1980s: Encyclopedia - 1980s

1980s

1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989

The 1980s decade refers to the years from 1980 to 1989, inclusive. Informally, it can also include a few years at the end of the preceding decade or the beginning of the following decade.

In the UK the first major 1980s fashion trend was sparked by the arrival of the New Romantics in the popular music charts in 1980. The election of Margaret Thatcher as Prime Minister in 1979 is also considered to be a major turning point. In America, the decade was most poignantly symbolized by the presidency of Ronald Reagan from 1981 to 1989 (or affectionally termed the "Reagan Years") as it epitomized the rise of conservatism as the dominant creed in American political and cultural life.

Much like the 1960s, the decade was an era of frantic change, characterised by political and economic decentralisation, especially in countries with mixed and command economies. Political events and trends of the 1980s culminated in the toppling of military governments and authoritarian regimes, including every communist Warsaw Pact state in Eastern Europe, bringing to a close the decades-long Cold War. These changes continued to be felt in the 1990s and on into the 21st Century.

The 1980s is also generally considered to be the transition between the industrial and digital ages, seeing rapid developments in numerous sectors of technology which have defined the modern consumer world. Electronics like personal computers, gaming systems, the first commercially available hand held mobile phones, and new audio and data storage technologies such as the compact disc, are all still prominent well into the 2000s.

The population of the world increased more dramatically in the 1980s than any other decade in human history, adding nearly one billion new people in the course of the decade. This is an important fact as such astronomical growth of the human race is unlikely to be repeated in the near future due to current demographic trends, which are consistently showing a decline in birth rates across the globe. Children born in the 1980s are likely to have an extremely prominent position in world business and government affairs from the 2020s all the way through to the 2050s due to their immense population, potential voting powers, relatively good health, and high life expectancy.

1980s - Trends and Fashions

• The video game console begins to outstrip the arcade game.
• The Rubik's cube, Cabbage Patch Kids, "Baby on Board" signs, and Trivial Pursuit fads capture the interest of the American public.
  Rubik's Cube
• Nerds are popular subject.
• Alcohol education expands.
• Hair becomes big and poofy, or otherwise eccentric. Examples include the Mullet and the Flock of Seagulls cuts.
• Power Dressing was a major fashion statement of the decade, characterised by the use of increasingly large shoulder pads - the origins of this trend are often attributed to the American television series Dynasty and, specifically to one of its stars - English-born Joan Collins, who caused quite a stir as the scheming character Alexis Carrington.
• Women's Liberation movement increases women's role in the workplace, and establishes new precedents for US women. As a carry-over from the 1970s, more and more women take to calling themselves "Ms." versus "Mrs." or "Miss"
• No-Fault divorce laws pave the way for increased divorce rate, as depicted in the movie, Irreconcilable Differences. No-Fault divorce catapults record numbers of women and children into the throes of poverty. The increase in single parent homes and, perhaps more significantly, homes in which both parents work leads to the phenomenon of Latch-key children, where children come home to an empty house and watch a lot of television.
• Neo-prohibitionism grows in popularity.
• Ninja and martial arts mania sweeps North America due to the popularity of Kung Fu Theater and Ninja Movies. Many instructional books are published and sold by many authors claiming to be experts. This is also often blamed as the beginning of the McDojo trend.

1980s - Music

• Music videos (and MTV) begin to have an effect on record industry in the United States. Pop artists Michael Jackson and Madonna are pioneers; groups such as Duran Duran benefit.
• New Wave music, a form of synthesized pop-rock, popular throughout decade, especially in early 80s.
• House music - a new development in dance music mid-way through the decade, growing out of the post-disco scene early in the decade, later developing into acid house - a harder form of dance often associated with the developing late 1980s drug culture.
• Hair metal popular in late 80s. Thrash metal becomes underground sensation originating in the Bay Area, California. Bands like Metallica, Megadeth, and Slayer are popular.
• Popular artists include Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson, Bon Jovi, Duran Duran, Madonna, U2, Menudo, the New Kids on the Block and a-ha.
• In the US, contemporary Christian music gains popularity in the mid-80s with such crossover artists as Amy Grant, Kathy Troccoli, and Michael W. Smith.
• Massive sales for Ethiopian famine relief records by Band Aid ("Do They Know It's Christmas?") and USA for Africa ("We Are the World"), followed by Live Aid famine relief concert in London and Philadelphia. Other artists push for nuclear disarmament.
• The Hip hop scene evolves to become a powerful musical force, bringing with it several dance styles. Hip hop also brings artists like Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow and N.W.A.to the forefront; hip hop's spread outside of New York City, especially to Los Angeles, accelerates and then takes off beyond America's shores.

1980s - Television

• Television networks are challenged by cable television. In the U.S., Cheers and The Cosby Show top ratings and the Fox network is launched. CNN becomes the first 24-hour news channel.
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, the first animated children's television program built exclusively around a toyline, starts a new trend of increasing the connection between children's programming and toy advertising, alarming many parents and watchdog organizations; an explosive number of toy tie-in cartoons follow.
• Animation in the United States and elsewhere begins a dramatic comeback in production values and mainstream popular appeal both in feature films and on television.
• Soap operas gain popularity among high-schoolers and college students in the United States, thanks in part to the supercoupling of Luke and Laura on the most popular soap of the day, General Hospital.
• MTV breaks out influencing pop culture.

1980s - Film

• Steven Spielberg's E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial opens in 1982 and shatters records for box office gross receipts.
• Ridley Scott's Blade Runner opens in 1982.
• Teen flicks and horror movies reach a high
• Movie sequels very common

1980s - Video Games

• The video game becomes popular, along with the arcade, although graphics are incredibly primitive by 2000s and even 1990s standards. The popularity of the video game during the 1980s may be compared to the MP3 boom of the 2000s and late 1990s
• Pac-Man fever craze early in the decade, especially around 1982-1983
• Super Mario Bros games popular from 1986 to 1990

1980s - Others

• and to add to the cancer was begning tobe identified.
• The AIDS epidemic is identified and named.
• Assassination of John Lennon and Olof Palme, attempts on Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II.
• Violent crime and drug trafficking soar to record levels in most large American cities.
• Research increases on alcohol and weight.
• Assymmetrical and bizarre hairstyles from about 1980 to 1993.
• Remove Intoxicated Drivers grows rapidly.

1980s - People

• Chancellor Bruno Kreisky (Austria)
• Chancellor Fred Sinowatz (Austria)
• Chancellor Franz Vranitzky (Austria)
• Prime Minister Bob Hawke (Australia)
• Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser (Australia)
• President João Figueiredo (Brazil)
• President José Sarney (Brazil)
• Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau (Canada)
• Prime Minister Brian Mulroney (Canada)
• General Augusto Pinochet (Chile)
• Deng Xiaoping (People's Republic of China)
• President Chiang Ching-kuo (Republic of China on Taiwan)
• Prime Minister Poul Schlüter (Denmark)
• Erich Honecker (East Germany)
• President Anwar Sadat (Egypt)
• President Hosni Mubarak (Egypt)
• President Daniel Ortega (Nicaragua)
• President Mengistu Haile Mariam (Ethiopia)
• President Urho Kekkonen (Finland)
• President Mauno Koivisto (Finland)
• President François Mitterrand (France)
• Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou (Greece)
• Prime Minister Indira Gandhi (India)
• Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi (India)
• Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (Iran)
• President Saddam Hussein (Iraq)
• President Patrick Hillery (Ireland)
• Taoiseach Charles Haughey (Ireland)
• Taoiseach Garret FitzGerald (Ireland)
• Prime Minister Menachem Begin (Israel)
• Prime Minister Shimon Peres (Israel)
• Emperor Hirohito (Japan)
• Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone (Japan)
• Emir Jabir al-Ahmad al-Jabir al-Sabah (Kuwait)
• President Muammar al-Qaddafi (Libya)
• Pope John Paul II
• Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (Malaysia)
• Prime Minister Dom Mintoff (Malta)
• Prime Minister Karmenu Mifsud Bonnici (Malta)
• Prime Minister Eddie Fenech Adami (Malta)
• Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad (Malaysia)
• President Miguel de la Madrid Hurtado (Mexico)
• President Samora Machel (Mozambique)
• Prime Minister Robert Muldoon (New Zealand)
• Prime Minister David Lange (New Zealand)
• Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer (New Zealand)
• Queen Beatrix (Netherlands)
• General Muhammad Zia-ul-Haq (Pakistan)
• General Manuel Noriega (Panama)
• President Ferdinand Marcos (Philippines)
• President Corazon Aquino (Philippines)
• President Wojciech Jaruzelski (Poland)
• President Nicolae Ceauşescu (Romania)
• Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (Singapore)
• President and Prime Minister P.W. Botha (South Africa)
• President Chun Doo-hwan (South Korea)
• Premier Leonid Brezhnev (Soviet Union)
• General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev (Soviet Union)
• King Juan Carlos (Spain)
• President Felipe González (Spain)
• Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa of Sri Lanka
• Prime Minister Olof Palme (Sweden)
• Queen Elizabeth II (United Kingdom and the Commonwealth Realms)
• Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (United Kingdom)
• President George H.W. Bush (United States)
• President Jimmy Carter (United States)
• President Ronald Reagan (United States)
• Chancellor Helmut Schmidt (West Germany)
• Chancellor Helmut Kohl (West Germany)
• President Josip Broz Tito (Yugoslavia)
• President Mobutu Sese Seko (Zaire)
• President Robert Mugabe (Zimbabwe)

1980s - Entertainers

• AC/DC
• Brat Pack
• Motley Crue
• David Brooks
• Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Glory)
• The Cars
• Phoebe Cates (Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Gremlins)
• Guns N Roses
• Tom Cruise (Top Gun, Rain Man, Risky Business, The Color of Money)
• Bo Derek
• Matt Dillon
• Dalida
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Emilio Estevez (The Breakfast Club, The Outsiders, Young Guns)
• Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones series, Star Wars series, Blade Runner, Witness)
• Jodie Foster
• Iron Maiden
• Michael J. Fox (Back to the Future series, Teen Wolf)
• Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon series, Mad Max series)
• Debbie Harry (Blondie)
• Paul Hogan (Crocodile Dundee)
• John Hughes
• Chrissie Hynde (Pretenders)
• Michael Jackson (Thriller)
• Janet Jackson (Control)
• Elton John
• Michael Keaton (Batman, Mr. Mom, Night Shift)
• Annie Lennox (Eurythmics)
• George Lucas (Indiana Jones series, Star Wars series, Captain Eo)
• Madonna (Material Girl)
• Metallica
• George Michael (Wham!)
• Motley Crue
• Eddie Murphy (Saturday Night Live, Beverly Hills Cop, Trading Places)
• Jack Nicholson (Terms of Endearment, The Shining, Batman, Prizzi's Honor, Ironweed, Reds)
• Queen (band)
• Sean Penn
• Michelle Pfeiffer (Scarface, Dangerous Liaisons)
• Prince (Purple Rain, Sign O' the Times)
• Meg Ryan
• Charlie Sheen
• Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator, Predator, Conan the Barbarian)
• Sylvester Stallone (Rambo: First Blood)
• Patrick Swayze (Dirty Dancing)
• Judas Priest
• The Cure
• U2 (War, The Joshua Tree, Rattle and Hum)
• Van Halen
• Sigourney Weaver

1980s - Sports figures

• Alexis Arguello (Nicaraguan boxer)
• Marco van Basten (Dutch soccer player)
• Wilfred Benitez (Puerto Rican boxer)
• Larry Bird (U.S. basketball player)
• Allan Border (Australian cricket captain/batsman)
• Ian Botham (Somerset & England cricket all-rounder)
• Mike Brearley (Middlesex & England cricket captain/batsman)
• George Brett (U.S. baseball player)
• Warwick Capper (Australian football player)
• Julio Cesar Chavez (Mexican boxer)
• Roberto Duran (Panamanian boxer)
• Paulo Roberto Falcão (Brazilian soccer player)
• Ric Flair (U.S. wrestler)
• Mike Gatting (Middlesex & England cricket captain/batsman)
• Sunil Gavaskar (India cricket opening batsman)
• Wilfredo Gómez (Puerto Rican boxer)
• Gordon Greenidge (West Indies cricket opening batsman)
• Wayne Gretzky (Canadian ice hockey player)
• Florence Griffith Joyner (U.S. track and field athlete)
• Richard Hadlee (New Zealand cricket fast bowler)
• Marvin Hagler (U.S. boxer)
• Alan Hansen (Liverpool & Scotland footballer))
• Thomas Hearns (U.S. boxer)
• Hulk Hogan (U.S. wrestler)
• Larry Holmes (U.S. boxer)
• Bo Jackson (U.S. American football and baseball player)
• Imran Khan (Pakistani cricket player)
• Jahangir Khan (Pakistani squash player)
• Earvin "Magic" Johnson (U.S. basketball player)
• Michael Jordan (U.S. basketball player)
• Jarmila Kratochvílová (Czech track and field athlete)
• Greg LeMond (U.S. cyclist)
• Sugar Ray Leonard (U.S. boxer)
• Carl Lewis (U.S. track and field athlete)
• Wally Lewis (Australian Rugby League player}
• Gary Lineker (English footballer)
• Ronnie Lott (U.S. American football player)
• Saleem Malik (Pakistani cricket player)
• Diego Armando Maradona (Argentinesoccer player)
• Malcolm Marshall (West Indies cricket fast bowler)
• John McEnroe (U.S. tennis player)
• Mal Meninga (Australian Rugby League player}
• Mark Messier (Canadian ice hockey player)
• Javed Miandad (Pakistani cricket player)
• Joe Montana (U.S. American football player)
• Dale Murphy (U.S. baseball player)
• Martina Navratilova (Czech/U.S. tennis player)
• Jack Nicklaus (U.S. golfer)
• Nelson Piquet (Brazilian racing driver)
• Michel Platini (French soccer player)
• Alain Prost (French racing driver)
• Jerry Rice (U.S. football player)
• Vivian Richards (West Indies cricket batsman)
• Nolan Ryan (U.S. baseball player)
• Ozzie Smith (U.S. baseball player)
• Michael Spinks (U.S. boxer)
• Lawrence Taylor (U.S. American football player)
• Isiah Thomas (U.S. basketball player)
• Daley Thompson (English track and field athlete)
• Mike Tyson (U.S. boxer)
• Zico (Brazilian soccer player)

1980s - Films

• Caddyshack (1980)
• Raging Bull (1980)
• Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
• Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
• Tootsie (1982)
• Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
• A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984)
• Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
• Ghostbusters (1984)
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)
• Police Academy (1984)
• This is Spinal Tap (1984)
• Sixteen Candles (1984)
• The Karate Kid (1984)
• Back to the Future (1985)
• The Breakfast Club (1985)
• The Goonies (1985)
• Pretty in Pink (1986)
• Aliens (1986)
• Top Gun (1986)
• Short Circuit (1986)
• Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
• Full Metal Jacket (1986)
• RoboCop (1987)
• The Lost Boys (1987)
• The Princess Bride (1987)
• Big (1988)
• Die Hard (1988)
• Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
• A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
• Hairspray (1988)
• Ghostbusters II (1989)
• Back to the Future II (1989)
• When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
• Glory (1989)
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
• Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure (1989)
• The Little Mermaid (1989)
• Batman (1989)
• Dead Poets Society (1989)
• Do the Right Thing (1989)

1980s - Television

See Also: 1980s in television

• 21 Jump Street
• The A-Team (including Mr. T)
• ALF
• Allo! Allo!
• Cagney & Lacey
• Cheers
• Coronation Street
• The Comedy Company
• The Cosby Show
• Diff'rent Strokes
• Doctor Who
• The Dukes of Hazzard
• Dynasty
• EastEnders
• The Equalizer
• The Facts of Life
• Falcon Crest
• Fast Forward
• Family Ties
• Flashdance
• Full House
• General Hospital
• The Greatest American Hero
• Growing Pains
• Head of the Class
• Hill Street Blues
• The Jewel in the Crown
• Knight Rider
• Knots Landing
• L.A. Law
• Late Night with David Letterman
• Little Lulu Show
• Magnum P.I.
• Miami Vice
• Moonlighting
• MTV
• Neighbours
• Only Fools and Horses
• Perfect Strangers
• Punky Brewster
• Roseanne
• Saturday Night Live
• Smurfs
• St. Elsewhere
• T.J. Hooker
• The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson
• Who's The Boss?
• Yes, Minister

1980s - Music

Musical genres popular during the 1980s include hip hop, old school rap, heavy metal music, twee pop, hair metal, New Wave music, New Romantic, shoegazing, jangle pop, hardcore punk, alternative rock, dream pop, techno, house, acid house, and two-tone. In the United States, country music also remained popular with hits from the likes of Kenny Rogers, Ricky Skaggs, George Strait and Randy Travis. 1989 saw Garth Brooks break onto the scene.

See also: 1980s music groups, List of rock and roll albums in the 1980s

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "1980s", http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1980s, used and available under the GNU Free Documentation License.