We've had the 70's - Make Way for the 80's

This is a thread for those of us born later in the sixties who were in our teens and early twenties during the eighties.

So, I will start us off with leg warmers, New Wave, the dawn of MTV and Martha Curry, punk, sixties vintage was cool when mixed with what would become the grunge look, China Beach the Police and the very end of the Cold War.

More as I remember - what do others remember?

We sang our hearts out to Duran Duran, REO Speedwagon, and Journey, ate pop rocks, had feathered hair, wore pink Vans, with checker board squares, thank you very much... and mini skirts,had earrings with keys hanging off them, used tons of strawberry lip gloss, BFF for life written all over our SLAM books, lace gloves...."like a virgin....hey" Madonna was cool then..... oh and Devo...."Whip it good"..we are the MTV generation....roller skating every single Friday... all night skate....couples skate to Open Arms....

Here's one for ya, early 80's, who got in trouble when your mom found out that Forever by Judy Blume and Flowers in the Attic had sex in them and you read them both in one weekend?

I remember my beloved down and dirty metal getting all tarted up with talentless bands from LA. Even Priest (sob!).

I also remember IROC Zs, giant belts and sweaters worn over leggings (who me?), Block Party Weekends on the radio, Friday Night Videos for those of us whose parents wouldn't spring for cable, really bad movies like Teen Wolf and Fright Night and watching Hill Street Blues with my mom.

I remember not just the leg warmers but also the year (was it 83? 84?) when the colors were gray and pink. Every girl wore those colors. It seemed all they were wearing.

Also the night soaps, or whatever they called those - Falcon Crest and all that. "Who killed JR?"

Toni Basil and "Mickey"....

YEAH for the 80's!!! I remember the Group WHAM! .

You guys have mentioned a lot already especially leg warmers (and I see them in the stores now but not like we used to wear.)

The eighties had the best dance music ever! BTW why has no one mentioned rap or goth yet?

I called the proto-goth people "black coffee people" and they all listened to the Smiths and the Cure. I was not in their group but it was an interesting one. I don't really think serious Goth culture started until the 90s though.

Rap, yeah! Kids rapping to each other, kids break dancing in "center hall" at my Portland OR public high school. Rap was so great.

Frankie says Relax? The pop music answer to the brewing AIDS crisis when it was prophesied that AIDS would become epidemic in the hetero community - perhaps Frankie was the germinal idea for what is now abstinence education. ;-)

Cutting up your tee shirts and sweatshirts so they hung off your shoulders ala Flashdance? Safety pins in your clothes and ears. Old army clothing as fashion chic. Acid washed jeans and jeans printed with floral and paisley patterns. I know none of us will admit to owning a pair - I wonder what happened to all of them as I don't even see them in thrift stores. Members only jackets?

Reading Less than Zero and Bright Lights, Big City and Slaves of New York and thinking they were deep.

Africa by Toto and One Night in Bangkok, Tainted Love?

What were you reading in the eighties? For me it was comics until about 1983, when I discovered science fiction. I read the Demon Princes series by Jack Vance and the whole of Asimovs Foundation. I wouldn't have the patience to plow through them these days. I'm not actually 40 until next February and it doesn't bother me a bit, unlike my boss who's 6 weeks older than me and went nuts when somebody mentioned the big four oh on the horizon.

Knight Rider, anyone?

>4 anna_in_pdx: - Dallas, Falcon Crest, Knots Landing - my mom used to watch them all, and of course I had to watch them with her.

I'm 42, and turning 40 just wasn't that big a deal to me. I only act my age when I have to. :-)

> 10 I'd watch Knight Rider anytime! Or The Hulk. Family Ties.

What about Hall & Oates, Men At Work, Weird Al parodies of Michael Jackson & Madonna, David Letterman came on the scene in the 80s. U2! INXS! The Police.

Hair crimping, glow in the dark neon clothes. HA! Bicycle pants. Side ponytails.

Valley Girls! Like, they were so totally awesome, fer sure!

And the most important fashion rule of the 80s: the bigger the hair, the closer to God!

What about Prince?! 1999, Purple Rain, classic! And I remember INXS, my friends were all listening to Van Halen and other hair metal bands but I was stuck on The Police, INXS and Prince.

#7

I guess that might be true in the USA but goth dominated my UK based 1980s musically - The Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Cocteau Twins, The Cult, The Cure etc etc. I adored The Smiths too. I was a pretty gloomy teenager.

I went to university in Manchester in 1988. Locally there was a big buzz about a band called The Stone Roses who were about to change everything.

As regards reading, I discovered Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy in 1981 and 30 years later I'd still say it was my favourite book.

Naturally, my clothing was black with some added black and I used enough hairspray to create my own personal hole in the ozone layer.

I was reading Daniel Steele. Anything with romance and love, wouldn't read anything else. Now I will read anything but.

>13 Grammath: I didn't discover the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy books until the 90s; BUT I did discover the BBC series. It would come on PBS late at night on Sundays. I'm sure I was the only one in my little universe who even knew it existed....

#13

Now that sounds like the 80's as I experienced them as well ...... perhaps i was a gloomy teenager as well ....

One of my favourite possessions is Radio series of Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy naturally its on CD not mp3

I have to admit I listened to and dressed like all of the above. For me the biggest thing during the 80's -besides my hair(moussed to within an inch of it's life) the shoulder pads and earrings that were so heavy and large they made my earlobes drag a bit - was my precious Jane Fonda Workout video. That horrible phrase, "Go for the buuuurn!" will be with me forever.

I'd forgotten about buying those awful jellies - wasn't that foot sauna the worst? Plus they forced the skin of my feet through the little designs and made my feet look bizarre for hours after I'd taken them off. And didn't they make a funny squeak/ squelchy sound when you walked in them with the wetness? Or, I might be thinking of some other nasty 80's footwear.

Ah yes the jellies.... I know in my high school we went though a metallic stage gold and silver flats anyone.

Robert Palmer (the video with the band of girls in plain black dresses) Prince (still the man) Michael Jackson, Madonna, George Michael (when everyone thought he was straight).

Big Hair, Big shoulder pads, Big plastic earrings, only 1 tv in the whole house with 3 channels. Sunday was spend in my bedroom listening to Casey Kaem's with a cassette recorder trying to get a song recordered without anyone walking in the room. AH yes good times.

I remember stirrup pants; you wore slouchy socks over them, then pushed your feet into booties. I remember wanting to wear Espirit and that SWATCH had a clothing line. Neon colors. Michael Jackson, Tina Turner, Cyndi Lauper, Duran Duran, The Police, Prince.

Big, big hair. And mousse came out in the early 80's. I used so, so much of it.

I also wore leggings with big, slouchy shirts over them, and always boots. Hair scrunchies. Liz Claiborne perfume. Splashed in Jean Nate.

Oh, and MTV actually played music videos for a while.

Today I was teasing someone who stayed up all night to watch the recent royal wedding. I mentioned as a little kid I watched Charles and Di's wedding. He mentioned he wasn't even born then; almost killed him.

Or even the little darlings that dont even know who Charles and Di are....

The launch of MTV (@#20 – the good ol' days with actual videos!), Olivia Newton-John singing Physical & the bandana headbands her video inspired (I had one in hot pink), there was a brief (ha!) time where girls wearing men's boxer shorts as actual outerwear was pretty prevalent...

Just reading the above posts make me chuckle as I remember the hair, the shoes, the music and think what was I thinking...

Dear God! I had forgotten trying to wear mens boxers as outerwear. I tried it after seeing Madonna in Desperately Seeking Susan. Is it me or was that the only movie she was ever really charming in probably because she was really playing herself?
I was too nervous to make the boxers work - too afraid someone would say, "Hey are those mens boxer shorts??".

Very big hair ,very big earings, lots of bracelets and necklaces...

On tv was the mini series--North & South--Lace--The Thorn birds--Deception with the always beautiful Stephanie Powers I always wanted her hair!

Music- the B-52's--The Bangles----Cyndi Lauper--Culture Club--Wham--John Cougar--Joan Jett--Prince

Movies- The Breakfast Club--St. Elmo's Fire--Purple Rain--Anything by, John Hughes!

The books I was reading are about as embarrasing as my pictures of that time..Flowers in the Attic--also Judith Krantz and of course I had to read the books that the mini-series above were made from.

I miss the 80's.