Neighbours: Mrs Mangel's Portrait: The Growing Hair Mystery...

                      

Of course, the painting which Mrs Helen Daniels of Ramsay Street, Erinsborough, did of her neighbour, Mrs Nell Mangel, caused quite a lot of trouble in 1987. But, finally, peace was restored and Mrs Mangel was given the portrait, which she displayed in her hallway, near the phone.

Helen had given her a bit of flannel about the portrait, which Mrs M initially was outraged at, by saying it portrayed the strong character of Australian women. Or something like that. Mrs Mangel departed Ramsay Street in the late 1980s, but the portrait remained.

In the 21st Century, the portrait returned to the Neighbours limelight, being displayed at Lassiters Hotel. I hadn't seen the show in years, but squawked with delight when me and my wife happened upon an episode a few years ago and saw it.

But something wasn't quite right. 'Mrs Mangel's hair's grown,' I said to my wife.

'Don't be daft!' said she.

But it has. It's grown over her ears a bit and is now feathered down her neck. 

Are there such things as portrait hairdressers, I wonder? Because I suspect dear Nell will be needing a trim soon if this keeps up...

The Return of the 51c Cat...

Regular readers will recall the recent post about 1980s home décor and the tale (and tail) of the 51c Cat, which entered my life via my flatmate's visit to a jumble sale in 1987. Now Norm has written:

I'm particularly interested in prints of that era and have never seen this one before. You mentioned you had scanned it so I wonder if I might ask you to send me a scan please?

Hi, Norm! Well, I always thought the 51c Cat was a rare beast! I have several scans of different resolutions and would be happy to send them to you as e-mail attachments if you let me have an e-mail address.

Miaow for now!

Satellite, The Hooters, 1987.

For me, this is the best song about corrupt televangelists of America. It came out in England not long before Christmas 1987, and as we didn't have satellite telly then, I had no idea what it was about really. A con in the name of religion, it seemed. I was right of course. Great, great song. Knocks Genesis's '90s effort, Jesus He Knows Me, into a cocked hat in my opinion.

And, somehow, to this day, it gives me a festive feel.

I hope you enjoy it.

The fabulous Hooters in 1985.

Neighbours: The Portrait Of Mrs Mangel... Who Did It?

                             

Feast your eyes on the above - the divine portrait of Mrs Nell Mangel, painted by Mrs Helen Daniels in 1987. Both ladies, of course, were Ramsay Street fiction, but the re-emergence of the painting in a recent Neighbours storyline and the death of actress Vivean Gray, who was so spendid as Mrs Mangel, have prompted the following e-mail from Keiran:

I enjoyed your post on lovely Vivean Gray and Mrs Mangel. Another Neighbours legend gone! The painting of Mrs Mangel from the 1980s has recently turned up in 21st Century Neighbours. Do you know who really painted it? I don't suppose it was Anne Haddy, who played Helen Daniels?

Hello, Kieran! I can answer part of your question - no, Anne Haddy did not paint the Mangel masterpiece. The actress wanted it to be known in 1988 that the Daniels works were, in reality, the work of somebody "in scenery" and said: "They're awful, aren't they? The most upsetting fan letter I've received was from a little boy who wanted me to paint his dead cat. I had to explain I wasn't a real artist."

Who was the real life artist, then?

If anybody knows the person "in scenery" on Neighbours in 1987 who painted Helen's perceptive character portrait of dear old Nell, please let us know.

It's now an icon of 1980s artwork.

 UPDATE 09 June 2023:

In the 21st Century, the portrait returned to the Neighbours limelight, being displayed at Lassiters Hotel. I hadn't seen the show in years, but squawked with delight when me and my wife happened upon an episode a few years ago and saw it.

But something wasn't quite right. 'Mrs Mangel's hair's grown,' I said to my wife.

'Don't be daft!' said she.

I've finally got round to comparing the 1987 version with the modern day version, and it has. It's grown over her ears a bit and is now feathered down her neck. 

Are there such things as portrait hairdressers, I wonder? Because I suspect dear Nell will be needing a trim soon if this keeps up...

Greetings Cards of the 1980s... Hanson White's "Giggles" series...

In those far-off '80s days, particularly mid-to-late decade, it seemed that so many new ventures were beginning that it was flipping hard to keep up. If not impossible. Boy, were we booming! Last year, I received a humorous birthday card from a friend - it was part of the Hanson White company's "Giggles" line, and the brand name for some reason stirred memories. Going through a box of my old birthday cards this year, I found an original "Giggles" card from the brand's launch year of 1987.

Great fun - as was the "Giggles" card I received last year, which concerned Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson going on a camping trip and having their tent stolen!

So, "Giggles" have now been around for twenty-eight years!

Time flies when you're having fun...

But whatever happened to Katie, the lady who sent me the 1987 card? 

I'll have to check out Facebook...

Couldn't have done that in the '80s...

Plastic Money Truly Arrives - Barclays Connect - 1987

The Barclays Connect card - the original late 1980s design.

Credit cards had, of course, been available in the UK since the 1960s. These were considered terribly posh round my way. Nobody had one, nobody would have qualified to be allowed one, and we thought we'd never have any use for plastic money. Cash point cards might be offered to the middle classes upwards, some astute working class account holders, students and the like, but as most of the working classes had no bank account, did not go to university and had no money, they were no use to the banking system.

Until the late 1980s rolled around.

An announcement from October 1986. The future it now!

Look at these ads from May 1987 - part of a major outdoor poster campaign by Barclays, showing that whilst the cat was already well and truly out of the bag about past innovations, a brand new puss was going to burst upon the scene on June 3. It seems archaic now, but when I started work in 1982, I got paid weekly and in cash. The "pay packet" coming round each Thursday was much looked forward to. I didn't have a bank account. Nobody I knew did. Most of us common-as-muck types didn't. Bank accounts woz "posh".

I opened an account circa 1987, when I began a new job. My employer wanted to pay my salary directly into a bank account. 

And in 1988 I gained a Barclays Connect Card. Still have one. Felt very odd and rather wonderful at first. I flashed it around, seeing it as something of a status symbol (I hadn't worked out the difference between credit and debit cards then and must have looked a proper twit!). 

Within nine months of its arrival in 1987, Barclays was issuing its one millionth Connect Card, and by 1989 I was rapidly becoming one of the common herd again.

Shame!

1987: The Great Gale And The Stock Market Crash...

Much is made of Michael Fish's reassurances that all was well on the night of the gale, but apparently he simply reassured viewers, after a telephoned query to the BBC, that there wasn't going to be a hurricane that night. The wind never reached hurricane force, so perhaps we should let him off? Mind you, I can't help thinking that Auntie Beeb and co should have been aware that something was brewing!

From The Times, 17/10/1987...

Eighteen people died and hundreds were injured as yesterday's storms, the worst in memory, left a trail of destruction as they cut across southern England.

The Government demanded an urgent report from the Meteorological Office into its failure to alert the nation to the impending storms.

The Met Office was warned of the risk of very high winds four days ago by the most sophisticated weather forecasting computer in the world.

The devastation left by the gales could cost up to £300 million in insurance claims, although earlier estimates put the figure at around £100 million.

Government ministers demanded an urgent report last night from the Meteorological Office in to why it failed to alert the nation to the worst storms in living memory.

The almost hurricane-force winds claimed at least 18 lives, cut electricity to millions of homes, and caused £100 million of damage early yesterday.

After a meeting of senior ministers, Mr Douglas Hurd, the Home Secretary, said the storms had caused "the most widespread night of disaster in the south-east of England since 1945"...

Extract from Peacetime Echo of the Blitz, The Times, 17/10/1987:

When future generations crowd at the knee to ask: "What did you do in the Great Wind, Daddy?" the boldest will answer for sure: "I walked." As London awoke yesterday from a night when even its bravest buildings seemed to be howling, it was to darkness and to stillness.

Then the first humans came into view. They looked footsore but triumphant, coming together in twos and threes to walk together in streets without traffic to destinations in office blocks without lights. "How's your house?" was an invariable greeting, uttered with an almost superstitious awe.

As they walked, they talked with stoic modesty: "Well, I was lucky. Got a lift in a bread van to Kingston. Then the bus came. Never been to the Elephant before, but I thought it would save me a mile or so, I thought 'here goes'. Only took me an hour after that."

They walked looking about them at the bizarre. The pot plants standing on a traffic island. The traffic cone in the window of a sandwich bar. The deckchair atop a bush in St James's Park; the racing skiff from the Serpentine, now embedded in the branches of a tree. A man in the electricity showroom pumping at a gas burner to brew tea...

Whatever next? We didn't have long to wait to find out...

The Yuppie Millionaire's Guide To The Good Life, an article published in The Times on 19th October 1987, featured news of the arrival of a new American magazine simply called Millionaire, which bore the subtitle "Lifestyles of the working rich".

To quote the article:

Even the advertisements appeal to raw indulgence. "Absolute power corrupts absolutely" goes the pitch in the full page [advertisement] for Maserati.

The publisher of "Millionaire" is Mr Douglas Lambert, the Florida millionaire who started "Playgirl". He says he is not aiming at the older, idle variety of rich, but at the younger battalions who have emerged from the business boom of the Reagan years, "the person who is out there earning money and wants to spend it on nice things".

He says: "I have no problem with that. I think the attitudes of the 1960s are gone." A brief excursion in Manhattan is enough to convince anyone that Mr Lambert is understating it. Eavesdrop on any gathering of under-35-year-olds and the topic is almost always related to money.

But the article also recorded the fact that more and more Americans felt the boom era was drawing to a close as the stock market suffered "daily jitters".

Ironically, the 19th October 1987, the very day that the yuppie millionaire's guide to the good life article appeared in The Times, will forever be remembered as "Black Monday"...

1987, which had started out as such a sleek, shoulder-padded, money-worshipping beast, had suddenly gone completely off its rocker...

From The Times, October 20th 1987.

Crowds of dazed young brokers milled around Wall Street yesterday evening trying to come to terms with the unthinkable - the roaring Eighties, the years of easy prosperity, could be over.

As Mr John Phelan, chairman of the Stock Exchange, sat in the ornate boardroom putting a brave face on the day's massacre, tireless young operators stood in the street and agreed: "Maybe this is the big melt-down."

"I've lost my shirt today as well as the money of a lot of other guys," said one stereotype of the Yuppies who swarmed to the financial world to reap the benefits of the Reagan boom.

"We knew this was coming one day," said another, equipped with the red braces and horn-rim glasses that are the badge of office for the generation who came straight from college and have never seen a bear market.

A few streets away, in Harry's Bar, crowds of young brokers swilled their beer from the bottle, their hands trembling from the day's havoc but still cracking nervous jokes. "Maybe we should call it Fall Street," said one, glancing at The New York Post with its banner headline "Wall Street Goes Mad".

"Tomorrow's another day. Perhaps we'll see it go up another three hundred again when it opens tomorrow," one hopeful operator said. Jokes about leaping from windows abounded, but there was a feeling that the country was not in such bad shape as it was in 1929.

Older hands said they saw an end to the collapse provided the market came to its senses within the next few days. They pointed to the continuing strength of the economy, still growing after the longest post-war expansion.

But it was obvious nothing would be the same again after Black Monday. A black man on a bicycle seized the mood when he shouted at the brokers: "Freedom! The Reagan revolution is over. Death to Yuppies."

A tubby broker bellowed back at him: "Whoever dies with the most toys wins. We start over again tomorrow."

Power Dressing For Men...

My, what big shoulders you have, Mr Robinson. Sorry, I mean Donovan. 

Shoulder pads were part of the "Power Dressing" image. The phrase was first recorded in 1980, according to the Twentieth Century Book of Words by John Ayto (Oxford, 1999). Back then, it meant a smart, efficient look for executive women. But as the 1980s continued the shoulders grew and grew. And some men (like me) got in on the act. The pads had to be large. We wanted BIG, BIG shoulders.

Us men who got the padded look thought we looked great - and our gigantic shoulders made our beer bellies (not that Jason Donovan had one!) look much smaller.

Bliss.
Men's fashion as featured in a 1987 advertisement... I loved it all... why are you laughing?!
- More absolutely gorgeous 1987 clobber!

Searching For A 1980s Wall Clock...

Simon has written:

I remember back in the late 1980s having a very excellent wall clock: It was plastic, shaped like an alarm clock, and in very 80s colours. There was an 80s motif on the face. Do you know anything about these? I threw mine out years ago, and I'd like another now but I haven't seen any on eBay at all.

I think the photograph above shows one of the clocks you are referring to, Simon. I've had it since about 1987/1988 and it hangs in my hall - together with my Adam Ant mirror!

It still keeps good time (the clock, not the mirror!).

Keep an eye on eBay - I'm sure one will turn up. They were terrific novelty clocks - cheap and cheerful. You could have mine, but we've been through a lot together and I'm very fond of it!

1987: "You Got An Ology?" Beattie Makes Her BT Debut...

Having been told by her grandson Anthony that he has failed most of his exams - only passing pottery and sociology, Beattie cries: "He gets an ology and he says he's failed... you get an ology you're a scientist..."

Beattie Bellman was created by Richard Phillips of the J Walter Thompson advertising agency in 1987. And she was originally to have been called Dora.

The BT Beattie ads were launched in late 1987. Maureen Lipman states in the 1989 script book You Got An Ology? that the recording of the first ten ads, accomplished in just over two weeks, took place either side of the great gale of October 1987!

Those first ten ads included the legendary "Ology".

Here's what a recent BT on-line history said about Mrs Bellman:

1987: A star is born and Beattie takes the nation by storm. Maureen Lipman's Jewish granny goes on to star in 32 TV commercials and contributes the word "ology" to the English language.

Beattie made her screen debut in December 1987.

Beattie's family, included husband Harry (Geoffrey Chiswick), son Melvyn (Linal Haft), and daughter Elaine (Caroline Quentin).

The phone Beattie used in the "ology" ad was a BT Tribune, released in 1987. This one is still in use on my hall extension. Nice design - it wasn't until the mid-to-late 1980s that push-button models really began to take over from the dial phone.

This ladies gown shop manager, played by Richard Wilson, is being driven to distraction by a telephone enquiry from Mrs Bellman.

Bernard Bresslaw and Miriam Margoyles played Gerald and Dolly, friends of Beattie and Harry.

During her screen appearances, Beattie met new technological marvels like cardphones, answerphones and car phones. Here she is on son Melvyn's car phone: "Over and out."

Elaine (Caroline Quentin), Beattie's daughter, with her daughter, Zara. Beattie was worried: "Look at that haircut! The poor child won't know whether she's Martha or Arthur!"

"You Got an Ology?" by Maureen Lipman and Richard Phillips, Robson Books, 1989. A fun read, containing twenty of the Beattie ad scripts and more!

The word "ology" became a major catchphrase and Beattie haunts Maureen Lipman to this day!

The ads won so many awards that Beattie must have had her mantelpiece reinforced with steel and concrete to support them all.

One of my all-time favourite ad series.

The 1987 BT "Ology" ad.

Some Snazzy 1980s Bedding!

Very '80s indeed - Index Catalogue, Spring Summer 1989.

A cutting edge mid-1980s duvet cover.

Three '80s slumbersome lovelies - Argos, 1987 - the two duvet cover and pillow slip sets on the left have that particular 1980s something!

A peek in a 1983 mail order catalogue for some more stylish '80s bedding.

The sad-faced clown, Pierrot, was remarkably popular and was available to buy in a number of different guises...

There were Pierrot dolls, pictures, wall masks, ornaments and, as seen here, lamps, curtains and bedding. Have I missed anything?!

Were you a Pierrot person?

Must admit, these was more my cup of tea!

Keypers

Some "Keypers" as seen in the autumn/winter 1987 Argos catalogue. They had names like Fancy and Footloose and Keyboard and Hummer and some contained secret hiding places - accessible with a key - hence the "Keypers" name.

1987 - Nokia Cityman, "You Got An Ology?", House Music, Respectable, All Night TV, It's A Sin, The Great Gale, Black Monday, "Nessie, Are You There?"

1987 saw the yuppies reaching the height of happiness. It seemed to be the year of yuppiedom. There was a feeling in the air that mankind had been striving to reach 1987 since creation, and we were now here - chortle, chortle! Nothing need ever change again. The feeling was strong, tangible. Strolling along, reeking of Mandate, bound for yet another night out, I sniffed the summer air and felt a sense of well being I'd never thought possible.

But 1987 was not what it seemed: if most of 1987 was yuppie heaven, from late-October onwards was sheer yuppie hell and, far more importantly, that month also left a trail of death and destruction...

More about 1987's month of turmoil here.

The 1980s had built up a stock of acronyms, and these were in full bloom in 1987. Were you a nimby? This stood for Not In My Backyard. You might be happy to see hostels for the homeless established, nuclear waste dumping sites found etc - just as long as they weren't in your neck of the woods. Then, of course, there were yuppies (young urban professionals). The coining of the "yuppie" tag happened in America in the early 1980s.

20th Century Words by John Ayto, traces the name back to 1982 and defines a yuppie thus:

a member of a socio-economic group comprising young professional people working in cities of a type thought of as typifying the ethos of the 1980s: ambitious, go-getting, newly affluent, young, class-free, owing no debt to the past. Originally US; a hybrid word coined probably by grafting an acronym based on "Young Urban Professional" (or "Young Upwardly mobile Professional") on to a basic model suggested by hippie.

Coincidentally, the book traces the hippie word back to 1953! This came as something of a surprise to me as hippies and everything to do with hippiedom are usually so strongly associated with the 1960s.

Returning to the 1980s, I have read that the yuppie word was first coined in 1981, whilst 20th Century Words, as seen above, traces it to 1982. Whilst there is no doubt that it is an early 1980s coinage, yuppies were most prevalent in the mid-to-late decade.

I've also discovered that as well as plain and simple yuppies there were buppies (black yuppies), Juppies (Japanese yuppies), guppies (gay yuppies) and green yuppies (environmentally concerned yuppies).

And then there were oinks (people with one income, no kids); dinkys (people with dual incomes, no kids yet); minkys (middle income, no kids yet); jollies (jet setting oldsters with lots of loot); glams (greying, leisured affluent middle aged); swells (single women earning lots of loot)... and it went on and on.

Perhaps you were a foodie - obsessively into food trends?

The Eighties/New Man thing was still going strong.

1987 was posh, even the crisps had gone upmarket by this time - "Cheese and onion?" "No, ta, cheese and chive for me." It was so posh that Donna Summer would have been having Dinner With Gershwin and watching Rembrandt sketch if they'd still been about. But it was also brash. The shoulder pads were at maximum stretch. The hair was too big, the puffball skirts too yucky. But we didn't realise.

NMT, the world's first international cellular mobile telephone network, had opened in Scandinavia in 1981. In 1987, the Nokia Cityman, the world's first NMT hand portable, was launched. More here.

Still on the subject of phones, Maureen Lipman made her debut as Jewish grandma Beattie Bellman in the famous BT "ology" ad series. For further details click here!

Musically, we were hearing an exciting new sound which was bursting out of America: House. After Farley "Jackmaster" Funk reaching No 10 in the UK singles chart in late 1986, Steve "Silk" Hurley took it to the top when Jack Your Body made Number 1 in January 1987.

Remember H... H... H... House Nation, which invaded the airwaves in September?

House was a new genre of electronic music which originated in Chicago, USA, in the early 1980s. And here in 1987 we were well and truly reaping the benefits.

M/A/R/R/S took us screeching towards the Dance era with Pump Up The Volume, we were Star Trekkin' with The Firm, Kirsty and the Pogues gave us the wonderful Fairytale of New York for Christmas, and the Pet Shop Boys told us It's A Sin.

Neighbours, cancelled by Australian Channel 7, had been picked up by their Channel 10, and we began to see the Channel 10 episodes here in 1987. This was the year we first clapped eyes on busybody Mrs Mangel. Played by the English-born actress Vivean Gray, Mrs Mangel was the type of sticky beak character essential to all good soaps. Mrs M palled up with Eileen Clarke (played by another English-born actress, Myra de Groot) and the two gave the soap some of its finest and funniest moments.

The role of Neighbours' skate boarding teen Scott Robinson was recast - a young actor called Jason Donovan stepped into the role, and soon he needed a love interest. The character Charlene Mitchell was introduced, played by another young unknown, Kylie Minogue. 1987 saw Scott and Charlene marry in Australia, however we lagged behind and would have to wait until 1988. Neighbours' popularity swelled enormously here in 1987, and Scott and Charlene's courtship kept ever-increasing numbers of us glued to the screens. "Read All About It" here.

Soap, soap n' more soap was the order of the day. But after Pammy's dream in Dallas the previous year, could we really take any more weirdness?

In Dynasty spin-off The Colbys, Fallon was whisked away at the end of the series in a flying saucer. More here.

It was a great year for Michael Douglas. On at the flicks was the morality tale Wall Street ("greed is good"), and the chilling Fatal Attraction. The bunny was on the boil. Conveniently, I managed to spill my popcorn at several tense moments during the film, and so was spared the worst scenes.

Glenn Close put in an absolutely stunning performance as the very first bunny boiler... remember that bathroom scene, where she lies beneath the water, apparently dead, with that slightly puzzled, slightly hurt expression on her face? Then - ARRRGGGHHH!! - up she rises and, oh dear, there goes the popcorn again...

Actually, I didn't go to the pictures very often because I preferred to dance. I loved the local Nite Spot; I loved the black and chrome decor and all the full length mirrors; I loved the pink and blue neons; I loved togging myself up in my white chinos; or one of my black suits with the multi-coloured cotton flecks; or my shiny grey suit; or my bright pink linen jacket; or my smart blue jacket - which went so well with my banana yellow skin-tight trousers.

I often wore one of my stockbroker shirts or a nice cerise vest...

I was completely and utterly hooked on big shoulder pads. I was developing a very slight beer belly, and the pads detracted from this brilliantly.

All my clothes were cheap-and-cheerful- from the likes of C&A - there was some lovely... well, I suppose it might now be called "flash trash" around.

In the news, Manchester police chief James Anderton announced that God may be using him as a prophet.

There were several terrible tragedies in 1987 - the capsizing of the car-ferry Herald of Free Enterprise and the Hungerford killings to name but two.

In October, my attention was diverted north of the border as it seemed that Nessie was, at last, to be revealed. But she wasn't.

Royal It's A Knockout & A Great Album...

1987 saw Princess Anne appearing in the 2,000th edition of A Question of Sport and The Grand Knockout Tournament. It's A Knockout had been around since the 1960s, but we were creatures of habit when it came to our telly! Still, we had never seen anything like the special Royal edition in June, with Princess Anne appearing on behalf of the Save The Children Fund; Sarah Ferguson for the International Year of Shelter For the Homeless; Prince Edward on behalf of the Duke of Edinburgh's International Project '87 and Prince Andrew on behalf of the World Wildlife Fund.

Looking back, the mid-to-late 1980s seemed full of charitable efforts - telethons and the like - providing a complete contrast to the Yuppie ethos. It seemed odd to see Royalty on It's A Knockout, very odd indeed. A few elderly people I knew were quite shocked by it - imagine Royalty behaving like that!

I thought it was excellent.


New Order - Substance 1987 - in my humble opinion the best dance album ever.

The 1987 Nokia Cityman - Yup, Yup, Yup...

Overheard in a pub, c. 1987...

Two yuppies, one male, one female, were discussing pets. The male yuppie had a Nokia Cityman or similar on the table in front of him.

Male yuppie: "I love my tortoise. A friend since childhood."

Female yuppie: "Oh, I prefer cats to tortoises, James."

She eyed his brick, longingly.

"Of course, what I REALLY need is a cell phone..."

NMT, the world's first international cellular mobile telephone network, had opened in Scandinavia in 1981. In 1987, the Nokia Mobira Cityman, the world's first NMT hand portable, and Nokia's very first hand held mobile phone, was launched.

"Yuppie toys! What do they want mobile phones for? Ridiculous! Haven't they ever heard of phone boxes?!"
-----

A Nokia Cityman in its box, which had a small plastic handle so, if desired, phone and charger could easily be carried around together.

-----------------------------------

Above the cover to the Nokia Mobira Cityman instruction manual - the 1988 edition. Note the yellow, red and grey design - reflecting the 1980s trend for contrasting bright and dull colours. Below, selected pages from the manual.

 

The Mobira Senator, Nokia's first mobile, a not-actually-terribly-mobile car phone, was released in 1982. I'm not sure when (or if) it first appeared in England. 

It was around 1987 that I first set eyes on a hand held mobile phone. Initially, I was most impressed - amazing - imagine being able to phone people wherever you might be! This went on for a year or so, then I decided they looked rather like walkie talkies, and, judging by the number of yuppies stalking out of the pub with their bricks because the reception was lousy inside, they didn't seem that great.

So my fascination faded.

Mobiles later shrank, went digital, became dirt cheap and all singing, all dancing, but I still don't have one. I like to be away from the phone when I'm out, there's no need for me to have a mobile, so I don't.

Having been left behind, I still find myself thinking of them as "yuppie toys" at times! That's what we called them in the late 1980s.

For all its sophisticated appeal back in 1987, the Nokia Cityman was basically a clonking great brick. So when did mobile phones start to shrink? See here for more...

For captures from a 1988 television advertisement for Eagle Star investment plans, starring

Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder) and the Nokia Cityman see here. 

Go back to the unveiling of the first commercially available hand held mobile phone EVER here.

------------------------------------------

1987: Some Television Comedy Treats...

Dame Edna Everidge became a chat show hostess with her own series - The Dame Edna Experience - on 12 September 1987. It was a good reason to set the video! The Dame sent guests tumbling through trap doors - and shot Cliff Richard off to heavens knows where.

Fabulous!

Conservative MP Alan Beresford B'Stard of The New Statesman was played by alternative comedian Rick Mayall - AKA Kevin Turvey of A Kick Up The Eighties , AKA Rick of The Young Ones, AKA Richie Rich of Filthy Rich and Catflap.

Vote B'Stard - if you want armed police or nuclear waste dumped in children's playgrounds. This was a biting comedy which I found unmissable. Conservative MPs didn't. Teddy Taylor, MP for Southend, said: "It was so immature and childish it reminded me of a Neil Kinnock speech."

The New Statesman first aired on 13 September 1987.

AIDS - Don't Die Of Ignorance...

The origins of the AIDS epidemic certainly pre-date the 1980s. There is still uncertainty about how or when this disease came into being, but with HIV's often lengthy gestation period, it is safe to say that some people were infected with the virus before the end of the 1970s.

HIV and AIDS were not identified and named until the early 1980s, and I remember vague rumours drifting around that the disease had originally afflicted monkeys. On the internet, there is now much material about the possible origins of AIDS, including some conspiracy theories.

In England, many of us believed that AIDS mainly affected countries far distant, until the "Don't Die of Ignorance" TV campaign of 1986. This depressing piece, shown on ITV and the BBC, featured a couple in bed together (the actors asked not to be named, fearing that they would be associated with the virus) and a tomb!

In 1987, the Government's AIDS DON'T DIE OF IGNORANCE leaflet, pictured above, was sent to every household in the country.

By the time you read this, probably 300 people will have died in this country. It is believed that a further 30,000 carry the virus. This number is rising and will continue to rise unless we all take precautions...

On TV, AIDS was much discussed. ITV gave us First AIDS, hosted by Mike Smith. This was a first - the first programme where condoms were fiddled with and twanged on screen, and inflated by blowing into them.

At least one reader of the TV Times was upset by the programme:

So "First AIDS" (ITV and C4) claims to have had a studio audience made up of an "accurate cross-section of British youth of 16-25". Allowing this improbable claim to pass, what a tragedy that only one of those who spoke questioned the assumption underlying the whole programme that every young person should regard sex as a social act with no greater significance than swigging a pint of beer. Is a whole generation really allowing itself to be quite so badly ripped off? If the AIDS epidemic is worsened by heterosexual promiscuity, it's shameful to advise the young that they use contraception to help make casual sex safe. Where, in this programme, was the voice in support of the evidence that truly creative and satisfying lives are found inside committed, lifelong relationships based on love and trust; that promiscuity is an empty vessel that spells loneliness, superficial pleasure and, ultimately, despair? My anger at the hypocrisy of a programme that was little more than a 90-minute commercial for contraceptive manufacturers drives me to hope that that there will be a hell for the wicked - not for the wretched AIDS victims; but for the spiritual bankrupts who ran this sickening show.

The BBC and ITV, for a wonder, got together for an AIDS week. Spitting Image featured Willie Whitelaw, with a condom over his head.

There was also an ITV AIDS drama serial called Intimate Contact, which told the story of a married man, destined to die after a heterosexual encounter.

I joined the local AIDS Helpline. The set-up was based on the American model, with face-to-face befrienders ("Buddies") and helpline advisors. I acted as one of the latter.

I read many articles at the time about how AIDS was bringing back old values, that people were settling down into monogamous relationships at a young age. I saw no evidence of it amongst my peer group. We simply took precautions.

The Slightest Touch and Down To Earth... Pop Heaven In 1987...

This is great 1980s pop - courtesy of the Pearson siblings, AKA Five Star.


June 1987 - and Curiosity Killed The Cat, who first charted with Down To Earth in January, were on the cover of Smash Hits. "You ain't no bird, and so for what it's worth, gonna bring you straight back down to earth..." Perhaps the lyrics were prophetic - 1987 was the height of the mid-to-late 80s yuppie era, but also ripped the rug out from under the upwardly mobile set...

"Don't Wait Up For Us Tonight..."

Stock, Aitken and Waterman don't get the best press, but life's too short to get all snooty and sniffy. Their music was often terrific to dance to. Mel and Kim, seen here on the Respectable picture disc, are the soundtrack to many fond memories for me.

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"Pump Up The Volume..."

Sampling was the coming thing, but it could land you in trouble! Still, some records using samples were pure genius (at least back in the late 1980s) and here's a treat from M/A/R/R/S, which helped nudge us on into the dance era.

Innovative and great to move to - I love it!

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80s Style...

Part of a lovely mid-to-late 1980s dinner service. These went very well with black furniture. I remember having dinner with some acquaintances who fancied themselves as being "upwardly mobile". We ate from black plates, on a black tablecloth, with black candles, sitting on black chairs. I'm shortsighted, and had trouble actually seeing my plate against the cloth.

Weird.