Rik Mayall

He really was one of the pioneers of the 1980s alternative comedy scene. The young Mayall and Ade Edmundson started performing at the Comedy Store in mid-1980. Nigel Planer and Peter Richardson joined at the same time. They all went on to found the Comic Strip in October '80, with Comedy Store compere Alexei Sayle. An advertisement for female performers was answered by Dawn French and Jennifer Saunders. When Channel 4 debuted in November 1982, the Comic Strip team hit the TV screens, and in the run-up to the launch of Channel 4 the BBC was prompted to start preparing something alternative itself - The Young Ones.

Magical times.

RIP, Rik.

Did Anna Wing (Lou Beale Of EastEnders) Really Appear in Market In Honey Lane?

 Lou Beale and family in 1985: "Market In Honey Lane? 'Ere, weren't that that soppy telly programme about 'ow lovely cockneys are? Not very true to life, was it?"

I've had an e-mail which asks me to stray out of the 1980s and into the 1960s. You think I REMEMBER the 1960s? Well I DON'T. Well, not much. But I'll have a go... 

Jackie writes: 

I keep reading that the actress Anna Wing who was Lou in EastEnders from 1985-1988, was in an ATV soap series called "Market In Honey Lane" from 1967-1969. I've read it on Digital Spy, in her obituaries in the Guardian, The Radio Times and The Stage and LOADS of places. But I still somehow doubt it because I've never seen her interviewed or read an interview with her in which she said so. Can you help?

Oh, crikey! Well, I went to the British Film Institute site which contains a pretty exhaustive cast list for Market In Honey Lane, including the guest cast line (the BFI is usually very thorough indeed) and she's not in that - not even as a guest star. And she's certainly not in any of the surviving episodes. Perhaps she wasn't in it at all - rumours spread on the internet and the BBC, ITV, Radio Times, Guardian, etc, etc, do fall for them regularly. Or perhaps it was a bit part? Maybe even an unnamed extra? But going on concrete fact, I have my doubts. Here's a link to the BFI cast list for Market In Lane - some future notables there, like Dennis Waterman, Ray Lonnen, Yootha Joyce and Richard Thorp - but no Anna Wing - 

http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1400806/credits.html

Talking of Market In Honey Lane, many comparisons are made between this and EastEnders as both feature an East End market - it's even been called a "precursor" to EastEnders, but that's tripe. Market In Honey Lane (later simply Honey Lane) was not originally a soap opera. It was a weekly series of self-contained stories, each one focusing on a particular character. The twice weekly "soap" format was only adopted for the second and third series (it was never shown all year round) and these suffered from the dreaded "regional variations" - some ITV companies showed it in the afternoon, some late at night. Ratings were not good for the second and third series, and ITV was not renowned for giving things a great deal of time to perform well. Albion Market suffered similarly in the 1980s. Market In Honey Lane was long forgotten by most people before planning began on EastEnders in 1983 and, despite the setting, was very different indeed in style - and impact.

 The British Film Institute says:

Inspired to some extent by Granada TV's success with Coronation Street (ITV, 1960-), ATV's Market in Honey Lane was a very conventional TV serial, setting up minor heartbreaks and conflicts so that the writers could dissolve them, usually, in a flood of cosy sentimentality.

 The series, overall, is deeply embedded in a culture; that of the Cockney proletariat with its wide boys, stoical mothers and hermetic yet threatening cosiness. It was not an earth-shaking programme, and certainly not pioneering in any revolutionary ideas in technique and production, but simply proposed itself to the casual viewer as a mildly pleasant affair. 

 http://www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/1400806/index.html

EastEnders could never have been described as that! And now I'll bow out. Sorry I couldn't really clear your mind on this, Jackie. Anna Wing certainly didn't mention Market In Honey Lane in interviews I saw with her in the 1980s. However, the show was largely forgotten by then and no claim to past fame. As I say, if she did appear, it was either a bit part or a non-speaking extra. But there is a chance she simply didn't appear in it at all. Let me know if you find out anything else, and thanks for writing.

And please, readers, don't ask me to stray out of my 1980s comfort zone again. The '60s - all those kaftans, flares and love beads. Blueerggh! I'm going to watch a nice pop video featuring the lovely Alannah Currie at the height of her Thompson Twins fame just to soothe myself before bed! Just lurve her '80s hairdos!

The Shutter Shades Of The 1980s...

Geeky slatted shades of the 1950s (no, they didn't make a major fashion splash!) and the super sci-fi style design of the 1980s.

Shutter Shades, louvered sunglasses in a range of tempting colours, have become very popular in recent years. Many of the colours seem reminiscent of the 1980s, but that's appropriate because the sunglasses are somewhat akin to a type of fashion eye wear from that decade. These were futuristic looking, streamlined sunglasses, slatted, which slowly made inroads into the fashion psyche after making an appearance in the Glittering Prize Simple Minds pop video of 1982. Then Astrid Plane, of Animotion wore a pair in that band's video for Obsession midway through the decade, and Chris Lowe of the Pet Shop Boys also donned a pair a bit later in that ten year span. A very different design of slatted sunglasses had appeared in America the 1950s, but do not seem to have been adopted by the great and the cool. The futuristic 1980s design, probably largely thanks to the wonder of the pop video, made great waves.

I never wore them in the '80s (they were apparently nicknamed "Venetian Blinders", according to some sources, but I never heard them referred to them as such back then). I just never got round to buying a pair and they would have clashed with my Miami Vice/casuals/sportswear style dress sense anyway. But I liked them and I so love the modern version. They remind me of the good old '80s days (sigh)!

The Thompson Twins

One of my favourite bands of the 1980s was the Thompson Twins. In fact, I even joined their fan club. I liked their music, which I found to be quirky and original (“I bought you sentimental roses, but you gave them all away”) and I was absolutely infatuated with Alannah Currie, hairdos, hats and all.

Me and my workmate Neal parodied the group’s songs (“Hold me now - warm my tights!”) but that was no indication of dislike.

We were a couple of daft lads who took the mickey out of anything that moved or made a sound. You have to remember, the World Wide Web wasn't even invented till 1989. There wasn't even a computer where we worked. They weren't "everyday life". Our jobs as office clerks in the early-to-mid 1980s were mind numblingly boring, we had to do something to stay awake. We had to make our own amusement.

I never told Neal I’d joined the Thompson Twins fan club. I didn’t want him taking the mickey out of me, but Alannah had me under a spell…

The Thompson Twins went through several incarnations, but the band we all know existed from 1982 to 1986 - the trio of Tom Bailey, Alannah Currie and Joe Leeway. It was these three who gave us the distinctive music and style which still produces a happy smile and a bop round the living room whenever heard for many of us who love 1980s music.
From the Daily Mirror, February 28 1984...

Three into two goes like a bomb

By Robin Eggar

The audience is screaming, Cowley carworkers’ daughters and posh undergraduates joining in with equal enthusiasm. Oxford is seething at the sight of an odd trio who have proved that three into two does go. All the way to the top of the charts.
The Thompson Twins are the first rock sensation of 1984. And this is the first night of their sell-out, thirty-four date tour around Britain.

But how are Tom Bailey, Joe Leeway and Alannah Currie taking to the road?

Lead singer Tom says:

“It’s like a three-way marriage. We live out of the same suitcase and depend on each other.

“We use each other emotionally to cope with stress. But in the long run it means we’re even stronger.”

None of the three “twins” is related - or even called Thompson. Their name is taken from a pair of bumbling detectives in the “Tintin” comic strip.

Their latest album, “Into the Gap”, has raced to No 1, outselling its nearest rival two to one. Their single, “Doctor, Doctor”, is hovering just below the top spot in the charts.

And yet four years ago they were living in south London squats and waiting to be discovered.

I saw them one night in a sleazy club. There were seven in the band then and only seventeen in the audience.

One paying guest had passed out. The other fifteen had joined the band on stage and were banging cans out of time with the music. I made my excuses and left.

It all changed when Tom wrote a song to fill up the second side of an album in 1981. It was called “In The Name Of Love” - and it became a hit in America. It was No. 1 for five weeks in the disco charts there.

Tom, 28, says:

“That was like having the blinkers torn off my eyes.

“I suddenly realised that we’d just been making music for a small circle of friends in London, kids in America really liked us.”

The only other members of the band who shared Tom’s scent of success were Joe Leeway and Alannah Currie.

And so it was that the band slimmed down to three. Joe says:

“Until Tom wrote “In The Name Of Love”, we were boring.

“Finally I sat down in this room and said I don’t want to work with you, you, you and you. I only want to work with Tom and Alannah.”

The three are from very different backgrounds. But together they form a unique blend. Tom, whose father is a Yorkshire doctor, used to teach music. He was the founder of the original band.

Alannah, 26, is a manic ball of fire with a taste for silly hats. She was born in New Zealand.

Her father was a docker and her mother cleaned hospitals at night. She was determined to escape from her home and arrived in London in 1977, penniless.

She worked cleaning toilets, washing dishes and sweeping up in a hairdressing salon. She was trying to learn the saxophone in her squat one day when “this real wimp” came over to complain about the noise.

It was Tom.

At 31, Joe is the oldest Twin. He was born in London to an Irish mother and a Nigerian merchant seaman. He was fostered to an elderly couple in Dartford, Kent, when he was two years old.

“The first black I ever talked to was when I was 21,” he says. “I still think white, even though I’ve got black skin.”

He became the Twins’ roadie after a career in acting. Then, after one evening when he complained that he wanted to do more in the band, they bought him a set of congas. He played them the wrong way round for months.

Joe now plays the synthesiser. He also designed the group’s spectacular stage show for the current tour.

Alannah takes care of the videos and the Twins’ style. She also writes the lyrics, sings and plays percussion.

Tom writes most of the music, sings and is the teenage heart-throb.

Professionally it works. But it does take its toll on their individual relationships.

All admit they have not the time or the love to give to an outsider. This has given rise to speculation that Tom and Alannah live together and are planning marriage.

“That is silly,” says Tom. “All three of us are dead against the idea of marriage. Alannah and I are very close, but we are not having any kind of secret relationship.

“I am also very close to Joe. Whatever I do with anyone else, those two are my first priority.

“We are intensely close. We love each other very dearly and it is totally different from any other relationship I’ve ever had.

“We are united by a common aim and our care for each other.

“If anyone left, that would be the end of a great adventure."

UPDATED 9/4/2014

Great Feats Of The 1980s: Herring Juggling...

The 1980s were simply wondrous. I mean, the World Wide Web, Microsoft Windows, DNA fingerprinting, and other simply hornswoggling inventions were invented, the likes of Eddie The Eagle had us spellbound, and it was a time when our ethos was simply "GO FOR IT!" We will never see its like again. Something rarely mentioned is a fabulous feat from Minnesota, USA. 

Herring juggling.

"Herring juggling? Oh my gawd, who the hell juggles herrings?" you ask.

"No, no," I hasten to put you straight.

"It was the herring that did the juggling."

Let Mrs Rose Nylund of St Olaf fill you in - click on image to read...

HELP! Desperately Seeking 1980s "Happy Bird Day" card...

Here's a plea from me: when I turned twenty in 1985, amongst my mammoth crop of birthday cards (I was soooo popular!) was one showing a load of birds flying around or standing around on telephone wires. The card carried the greeting "Happy Bird Day". The card illustration was a cartoon-style image and not particularly attractive ( I seem to recall one or several ugly blackbirds were present), but, driven by nostalgia, I've been seeking the image on-line and can't find it. Does anybody out there have one they can scan?  I would be very grateful! There are modern day versions, but they simply don't cut it. Speaking of '80s greetings cards, look out for a selection on here soon, plus the continuation of our '80s lyrics quiz, and features on Press Gang and Interceptor. Sorry updates have been so sparse, but life is pretty busy at the moment! x

1986 - "Hands Up If You Use Right Guard, Hands Down If You Don't..."

You know, here at '80s Actual, we always go the extra mile for our adoring fans (bless you both!), but a question we received in early December had us stumped:

'80s were the decade of the Shake and Vac woman, "We hope it's chips, it's chips", BT (Beattie), "We've got the Jewson lot", "Co-Co Pops, Mr Spock", and so on. But this is driving me crazy. I recall a TV ad from around the late 1980s for a deodorant in which people put their hands up if they used it, but lowered them if they didn't. I know it sounds mad, but it's true, I swear it! I can't find it anywhere. Do you remember it?

Well, dear reader, I recall a lot of the 1980s through a kind of haze... colourful, eventful, youthful times for me and pretty chaotic, so I didn't. But I put a call out, explored YouTube and I think I've found it. It's from 1986 and is for Right Guard - and I recall it now. Very witty jingle, which I've now got stuck in my head. I've been going around singing it all day. Is this it? Would be more than a tad grateful if you'd let me know! x

1980-1986: The Adventure Game - Patrick Dowling And "Alice In Wonderland Crossed With Hitchhiker's"

Welcome to Arg! Darong played Moira Stuart, Gandor played Christopher Leaver and Gnoard played Charmian Gradwell.

Ah, what a delight! Without further ado, let's say: "Nepo emases!" Maddie Smith pronounced it so beautifully! In fact, it seemed that Ms Smith might actually be called Ivy P Daid at one point. Christopher Leaver, played by Gandor, suggested the possibility, but, of course, Ivy was actually Chinese Detective actor David Yip - which is self explanatory if you think about it.

Anyway, back to the main story. In the early 1980s, the vast majority of us knew little or nothing of computers. The subject was a closed book to me and my mates down at the local comprehensive school, and my school didn't have a computer at all. Computers were for scientists, Dr Who, the gas and electricity boards, and posh, geeky, nerdy people most of us knew nothing of as the decade swung into action. But the BBC telly series The Adventure Game featured a computer - and the show is a testament to how computer visuals leapt on during the decade, with the boring green-on-black writing of 1980 looking extraordinarily dated alongside the colourful "virtual reality" mazes featured in later years.

Arg was a small planet of little consequence, often visited by time travellers. The Argonds were a race of shape-shifting dragon-like creatures, who often assumed human form so as not to alarm visitors from Earth.

Whilst being a polite race, the Argonds did get a little bit fed up with intrusions from time travelling Earth folk and, having a regrettable sense of humour, would "nick" the essential time lock crystal from space crafts and set travellers a series of puzzles to enable them to get it back. Whilst we're on that subject, how do you work out how many Argonds are round the pond? I used to know, but I've forgotten!

The ruler of Arg was the Rangdo - "Uncle" to some - who started out in human form but didn't like it so metamorphasised into first an aspidistra then a teapot. "Gronda Gronda, Rangdo!"

The Adventure Game was all so beautifully English! I've been evaporated? Oh, bother! I shall just have to walk home, and it's jolly cold tonight! As the '80s continued, the concept really caught on on Arg with the puzzle fests being broadcast to great acclaim on Argo-Vision, and also becoming cult viewing here on planet Earth via the miracle of intergalactic relays. The show's creator, Patrick Dowling, described it as: "Alice In Wonderland crossed with Hitchhiker's," - as in Hitchhiker's Guide To The Galaxy.

Dowling had previously been involved in great telly wonders like Vision On, but there is no doubt that The Adventure Game was his crowning glory. He wrote and produced the first two series in 1980 and 1981, and introduced several episodes of the '81 series. He retired in 1982.

The Rangdo's delight was the Vortex - which saw many Arg explorers from Earth evaporated - but devious use of green cheese rolls could thwart (and infuriate) his Highness.

Explorers included Paul Darrow of Blake's 7 fame, Noel Edmonds of Swap Shop, Barbara Lott - Timothy's dreadful mother from Sorry!, and Rubik's Cube adorer David Singmaster. Actress Elizabeth Estensen confounded the wily dragons by having a hand small enough to fit down a narrow glass tube and extract a helpful piece of equipment, Maddie Smith and David Yip came unstuck after the clock quacked, and Bonnie Langford called the Rangdo "Oh Gronda". She was later evaporated.

 Paul Darrow steps it out. Will he be evaporated?

Of course, as Arg-O-Vision became the most popular TV station on that side of the horse head nebular, the Argond presenters of its top-rated show began to show signs of "artistic temperament" in the studio: Charmain Gradwell, played by Gnoard, ordered Angord, played by Angord, very fetching in her 1980s high fashion ra ra skirt and deelyboppers, to keep out of camera range during a session of the Drogna Game in one episode (the Drogna was the Argonds' currency), and Christopher Leaver, played by Gandor, brought Sarah Lam, played by Dorgan, down a peg or too by evaporating her in the 1985-'86 series.

Former children's TV heroine Lesley Judd, obviously thoroughly bored with sticky back plastic on Blue Peter, turned to the bad in The Adventure Game. Having been a contestant in one show in 1980, she turned up as a "mole" in the 1981 series - posing as a prisoner of the Argonds, but actually out to deceive and delay her fellow Earth folk and, hopefully, evaporate them. She went up a lot in our estimation during her Adventure Game stint. We never could stick goody-goody, fuddy-duddy old Blue Peter.

 Lesley Judd and friend - "Mole, mole, go to your hole!"

Of course, as Rongad would say, things could seems rather sdrawkcab on Arg, but it was all doog yrev (pronounced "doogy rev"). Nodrap?

After Patrick Dowling retired in 1982, the show's director Ian Oliver took over as producer, and was joined for series four by Christopher Tandy. 

Some episodes of this groundbreaking series were, unbelievably, wiped by the BBC, and, also unbelievably, there has never been an official DVD release of the episodes which do remain. The Adventure Game truly was groundbreaking - being the precursor to such series as The Crystal Maze and Knightmare. The 1980 series somehow grabbed my attention ( I was then a hairy, disgruntled teen with absolutely no computer savvy), and the following three series were required viewing. In 1980, when The Adventure Game began, I believed that computers were for eggheads. By 1986, when The Adventure Game ended, I thought they were a passing fad. How wrong I was! But the series, a wonderful combination of wacky problems, sci-fi and whimsy, remains one of my favourites - not just of the 1980s, but of all time. 

The Great BIG 1980s Pop Lyrics Quiz - Part 2!

The pig's back and so is '80s Actual with the second part of our totally tubular Great BIG 1980s Pop Lyrics Quiz! Can you match the gems below to the '80s pop ditties in which they featured? Go on, have a go! The other parts of the quiz can be found by clicking on the Great BIG 1980s Pop Lyrics Quiz label at the bottom of the post.

21) "I bought you sentimental roses, but you gave them all away..."

22) "I'll protect you from the Hooded Claw. Keep the vampires from your door..."

23) "It's not a crime when you look the way you do - the way I like to picture you..."

24)"Now my friends, the time has come, to raise the roof and have some fun..."

25) "Standing in the door of the Pink Flamingo crying in the rain..."

26) "I've only to hear you and my heart beats like a drum..."

 Kajagoogoo reflected the upwardly mobile thing and some rather lovely hairstyling trends in 1983.

27) "You're the next to break the ice - wanna come down right now?"

28) "Don't tell me that you think it's green, me I know it's red..."

29) "We will race you high above the ground..."

30) "Boxes that go beep, little lights that leap..."

31) "Within the hour, I'll smash another cup. Please don't start saying that or I'll start believing you..."

 32) "And everyone turned over, troubled in their dreams again..."

33) "Your love is sweeter than wine. But wine is all I have. Will your love ever be mine?"

34) "Hey little sister what have you done? Hey little sister who's the only one?"

 35) "We've got no future, we've got no past, here today, built to last..."

 36) "Now you're crying in your sleep, I wish you'd never learned to weep..."

 37) "I was sick and tired of everything when I called you last night from Glasgow..."

38) "The lights are on, but you're not home..."

39) "Hey, how ya doing? Sorry you couldn't get through..."

40) " I wanna talk theory with Curie - impossible I guess..."

This quiz really gets you jumping to the beat, does it not?

The Great BIG 1980s Pop Lyrics Quiz - Part 1!

In the 1980s, Frankie said "Relax". The pig said 'Oink'.

After our lovely long break, listening to those rascally popstrels Duran Duran belting out Rio and other "legendary" 1980s pop sonnets in a luxury yacht anchored in the swimming pool up at the Falcon Crest mansion, we're just dying to bring you the Great BIG 1980s Pop Lyrics Quiz.

You know, the 1980s was probably the best decade for pop music ever invented. It was so swingorilliant we waited with breath absurdly bated for each porksome instalment of the Now That's What I Call Music saga, thought that Nick Heyward was pretty darned brilliant, and shed bitter tears whenever our fave choons were chewed up by our wicked cassette players.

And those lyrics! Wow, those lyrics! From Jimmy The Hoover to Pepsi and Shirley, from Splodgenessabounds to A Guy Called Gerald, the 1980s were simply awash with memorable sing-a-long moments. "Wicked", was it not?

But just how well do you remember those lyrics? Can you match a handful of lyrics to a particular song? This is what our epic four-part Great BIG 1980s Pop Lyrics Quiz is all about. We give you the lyrics, you jot down the song title - if possible without Googling or some other new-fangled nonsense, then we give the answers and a rating with the final part of the quiz, which will be posted in late January. This is not for the faint hearted. There will be eighty, yes EIGHTY lyrical posers in all (fitted with big hair and shoulder pads as standard). This quiz is the best innovation since the C5. See how you do - GO FOR IT! - if you dare...

And whilst you're here, if you have any memories you care to share of 1980s pop epics and what they and their lyrics meant/mean to you, please feel free to do so in the comments.

We're agog with anticipation.

Still here? OK then, matey boots...

1) "You're a slave to fashion and your life is full of passion..."

2) "Stay with me, let loving start..."

3) "Qua qua fa diddily qua qua..."

4) "All the teachers in the pub, passing round the ready-rub..."

5) " Get your booty on the floor tonight, make my day..."

6) " Sound and caring, help the helpless, but always remain ultimately selfish..."

7) If we are what we eat, you're my kind of meat..."

8) "Given that you pay the price, we can keep you young and tender..."

 The legendary Michael Jackson. Billie Jean was not his lover.

9) Peaceful revolution let the perfect wave surround me..."

10) "It's wrong to wish on space hardware..."

11) "Easy girls and late nights, cigarettes and love bites..."

12) "Is it real or is it synthesized? Baby, I'm hypnotized..."

13) "Who do you want me to be to make you sleep with me?"

14) "Baby look at me and tell me what you see, you ain't seen the best of me yet, give me time I'll make you forget the rest..."

15) "In my imagination there is no hesitation, we walk together hand in hand..."

16) "On days like this, in times like these - I feel an animal deep inside..."

17) "I still find it so hard to say what I mean to say, but I'm quite sure that you'll tell me just how I should feel today..."

18) "Jack and Jill went up the hill to have a little fun. Stupid Jill forgot her pill and now they have a son..."

19) "And the public gets what the public wants..."

20) "It's not the way you lead me by the hand into the bedroom..."

Some truly memorable 1980s lyrics from The Art Of Noise here. All together now: "Dum dum dum tra-la-tra-la-tra-la-la". Look out for the next instalment of this quiz - it's gonna be nearly as raunchy as Haircut One Hundred, more satisfying than nouvelle cuisine, more stirring than a power nap... "Does heaven wait, all heavenly, over the next horizon?"

Here Comes Christmas!

 Memories! A Now That's What I Call Music Volume 5 cassette, £7-99 from Woollies in 1985. A snip! 

We were fair hornswoggled here at '80s Actual Towers to realise that Chrimbo was on yonder horizon again, and that somebody had made a clock out of a Now That's What I Call Music Volume 5 cassette case from 1985! Love it!

"You can almost hear time ticking away..." as Go West once sang. This little beauty has got a lovely clunking tick to it.

Now is the time to give '80s-themed gifts, and look back on memories from that most golden of decades... the glorious deelyboppers debut of 1982, for instance, or Anneka Rice being flunked by a dwyle in 1987... such happy, happy days! 

Talking of 80s-themed gifts, we were dead chuffed to receive a Mr Tea mug (a spoof on the A Team's Mr T) and a "Hello, Is It Tea You're Looking For?" mug - an affectionate (we thinks) spoof of Lionel Richie's rather excellent 1983 song lyrics. We're so chuffed we're dancing on the ceiling.

Well, tis the season to get George out of the cupboard. George? you ask. Yus, we reply - George the bear who was rescued from being thrown out at a charity shop by Andrew, who was doing some voluntary work there a couple of years ago. George is incredibly cuddly and lovable, but has the regrettable habit of bursting into Last Christmas whenever his "TRY ME!" (very enticing!) foot is squeezed. Never mind. we love 'im anyway!

George luxuriates on a 1980s candlewick bedspread. It's not exactly Club Tropicana, but it's the best we can do.

Coming soon, we have the first part of our BIG 1980s Lyrics Quiz ("qua qua fa diddily qua qua") and a look at the making of the first series of the highly esteemed kids' telly show Press Gang in 1988 (first broadcast in early 1989).

Have a lovely Christmas. We hope you get all your heart desires. And remember... more is more.

xxxxxx

Remember 1980, When Men Dressed Like Men And Rave Was A New Soft Perm?

1980. Before the yuppies. Before the mobile phones. Before the ZX Spectrum. Before the Apple Mac. Before the C5 car. Before the deelyboppers...

Men's fashion at Foster's, December 1980 - with Tootal and Lopez. 

Quite stunning. 

From the Daily Mirror, December, 1980. In 1988 and 1989, a Rave was very different to a new soft perm.

Let's Go Back To The '80s - To Iron Maiden And 7-Up, Bananarama And Breakfast Club...

"Hooray for Cosby and Rubik's Cube..." - fun song - a tribute to the 1980s by Aqua, with a great video by a YouTube user. Enjoy!

'80s Emmerdale Farm: Amos Brearly - The Marrying Kind?

Emmerdale Farm: Amos Brearly (Ronald Magill) - marriage plans in 1988.

Sheila writes:

Much is made of Amos's proposal of marriage to Annie Sugden - purely for business reasons - in 1972. But was Amos ever romantically involved with a woman during the 1980's? I do seem to recall something, but can't  quite remember!

Yes, Sheila, he was. In October 1988, Amos came close to marrying old acquantance Gloria Pinfold (Hope Johnstone). A personable woman, she dominated the blustering landlord and caused Henry Wilks (Arthur Pentelow) great irritation when she moved into The Woolpack and threw out the sausages and bacon because of their high cholesterol content. She also crticised Henry's book keeping.

Amos told Henry he was going to marry Gloria.

Henry would have to leave The Woolpack.

It looked like the days of one of Beckindale's best-loved duos were numbered, until Gloria called off the engagement and went off with someone else.

Amos and Mr Wilks continued their partnership until early 1991, when Amos retired.

My Wonderful Wife (And Chris Rabbit!)

My wife puts up with an awful lot. Not least my passion for the 1980s. In the last few weeks alone, she's endured me swanking around Cromer with her in my best Miami Vice garb, repeated playings of Now That's What I call Music Volume 6, and every episode of the BBC children's show, Henry's Cat - which began in 1983. She now lives with the knowledge that Chris, the manic blue rabbit from that series - forever squawking "It's easy! It's easy!" - was a major hero of mine back in my late teens and early twenties. 

She's also endured a Thompson Twins cassette, the whole of the first instalment of TV-am, an hour of Brookside and three hours of original 1980s Chicago house music. 

When I arrived home from work the other night, I was startled to find an envelope bearing my name and a picture of two carrots on the kitchen worktop awaiting me. 

Had the pressure of living with an '80s man finally driven my wife insane I wondered? Was this a "Dear John"?

I opened the envelope to find a home made card inside, featuring my hero, Chris Rabbit, as usual squawking "IT'S EASY! IT'S EASY!"

And inside the card was written:

Thanks, Debs! I love you too. Not sure I deserve you, but I do love you. Thanks for everything. xxxxxx

1982 - Slim Jim and Stardust Lil - Citizens Band Radio Comes To Coronation Street... And More...

CB radio was one of my favourite crazes of the 1980s. To be sure, it was a decade packed full of crazes, but CB stands out as one of my fondest memories. 

CB had been invented in America by a man called Al Gross way back in the 1940s, and it had been up and running there since the 1950s. In England, CB usage had been known on a very small scale since the mid-1960s, but it was illegal. Films and songs like Convoy heightened interest in CB in the late 1970s, and in 1980 an illegal craze went spiralling out of control. 

In 1981, the illegal CB craze had grown so huge it was wreaking havoc in some quarters, with a hospital claiming it was interfering with heart monitoring machines, and a fire brigade desperate to track down a chattering CB'er who kept "fanning out" onto their frequency via a faulty CB. The Conservative government decided to legalise CB during 1980, but it took until 2 November 1981 for this to happen. Then, shops sold out of CB's and the craze went wide. It was at its peak in 1983, with 300,000 licences sold.

In 1982, the craze went to Coronation Street where Eddie Yeats (Geoffrey Hughes), former lovable bad lad turned binman, met the love of his life over the airwaves... over to the TV Times, 2-8/10/1982:

CB slang and the language of love

Actress Veronica Doran has a problem with some of her fans - she can't understand a word they say.

It all started a few months back when, as Marion Willis in Coronation Street, she was driving a florist's van for a living which was fitted with a Citizens' Band radio.

Under the romantic call-sign of 'Stardust Lil' she made contact with another CB fan, the far from skinny 'Slim Jim', alias Eddie Yeats. And as every fan of the Street now knows, the language of the airways became the language of love as they met, fell for each other and became engaged.

"I still get a lot of mail from CB users,' says Veronica, 'and lots of invitations to their get-togethers.'

But Veronica is the first to admit that before the Coronation Street part she had never used a CB radio and the esoteric language of CB fanatics was a total mystery to her. Most of it still is.

'I had to tell one person on the phone that I hadn't the faintest idea what they were talking about," she says.

This article dovetails neatly in with an e-mail I received asking me about "nuisance" CB users, out to make trouble. I rarely came across anybody like that, but they were a feature of both the illegal and legal CB eras, sadly. One occasion stands out in my memory.

I was out one evening with my mate Pete in his car, circa 1984. We were on the CB, looking for nice ladies to chat up, sorry, I mean chat TO, when Pete got into a discussion with a male breaker who became increasingly hostile.

Not known for backing down from confrontations (despite the white legwarmers he often wore), Pete got pretty steamed up, too. "Yeah? Well come on, I'm in the car park opposite St George's Church. Get down 'ere - I'll take you on!"

Mr Not-So-Good-Buddy assured us, in no uncertain terms, that he was on his way. By the sound of him, he wouldn't stop at an eyeball - he'd tear us limb from limb. 

Oower, Missis! 

Pete sat silently behind the steering wheel, face grim and set, staring at the entrance to the car park.

"See you, Pete!" I firmly believed (and still do) that discretion is the better part of valour, and prepared to get out of the car.

Pete grinned at me, delighted that he'd made me sweat: "Where'd ya think you're goin'? You didn't think I was serious, did you?" and he started the car and away we went. Phew! Curious though I was to see if the breaker was as fierce as his voice, I could live with it!

Things were usually much lighter than that, and Pete had a speaker under his bonnet, attached to the rig, so we could make public announcements as we went along the road: "Kill that cat. Would you PLEASE kill that cat?" was a fave.

Why? 

Dunno. Different times! 

That ties in with another recent e-mail I had, asking:  

Don't you think the 1980's were mad? 

Of course not, mateyboots! They were perfectly sane!

Read our main CB radio post here.

Wikipedia - Is House Music Derived From Garage?

An e-mail from Sam:

Seems to be some sort of editing war going on on Wikipedia, with one editor insisting that modern day House Music is derivative of Garage Music (without backing this up with any reliable links I might add!) and another insisting it isn't. Do you know the answer, oh '80s Guru?

LOL, Sam! Had a similar query a week or two back, but I'll address the question again - just for you! Wikipedia has many great folks involved with it but it is not, at the end of the day, a dependable source of information because anybody can edit anything and edit wars do take place! No, house music is not derivative of garage music. None of my 1980s/1990s literature on the subject mentions such a link. The two forms of '80s dance music are related as they were developing at the same time, but separately.  I believe New York garage slightly pre-dated Chicago house, but house broke through into the mainstream much earlier. The Channel 4 documentary Pump Up The Volume, which contains many interviews with original house music pioneers, describes 1983 as "Year Zero" for the genre. It was hitting the mainstream pop charts here in England from 1986 onwards. Garage was something I heard more of in the 1990s. I'm not sure about modern day house, but garage should certainly not be listed in the "stylistic origins" section for house on Wikipedia. That is potty.

I'm amazed that sources like the BBC link so readily to Wikipedia. It is worrying. Wikipedia is a great idea, but needs closer monitoring. It is one of the biggest purveyors of misinformation around - and that's a great shame.

Coronation Street 1989 - Transformation Time, But No Yuppies Allowed!

What's goin' on 'ere, lovey? Well, it's October 1989... and the Street is undergoing a revolution. A whole new street is coming to the old street, with new houses, shops and industrial units...

The production team relentlessly teased the viewers! What would the new side of the Street look like? On 11 December 1989, an episode filmed in November, eager Street watchers glimpsed the nearly completed building which houses the salon today. The building work was to be completed by the end of 1989, as the show filmed in advance, and complete unveiling was due on-screen in early 1990.

In October 1989, the Daily Mirror reported:

A NASTY HOLE IN THE ROAD

BY 'ECK! Whatever are they doing to our Street?

They must be glued to their nets over there between the Rovers and Alf Roberts's corner shop, gawping at all the amazing goings-on on the other side of the country's most famous cobbles.

For this is the Street as we've never seen it before. The bulldozers have moved in. Mike Baldwin's factory has been demolished. In its place they are putting up a complete new block of buildings. The site is sealed off, with high boards to keep out peeping Toms, nosey journalists and visitors who daily tour the TV studios, trying to catch sight of the stars at work.

All the lorries and bulldozers bear the name of Maurice Jones, the fictional character who has brought out Baldwin and is developing the site, throwing the whole Street into turmoil. Actor Alan Moore laughs mischievously as the cameras roll and the actors go about their business, while the brickies work away. He says: "I've become the new Mr Nasty of the Street - and I'm enjoying every minute of it."

But what exactly are they building? The producers are keeping that a strict secret. But one thing is certain. The Yuppies won't be moving in on the people's street.

We should flamin' well think not! But as Mike Baldwin commented in 1989, they didn't have yuppies up North. They had 'ey-uppies! As in "hey-up!" geddit? Oh well, never mind...