All Things 80's...

[Boxlicker101]

Ronald Reagan.
The murders of George Moscone and Harvey Milk
Iran Hostage Crisis
Iran/Contra
AIDS - worth repeating.

I don't remember TV commercials all that well, and I'm not a music junky.

 

[john-the-author]

Okay, more:

Karate Kid (Wax On, Wax Off)

Spuds Mackenzie

Cola Wars including New Coke vs. Coke Classic

L.A. Gear (had me a pair of black and white high tops with neon pink laces )

Knight Rider (who didn't want that car, huh?)

The Alex P. Keaton look. (I actually went to school with a guy who could've been a dead ringer for Michael J. Fox - tie and all)

VH-1 (the MTV for our parents - more mellow stuff than what MTV had at the time)

Thursday night TV on NBC: Cosby Show, Family Ties, Cheers, Night Court. (Cheers premiered in 1982 on my 15th birthday)

Facts of Life (You take the good, you take the bad, you take 'em both and there you have...)

More One Hit Wonders:

Secret Lovers - Atlantic Starr
Let's Hear It For the Boy - Deneice Williams
Harden My Heart - Quarterflash
Ghostbusters - Ray Parker, Jr.
Only the Lonely - The Motels
It's Raining Men - The Weather Girls
867-5309 (Jenny) - Tommy Tutone (How many people tried to call that number?)
Maniac - Michael Simbello
Ice Ice Baby - Vanilla Ice (Yo, Vanilla, kick it one time, boy-ee)
Jam On It - Newcleus

All right, I'm going. Sorry.

You know, I worked for a while with Tommy Tutone at a contract in Portland a couple years ago. He's a developer as well as a musician. His song was getting a lot of airplay at that point for, uh, AT&T Cellular or someone and I asked him about it. He had a very pointed comment that suggested that his song was happily making money for the record company and that he wasn't seeing a dime of it, else he wouldn't have to work at this day job he was at.

He'd also take off every so often and go do a music gig somewhere. Not bad, all things being equal, though I'm sorry he's yet another musician getting screwed out of royalties.

 

[sadangel]

Air Supply! (God I still love their music. I need a CD instead of my little cassete that I can't play anymore!!

Mini Skirts
Pepsi Free (Remember that?)
New Coke (Yeah...right!!)
Down Under--Men at Work
Africa--Toto
Shake it up-- The Cars
Just You and I--Eddie Rabbit/Crystal Gayle
Eye of the Tiger--Survivor
Nobody--Sylvia

The movie: Porky's. (God that was funny. My mom took me to the show, not knowing about some of the scenes that were in it....she tried to make me leave....no can do!!)

 

[Liar]

My most lasting memory from the 80's:

http://jackpotresearch.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/alf.jpg

 

[OzArrian]

80s were huge for me, finishing school, going to university, getting my first car and job and moving in with my then gf. But pop culture wise have to say the following were some of the highlights:

Watching the A-Team and taking the piss outta it
Girl bands like "The Bangles" (Susanna Hoffs is still cute)
Every Sunday night watching "Countdown" in the common room at college
My Atari 2600
Seeing Porkys 2 at the Drive In in a Datsun 120Y
Becoming a Star Trek TNG fan
Watching Dean Lukin win gold at the 84 LA Games

 

[JagFarlane]

Speak of the Olympics...the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team

 

[OzArrian]

Speak of the Olympics...the 1980 US Olympic Hockey team

Yep...one of the great 80s moments

 

[cloudy]

Remember the Olympics basketball dream team? It was the first year that they allowed pro players to participate - think it was early 90's, but close enough:

Patrick Ewing
Larry Bird
Scottie Pippin
Michael Jordan
Karl Malone
Charles Barkley
Magic Johnson (my favorite player of all time - got to meet him once, and he was very nice, very down to earth)

I remember watching the games and screaming myself hoarse.

 

[Selena_Kitt]

Air Supply!

Were they gay????

 

[michchick98]

Remember the Olympics basketball dream team? It was the first year that they allowed pro players to participate - think it was early 90's, but close enough:

Patrick Ewing
Larry Bird
Scottie Pippin
Michael Jordan
Karl Malone
Charles Barkley
Magic Johnson (my favorite player of all time - got to meet him once, and he was very nice, very down to earth)

I remember watching the games and screaming myself hoarse.

Oh yeah! I was big into basketball back then. Not so much now.

And on a personal note for me living in the Detroit area, one of my fondest memories was when the Tigers won the 84 World Series. I was workin' at McDonald's at the time (my first real job) and our manager let us bring in a TV to watch the game. When Kirk Gibson hit the winning run in Game 5, we went nuts, even some of the customers still in the restaurant joined in the celebration.

One customer who came through the drive-thru shortly after told us we shouldn't be celebrating because the owner of the San Diego Padres (the team the Tigers beat) was also the owner of McDonald's and he signed our paychecks.

I smiled politely and told him that Ray Kroc (the owner of the Padres and McDonald's at the time) wasn't here, but I'm sure he'd be okay with us celebrating for our hometown team.

 

[OzArrian]

Were they gay????

No just a sad-sack English/Aussie duo with bad home perms lol

 

[Vermilion]

Fraggle Rock
Osh Kosh Dungarees
Going Live
Sesame Street


Do those date me somewhat?

 

[rengadeirishman]

me...

 

[Liar]

Fraggle Rock

Aaaaaa! FRAGGLES! They rocked my world back in the day!

 

[Lady_Guenivere]

What a trip!
I was 12-22 in the 80's

I remember...
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Duran Duran
Having a rat tail
Being educated about classic rock...thank God for that...
Breakfast Club
Leg Warmers
Spandex
Hair Bands (Platinum Blonde, Ratt, Van Halen)
Music Videos
Bottle tokes
VCR's

and of course...losing my virginity

I loved and...hated the 80's

 

[OhMissScarlett]

Monchichi
Cabbage Patch Dolls
puffy stickers
Pitfall
Dynasty
Esprit
jelly shoes/bracelets
polka dots
crimped hair
huge eyebrows
satin duster coats
paisley prints
Zeltser Seltser(sp?)
Swatch
Glass Tiger
Valley Girl
I could go on all day. I love the 80's.

 

[Katyusha]

Super Mario Bros.
Street Fighter
Mortal Kombat
Ninja Gaiden

1988 Calgary Games:
The Battle of the Brians
The Battle of the Carmens
The Jamaican bobsled team
Bonnie Blair
Dan Jansen


Jellies
Jelly bracelets
Jimmy Z
Tight-rolling the cuffs of jeans
Scrunch socks
High-top sneakers
Ked's

 

[jomar]

...
Magic Johnson (my favorite player of all time - got to meet him once, and he was very nice, very down to earth)

..

Do I remember you saying he palmed your head or something?


Hill Street Blues
The Eurythmics
Black Monday
Challenger space shuttle
Live Aid
Mt St Helen's
Chernobyl
$1.00 gallon of gas
Berlin Wall comes down
Post-It
Thriller
The Simpsons (on the Tracey Ullman Show)
Married…With Children
Trivial Pursuit

 

[Katyusha]

Do I remember you saying he palmed your head or something?


Hill Street Blues
The Eurythmics
Black Monday
Challenger space shuttle
Live Aid
Mt St Helen's
Chernobyl
$1.00 gallon of gas
Berlin Wall comes down
Post-It
Thriller
The Simpsons (on the Tracey Ullman Show)
Married…With Children
Trivial Pursuit

I remember Chernobyl and the Challenger.

 

[jomar]

I remember Chernobyl and the Challenger.

I know...me too.

 

[voluptuary_manque]

I know...me too.

But I also remember the Berlin Wall going down. I never thought I'd live to see the end of the Soviet Union but I did. Amazing.

Oh, and I remember The Wall going up on the Mall in Washington, too . . .

 

[christabelll]

Superman (Christopher Reeves)
STNG
Babylon Five
Mt. St. Helens
Ramones
Twisted Sister
Huey Lewis and the News

no these are not 1 hit wonders but still defined the era in many ways​

Journey
Styx
Manhattan Transfer
Incredile Lightness of Being
Jolt Cola instead of Coke
Spandex
Livng in SF When Aids became official
the Loma Preita Earth Quake ( nimitz freeway collapsed 'memba?)
Hotel California
Lebanese Blonde Hashish
Atari and Commodore 64 Black Tower, Telengard, Beyond the Jagi Lines one of the first fractal geometry flight games available.
MSPAINT DELUXE (Remember King Tut???)
Cats
Les Miserables
Phantom of the Opera
how could you forget!!!!!

STAR WARS

 

[Katyusha]

But I also remember the Berlin Wall going down. I never thought I'd live to see the end of the Soviet Union but I did. Amazing.

Oh, and I remember The Wall going up on the Mall in Washington, too . . .

I remember sitting in GATE discussing the news of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the Soviet Union. I understood the Cold War, but I didn't, at least not until later.

I don't remember the construction of the Vietnam Wall, although I love the monument.

 

[OzArrian]

I remember sitting in GATE discussing the news of the Berlin Wall and the fall of the Soviet Union. I understood the Cold War, but I didn't, at least not until later.

I don't remember the construction of the Vietnam Wall, although I love the monument.

Yep...seeing the Wall come down was amazing. Have my own little piece of it as a souvenir.

Amazing how attitudes have changed since then...we were all worried about the Soviets blowing the crap outta us, and them worried about Ronnie Ray-gun...now it's will a mad Muslim fly a plane into us, or let go some dirty nuclear weapon.

 

[michchick98]

no these are not 1 hit wonders but still defined the era in many ways

One thing I don't think I'll ever forget is watching the Challenger disaster on TV.