Why are we still obsessed with the 80's

Why are we still obsessed with the 80’s? It was the time of The New Romantics, Björn Borg, Rubiks Cubes, shoulder pads and spandex. The 80s weren’t subtle. Everything was bigger, louder, brighter — and somehow cooler because of it. This was the era where MTV launched (1981) and music became as much visual as audio.

The 80’s synth pop culture influenced everything from fashion to advertising. The fashion trends ranged from bold neon coloured fluffy socks and leg warmers, oversized silhouettes to punk-inspired styles. T-Shirts with 'Frankie Say' were strangely popular. Acid washed or stone washed jeans were all the rage. Vintage concert T-shirts captured the essence of the era and have since become collectors items. Fashion was all about more is more, neon colours, aerobics gear, shoulder pads (the bigger, the better) and mullets (“business in the front… party in the back”).

Music was generally listened to through Vynyl records which experienced a resurgence in popularity during the 1980s for their analog warmth and nostalgic appeal. You were particularly cool if you owned a 'rare' coloured vynyl or collectors picture discs. The 12" extended mix was a must have. Album cover art became the integral part of the music experience. It was trendy to be seen at the local HMV or Andys Records stores flipping through the vinyl sleeves.

Any spare time was pre-internet there was no such thing as scrolling, Netfilx, social media. Instead we made mixtapes on cassette, watched VHS rentals on repeat, solved the Rubik’s Cube (or pretended to), skateboarding & BMX riding (with proper stunts and jumps back in the day). We even phoned friends (if we were allowed) on landlines (and hoping their parents didn’t answer). It was a case of “Call me after 6, it’s cheaper” and there was no caller ID it was a mystery. Entertainment required effort and patience.

Cassette tapes were popular and not without their quirks. They were prone to jamming in players causing frustration. You'd neet a pencil or 'Bic' to re wind on the tape after you had untangled it from the mechanism. All part of the retro charm and experience. The 'Mixtape' was an 80's favourite. You'd hover over the record button trying to capture your favorite track during the top 40 countdown taking care not to capture the DJ intro and then stop it in time before the DJ spoke at the end. This was an acquired skill. The tapes cover were crafted with care.

It was the decade of the home computer that featured the ZX81, the Vic20, BBC Micro, Atari 400, ZX Spectrum & Commodore 64. Gamers had to patiently wait while their games noisily loaded using tape cassettes sometimes to end up after 20 minutes with a ‘boot error’.

The Rubiks cube was by far the most popular and iconic toy of the 80's. It seemed everyone had one but only a few could complete it. Some would hand over their dinner money to the whizz kids in the playground to get their cube completed. Other notable toys where Transformers, Cabbage Patch Kids, Care Bears, He-Man and My Little Pony. Who remembers Simon, Lite-Brite and Etch A Sketch.

The Breakfast Club, Back to the future (the 1st one) , E.T were on at the cinema and you'd que for miles round the block to watch them in a cinema that had only 1 huge screen. Sometimes you'd get an interlude where you could purchase a choc ice.

Dance music thrived in the 80’s, Glam Metal also made its shiny entrance. During this decade the electronic music synth pop scene started to branch out into different genres such as electro, techno, house and Eurodance all of which continued into the 90’s. Rap music became a thriving scene in the later part of the decade with the introduction of hip hop.

It was a decade when across all nightclubs people would sit on the dance floor in a sort of congo formation and tap the floor to the tune of ‘say oops upside your head say oops upside your head’. This was cool stuff.

MTV was on trend, it used to play non stop music videos, not like today.

Some quick hit quirks of the 80's -