIlm

    1983 in FIlm
    Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
    Cujo
    Risky Business
    Videodrome
    Rumble Fish
    Flashdance
    Christine
    Octopussy
    The Hunger
    A Christmas Story
  • 1983 in Music

    1983 in Music
    Def Leppard - Pyromania
    Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
    Nena - "99 Luftballons"/"99 Red Balloons"
    Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
    Dio - Holy Diver
    U2 - War
    David Bowie - Let's Dance
    Culture Club - Colour by Numbers
    The Police - Synchronicity
    Madonna - eponymous debut
  • Ronald Reagan's Star Wars

    Ronald Reagan's Star Wars
    Ronald Reagan publicly initiates the Strategic Defense Initiative in a televised address. The program is derisively called "Star Wars" by critics who believe the program is infeasible.
  • Harrods Bombing

    Harrods Bombing
    The historic Harrods department store in central London is bombed by the IRA during the busiest shopping season of the year. 6 are killed and 75 are wounded.
  • 1984 in Film

    1984 in Film
    Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
    Footloose
    The Terminator
    Once Upon a Time in America
    This Is Spinal Tap
    Repo Man
    Ghostbusters
    Sixteen Candles
    A Nightmare on Elm Street
    Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind
  • 1984 in Music

    1984 in Music
    Rush - Grace Under Pressure
    Bruce Springsteen - Born in the U.S.A.
    Metallica - Ride the Lightning
    Run-D.M.C. - eponymous debut
    Van Halen - 1984
    Talk Talk - It's My Life
    Echo & the Bunnymen - Ocean Rain
    The Smiths - eponymous debut
    Madonna - Material Girl
    Prince & the Revolution - Purple Rain
  • 🍎1984 Commercial

    🍎1984 Commercial
    Apple launches a commercial during the Super Bowl themed on George Orwell's 1984, with Ridley Scott directing. Apple was the first mass-produced PC, and despite a price tag north of $2,000, sold like hotcakes, at least partially due to the commercial's impact.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErwS24cBZPc
  • Madonna's VMA performance

    Madonna's VMA performance
    Madonna performs her hit single "Like A Virgin" on the MTV Video Music Awards. After she loses a shoe, she wings her performance, ending the song with a highly controversial dance.
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=spp0k1gb4fk
  • Band Aid

    Band Aid
    Bob Geldof, an Irish new wave musician, recruits the most famous musicians from the UK and Ireland to record a single, "Do The Know It's Christmas?", to raise money for starving children in Ethiopia.
  • 1985 in Film

    1985 in Film
    Back to the Future
    The Breakfast Club
    The Color Purple
    The Goonies
    Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome
    After Hours
    Brazil
    Day of the Dead
    Pale Rider
    Ran
  • 1985 in Music

    1985 in Music
    Rush - Power Windows
    Bryan Ferry - Boys and Girls
    Killing Joke - Night Time
    Run-D.M.C. - King of Rock
    Grace Jones - Slave to the Rhythm
    Tom Waits - Rain Dogs
    Tears for Fears - Songs from the Big Chair
    Celtic Frost - To Mega Therion
    Sting - The Dream of the Blue Turtles
    Kate Bush - Hounds of Love
  • Live Aid

    Live Aid
    The first Live Aid concert to raise money for starving Ethiopian children begins at Wembley Stadium in London, and at John F. Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia. The performing acts included, but were not limited to, the following: Elton John, Queen, Madonna, Santana, Run DMC, Sade, Sting, Bryan Adams, the Beach Boys, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Duran Duran, U2, the Who, Tom Petty, Neil Young and Eric Clapton.
  • NES in the USA

    NES in the USA
    The Nintendo Entertainment System launches in North America.
  • '80s Men's Fashion

    '80s Men's Fashion
  • '80s Women's Fashion

    '80s Women's Fashion
  • 1986 in Film

    1986 in Film
    Aliens
    Stand By Me
    Ferris Bueller's Day Off
    Blue Velvet
    Top Gun
    The Fly
    Labyrinth
    Big Trouble in Little China
    An American Tail
    Castle in the Sky
  • 1986 in Music

    1986 in Music
    Cinderella - Night Songs
    Poison - Look What the Cat Dragged In
    Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
    Talk Talk - The Color of Spring
    Genesis - Invisible Touch
    Bad Brains - I Against I
    Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
    The Smiths - The Queen Is Dead
    Peter Gabriel - So
    Madonna - True Blue
  • Challenger Disaster

    Challenger Disaster
    The American space shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all 7 aboard.
  • The Phantom of the Opera

    The Phantom of the Opera
    Andrew Lloyd Webber and Charles Hart's musical premieres at London's West End.
  • 1987 in Film

    1987 in Film
    Full Metal Jacket
    Predator
    Hellraiser
    The Lost Boys
    Empire of the Sun
    Wall Street
    Spaceballs
    Dirty Dancing
    Spaceballs
    The Princess Bride
  • 1987 in Music

    1987 in Music
    Rush - Hold Your Fire
    Fleetwood Mac - Tango in the Night
    Death - Scream Bloody Gore
    Sting - ...Nothing Like the Sun
    The Smiths - Strangeways, Here We Come
    The Cure - Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me
    Public Enemy - Yo! Bum Rush the Show
    Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation
    U2 - The Joshua Tree
    Michael Jackson - Bad
  • Baby M

    Baby M
    William Stern, biological father of "Baby M," a baby carried by surrogate mother Mary Beth Whitehead, is awarded custody of the baby by a New Jersey judge. It is a landmark ruling for surrogacy in the US.
  • Full House

    Full House
    Full House debuts on TV.
  • 1988 in Film

    1988 in Film
    Die Hard
    Rain Man
    Who Framed Roger Rabbit
    They Live
    Heathers
    The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
    Cinema Paradiso
    My Neighbor Totoro
    Grave of the Fireflies
    AKIRA
  • 1988 in Music

    1988 in Music
    The Pogues - If I Should Fall from Grace with God
    Lita Ford - Lita
    Living Color - Vivid
    Queensryche - Operation: Mindcrime
    Geinoh Yamashirogumi - AKIRA score
    Tracy Chapman - eponymous debut
    NWA - Straight Outta Compton
    Public Enemy - It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back
    Iron Maiden - Seventh Son of a Seventh Son
    Slayer - South of Heaven
  • Iran-Contra Affair

    Iran-Contra Affair
    Oliver North (pictured), John Poindexter, Richard Secord, and Albert Hakim are indicted by a Grand Jury on conspiracy charges, accused of defrauding the US government. What was uncovered was a convoluted plan of selling arms to Iran to free US hostages held in Iran and Lebanon, then use the money from the deal to fund the Contras, an anti-Communist group in Nicaragua, opposing the governing Sandinistas.
  • 1989 in Film

    1989 in Film
    Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
    Dead Poets Society
    The Little Mermaid
    Back to the Future Part II
    Batman
    Driving Miss Daisy
    Pet Sematary
    Sex, Lies & Videotape
    Kiki's Delivery Service
    Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
  • 1989 in Music

    1989 in Music
    Rush - Presto
    Gloria Estefan - Cuts Both Ways
    XTC - Oranges & Lemons
    Aerosmith - Pump
    Mötley Crüe - Dr. Feelgood
    The Cure - Disintegration
    Nirvana - Bleach
    Red Hot Chili Peppers - Mother's Milk
    Kate Bush - The Sensual World
    Madonna - Like A Prayer
  • Tiananmen Square Massacre

    Tiananmen Square Massacre
    Chinese students took to Tiananmen Square in April, beginning months of protests for democracy, free speech and free press in their nation. The number of demonstrators swelled to 5 figures by May. On June 4th and 5th, the government sends the army to crush the protest and massacre the gathered throng.
  • Game Boy

    Game Boy
    The first Game Boy handheld console is released in the US.
  • Fall of the Berlin Wall

    Fall of the Berlin Wall
    After the Malta Conference, the gates of the Berlin Wall are ordered open. A crowd eventually growing to 2+millions flock to the gate, and people walking out of East Berlin are greeted by the West Berliners with flowers and champagne.