Decade of the Gregorian calendar (1980?1989)
The
1980s
(pronounced "nineteen-eighties", shortened to "
the '80s
" or "
the Eighties
") was a
decade
that began January 1, 1980, and ended December 31, 1989.
The decade saw a dominance of
conservatism
and
free market
economics, and a socioeconomic change due to advances in technology and a worldwide move away from
planned economies
and towards
laissez-faire capitalism
compared to the
1970s
. As economic deconstruction increased in the developed world, multiple
multinational corporations
associated with the manufacturing industry relocated into
Thailand
,
Mexico
,
South Korea
,
Taiwan
, and
China
.
Japan
and
West Germany
saw large economic growth during this decade. The
AIDS epidemic
became recognized in the 1980s and has since killed an estimated 40.4 million people (as of 2022
[update]
).
[1]
Global warming
theory began to spread within the scientific and political community in the 1980s.
The
United Kingdom
and the
United States
moved closer to
supply-side economic policies
, beginning a trend towards global instability of international trade that would pick up more steam in the
following decade
as the fall of the USSR made
right-wing
economic policy more powerful.
The final decade of the Cold War opened with the US-Soviet confrontation continuing largely without any interruption. Superpower tensions escalated rapidly as President Reagan scrapped the policy of detente and adopted a new, much more aggressive stance on the Soviet Union. The world came perilously close to nuclear war for the first time since the
Cuban Missile Crisis
in 1962, but the second half of the decade saw a dramatic easing of superpower tensions and ultimately the total collapse of Soviet communism.
Developing countries across the world faced economic and social difficulties as they suffered from multiple debt crises in the 1980s, requiring many of these countries to apply for financial assistance from the
International Monetary Fund
(IMF) and the
World Bank
.
Ethiopia
witnessed
widespread famine in the mid-1980s
during the corrupt rule of
Mengistu Haile Mariam
, resulting in the country having to depend on foreign aid to provide food to its population and worldwide efforts to address and raise money to help Ethiopians, such as the
Live Aid
concert in 1985.
Major civil discontent and violence occurred, including the
Angolan Civil War
, the
Ethiopian Civil War
, the
Moro conflict
, the
Ugandan Bush War
, the
insurgency in Laos
, the
Iran?Iraq War
, the
Soviet?Afghan War
, the
1982 Lebanon War
, the
Second Sudanese Civil War
, the
Lord's Resistance Army insurgency
, and the
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
.
Islamism
became a powerful political force in the 1980s and many
jihadist
organizations, including
Al Qaeda
, were set up.
By 1986, nationalism was making a comeback in the Eastern Bloc, and the desire for democracy in
socialist states
, combined with economic recession, resulted in
Mikhail Gorbachev
's
glasnost
and
perestroika
, which reduced Communist Party power, legalized dissent and sanctioned limited forms of capitalism such as
joint ventures
with companies from
capitalist
countries. After tension for most of the decade, by 1988 relations between the communist and capitalist blocs had improved significantly
[2]
and the Soviet Union was increasingly unwilling to defend its governments in satellite states.
1989 brought the
overthrow and attempted overthrow
of a number of governments led by communist parties, such as in
Hungary
, the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
in China, the
Czechoslovak "Velvet Revolution"
,
Erich Honecker
's East German regime, Poland's Soviet-backed government, and
the violent overthrow
of the
Nicolae Ceau?escu
regime in
Romania
. Destruction of the 155-km
Berlin Wall
, at the end of the decade, signaled a seismic geopolitical shift. The
Cold War
ended in the early 1990s with the successful
Reunification of Germany
and the
USSR's demise
after the
August Coup
of 1991.
The 1980s was an era of tremendous population growth around the world, surpassing the 1970s and 1990s, and arguably being the largest in human history. During the 1980s, the world population grew from 4.4 to 5.3 billion people. There were approximately 1.33 billion births and 480 million deaths. Population growth was particularly rapid in a number of African, Middle Eastern, and
South Asian
countries during this decade, with rates of natural increase close to or exceeding 4% annually. The 1980s saw the advent of the ongoing practice of
sex-selective abortion
in China and India as
ultrasound
technology permitted parents to selectively abort baby girls.
[3]
The 1980s saw great advances in genetic and digital technology. After years of animal experimentation since 1985, the first genetic modification of 10 adult human beings took place in May 1989, a
gene tagging
experiment
[4]
which led to the first true gene therapy implementation in September 1990. The first "
designer babies
", a pair of female twins, were created in a laboratory in late 1989 and born in July 1990 after being sex-selected via the controversial
assisted reproductive technology
procedure
preimplantation genetic diagnosis
.
[5]
Gestational surrogacy
was first performed in 1985 with the first birth in 1986, making it possible for a woman to become a biological mother without experiencing pregnancy for the first time in history.
[6]
The global
internet
took shape in academia by the second half of the 1980s, as well as many other
computer networks
of both academic and commercial use such as
USENET
,
Fidonet
, and the
Bulletin Board System
. By 1989, the Internet and the networks linked to it were a global system with extensive transoceanic satellite links and nodes in most
developed countries
.
[7]
Based on earlier work, from 1980 onwards
Tim Berners Lee
formalized the concept of the
World Wide Web
by 1989.
Television
viewing became commonplace in the
Third World
, with the number of TV sets in China and India increasing by 15 and 10 times respectively.
[8]
The
Atari Video Computer System
console became widespread in the first part of the decade, often simply called "Atari". 1980 Atari VCS port of
Space Invaders
was the first
killer app
. The
video game crash of 1983
ended the system's popularity and decimated the industry until the
Nintendo Entertainment System
re-established the console market in North America. The hand-held
Game Boy
launched in 1989.
Super Mario Bros.
and
Tetris
were the decade's best selling games.
Pac-Man
was the highest grossing arcade game.
Home computers
became commonplace. The 1981
IBM PC
led to a large market for
IBM PC compatibles
. The 1984 release of the
Macintosh
popularized the
WIMP
style of interaction.
Politics and wars
[
edit
]
Wars
[
edit
]
The most prominent
armed conflicts
of the decade include:
International wars
[
edit
]
The most notable wars of the decade include:
- The
Cold War
(1947?1991)
- Soviet?Afghan War
(1979?1989) ? a war fought between the
Soviet Union
and the Islamist Mujahideen Resistance in Afghanistan. The mujahideen found other support from a variety of sources including the
Central Intelligence Agency
of the
United States
(see
Operation Cyclone
), as well as
Saudi Arabia
,
Pakistan
and other Muslim nations through the context of the Cold War and the regional India?Pakistan conflict.
- Invasion of Grenada
(1983) ? a 1983 U.S.-led invasion of
Grenada
, triggered by a
military coup
which ousted a brief
revolutionary
government. The successful invasion led to a change of government but was controversial due to charges of
American imperialism
,
Cold War
politics, the involvement of
Cuba
, the unstable state of the Grenadian government, and Grenada's status as a
Commonwealth realm
.
- Salvadoran Civil War
(1980?1992) ? part of the cold war conflicts, reached its peak in the 1980s, 70,000 Salvadorans died.
- Argentina invaded the
Falkland Islands
, sparking the
Falklands War
. It occurred from April 2 to July 14, 1982, between the
United Kingdom
and
Argentina
as British forces fought to recover the islands. Britain emerged victorious and its stance in international affairs and its long-decaying reputation as a
colonial power
received an unexpected boost. The
military junta
of Argentina, on the other hand, was left humiliated by the defeat; and its leader
Leopoldo Galtieri
was deposed three days after the end of the war. A military investigation known as the Rattenbach Report even recommended his execution.
- Arab?Israeli conflict
(early 20th century ? present)
- 1982 Lebanon War
? the
Government of Israel
ordered the invasion as a response to the assassination attempt against Israel's ambassador to the United Kingdom,
Shlomo Argov
, by the
Abu Nidal Organization
and due to the constant terror attacks on northern Israel made by the terrorist organizations which resided in Lebanon. After attacking the
PLO
, as well as
Syrian
, leftist and
Muslim
Lebanese
forces, Israel occupied southern Lebanon and eventually surrounded the
PLO
in west
Beirut
and subjected to heavy bombardment, they negotiated passage from Lebanon.
- In October 1985 eight Israeli
F-15 Eagles
carried out
Operation Wooden Leg
intending to bomb the
PLO
's new headquarters in
Tunis
,
Tunisia
, more than 2,000 km from Israel. The attack cost 270 lives, most of them Tunisian civilians. The attack was later condemned by the
United Nations Security Council
. The United States is thought to have assisted or known of the attack.
- The
Iran?Iraq War
took place from 1980 to 1988.
Iraq
was accused of using illegal
chemical weapons
to kill
Iranian
forces and against its own dissident
Kurdish
populations. Both sides suffered enormous casualties, but the poorly equipped Iranian armies suffered worse for it, being forced to use soldiers as young as 15 in human-wave attacks. Iran finally agreed to an armistice in 1988.
- The United States launched an
aerial bombardment of Libya
in 1986 in retaliation for Libyan support of terrorism and attacks on US personnel in
Germany
and
Turkey
.
- The
South African Border War
between South Africa and the alliance of
Angola
,
Namibia
and
Zambia
ended in 1989, ending over thirty years of conflict.
- The United States engaged in significant direct and indirect conflict in the decade via alliances with various groups in a number of Central and South American countries claiming that the U.S. was acting to oppose the spread of
communism
and end illicit drug trade. The U.S. government supported the government of
Colombia
's attempts to destroy its large illicit
cocaine
-trafficking industry and provided support for right-wing military government in the
Salvadoran civil war
which became controversial after the
El Mozote massacre
on December 11, 1981, in which U.S.-trained Salvadoran paramilitaries killed 1000 Salvadoran civilians. The United States, along with members of the
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
,
invaded
Grenada
in 1983. The
Iran?Contra affair
erupted which involved U.S. interventionism in
Nicaragua
, resulting in members of the U.S. government being indicted in 1986. U.S. military action began against
Panama
in December 1989 to overthrow its dictator,
Manuel Noriega
resulting in 3,500 civilian casualties and the restoration of democratic rule.
- Battle of Cuito Cuanavale
took place as part of the
Angolan civil war
and
South African Border War
from 1987 to 1988. The battle involved the largest fighting in Africa since World War II between military forces from
Angola
,
Cuba
(expeditionary forces) and
Namibia
versus military forces from South Africa and the dissident Angolan
UNITA
organization.
- The
First Nagorno-Karabakh War
between
Azerbaijan
and the
Armenia
started in 1988 and ended in 1994.
- The
United States invasion of Panama
in December 1989 led to the deposition of
Manuel Noriega
.
Civil wars and guerrilla wars
[
edit
]
The most notable internal conflicts of the decade include:
Terrorist attacks
[
edit
]
The most notable terrorist attacks of the decade include:
- Bologna massacre
in
Italy
on August 2, 1980, three members of the
neo-fascist
group
Nuclei Armati Rivoluzionari
detonate a time bomb at
Bologna Central Station
, killing 85 people.
- El Mozote massacre
in
El Salvador
on December 11, 1981, against civilians, committed by government forces supported by the
United States
during their anti-guerrilla campaign against Marxist?Leninist rebels.
- The
Rome and Vienna airport attacks
took place on December 27, 1985, against the Israeli
El Al
airline. The attack was done by militants loyal to
Abu Nidal
, backed by the government of
Libya
.
- The
1983 Beirut barracks bombing
? during the
Lebanese Civil War
two
truck bombs
struck separate buildings housing United States and French military forces killing 299 American and French servicemen. The organization
Islamic Jihad
claimed responsibility for the bombing.
- Air India Flight 182
was destroyed on June 23, 1985, by Sikh-Canadian militants. It was the biggest mass murder involving Canadians in Canada's history.
- On December 21, 1988,
Pan Am Flight 103
was blown up over the village of Lockerbie, Scotland, while en route from London's Heathrow Airport to New York's JFK. The bombing killed all 259 people on board, 243 passengers and 16 crew members, plus 11 people on the ground, totaling 270 fatalities who were citizens of 21 nationalities. The bombing was and remains the worst terrorist attack on
UK
soil.
Coups
[
edit
]
The most prominent
coups d'etat
of the decade include:
Nuclear threats
[
edit
]
Decolonization and independence
[
edit
]
- Following the decolonization and independence of the
Commonwealth realms
.
- In 1982, Canada gained official independence from the United Kingdom with the
Canada Act 1982
, authorized by the signature by
Elizabeth II
. This act severed all political dependencies of the United Kingdom in Canada (although the Queen remained the head of state).
- In 1986, Australia gained full independence from the United Kingdom with the
Australia Act 1986
, which severed the last remaining powers of the British government over the Australian government, including the removal of the privy council as the highest court of appeal. Australia retained the queen as head of state.
- In 1986, New Zealand and the United Kingdom fully separated New Zealand's governments from the influence of the British Parliament, resulting in New Zealand's full independence with the
Constitution Act 1986
which also reorganized the
New Zealand government
.
- Independence was granted to
Vanuatu
from the British/French condominium (1980),
Kiribati
from joint US-British government (1981) and
Palau
from the United States (1986).
- Zimbabwe
becomes independent from official colonial rule of the United Kingdom in 1980.
- Independence was given to
Antigua and Barbuda
,
Belize
(both 1981), and
Saint Kitts and Nevis
(1983) in the Caribbean;
Brunei
(1984) and
Thailand
formed a US-British government (1981) in Southeast Asia.
Prominent political events
[
edit
]
Americas
[
edit
]
- Ronald Reagan
was elected U.S. president in 1980. In international affairs, Reagan pursued a hardline policy towards preventing the spread of communism, initiating a considerable buildup of U.S. military power to challenge the Soviet Union. He further directly challenged the
Iron Curtain
by demanding that the Soviet Union dismantle the
Berlin Wall
.
- The
Reagan Administration
accelerated the
War on Drugs
, publicized through anti-drug campaigns including the
Just Say No
campaign of First Lady
Nancy Reagan
. Drugs gained attention in the US as a serious problem in the '80s. Cocaine was relatively popular among celebrities and affluent youth, while crack, a cheaper offshoot of the drug, was linked to high crime rates in inner cities during the
American crack epidemic
.
[
citation needed
]
- The
Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (1968)
(PATCO) declared a strike on August 3, 1981, seeking better working conditions, better pay, and a 32-hour workweek. The strike caused considerable disruption of the U.S. air transportation system. Resolution came when
Ronald Reagan
fired over 11,000 striking air traffic controllers who had ignored the order, banning them from federal service for life. After seeking appeals, many of the controllers were re-hired while the FAA attempted to replace much of their air traffic control staffing. The remainder continued to be banned until President Clinton lifted the final aspects in 1993.
- Political unrest in the province of
Quebec
, which, due to the many differences between the dominant francophone population and the anglophone minority, and also to francophone rights in the predominantly
English
-speaking Canada, came to a head in 1980 when the provincial government called a public
referendum
on partial separation from the rest of Canada. The referendum ended with the "no" side winning majority (59.56% no, 40.44% yes).
- Military dictatorships
give way to democracy in
Argentina
(1983),
Uruguay
(1984?85),
Brazil
(1985?1988) and
Chile
(1988?89). This marked the end of the
Operation Condor
for 30 years.
Europe
[
edit
]
- The
European Community
's
enlargement
continued with the accession of Greece in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986.
- In 1983,
Bettino Craxi
became the first
socialist
to hold the office of
Prime Minister of Italy
; he remained in power until 1987, becoming one of the longest-serving Prime Ministers in the history of Italian Republic. At the end of his presidency the
Mani pulite
corruption scandal broke up, causing the collapse of the political system.
- Significant political reforms occurred in a number of communist countries in eastern Europe as the populations of these countries grew increasingly hostile and politically active in opposing communist governments. These reforms included attempts to increase individual liberties and market liberalization, and promises of democratic renewal. The collapse of communism in eastern Europe was generally peaceful, the exception being
Romania
, whose leader
Nicolae Ceau?escu
tried to keep the people isolated from the events happening outside the country. While making a speech in Bucharest in December 1989, he was booed and shouted down by the crowd, and then tried to flee the city with his wife
Elena
. Two days later, they were captured, charged with genocide, and shot on Christmas Day.
- In
Yugoslavia
, following the death of communist leader
Josip Broz Tito
in May 1980, the trend of political reform of the communist system occurred along with a trend towards
ethnic nationalism
and inter-ethnic hostility, especially in Serbia, beginning with the 1986
Memorandum of the Serbian Academy of Sciences and Arts
followed by the agenda of Serbian communist leader
Slobodan Milo?evi?
who aggressively pushed for increased political influence of Serbs in the late 1980s, condemning non-Serb Yugoslav politicians who challenged his agenda as being enemies of Serbs.
- There was continuing civil strife in Northern Ireland, including the adoption of hunger strikes by Irish Republican Army prisoners seeking the reintroduction of political status.
- Mikhail Gorbachev
became leader of the Soviet Union in 1985, and initiated major reforms to the Soviet Union's government through increasing the rights of expressing political dissent and opening elections to opposition candidates (while maintaining legal dominance of the Communist Party). Gorbachev pursued negotiation with the United States to decrease tensions and eventually end the
Cold War
.
- During the
Revolutions of 1989
, most of the communist governments in Eastern Europe collapsed. The
fall of the Berlin Wall
in 1989 would be followed in 1990 by the
German reunification
.
- The United Kingdom was governed by the
Conservative Party
under Prime Minister
Margaret Thatcher
, the first female leader of a Western country. Under her
Premiership
, the party introduced widespread economic reforms including the
privatisation
of industries and the de-regulation of
stock markets
echoing similar reforms of
U.S. President
Ronald Reagan
. She was also a staunch opponent of communism, earning her the nickname
The Iron Lady
.
- Poor industrial relations marked the beginning of the decade; the
UK miners' strike (1984?85)
was a major
industrial action
affecting the
UK coal industry
. The strike by the
National Union of Mineworkers
(NUM) was led by
Arthur Scargill
, although some NUM members considered it to be unconstitutional and did not observe it. The
BBC
has referred to the strike as "the most bitter industrial dispute in British history."
[9]
At its height, the strike involved 142,000 mineworkers, making it the biggest since the
1926 General Strike
.
[10]
- In November 1982,
Leonid Brezhnev
, who had led the Soviet Union since 1964, died. He was followed in quick succession by
Yuri Andropov
, the former KGB chief, and
Konstantin Chernenko
, both of whom were in poor health during their short tenures in office.
Asia
[
edit
]
- Following the
assassination of Park Chung-hee
, South Korean president
Chun Doo Hwan
came to power at the end of 1979 and ruled as a dictator until his presidential term expired in 1987. He was responsible for the
Gwangju Uprising
in May 1980 when police and soldiers battled armed protesters. Relations with North Korea showed little sign of improvement during the 1980s. In 1983, when Chun was in Burma,
a bomb apparently planted by North Korean agents
killed a number of South Korean government officials. The
June Democratic Struggle
in 1987, a nationwide pro-democracy movement in South Korea, leads to democratic reforms, an end to authoritarian rule and
democratic elections
. After leaving office, Chun was succeeded by
Roh Tae Woo
, the first democratic ruler of the country, which saw its international prestige greatly rise with hosting the Olympics in 1988. Roh pursued a policy of normalizing relations with China and the Soviet Union, but had to face militant left-wing student groups who demanded reunification with North Korea and the withdrawal of US troops.
- In the Philippines, after almost 20 years of dictatorship, Philippine president
Ferdinand Marcos
left the presidency and was replaced by
Corazon Aquino
through the "
People Power Revolution
" from February 22 to 25, 1986. This has been considered by some a peaceful revolution despite the fact that the Armed Forces of the Philippines issued an order to disperse the crowds on
EDSA
(the main thoroughfare in Metro Manila).
- Democratization in South Korea and Taiwan, having lasted 42 and 27 years under the authoritarian regime since the end of
World War II
and the
Korean War
(including the lifting of
martial law in Taiwan
and the
first direct presidential elections
in South Korea).
- The
1988 Summer Olympics
were held in South Korea, the first time the country hosted them.
Assassinations and attempts
[
edit
]
Prominent assassinations, targeted killings, and assassination attempts include:
Date
|
Description
|
April 12, 1980
|
William R. Tolbert Jr.
, 20th President of
Liberia
, is killed during a military coup. His death marks the end of
Americo-Liberian
rule in Liberia.
[11]
|
March 30, 1981
|
Ronald Reagan
, 40th President of the United States, was
shot
in Washington, D.C. by a mentally disturbed individual. Reagan's press secretary,
James Brady
, was also shot, along with a police officer and a U.S. Secret Service agent.
[12]
|
May 13, 1981
|
Pope John Paul II
is
shot
and wounded in
Saint Peter's Square
.
[13]
|
August 30, 1981
|
Mohammad-Ali Rajai
, 2nd President of Iran and
Mohammad-Javad Bahonar
, 48th Prime Minister of Iran, are both
killed
when a bomb explodes in Bahonar's office. Iranian officials alleges the bomb was planted by elements of the
People's Mujahedin of Iran
, though others allege the bombing was orchestrated by political rivals within the
Islamic Republican Party
.
[14]
[15]
|
October 6, 1981
|
Anwar Sadat
, 3rd President of Egypt, is
assassinated
at a military parade in
Cairo
.
[16]
|
August 21, 1983
|
Benigno Aquino Jr.
, a longtime political opponent of Philippine
president
Ferdinand Marcos
, is
killed
after landing in the Philippines after three years of self-imposed exile.
[17]
|
October 12, 1984
|
Margaret Thatcher
, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, avoids being the target of a
bombing
at a hotel orchestrated by the
Provisional Irish Republican Army
. The blast does kill five including
Anthony Berry
, a
MP
and
Deputy Chief Whip
.
[18]
|
October 31, 1984
|
Indira Gandhi
, 3rd Prime Minister of India, is
assassinated
by her own
bodyguards
in response to the Indian Army's attack on Golden Temple to destroy
Sikh
Militant stronghold in Amritsar earlier in the decade.
[19]
|
February 28, 1986
|
Olof Palme
, Prime Minister of Sweden, is
assassinated
while walking home from a cinema in
Stockholm
.
[20]
|
October 15, 1987
|
Thomas Sankara
, 1st President of
Burkina Faso
, is
assassinated
in a coup organized by his former colleague,
Blaise Compaore
.
[21]
|
Disasters
[
edit
]
Natural disasters
[
edit
]
- Mount St. Helens
erupted in
Washington
, U.S. on May 18, 1980, killing 57 people.
- On October 17, 1989, the
Loma Prieta earthquake
struck the San Francisco Bay Area during Game 3 of the
1989 World Series
, gaining worldwide attention. Sixty-five people were killed and thousands injured, with major structural damage on freeways and buildings and broken gas-line fires in
San Francisco
, California. The cost of the damage totaled $13 billion (1989
USD
).
- The
1988?89 North American drought
decimated the US with many parts of the country affected. This was the worst drought to hit the United States in many years. The drought caused $60 billion in damage (between $80 billion and $120 billion for 2008
USD
). The concurrent
heat waves
killed 5,800 to 17,000 people in the United States.
- Hurricane Allen
(1980),
Hurricane Alicia
(1983),
Hurricane Gilbert
(1988),
Hurricane Joan
(1988), and
Hurricane Hugo
(1989) were some notably destructive Atlantic hurricanes of the 1980s.
- Other natural disasters of the 1980s include the 1982?1983
El Nino
which brought destructive weather to most of the world; the
1985 Mexico City earthquake
, which registered 8.0 on the
moment magnitude scale
and devastated Mexico City and other areas throughout central Mexico; the 1985
Nevado del Ruiz
lahar
in
Colombia
; the 1986
Lake Nyos
limnic eruption
in
Cameroon
; and the
1988 Armenian earthquake
, which rocked the
Caucasus
region of the
USSR
.
Non-natural disasters
[
edit
]
- On April 25, 1980,
Dan-Air Flight 1008
crashed on approach to
Tenerife
in the
Canary Islands
. All 146 people on board were killed.
- On August 19, 1980,
Saudia Flight 163
caught fire moments after takeoff from the
Saudi Arabian
capital of
Riyadh
. The flight quickly returned to the airport, but evacuation of the plane was delayed and all 301 people aboard died.
- On July 9, 1982,
Pan Am Flight 759
was forced down by a wind shear microburst, killing 153 people.
- On June 2, 1983, an internal fire on
Air Canada Flight 797
forced the plane to divert to Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport. Ninety seconds after the plane landed and the doors were opened,
flashover
conditions developed and the plane's interior immediately became engulfed in flames, killing 23 passengers, including Canadian folk musician
Stan Rogers
.
- On September 1, 1983, Soviet Union fighter jets shot down
Korean Air Lines Flight 007
, which was carrying 269 people, none of whom survived.
- In 1984, the
Bhopal disaster
resulted from a toxic
MIC
gas leak at the
Union Carbide
plant in
Bhopal, India
, killing 3,000 immediately and ultimately claiming 15,000?20,000 lives.
- On August 2, 1985,
Delta Air Lines Flight 191
crashed on approach to
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport
in
Texas
. 137 people were killed while 27 survived.
- On June 23, 1985,
Air India Flight 182
, flight from Montreal Canada is blown up over Irish waters by a bomb placed in the luggage compartment. This was the greatest act of terrorism until the
September 11 attacks
of 2001.
- Japan Airlines Flight 123
, carrying 524 people, crashed on August 12, 1985, while on a flight from Tokyo to Osaka killing 520 of the people on board, leaving four survivors. This was, and still is, the worst single-plane crash ever.
- On December 12, 1985,
Arrow Air Flight 1285
crashed seconds after lifting off from
Gander, Newfoundland
. All 256 people on board, many of them U.S. servicemen returning home from duty overseas, perished.
- On January 28, 1986, the NASA
Space Shuttle
Challenger
disintegrated
73 seconds after launch, killing all of the crew on board. This was the first disaster involving the destruction of a NASA space shuttle. A faulty
O-ring
was the cause of the accident.
- On February 8, 1986 near Hinton, Alberta, Canada (west of Edmonton) a westbound Canadian National (CN Rail) freight train slammed head-on into an oncoming eastbound VIA Rail passenger train, resulting in twenty-six casualties & dozens of serious injuries. A judicial inquiry that followed concluded that the freight train crew failed to obey signals (which were working properly) & ran through the switch off a siding, back into the single main track. It was also noted that the crew of the freight train were possibly asleep on duty.
- On April 26, 1986, the
Chernobyl disaster
, a large-scale
nuclear meltdown
in the
Ukrainian SSR
,
Soviet Union
, spread a large amount of radioactive material across Europe, killing 47 people, dooming countless others to future radiation-related cancer, and causing the displacement of 300,000 people.
- On June 14, 1986,
Fantasyland's
Mindbender
inside
West Edmonton Mall
, derails and kills 3 people, injuring one, and slams into a concrete post.
- On August 31, 1986,
Aeromexico Flight 498
crashed after colliding with a private
Piper Cherokee
over
Cerritos, California
, killing everyone on both airplanes and several others on the ground. On the same day, the Soviet passenger ship
Admiral Nakhimov
sank after colliding with the bulk carrier
Pyotr Vasev
in the
Black Sea
, killing 423 people.
- On May 9, 1987, an
uncontained engine failure
on
LOT Flight 5055
caused an in-flight fire on board the airliner, which subsequently crashed, killing all 183 passengers and crew.
- On August 16, 1987,
Northwest Airlines Flight 255
crashed almost immediately after takeoff from
Detroit Wayne Airport
in
Michigan
, killing 156 people.
- On November 28, 1987, a fire broke out on
South African Airways Flight 295
, eventually causing the aircraft to crash into the Indian Ocean. All 159 aboard were killed.
- On December 7, 1987, 43 people were killed when an irate former
USAir
employee went on a rampage aboard
PSA Flight 1771
.
- On December 20, 1987, the
Philippine
passenger ferry
MV
Dona Paz
burned and sank after colliding with the oil tanker
MT
Vector
. With an estimated death toll of over 4,000, this was and remains the world's deadliest peacetime maritime disaster.
- On July 3, 1988,
Iran Air Flight 655
was shot down by the U.S. missile cruiser
USS
Vincennes
over the
Strait of Hormuz
, killing all 290 people on the plane. The event is one of the most controversial aviation occurrences of all time, with the true cause disputed between the Americans and the Iranians.
- On December 21, 1988, an American passenger 747 airliner en route from Frankfurt to Detroit (via London and New York)
Pan Am Flight 103
was destroyed by a bomb while it was flying over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing the 259 passengers and crew members on board and 11 people on the ground. This was the worst terrorist attack to have occurred on British soil.
- On March 24, 1989, the
oil tanker
Exxon Valdez
ran aground on
Bligh Reef
in
Alaska
's
Prince William Sound
spilling
an estimated equivalent of 260,000 to 750,000 barrels of crude oil. Although not among the largest oil spills in history, its remote and sensitive location made it one of the most devastating ecological disasters ever. The after effects of the spill continue to be felt to this day.
- On April 15, 1989, The
Hillsborough disaster
occurs during a
FA Cup
Semi-Final in
Sheffield
, England fatally crushing 96 football fans and injuring nearly 1,000 more.
- On July 19, 1989,
United Airlines Flight 232
, carrying 296 people, suffered an in-flight engine failure and was forced to crash-land at
Sioux City, Iowa
. 185 survived, while 111 were killed when the plane burst into flames upon touchdown.
Science and technology
[
edit
]
Medicine and biology
[
edit
]
The 1980s had many fundamental advances in medicine and biology. The first
surrogate pregnancy
of an unrelated child took place on April 13, 1986, in Michigan.
[6]
The first
genetically modified
crops,
tobacco
(
Nicotiana
) plants were grown in China in 1988.
[22]
Gene therapy
techniques became established by the end of the 1980s, allowing
gene tagging
and
gene therapy
to become a possibility, both of which were first performed in human beings in May 1989 and September 1990, respectively.
Electronics and computers
[
edit
]
Arcade
and video games had been growing in popularity since the late 1970s, and by 1982 were a major industry. But a variety of factors, including a glut of low-quality games and the rise of home computers, caused a
tremendous crash
in late 1983. For the next three years, the video game market practically ceased to exist in the US. But in the second half of the decade, it would be revived by
Nintendo
, whose Famicom console and mascot
Mario
had been enjoying considerable success in Japan since 1983. Renamed the
Nintendo Entertainment System
, it would claim 90% of the American video game market by 1989. The 1980s are considered to be the decade when video games achieved massive popularity. In 1980, Pac-Man was introduced to the arcades, and became one of the most popular video games of all time. Also in 1980,
Game & Watch
was created; it was not one of the most well known game systems, but it facilitated mini-games and was concurrent with the NES.
Donkey Kong
, released in 1981, was a smash arcade hit and market breakthrough for
Nintendo
.
Super Mario Bros.
,
Super Mario Bros. 2
,
Super Mario Bros. 3
,
The Legend of Zelda
, and the
Mega Man
series would become major hits for the console.
The
personal computer
experienced explosive growth in the 1980s, transitioning from a hobbyist's toy to a full-fledged consumer product. The IBM PC, launched in 1981, became the dominant computer for professional users.
Commodore
created the most popular home computers of both 8-bit and 16-bit generations.
MSX
standard was the dominant computer platform in
Japan
and in most parts of
Asia
.
Apple Computer
superseded its
Apple II
and
Lisa
models by introducing the first
Macintosh
computer in 1984. It was the first commercially successful personal computer to use a
graphical user interface
(GUI) and
mouse
,
[23]
which started to become general features in computers after the middle of the decade. Electronics and computers were also at the forefront of the advertising industry, with many commercials like "1984" from Apple achieving acclaim and pop-culture relevance.
[24]
-
IBM PC
(model 5150), the first
DOS
-compatible PC was released in 1981. The IBM PCs and compatible models from other vendors would become the most widely used computer systems in the world.
-
Commodore 64
, with sales estimated at more than 17 million units between 1982 and 1994 became the best-selling computer model of all time.
-
VTech Laser 200
, 8-bit home computer from 1983
-
The
Macintosh 128K
, the first commercially successful personal computer to use a graphical user interface, was introduced to the public in 1984.
[25]
-
The
IBM PC Convertible
(model 5140; 1986), the first
DOS
-compatible PC to be a
laptop
and to use the standard
3
+
1
⁄
2
-inch floppy disk drives.
-
The
Amiga 500
, the first "low-end" 16 and 32 bit multimedia home/personal computer, was introduced in October 1987.
[26]
Walkman
and
boomboxes
, invented during the late 1970s, became very popular as they were introduced to various countries in the early 1980s, and had a profound impact on the music industry and youth culture. Consumer
VCRs
and video rental stores became commonplace as
VHS
won out over the competing
Betamax
standard. In addition, in the early 1980s various companies began selling compact, modestly priced
synthesizers
to the public. This, along with the development of
Musical Instrument Digital Interface
(MIDI), made it easier to integrate and synchronize synthesizers and other electronic instruments, like drum machines, for use in musical composition.
High definition television (HDTV) of both the analog and digital variety were first developed in the 1980s though their use did not become widespread until the mid-2000s.
In 1981,
Hayes Microcomputer Products
started selling the Smartmodem. The Smartmodem paved the way for the modern modems that exist today, mainly because it was the first modem to transform what had previously required a two-stage process into a process involving only one stage. The Smartmodem contributed to the rise in popularity of
BBS
systems in the 1980s and early 1990s, which were the main way to connect to remote computers and perform various social and entertainment activities before the
Internet
and the
World Wide Web
finally became popular in the mid-1990s.
-
In 1984, the Motorola DynaTAC 8000X becomes the first commercially available
mobile phone
model
-
During the decade the standardization of Group 3 facsimile terminals by the International Telecommunication Union contributed to the significant spread of the
fax
machine.
-
VHS
won out over the competing
Betamax
standard, becoming the leading standard in home video systems
-
Information technology
[
edit
]
- During the decade
Microsoft
released the operating systems
MS-DOS
(1981),
Windows 1.0
(1985), and
Windows 2.0
(1987).
- The
CD
- the most basic CD ("Digital Audio Compact Disc") was released in October 1982 for distribution and listening to
digital audio
, and at the time contained up to 74 minutes of music.
- TCP/IP
:
ARPANET
officially changed its main protocol from NCP to
TCP/IP
on January 1, 1983, when the new protocols were activated. The TCP/IP protocol will become the dominant communications protocol from then onwards, and would be used as the foundation on which the
Internet
would be based.
- The
GNU Project
(1983). The
Free Software Foundation
(1985).
- FidoNet
- In 1984, FidoNet was launched, enabling
BBS
users to send private messages (e-mails) and public messages (in the forum) between all BBS systems that were connected to the FidoNet network, in addition to sending files to each other. The rise in popularity and availability of the Internet around the world around the mid-1990s eventually contributed to the irrelevance of FidoNet.
- World Wide Web
- In 1989, the British computer scientist
Tim Berners-Lee
first proposed a project to his employer
CERN
, based on the concept of
hypertext
, to facilitate sharing and updating information among researchers. In mid-November 1989 he would develop the first successful communication between a
Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP) client and server via the
internet
. In the coming years Berners-Lee developed the system which would later become the foundation of the
World Wide Web
.
-
In 1981, Microsoft introduced the
MS-DOS
operating system, which would become the world's most widely used
operating system
in the 1980s and first half of the 1990s.
-
The most basic
CD
was first introduced in October 1982 for the purpose of distribution and listening to digital audio
-
In 1989, the British computer scientist
Tim Berners-Lee
first proposed the
World Wide Web
, which he would develop in the coming years
Space exploration
[
edit
]
American interplanetary probes continued in the 1980s, the Voyager duo being the most known. After making a flyby of Jupiter in 1979, they went near Saturn in 1980?1981.
Voyager 2
reached Uranus in 1986 (just a few days before the
Challenger
disaster), and Neptune in 1989 before the probes exited the Solar System.
No American probes were launched to Mars in the 1980s, and the
Viking
probes, launched there in 1975, completed their operations by 1982. The Soviets launched two Mars probes in 1988, but they failed.
The arrival of
Halley's Comet
in 1986 was met by a series of Soviet, Japanese and
European Space Agency
(ESA) probes, namely
Halley Armada
.
After a six-year hiatus, American space flights with astronauts resumed with the launch of the
Space Shuttle
Columbia
in April 1981. The shuttle program progressed smoothly from there, with three more orbiters entering service in 1983?1985. But that all came to an end with the
tragic loss
of the
Challenger
(
STS-51-L
) on January 28, 1986, taking with it seven astronauts, including
Christa McAuliffe
, who was to have been the first teacher in space. In full view of the world, a faulty O-ring on the right solid rocket booster allowed hot gases to burn through the external fuel tank and cause it to explode, destroying the shuttle in the process. Extensive efforts were made to improve
NASA
's increasingly careless management practices, and to make the shuttle safer. Flights resumed with the launch of
Discovery
in September 1988.
The Soviet program with cosmonauts went well during the decade, experiencing only minor setbacks. The
Salyut 6
space station, launched in 1977, was replaced by
Salyut 7
in 1982. Then came
Mir
in 1986, which ended up operating for more than a decade, and was destined to be the last in the line of Soviet space stations that had begun in 1971. One of the Soviet Union's last "superprojects" was the
Buran
space shuttle
; it was only used once, in 1988.
Automobiles
[
edit
]
The American auto industry began in the 1980s in a thoroughly grim situation, faced with poor quality control, rising import competition, and a severe economic downturn.
[27]
Chrysler
and
American Motors
(AMC) were near bankruptcy, and Ford was little better off.
[28]
Only GM continued with business as usual. But the auto makers recovered with the economy by 1983, and in 1985 auto sales in the United States hit a new record. However, the Japanese were now a major presence, and would begin manufacturing cars in the US to get around tariffs. In 1986, Hyundai became the first Korean auto maker to enter the American market. In the same year, the Yugoslavian-built
Yugo
was brought to the US, but the car was so small and cheap, that it became the subject of jokes. It was sold up to 1991, when economic sanctions against Yugoslavia forced its withdrawal from the American market.
As the decade progressed, cars became smaller and more efficient in design. In 1983, Ford design teams began to incorporate aerodynamic styling to decrease drag while in motion. The Thunderbird was one of the first cars to receive these design changes. In 1985, Ford released the Taurus with a design that was revolutionary among domestic mass market automobiles.
General Motors began suffering significant losses in the late 1980s, partially the result of chairman Roger Smith's restructuring attempts, and partially because of increasingly dated cars. An example were customers who increasingly purchased European luxury cars rather than Cadillacs. In 1985, GM started
Saturn
(the first new American make since the Edsel), with the goal of producing high-quality import fighters. Production would not begin until 1990.
Chrysler introduced its new compact, front-wheel drive
K-cars
in 1981. Under the leadership of
Lee Iacocca
, the company turned a profit again the following year, and by 1983 paid off its government loans. A succession of models using this automobile platform followed. The most significant were the minivans in 1984. These proved a to be popular and they would dominate the van market for more than a decade. In 1987, Chrysler purchased the Italian makes of Lamborghini and Maserati. In the same year, Chrysler bought AMC from Renault laying to rest the last significant independent U.S. automaker, but acquiring the hugely profitable
Jeep
line and continuing the
Eagle
brand until the late 1990s.
[29]
The
DMC DeLorean
was the brainchild of
John DeLorean
, a flamboyant former GM executive. Production of the gull-winged sports car began in Northern Ireland in 1981. John DeLorean was arrested in October 1982 in a sting operation where he was attempting to sell cocaine to save his struggling company. He was acquitted of all charges in 1984, but too late for the DeLorean Motor Company, which closed down in 1983. The DeLorean gained renewed fame afterward as the time machine in the
Back to the Future
film trilogy
.
The imposition of CAFE fuel-mileage standards in 1979 spelled the end of big-block engines, but performance cars and convertibles reemerged in the 1980s. Turbochargers were widely used to boost the performance of small cars, and technology from
fuel injection
began to take over from the widely used application of
carburetors
by the late 1980s. Front-wheel drive also became dominant.
The Eighties marked the decline of European brands in North America by the end of the decade.
Renault
,
Citroen
, and
Peugeot
ceased importation by the end of the decade.
Alfa Romeo
would continue until 1993.
Fiat
also ceased imports to North America in the Eighties.
Economics
[
edit
]
- The early 1980s was marked by a severe global
economic recession
that affected much of the developed world.
- Inflation peaked in the U.S. in April 1980 at 14.76% and subsequently fell to a low of 1.10% in December 1986 but then rebounded to 4.65% at the end of the decade.
[30]
- Finland's economy grew by almost the fastest pace in the world, which eventually culminated in the recession of the 1990s Finnish economy. In Finland, the 1980s were called the "Nousukausi", or "economic upswing".
- International debt crisis in developing countries, reliance of these countries on aid from the
International Monetary Fund
.
- Revival of
laissez faire
/
neoliberal
economics in the developed world led by the UK and US governments emphasising reduced government intervention, lower taxes and deregulation of the stock markets associated with an economic revival in the mid- to late-1980s. Consumers became more sophisticated in their tastes (a trend begun in the 1960s), and things such as European cars and designer clothing became fashionable in the US.
[
citation needed
]
- Brazil and Mexico suffers from a
debt crisis in Latin America
starting in 1982 under President
Joao Figueiredo
and
Miguel de la Madrid
. Economic problems worsened between 1979 and 1985 by firing and resignation of most officials of the Brazilian and Mexican government after the
Diretas Ja
movement in 1984, and a failed response of emergency aid in the
Mexico City earthquake
just after the 175th anniversary of independence holiday in 1985.
Tancredo Neves
(later succeeded by
Jose Sarney
three months later) and
Carlos Salinas de Gortari
won a
direct presidential election
in 1985 marked the end of a
21-year military dictatorship
, and a
controversial presidential election
in 1988 amid charges of voter fraud, bribery, corruption and other abuses of power.
- Enactment of the
Canada?United States Free Trade Agreement
in 1989 to further establish a strong economic bond between the two prosperous neighbor countries of North America.
- In the
Soviet Union
, the
eleventh Five-Year Plan
was initiated in 1981 during a
period of economic stagnation
that began in the late 1970s. The Plan was a near failure, as most of the targets were not met. With the ascent of
Mikhail Gorbachev
as
General Secretary
of the
Communist Party
, the twelfth Five-Year Plan sought to
accelerate
and
restructure
the Soviet economy through reforms to decentralize production and distribution systems.
- Under the leadership of
Deng Xiaoping
, China embarked on
extensive reforms
in the 1980s, opening the country's economy to the West and allowing capitalist enterprises to operate in a
market socialist system
. The corruption of
Communist Party
leadership was met by dissent from students and workers in the
Tiananmen Square protests of 1989
which were suppressed by the
People's Liberation Army
.
- The
Solidarity movement
began in Poland in 1980, involving workers demanding political liberalization and democracy in Poland. Attempts by the Communist government to prevent the rise of the Solidarity movement failed and negotiations between the movement and the government took place. Solidarity would be instrumental in encouraging people in other communist states to demand political reform.
- The financial world and the stock market were glamorized in a way they had not been since the 1920s, and figures like
Donald Trump
and
Michael Milken
were widely seen as symbols of the decade. Widespread fear of Japanese economic strength would grip the United States in the '80s.
- The "Black Monday"
stock market crash
on October 19, 1987, decreased the value of the
Dow Jones Industrial Average
by more than 22%, causing widespread secondary drops in world markets.
- During the 1980s, for the first time in world history, transpacific trade (with
East Asia
, such as China, and
Latin America
, primarily with Mexico) equaled that of transatlantic trade (with
Western Europe
or with neighboring Canada),
[31]
solidifying American economic power.
[32]
- The Savings and Loan crisis
and
Keating five
scandal.
- The phrase
Big Bang
, used in reference to the sudden deregulation of financial markets, was coined to describe measures, including abolition of fixed commission charges and of the distinction between stockjobbers and stockbrokers on the London Stock Exchange and change from open-outcry to electronic, screen-based trading, effected by Margaret Thatcher in 1986.
Popular culture
[
edit
]
-
-
-
Michael Jackson
's
Thriller
became the best-selling album of all time, followed by the critically acclaimed album
Bad
five years later, and a musical film adaptation titled
Moonwalker
.
-
MTV
was launched in 1981, which had a great influence on the way music is marketed and on the rise of many prominent rock stars during the decade. Early CGI also caught on within music videos in the 1980s, including the popular music video for "
Money for Nothing
".
-
Technological advancements like early
personal computers
, the
IBM Personal Computer
,
Commodore 64
(pictured), and
Macintosh 128K
were popular in the 1980s.
-
Polaroid
-branded cameras were popular and at their height in the 1980s.
-
-
Cassette tapes
used for music listening and operating the Sony
Walkman
were popular in the decade.
-
-
-
-
After a turbulent decline in the 1960s and 1970s, animation began to thrive again due to the success and popularity of films such as
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
,
Oliver & Company
,
The Land Before Time
, and
The Little Mermaid
.
-
Along with early hip hop culture like 1988's
Straight Outta Compton
, graffiti became more mainstream in the 1980s.
-
Before the more mainstream use of the internet in the 1990s, many computer systems had searchable
databases
during the decade. These databases could be used to search a students' grades, computerized library and video rental systems to track books and video rentals.
-
Ronald Reagan
was
president of the United States
for a majority of the 1980s (1981-1989), during what was called the
Reagan era
. Ronald Reagan's vice president
George H.W. Bush
became president in 1989.
Music
[
edit
]
Duran Duran
(top),
Michael Jackson
(bottom left) and
Madonna
(bottom right) were among the best-selling musical talents of the decade, all considered some of the most globally popular and culturally significant
pop
and
R&B
talents of the 1980s, pictured here in 1983, 1988 and 1985 respectively.
In the United States,
MTV
was launched and
music videos
began to have a larger effect on the record industry. Pop artists/bands such as
Duran Duran
,
Michael Jackson
,
Whitney Houston
,
Prince
,
Cyndi Lauper
and
Madonna
mastered the format and helped turn this new product into a profitable business.
New wave
and
synthpop
were developed by many British and American artists, and became popular phenomena throughout the decade, especially in the early and mid-1980s. Music grew fragmented and combined into subgenres such as house, goth, and rap metal.
[33]
The advent of numerous new technologies had a significant impact on 1980s music, and led to a distinct production aesthetic that included
synthesizer
sounds,
drum machines
and drum reverb.
Duran Duran
, the biggest band of the 1980s, created a teen frenzy similar to that of
The Beatles
during the first British Invasion of the 1960s. They were
Princess Diana
's favorite band. In 1982, they released their world famous, omnipresent
Rio
which ignited a global craze. Their catchy flagship song from the album,
Hungry Like the Wolf
, reached number 1 in Canada, number 3 in the United States, number 4 in Ireland, New Zealand and South Africa and number 5 in the United Kingdom and Australia. It won a Grammy Award in 1984.
The title track
was another mega hit song that was issued worldwide in October 1982 and became a Top 10 hit in the UK Singles Chart. As of October 2021, "Rio" was the third most streamed Duran Duran song in the UK. By 1985, the musical band stood on top of the world as absolute conquerors of music and music video. They were the darlings of MTV and the center of female teen fan's attention. In that same year, the
A View to a Kill
theme song to the same-titled
James Bond
movie reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and it remains the only Bond theme to achieve this chart placing. Their massive appeal was widespread on a worldwide scale in music, video and fashion. Their influence was so intense that they helped shape how music was defined throughout the 80s decade. They extensively toured the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, Mexico, South America, Japan and other parts of Asia. Highly stylized videos showcasing their other mega hit songs like,
Planet Earth
,
New Moon on Monday
,
The Wild Boys
,
Save a Prayer
and
Notorious
made Duran Duran a popular household name.
Michael Jackson
was one of the icons of the 1980s and his
leather jacket
, white
glove
, and
Moonwalk dance
were often imitated. Jackson's 1982 album
Thriller
became?and currently remains?the
best-selling album of all time
, with sales estimated by various sources as somewhere between 65 and 110 million copies worldwide. His 1987 album
Bad
sold over 45 million copies and became the first album to have five number-one singles chart on the
Billboard
Hot 100
. Jackson had the most number-one singles throughout the decade (9), and spent the most weeks at number one (27 weeks). His 1987
Bad World Tour
grossed over $125 million worldwide, making it the highest grossing world tour by a solo artist during the decade. Jackson earned numerous awards and titles during the 1980s, the most notable of which were a record eight
Grammy Awards
and eight
American Music Awards
in 1984, and the honor of "Artist of the Decade" by
U.S. President
George H.W. Bush.
Jackson was arguably the biggest star during this time, and would eventually sell more than one billion records around the world.
Prince
was a popular star of the 1980s and the most successful chart act of the decade. His breakthrough album
1999
, released in 1982, produced three top-ten hits and the album itself charted at number nine on the
Billboard
200
. His sixth studio album
Purple Rain
was an international success, boosting Prince to superstardom and selling over 25 million copies worldwide. The album produced the US number-one singles, "
When Doves Cry
" and "
Let's Go Crazy
" and sold 13 million copies in the U.S. as of 1996. Prince released an album every year for the rest of the decade, all charting within the top ten, with the exception of
Lovesexy
. In the
1990s
, he infamously changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol in response to a record dispute with
Warner Brothers
. He went on to sell over 120 million records worldwide and win seven
Grammy Awards
.
The '80s were above all a time of international
corporatization
... [
Rock music
] was reconceived as
intellectual property
, as a form of
capital
itself... The '80s were when stars replaced artists as bearers of significance... The '80s took rock sexuality and rock sexism over the top... The '80s were a time of renewed racial turmoil after ten-plus years of polite resegregation... Technology changed everything in the '80s.
Cable
brought us
MTV
and the triumph of the image.
Synthesizers
inflected the sounds that remained.
Sampling
revolutionized rock and roll's proprietary relationship to its own history.
Cassettes
made private music portable?and public.
Compact discs
inflated profitability as they faded into the background of busy lives.
?
Robert Christgau
in
Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s
(1990)
[34]
Madonna
and
Whitney Houston
were groundbreaking female artists of the decade.
[
citation needed
]
The
keyboard synthesizer
and
drum machine
were among the most popular instruments in music during the 1980s, especially in
new wave music
. After the 1980s, electronic instruments continued to be the main component of mainstream pop.
Hard rock
,
heavy metal
, and
glam metal
became some of the most dominant music genres of the decade, peaking with the arrival of such bands as
Motley Crue
,
Guns N' Roses
,
Metallica
,
Iron Maiden
,
Bon Jovi
,
Def Leppard
,
Poison
,
Europe
,
Megadeth
,
Slayer
,
Sepultura
,
Exodus
,
Anthrax
,
Overkill
,
Testament
,
Pantera
(then-a glam metal band) and
virtuoso
guitarists such as
Joe Satriani
and
Yngwie Malmsteen
. The scene also helped 1970s hard rock artists such as
AC/DC
,
Heart
,
Ozzy Osbourne
,
Black Sabbath
,
Aerosmith
,
Alice Cooper
,
Blue Oyster Cult
,
Deep Purple
,
Queen
,
Van Halen
,
KISS
,
Ronnie James Dio
,
Rush
and
Judas Priest
reach a new generation of fans.
The 1980s were also known for song parodies becoming more mainstream, a trend led by parodic musician
"Weird Al" Yankovic
. He was best known for his
Michael Jackson
parodies "
Eat It
" and "
Fat
" as well as other parodies like "
Another One Rides The Bus
" (parody of "
Another One Bites The Dust
" by
Queen
).
By 1989, the
hip hop
scene had evolved, gaining recognition and exhibiting a stronger influence on the music industry. This time period is also considered part of the
golden age
of hip hop. The
Beastie Boys
,
Public Enemy
,
Run-D.M.C.
,
Grandmaster Flash
, the
Furious Five
,
Boogie Down Productions
,
N.W.A
,
LL Cool J
,
De La Soul
,
A Tribe Called Quest
,
EPMD
,
Eric B. & Rakim
,
Ice-T
,
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
,
2 Live Crew
,
Tone L?c
,
Biz Markie
, the
Jungle Brothers
,
The Sugar Hill Gang
and others experienced success in this genre.
Country music
advanced into a new realm of popularity with youth appeal and record-breaking marks. Groundbreaking artists such as
Alabama
,
Hank Williams Jr.
,
Reba McEntire
,
George Strait
,
Ricky Skaggs
,
Janie Fricke
,
The Judds
, and
Randy Travis
achieved multiple platinum and award status, foreshadowing the genre's popularity explosion in the 1990s. Country legends from past decades, however; such as
George Jones
,
Waylon Jennings
,
Willie Nelson
,
Conway Twitty
, the
Oak Ridge Boys
,
Kenny Rogers
,
Dolly Parton
,
Merle Haggard
,
Don Williams
,
Crystal Gayle
,
Ronnie Milsap
,
Barbara Mandrell
, and the
Statler Brothers
; also continued to score hits throughout the decade.
The
techno
style of electronic dance music emerged in
Detroit
,
Michigan
, during the mid- to late 1980s. The
house music
style, another form of electronic dance music, emerged in
Chicago
,
Illinois
, in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discotheques catering to the African-American, Latino and gay communities, first in Chicago, then in New York City and Detroit. It eventually reached Europe before becoming infused in mainstream pop and dance music worldwide.
Punk rock
continued to make strides in the musical community. With bands leading the significance of this period such as
Black Flag
,
Bad Brains
,
Minor Threat
,
Suicidal Tendencies
,
D.O.A.
,
Bad Religion
,
Minutemen
,
Social Distortion
, and
Dead Kennedys
, it gave birth to many subgenres like
hardcore
, which has continued to be moderately successful, giving birth in turn to a few counterculture movements, most notably the
Straight Edge
movement which began in the early era of this decade.
College rock
caught on in the underground scene of the 1980s in a nationwide movement with a distinct
D.I.Y
approach. Bands like the
Pixies
,
R.E.M.
,
The Replacements
,
Sonic Youth
,
XTC
,
The Smiths
,
Echo & the Bunnymen
,
Husker Du
,
The Stone Roses
,
The Jesus and Mary Chain
etc. experienced success in this genre. The 1980s also saw the birth of the
grunge
genre, with the arrival of such bands as
Soundgarden
,
Green River
,
Melvins
,
Screaming Trees
,
Malfunkshun
,
Skin Yard
,
The U-Men
,
Blood Circus
,
Nirvana
,
Tad
,
Mudhoney
,
Mother Love Bone
and
Alice in Chains
(the latter of whom formed in 1987, but did not release their
first album
until three years later).
Several notable musical artists died of unnatural causes in the 1980s:
Bon Scott
, at the time lead singer of rock band
AC/DC
, died of acute alcohol poisoning on February 19, 1980; English drummer
John Bonham
of the rock band
Led Zeppelin
also died that year in a similar manner;
The Beatles
member
John Lennon
was
fatally shot
outside his home in
New York City
on the night of December 8, 1980;
Tim Hardin
died of a heroin overdose on December 29, 1980; Reggae musician
Bob Marley
died from a lentiginous skin
melanoma
on May 11, 1981;
Harry Chapin
died of a car accident on July 16, 1981; Motown singer
Marvin Gaye
was
shot dead
by his
father
at his home in
Los Angeles
on April 1, 1984, one day before what would've been his 45th birthday; Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist
Randy Rhoads
died in an airplane crash on March 19, 1982;
Karen Carpenter
died from heart failure caused by her
anorexia
condition on February 4, 1983;
Metallica
bassist
Cliff Burton
was killed in a bus accident in
Sweden
on September 27, 1986; and lastly,
Andy Gibb
died in 1988 as a result of
myocarditis
.
In 1984, the British supergroup
Band Aid
was formed to raise aid and awareness of the economic plight of
Ethiopia
. In 1985's
Live Aid
concert, featuring many artists, promoted attention and action to send food aid to
Ethiopia
whose people were suffering from a major
famine
.
Film
[
edit
]
Critically acclaimed films
- Oscar winners for Best Picture:
Ordinary People
(1980),
Chariots of Fire
(1981),
Gandhi
(1982),
Terms of Endearment
(1983),
Amadeus
(1984),
Out of Africa
(1985),
Platoon
(1986),
The Last Emperor
(1987),
Rain Man
(1988),
Driving Miss Daisy
(1989).
- The highest-grossing films of the decade are (in order from highest to lowest
domestic
grossing):
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
,
Return of the Jedi
,
The Empire Strikes Back
,
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
,
Batman
,
Rain Man
,
Raiders of the Lost Ark
,
Ghostbusters
,
Back to the Future
,
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
,
Top Gun
,
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom
,
Back to the Future Part II
,
"Crocodile" Dundee
,
Fatal Attraction
and
Beverly Hills Cop
.
[35]
The film industry
The 1980s saw the return of studio-driven films, coming from the filmmaker-driven
New Hollywood
era of the 1970s.
[36]
The period was when '
high concept
' films gained popularity, where movies were to be easily marketable and understandable, and, therefore, they had short cinematic
plots
that could be summarized in one or two sentences. The modern Hollywood
blockbuster
is the most popular film format from the 1980s. Producer
Don Simpson
[37]
is usually credited with the creation of the high-concept picture of the modern Hollywood blockbuster. In the mid-1980s, a wave of British directors, including
Ridley Scott
,
Alan Parker
,
Adrian Lyne
and
Tony Scott
(with the latter directing a number of Don Simpson films) ushered in a new era of blockbusters using the crowd-pleasing skills they had honed in UK television commercials.
[38]
A significant development in the home media business is the establishment of
The Criterion Collection
in 1984, an American company "dedicated to gathering the greatest films from around the world and publishing them in editions that offer the highest technical quality". Through their releases, they were able to introduce what is now a standard to home video:
letterboxing
to retain the original aspect ratio,
film commentaries
and supplements/special features.
[39]
[40]
Live-action films
The 1980s also saw the golden age of "
teen flicks
" and also spawned the
Brat Pack
films, many of which were directed by
John Hughes
. Films such as
Class
,
The Breakfast Club
,
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
,
Mannequin
,
Porky's
,
Pretty in Pink
,
Sixteen Candles
,
St. Elmo's Fire
,
Ferris Bueller's Day Off
,
Weird Science
, and
Valley Girl
were popular teen comedies of the era and launched the careers of several major celebrities such as:
Emilio Estevez
,
Anthony Michael Hall
,
Forest Whitaker
,
Jennifer Jason Leigh
,
Andrew McCarthy
,
Judd Nelson
,
Molly Ringwald
,
Sean Penn
,
Nicolas Cage
and
Michael J. Fox
. Other popular films included
About Last Night...
,
Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure
,
Dirty Dancing
,
Flashdance
,
Footloose
,
Raging Bull
and
St. Elmo's Fire
which also launched the careers of high-profile celebrities like
Demi Moore
,
Joe Pesci
,
Keanu Reeves
,
Kevin Bacon
,
Rob Lowe
,
Patrick Swayze
, and
River Phoenix
.
Horror films were a popular genre during the decade, with several notable horror franchises being born during the 1980s. Among the most popular were the
Friday the 13th
,
A Nightmare on Elm Street
,
Halloween
,
Child's Play
,
Hellraiser
, and
Poltergeist
franchises.
The Shining
although a popular film from 1980 decades later, it was initially met with mixed reviews from critics and even the
author
of the
book
, and was moderately successful financially. Aside from these films, the concept of the
B horror film
gave rise to a plethora of horror films that went on to earn a cult status. An example of such is the 1981 film
The Evil Dead
, which marked the directorial debut of
Sam Raimi
. Comedy horror films such as
Beetlejuice
and
Gremlins
also gained cult status.
Several action film franchises were also introduced during the 1980s. The most popular of these were the
Indiana Jones
,
Die Hard
,
Lethal Weapon
, and
Rambo
franchises. Other action films from the decade which are of notable status include
The Terminator
,
Aliens
,
Escape from New York
,
Red Dawn
,
Predator
, and
RoboCop
. These films propelled the careers of modern celebrities such as
Arnold Schwarzenegger
,
Bruce Willis
,
Sigourney Weaver
,
Mel Gibson
,
Danny Glover
, and
Charlie Sheen
to international recognition. On the other side of the globe,
Hong Kong action cinema
and
martial arts films
were being revolutionized by a new wave of inventive filmmakers that include
Jackie Chan
,
Sammo Hung
,
Tsui Hark
, and
John Woo
, while the American martial arts film movement was being led by actors like
Chuck Norris
,
Jean-Claude Van Damme
and
Steven Seagal
.
Five more
James Bond films
were released, with
Roger Moore
continuing in the role in
For Your Eyes Only
,
Octopussy
, and
A View To A Kill
, before handing over the role to
Timothy Dalton
who starred in
The Living Daylights
and
Licence To Kill
.
Animated films
Although
animated feature films
did not gain mainstream popularity until the mid to late-1990s due to public preference of television animation, some important films were produced during the decade. After leaving
Disney
in 1979,
Don Bluth
formed
his own studio
and went on direct
The Secret of NIMH
,
An American Tail
,
The Land Before Time
and
All Dogs Go To Heaven
. At the same time,
the Disney studio
wasn't having good times and almost bankrupted after
The Black Cauldron
bombed at the box office. However, in later years, they slowly recovered with the modest success of
Ron Clements
and
John Musker
directed
The Great Mouse Detective
, the live-action animated hybrid
Robert Zemeckis
directed
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
co-produced with Steven Spielberg, and eventually regained public confidence following the release of
The Little Mermaid
. Other animated films from the decade also gained notable status: Films based on popular works include
Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown (and Don't Come Back!!)
,
Heavy Metal
,
The Adventures of Mark Twain
,
The Care Bears Movie
,
The Transformers: The Movie
,
The Chipmunk Adventure
and
Daffy Duck's Quackbusters
; while original films include
The Last Unicorn
,
The Plague Dogs
,
Rock & Rule
,
Fire and Ice
,
The Brave Little Toaster
and
The BFG
.
The 1980s also saw a surge of
Japanese anime films
:
Hayao Miyazaki
's
The Castle of Cagliostro
and
Nausicaa of the Valley of the Wind
were extremely successful enough to lead the foundation of
Studio Ghibli
which would then produce several successful films of the decade including
Castle in the Sky
,
My Neighbor Totoro
,
Grave of the Fireflies
and
Kiki's Delivery Service
. Other well-known anime films of that decade include
Golgo 13: The Professional
,
Macross: Do You Remember Love?
,
Lensman
,
Vampire Hunter D
,
Akira
,
Little Nemo: Adventures in Slumberland
and the
Urusei Yatsura film series
. Additionally, the first-ever theatrical animated franchise:
the Doraemon film series
(based on the
anime and manga series of the same name
) began in 1980 with the release of
Doraemon: Nobita's Dinosaur
.
Television
[
edit
]
Music video channel
MTV
was launched in the United States in 1981 and had a profound impact on the
music industry
and
popular culture
further ahead, especially during its early run in the 1980s and early 1990s.
The 1980s was a decade of transformation in television.
Cable television
became more accessible and therefore, more popular. By the middle of the decade, almost 70% of the U.S. population had cable television and over 85% were paying for cable services such as
HBO
or
Showtime
.
[41]
People who lived in rural areas where cable TV service was not available could still access cable channels through a large (and expensive)
satellite dish
, which, by the mid-1990s, was phased out in favor of the small rooftop dishes that offer
DirecTV
and
Dish Network
services.
The 1980s also saw the debut of
prime-time
soap operas
such as
Dallas
, its spin-off
Knots Landing
,
Dynasty
,
Falcon Crest
,
EastEnders
and
Neighbours
.
In 1980, the original anime television series
Astro Boy
.
During the 1980s, police procedural television series
The Bill
, stop-motion animated television series
Pingu
,
Postman Pat
,
Fireman Sam
and
Bertha
, and sitcoms were also becoming popular, including
Bosom Buddies
,
Family Ties
,
Cheers
,
Newhart
,
Too Close for Comfort
,
The Cosby Show
,
Night Court
,
Full House
and
Married... with Children
, which was the first show to hit the Fox airwaves on launch in 1987.
In 1984,
Britt Allcroft
and
Rev W. Awdry
original television series
Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends
.
In 1985, two sitcoms premiered on the same day:
The Golden Girls
, starring
Bea Arthur
,
Betty White
,
Rue McClanahan
and
Estelle Getty
, which lasted for seven seasons and was also the first comedy ever to feature four older women in title TV roles, and
227
, which was originally the sitcom vehicle for
Marla Gibbs
, who previously starred in
The Jeffersons
, and which also launched
Jackee Harry
's career. Sketch comedy and variety show
Saturday Night Live
experienced turbulence for much of the 1980s, however, it propelled the successful careers of cast members like
Bill Murray
,
Eddie Murphy
,
Martin Short
, and
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
.
The year 1986 marked the debut of the
legal drama
Matlock
, which was the comeback vehicle for
Andy Griffith
, as the title character,
[42]
which also launched the careers of
Nancy Stafford
,
Clarence Gilyard Jr.
and
Daniel Roebuck
.
TV talk shows expanded in popularity;
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
remained popular into its third decade, and some of the most viewed newer shows were hosted by
Geraldo Rivera
,
Arsenio Hall
and
David Letterman
.
[43]
TV documentary shows of the 1980s that were popular included
Frontline
,
Michael Palin: Around the World in 80 Days
,
Unsolved Mysteries
with
Robert Stack
, and
Rescue 911
with
William Shatner
.
On July 29, 1981, The
Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
was watched by a television audience of an estimated 750 million people from around the world.
Scandal rocked TV evangelism when in 1987 evangelist
Jim Bakker
, founder of
PTL
and
Heritage USA
, was defrocked for having an
affair
with church secretary
Jessica Hahn
years earlier and later sent to prison for
fraud
. One year later, evangelist
Jimmy Swaggart
was defrocked for allegedly having sexual relations with a
prostitute
.
The 1980s also was prominent for spawning several popular animated shows such as
The Smurfs
,
ThunderCats
,
Voltron
,
The Transformers
,
The Super Mario Bros. Super Show!
,
Henry's Cat
,
Danger Mouse
,
Count Duckula
,
Alias the Jester
,
Yakari
,
Diplodos
,
Lucky Luke
,
Heathcliff
,
The Family-Ness
,
Jimbo and the Jet-Set
,
Penny Crayon
,
The Ratties
,
The Raggy Dolls
,
Masters of the Universe
,
G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero
,
Fist of the North Star
,
Inspector Gadget
,
Bananaman
,
Muppet Babies
,
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
,
DuckTales
,
Dennis the Menace
,
M.A.S.K.
,
The Telebugs
,
Care Bears
,
Rainbow Brite
,
The Littles
,
Garfield and Friends
, as well as earliest
The Simpsons
shorts which aired on
The Tracey Ullman Show
, and original animated television series
The Simpsons
.
In 1988, the original anime television series
Wowser
.
In 1989, the original television series
Tugs
and stop-motion animated series
Wallace and Gromit
.
Sports
[
edit
]
- The
1980 Summer Olympics
in
Moscow
were disrupted by a
boycott
led by the United States and 64 other countries in protest of the 1979
Soviet invasion of Afghanistan
.
- The
1980 Winter Olympics
were well remembered for the
Miracle on Ice
, where a young United States hockey team defeated the heavily favored Soviet Red Army team and went on to win the gold medal.
- The
New York Islanders
won the
Stanley Cup
for 4 straight years in
1980
,
1981
,
1982
, and
1983
. The Islanders also became the second
NHL
expansion team after the
Philadelphia Flyers
to win the Cup. Since their last Cup win in 1983, they were the third NHL team to win 4 consecutive championships and hold the NHL record for most consecutive playoff series' wins at 19 (stretching from the
1980 Playoffs
to the
1984 Playoffs
).
- The
Edmonton Eskimos
of the
Canadian Football League
won the first three
Grey Cup
championships of the decade (having won the last two of the previous decade), adding one more in 1987.
- The
1983 Cricket World Cup
was won by
India
while the
1987 Cricket World Cup
was won by
Australia
.
- The
1984 Winter Olympics
were held in
Sarajevo
,
Yugoslavia
(now Sarajevo,
Bosnia and Herzegovina
). Yugoslavia became the second communist country to host the
Olympic Games
, but unlike the Soviet Union in 1980, there were no boycotts of the Games by Western countries.
- The
1984 Summer Olympics
in Los Angeles were boycotted by the Soviet Union and most of the Communist world (China, Romania, and Yugoslavia participated in the games) in retaliation for the boycott of the 1980 Games in Moscow.
- The
Jamaica national bobsled team
received major media attention and stunned the world at the
1988 Winter Olympics
in
Calgary, Alberta
, Canada for its unexpected good performance. The events surrounding the Jamaica bobsled team in 1988 would lead to the creation of the
Disney
movie
Cool Runnings
five years later.
- The
1988 Summer Olympics
were held in
Seoul
, South Korea. Attempts to include North Korea in the games were unsuccessful and it boycotted along with six other countries, but with 160 nations participating, it had the highest attendance of any Olympics to date.
- FIA
banned
Group B
rallying
after a series of deaths and injuries took place in the 1986 season.
- Canadian hockey player
Wayne Gretzky
's rise to fame in the NHL coincided with the
Edmonton Oilers
' first four Stanley Cup championships (
1984
,
1985
,
1987
, and
1988
) and becoming the second NHL
dynasty
team of the 1980s.
- On August 9, 1988, in what became the biggest trade in NHL history (also known as "The Trade Of The Century"), Wayne Gretzky was traded along with teammates
Marty McSorley
and
Mike Krushelnyski
from Edmonton to the
Los Angeles Kings
in exchange for
Martin Gelinas
,
Jimmy Carson
, three first round
draft
picks, and US$15 million cash (approximately $18 million
CAD
in 1988).
- American basketball player
Michael Jordan
joined the
NBA
during the mid-1980s, raising the sport's popularity. He started his
professional
career alongside the likes of
Hakeem Olajuwon
,
Charles Barkley
,
Alvin Robertson
, and
John Stockton
in what is considered one of the greatest drafts in the league's history, the
1984 NBA draft
.
[45]
[46]
[47]
- On November 26, 1986,
Mike Tyson
became the youngest boxing Heavyweight Champion in history at age 20.
- The
1980s professional wrestling boom
was in full effect.
- On March 31, 1985, the
WWF
presented the first
WrestleMania
at
Madison Square Garden
in
New York City
with an attendance of 19,121.
- On March 29, 1987,
WrestleMania III
had a record attendance of 93,173, the largest recorded attendance for a live indoor sporting event in North America until 2010. This also remained the WrestleMania attendance record until
WrestleMania 32
at
AT&T Stadium
on April 3, 2016, in Arlington, Texas
- On February 5, 1988, the live broadcast of WWF's
The Main Event I
drew a 15.2
Nielsen rating
and 33 million viewers, both records for American televised wrestling.
[48]
- West Germany won the 1980 UEFA championship.
- Italy won the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain.
- France hosted and won the 1984 UEFA championship.
- Argentina won the 1986 FIFA World Cup in Mexico.
Diego Maradona
produces the
Goal of the Century
.
- The Netherlands won the 1988 UEFA championship.
- Hawthorn Football Club
dominated Australian football, reaching seven successive VFL Grand Finals and winning the premiership in 1983, 1986, 1988, and 1989
- Liverpool F.C.
were the most successful club side of the era, becoming English champions on six occasions (1980, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1986, and 1988) and winning two European Cups (1981, 1984). They also won the FA Cup in 1986, completing the first double in their history, and four consecutive
League Cup
titles from 1981 to 1984.
- Other highly successful club sides of the 1980s include
Juventus
(7 major honours won),
Real Madrid
(ten major honours won),
Bayern Munich
(nine titles won)
PSV Eindhoven
(four times Dutch champions and European Cup winners in 1988), and
Flamengo
(four times Brazilian champions, South American and International Cup winners in 1981).
- In the
NFL
, the
San Francisco 49ers
became the dynasty of the decade, winning four Super Bowls under the leadership of
Joe Montana
; the
Chicago Bears
won
Super Bowl XX
in January 1986, in which the team has been widely remembered for their
defense
; and the
Washington Redskins
also enjoyed success throughout the decade, winning two of their three Super Bowls under the leadership of head coach
Joe Gibbs
.
- Magic Johnson
and
Larry Bird
became the two most popular NBA players during the decade while even facing against each other in three
NBA Finals
(
1984
,
1985
, and
1987
) continuing the storied
Celtics-Lakers rivalry
.
- Major League Baseball
experienced parity and tense championship moments during the decade as the
Philadelphia Phillies
won their first World Series championship in
1980
, the
Kansas City Royals
win their first World Series championship in a dramatic manner in
1985
, the
New York Mets
win their second World Series championship in
1986
in a dramatic manner, the
Minnesota Twins
win their first World Series in
1987
, and both the
1988
and
1989 World Series
be remembered as
Kirk Gibson's 1988 World Series home run
, and the
Loma Prieta Earthquake
taking place occurring at 5:04 respectively.
- Disc ultimate
league play is introduced to Canada in 1980 by
Ken Westerfield
starting the first
disc ultimate league (TUC)
, in Toronto.
Video gaming
[
edit
]
Popular video games include:
Pac-Man
,
Super Mario Bros.
,
The Legend of Zelda
,
Final Fantasy
,
Castlevania
,
Metroid
,
Mega Man
,
Donkey Kong
,
Frogger
,
Digger
, and
Tetris
.
Pac-Man
was the first game to achieve widespread popularity in mainstream culture and the first game character to be popular in his own right.
Handheld
electronic LCD games
was introduced into the youth market segment. The primary gaming computers of the 1980s emerged in 1982: the
Commodore 64
and
ZX Spectrum
.
Nintendo
finally decided in 1985 to release its Famicom (released in 1983 in Japan) in the United States under the name
Nintendo Entertainment System
(NES). It was bundled with
Super Mario Bros.
and it suddenly became a success. The NES dominated the American and Japanese market until the rise of the next generation of consoles in the early 1990s, causing some to call this time the
Nintendo era
.
Sega
released its 16-bit console,
Mega Drive/Genesis
, in 1988 in Japan and in North America in 1989.
In 1989, Nintendo released the
Game Boy
, a monochrome handheld console.
-
The game
Pac-Man
(1980) became immensely popular and an icon of 1980s popular culture
-
The popular 1980s arcade game
Donkey Kong
-
Game & Watch
was the popular mobile game during the decade until it was replaced in the early 1990s with more advanced
Game Boy
.
Fashion
[
edit
]
The beginning of the decade saw the continuation of the clothing styles of the
late 1970s
and evolved into
heavy metal
fashion by the end. However, fashion became more extravagant during the 1980s. The 1980s included teased and colourfully-dyed hair, ripped jeans, neon clothing and many colours and different designs which at first were not accepted.
Significant hairstyle trends of the 1980s include the
perm
, the
mullet
, the
Jheri curl
, the
hi-top fade
, and
big hair
.
Significant clothing trends of the 1980s include
shoulder pads
,
jean jackets
,
leather
pants, leather
aviator jackets
,
jumpsuits
,
Members Only jackets
,
skin-tight acid-washed jeans
,
Izod Lacoste
and "preppy"
polo shirts
,
leggings
and
leg warmers
(popularized in the film
Flashdance
), off-the-shoulder shirts, and cut sweatshirts (popularized in the same film).
Miniskirts
returned to mainstream fashion in the mid-1980s after a ten-year absence, mostly made of
denim
material. From that point on, miniskirts and minidresses have remained in mainstream fashion to this day.
Makeup on the 1980s was aggressive, shining and colourful. Women emphasised their lips, eyebrows and cheeks with makeup. They used much
blush
and
eyeliner
.
Additional trends of the 1980s include athletic
headbands
,
Ray-Ban Aviator
sunglasses (popularized in the film
Top Gun
),
Ray-Ban Wayfarer sunglasses
(popularized in the films
Risky Business
and
The Blues Brothers
and the TV series
Miami Vice
),
Swatch watches
, and the
Rubik's Cube
(became a popular fad throughout the decade). Girls and women also wore jelly shoes, large crucifix necklaces, and brassieres all inspired by Madonna's "
Like a Virgin
" music video.
Additional significant events
[
edit
]
People
[
edit
]
Actors and entertainers
[
edit
]
Athletes
[
edit
]
Musicians
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
Timeline
[
edit
]
The following articles contain brief timelines which list the most prominent events of the decade:
1980
?
1981
?
1982
?
1983
?
1984
?
1985
?
1986
?
1987
?
1988
?
1989
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Further reading
[
edit
]
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
1980s
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- Batchelor, Bob, and Scott F. Stoddart.
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excerpt and text search
- Grant, James.
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(1994)
excerpt and text search
- Grimes, William. ed.
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(2013)
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excerpt and text search
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(2010)
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