From the BBC Radio 1 On Show magazine, summer, 1980. Space Invaders were sweeping into our lives and heartily endorsed by the likes of Hot Gossip, The Who and Dave Lee Travis!The Invaders were first released in Japan in June 1978, and first exhibited at a trade show in this country in 1979. "Hmm," we said, our interest aroused as the machines slowly began to arrive. The little alien thingies then invaded the early 1980s as machines started cropping up everywhere. Mind you, this really was a case of Loving The Alien - we adored 'em!
The claims online that Space Invaders were a UK craze with a 1979 heyday (85,000 UK machines by the end of 1979, as claimed by Wikipedia and others) are easily debunked by the newspaper archives. I'm sorry, but this 1970s obsession is ridiculous. There were 56 mentions of them in 1979, 1,712 in 1980, and 5,572 in 1981. The newspapers are the best indicators of when something was at its peak. Thank goodness they can verify the memories of us who do remember. Time is a constant stream, not rigidly segregated decades - after all, everybody would have been discarding their flared trousers and hippie chic in 1970 if that was so.
I well remember my mate Pete queuing to play on a machine newly installed in the lobby of our local cinema in 1980. There were more people queuing for the machine than the movie!
From the Sun, February 28 1981 - a hand-held Space Invaders game has arrived in the UK, and is apparently highly sought after, but in short supply!
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From the Cambridge Evening News, 1981: concerns are raised by NUPE (the National Union of Public Employees) about children spending dinner money playing Space Invaders on a machine installed at a local school.
Sunday People, November 15, 1981 - and Frogger (or "Froger" as it's spelt in the article!) threatens Space Invaders throne at the local boozer! At this point, there is no mention of Pac-Man impacting on the UK. I wonder when he arrived here?
From the Janet Frazer autumn/winter 1984/85 mail order catalogue. A hand-held Frogger game is featured.
From the Sun, February 28 1981 - a hand-held Space Invaders game has arrived in the UK, and is apparently highly sought after, but in short supply!-
From the Cambridge Evening News, 1981: concerns are raised by NUPE (the National Union of Public Employees) about children spending dinner money playing Space Invaders on a machine installed at a local school.
Sunday People, November 15, 1981 - and Frogger (or "Froger" as it's spelt in the article!) threatens Space Invaders throne at the local boozer! At this point, there is no mention of Pac-Man impacting on the UK. I wonder when he arrived here?
From the Janet Frazer autumn/winter 1984/85 mail order catalogue. A hand-held Frogger game is featured.
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