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The era of the Commodore 64 and ZXSpectrum
128K home computers; Pacman; Space Invaders; Atari
and Betamax tapes.
Enjoying the
"Moonwalk"; Rubik’s Cube; Swatch Watches; He-Man; Walkmans;
MS-DOS; Big Hair; Trivial Pursuit and Ghetto Blasters.
A time of Diet
Coke; Ghostbusters; The Smurfs; The Cabbage-Patch Kids; Max Headroom; Breakdancing and Hot Wheels.
Wearing Esprit Clothing; Bang-Bang Jeans; Puffball Skirts
and Sweatbands;
Parachute Pants; Leg Warmers and Bermuda Shorts.
Seeing the
Lotus Esprit (in “The Spy who Loved me”); the Lambourghini
Countach (in “Cannonball”); the De Lorean DMC (in “Back to the Future”); the
Trans Am (in “Knightrider”) and the
Ferrari 308 (in “Magnum PI”).
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1980
Jan A gold rush starts in the Amazon, after a rancher in Brazil discovers it on his farm
Apr
Rhodesia, now called Zimbabwe,
becomes an independent state under Robert Mugabe
Alfred Hitchcock dies in Los Angeles at the age of 80
May In the United States, Mount St.
Helens erupts in fire and smoke
Jul The 22nd
Olympic Games opens in Moscow, while athletes
from the US, Japan &
West Germany boycott the games over the Soviet’s invasion of Afghanistan
Sep Iraq invades Iran over a territorial dispute.
The US supports the Iraq
side with arms!
Nov Ronald
Reagan becomes the 40th president of the US, promising to put America "back to work!"
Dec John
Lennon is killed by a crazed fan, outside his apartment in Manhattan
Other 3M
introduces the yellow ‘Post-It-Notes’ | CNN launches as the first "All News" network | Bill Gates licenses MS-DOS to IBM |
Millions of people tune into Dallas
to see who shot JR | WHO declares the smallpox virus
eradicated over the world
Film & TV "Ordinary People" wins Academy Award for ‘Best
Picture’ | Dallas,
The Love Boat, Taxi, The Jefferson’s, M.A.S.H. & WKRP in Cincinnati
shows on S.A. TV | At the movies, cinema goers
enjoy films such as Fame, Airplane, 9 to 5, The Empire Strikes Back, American Gigolo & The Jazz Singer
1981
Jan 52 American hostages are freed in Tehran
Feb Bill Haley dies
Mar Carol Burnett wins a lawsuit against National Enquirer
Ronald Reagan is wounded in an assassination
attempt in Washington DC
Apr The 1st
reusable spacecraft, space shuttle Columia,
completes its 1st mission
May Pope
John Paul II, is wounded in an assassination attempt
Bob Marley dies of cancer
Jul Prince
Charles marries Lady Diana Spencer at St. Paul’s
Cathedral, London
Oct
Egyptian leader, Anwar el-Sadat
is assassinated in Cairo
Nov Hollywood legend Natalie Wood, drowns under mysterious
circumstances
Dec
Composer Hoagy Carmichael, aged 82, dies
Other Pac-Man
fever takes over | MTV launches its 24hr music
television station | The mysterious disease that
causes immune-breakdown (later called AIDS) is first reported | Jane Fonda releases her 1st workout book | Chriatian Dior opens in boutiques in Beijing | IBM starts mass manufacturing computers
Film & TV Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’ goes to "Chariots of Fire" | Three’s
Company, Alice, The Facts of Life, Dallas, & One Day at a Time shows on
S.A. TV | At the movies, cinema goers enjoy films
such as Raiders of the Lost Ark, Arthur, Endless Love, The Gods must be
Crazy, & Friday the 13th, part2
1982
Mar John Belushi dies in Los Angeles from a drug overdose
Apr
Argentina invades the Falkland Islands
May Britain retaliates the invasion of Falklands with counter attacks
Jun 800 000
people protest nuclear proliferation in New
York City
Baby William is born to Prince Charles &
Princess Diana
Jul An IRA
bomb explodes in Hyde Park, London
Queen Elizabeth II, wakes up to find an intruder
in her bedroom
Aug Actor
Henry Fonda dies
Oct Helmut
Cole becomes West-Germany’s new chancellor
Nov Soviet
Premier Leonid Brezhnev, dies at the age of 75
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial wall, engraved with
60 000 names, is opened
Dec Barney
B Clark becomes the 1st man to receive an artificial heart
Other Italy wins Soccer World Cup | Princess Grace of Monaco
dies after a car accident | Liposuction is first
introduced | Alice Walker publishes ‘The Colour Purple’ | The
Musical ‘Cats’ opens on Broadway | In a
4-hour battle, Jimmy Connors defeats John McEnroe at Wimbledon
Film & TV Academy Award for ‘Best
Picture’ goes to "Ghandi" | On S.A.
TV: M.A.S.H., Dynasty, Dallas,
Magnum PI, Falcon Crest & The Facts of Life | At the movies: E.T., Blade Runner, Annie, An Officer & a
Gentleman, Rocky III & Sophie’s Choice
1983
Mar The ‘Star Wars’ defence program
is unveiled in the United States,
while the USSR
is denounced as an "evil" empire!
May The
‘Hitler Diaries’ are exposed as a hoax
Jun In a
landslide victory, Margaret Thatcher with her Conservative Government win the
British General Election
Jul Sally
Ride becomes the first U.S.
woman in space
Sep Vanessa
Williams becomes the first black woman to win a ‘Miss America’ contest
The USSR
shoots down a Korean 747 airplane with 269 people on board, saying the plane
was "spying" for the USA
Nov 5000
Palestinian prisoners are released by Israel, in exchange for 6 Israeli
soldiers
Other The
first "mouse" is used by Apple Computers | Space Shuttle Challenger carries Guion Bluford, the first black astronaut into space | The first car phones, selling for $3000, are used in Chicago | Compact Discs (CD’s) are introduced | Camcorders make their first appearance | Karen
Carpenter dies of Anorexia Nervosa | The
‘Cabbage Patch’ dolls become the latest toy craze | After being featured in the movie ‘Flashdance’,
cutoff sweatshirts become a wild rage!
Film & TV "Terms of Endearment" is nominated an Academy Award for
‘Best Picture’ |.
Dynasty, The A-Team, Cagney & Lacey, Kate &
Allie and Magnum PI shows on S.A TV: | Superman III, Return of the Jedi, War Games, Trading Places, The Big
Chill and Risky Business can be seen at the movies
1984
Jan The US
supreme court rules it legal for people to use their VCRs to home-tape TV
programs
Apr After
an argument between the two, Marvin Gaye is shot dead by his father
May The USSR boycotts the Olympic Games in Los Angeles
The US Surgeon General reveals that
non-smokers can actually suffer lung disease from people who smoke
Jul James Fixx, who wrote a book on running, dies from a heart
attack while jogging
Aug A
French cargo ship with 450 tons of Uranium, sinks off the Belgium coast
Sep Britain says it will hand back Hong Kong to China in
1997
Oct Prime
Minister Magaret Thatcher narrowly escapes injury,
when an IRA bomb explodes at the hotel she was staying in for the
Conservative Party’s conference in Brighton
Indira Ghandi is assassinated by two of her bodyguards in New Delhi
Dec Band
Aid, consisting of various British musicians, raise money for famine-stricken
Africans
Bishop Desmond Tutu is awarded the Nobel Peace
prize in Oslo
The ‘Thriller’ album of Michael
Jackson, becomes the biggest ever seller in the history of music
Other During
the shooting of a Pepsi commercial, Michael Jackson’s hair accidentally
catches fire | The term "Cyberspace"
is first used by William Gibson in his novel: ‘Neuromancer’
| On stage, Madonna popularises eccentric
cone-shaped bra’s and underwear–type, outerwear | Stone-washed jeans are all the craze | A
baboon heart is transplanted into a baby, which dies 20 days later | The autobiography of Lee Iacocca is published | George Orwell’s ‘1984’ tops the bestseller list after
it is re-released in hard-back
Film & TV "Amadeus" takes Academy
Award for ‘Best Picture’ | The Cosby Show, Dynasty, Family Ties, The A-Team, Knots Landing, Murder
she wrote and Falcon Crest shows on S.A. TV | At the
movies: Karate Kid, Gremlins, Revenge of the Nerds, Beverly Hills Cop,
Splash, Ghostbusters and Footloose
Top 20 Songs in SA for 1984 RED RED WINE - UB40; CLAP CLAP
SOUND – Klaxons; I WANT TO BREAK FREE – Queen; ISLANDS IN THE
STREAM - Kenny Rogers & Dolly Parton; SELF
CONTROL - Laura Branigan; ALL NIGHT LONG - Lionel Richie; KARMA CHAMELEON - Culture Club; TO ALL THE GIRLS
I LOVED BEFORE - Julio Iglesias & Willie
Nelson; MANUEL GOODBYE - Audrey Landers; HAPPY STATION - Fun Fun; TONIGHT I CELEBRATE MY LOVE - Peabo
Bryson & Roberta Flack; FOOTLOOSE - Kenny Loggins;
JUMP - Van Halen; SAY, SAY, SAY - Paul McCartney
& Michael Jackson; MAJOR TOM - Peter Schilling; SUNSHINE REGGAE - Laid
Back; DOLCE VITA - Ryan Paris; BREAK MY STRIDE - Matthew Wilder; WRAP YOUR
ARMS AROUND ME - Agnetha Faltskog
(from Abba); BIG IN JAPAN - Alphaville
1985
Feb Violence erupts when the NP government of SA tries to relocate 100 000
blacks
In both Europe and the USA,
Madonna shoots to the top with her song ‘Like a Virgin’, but infuriates
Church leaders with her exploitation of the Mother of Christ
Mar In the USSR,
Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the new Soviet leader, calling for a "major
reduction in arms stockpiles"
Apr In a
disastrous decision, Coca-Cola launches a "new formula" for their
soft drink
Jun The
body of Dr. Josef Mengele is exhumed and identified
from a grave in Brazil
A TWA flight is hijacked by radical Schiite members, but hostages are freed after 17 days
Jul The
massive rock festival, ‘Live Aid’ is held to raise money for
famine-stricken areas of Africa
Aug The SA
Rand value falls 25% after the NP regime imposes a State of Emergency and president PW Botha holds his "Rubicon" speech
Sep The
wreck of the Titanic
Ocean liner is
discovered and filmed after 73 years
Oct Rock Hudson makes world
headlines when he dies of an AIDS-related illness
Other A hole
in the Earth’s Ozone layer is indisputably proved | Nintendo launches their video games console | The General Electric Company buys NBC and RCA for $6.3 billion | The Discovery Channel is launched | In
London’s West End, the stage play ‘Les Misrables’
opens | Boris Becker becomes the youngest man to
win Wimbledon at only 17 years!
Film & TV Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’ goes to "Out of Africa" | On S.A. TV: The Cosby Show, Dynasty, Family Ties, Simon & Simon,
Murder She Wrote and Miami Vice | At the
movies: The Breakfast Club, Back to the Future, Desperately Seeking Susan,
St. Elmo’s Fire, White Nights
Top 20 Songs in SA for 1985
LOVERBOY - Billy Ocean; ONE NIGHT IN BANGKOK (from Chess) - Murray Head;
CARELESS WHISPER - George Michael; RING OF ICE - Jennifer Rush; WOODPECKERS
FROM SPACE – Cafè Society; POWER OF
LOVE - Jennifer Rush; YOU'RE MY HEART YOU'RE MY SOUL - Modern Talking; WE ARE
THE WORLD - USA For Africa; THE LOST OPERA – Kimera;
I KNOW HIM SO WELL (from Chess) - Elaine Page & Barbara Dickson; SOUNDS
LIKE A MELODY – Alphaville; I WANT TO KNOW
WHAT LOVE IS – Foreigner; AGADOO - Black Lace; WHAT'S LOVE GOT TO DO
WITH IT - Tina Turner; WILD BOYS - Duran Duran;
SHOUT - Tears For Fears; NIGHTSHIFT – Commodores; LOVER COME BACK TO ME
- Dead Or Alive; LIKE A VIRGIN – Madonna; NEVER ENDING STORY - Limahl
1986
Jan Ronald Reagan broadcasts New Year’s wishes to the people of the Soviet Union. Mikhail Gorbachev in turn, does the same
for US audiences
In a tragic disaster, Space shuttle Challenger
explodes into a ball of fire, 74 seconds after liftoff.
Feb Prime Minister Maggie Thatcher and President Francois Mitterrand
announce their plans for an underground rail tunnel between Britain and France
In Stockholm, Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme is assassinated as
he walks home from a movie with his wife
Apr The US strikes Libyan targets in revenge for the
bombing of a discotheque in West Berlin
A major nuclear accident occurs at Chernobyl in the Ukraine
May 1.5
million blacks strike in SA to protest the National Party’s
‘Apartheid’ policy
Jul The
Statue of Liberty celebrates it’s 100th anniversary with a
fireworks display
Oct GM
leaves SA after IBM, Honeywell and Warner, over ‘Apartheid’
policies
Nov The
Iran-contra deal plunges the White House into crises after the revelation
that the US sold arms to Iran
in exchange for the release of US hostages some 6 years before
Dec The Soviet Union announces it will resume nuclear testing
in 1987
Other
It’s anticipated that the world’s population will reach the 6
billion mark by the year 2000 | Prince Andrew marries
Sarah Ferguson in Westminster Abbey |
Argentina wins the Soccer World Cup |
Haley’s comet return to mystify astrologers and astronomers alike | Coca-Cola returns to it’s original formula after their new one,
released the previous year, proved not to be popular with consumers
Film & TV "Platoon" takes Academy
Award for ‘Best Picture’ | On TV, Murder She Wrote, Miami Vice, Golden Girls, Cheers,
Moonlighting, Growing Pains and Who’s the Boss, delight S.A. audiences | At the movies, people enjoy Ruthless people, An American Tail, Top
Gun, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, Aliens and 9
½ Weeks
Top 20 Songs in SA for 1986 SAY
YOU, SAY ME - Lionel Richie; BROTHER LOUIE - Modern
Talking; ROCK ME AMADEUS – Falco; AROUND MY
DREAM - Silver Pozzoli; DANCING ON THE CEILING -
Lionel Richie; MANIC MONDAY – Bangles; NIKITA
- Elton John; WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING - Billy Ocean; A
DIFFERENT CORNER - George Michael; WE BUILT THIS CITY – Starship; THEY
SAY IT'S GONNA RAIN - Hazell Dean; LESSONS IN LOVE
- Level 42; MARIA MAGDELENA – Sandra; THE WALK OF LIFE - Dire Straits;
A GOOD HEART - Feargal Sharkey; MAN IN MOTION -
John Parr; THAT'S WHAT FRIENDS ARE FOR - Dionne Warwick & Friends
featuring Elton John, Stevie Wonder and Gladys
Knight; WEST END GIRLS - Pet Shop Boys; A LOVE BIZARRE - Sheila E; VENUS - Bananarama
1987
Feb Pop artist Andy Warhol, aged 55, dies during an operation
West
Beirut is invaded and occupied by
Syrian troops
Apr Mikhail
Gorbachev proposes a ban on all nuclear missiles in Europe
The McDonald’s fast-food chain,
becomes the largest employer of unskilled labour. A
new McDonald’s opens every 17 hours around the world!
May With
only 25 hours flying time behind his name, a young West German pilot lands
his single-engined plane on Red Square in Moscow!
Saddam Hussein apologises
to the US after a navy
vessel of theirs is hit by missiles in the Persian Gulf.
Jul Martina
Navratilova wins Wimbledon for the sixth
consecutive time!
80 000 square miles of the Amazon rainforest is
destroyed by Brazilian farmers!
Oct New York’s stock
market falls 508 points, the worst crash since 1929
Dec In Washington, the US
and USSR
sign the first treaty to reduce their nuclear arsenals
Hollywood films
like ‘Fatal Attraction’ and ‘Wall Street’ gross the
highest incomes yet.
Other The
Italian porn star, Cicciolina wins a seat in
parliament! | Rotary clubs are ordered by the US supreme
court, to admit woman | AZT, a drug to treat AIDS, is
launched in the US | The musical ‘Sarafina’ opens in Johannesburg, SA, | Condom advertisements start appearing on TV | A record budget for 1988-1989, totalling $
1769 billion, is approved by the UN General Assembly | The Ayatollah Khomeni gives a blessing for
Iranians to watch bare-legged soccer players on TV
Film & TV Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’ goes to "The Last Emperor" | On S.A. TV: Cheers, Night Court, Alf, A Different World, Golden Girls,
Cheers, Growing Pains and Who’s the Boss, | At the movies: Dirty Dancing, Cocktail, My Stepmother is an Alien,
Full Metal Jacket, The Witches of Eastwick and
Moonstruck
Top 20 Songs in SA for 1987 THE
LADY IN RED - Chris De Burgh; EVERYTHING I OWN - Boy George; ALL I ASK OF YOU
- Cliff Richard & Sarah Brightman; I WANNA
DANCE WITH SOMEBODY - Whitney Houston; NOTHING'S GONNA STOP US NOW –
Starship; EVER FALLEN IN LOVE - Fine Young Cannibals; THE FINAL COUNTDOWN
– Europe; WALK LIKE AN EGYPTIAN – Bangles; IS THIS LOVE - Alison Moyet; THE GREAT PRETENDER - Freddie Mercury; WILD HORSES
- Gino Vannelli; OH L' AMOUR – Erasure;
EVERYBODY HAVE FUN TONIGHT - Wang Chung; BOOM BOOM
- Paul Lekakis; STRANGE LOVE - Depeche
Mode; SOMETIMES – Erasure; LA BAMBA - Los Lobos; IT'S A SIN - Pet Shop
Boys; RESPECTABLE - Mel & Kim; TWO OF HEARTS - Stacey Q
1988
Jan In a new economic beginning for the USSR, "Perestroika" is
implemented by President Gorbachev. Large amounts of economic
responsibilities are transferred to private companies
Feb The US
Justice Dept. indicts Panamanian leader, General Manuel Noreiga
on charges of drug smuggling
Jimmy Swaggart, head of
‘The Assembly of God’ church is removed from office after
admitting to have had sex with a prostitute
Apr The USSR starts withdrawing some of it’s
troops from Afghanistan
Jun Mike
Tyson gets millions after knocking out Michael Spinks in a 30 second boxing
match!
A NASA scientist warns the US Congress that their
scorching summer is the result of the "Greenhouse Effect"
Jul In a
war lasting 8 years, Iraq
admits it has been using chemical weapons against Iran
The US Navy shoots down an Iranian passenger plane
carrying 290 people, believing the plane to be "an approaching hostile
military aircraft!"
Aug After
years of "bush" warfare, South Africa,
Cuba and Angola agree to a truce
Oct Ben
Johnson is stripped of his Gold medal after using steroids. He ran the 100m
in 9.7 seconds!
Dec In Scotland, a 747 passenger plane explodes over
the town of Lockerbie,
killing 270 people
Other
CD’s start outselling Vinyl records in the USA
| The ‘Prozac’ medical drug is launched | More than 1 million fax machines are sold in America | Pres. George Bush (senior) promises "no new taxes"
Film & TV "Rain Man" wins Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’ | The Cosby Show, Night Court, Who’s the
Boss and Growing Pains show on S.A. TV | At the movies,
cinema goers enjoy films such as Clara’s Heart, Coming to America,
License to drive, Good Morning Vietnam and A Fish called Wanda
Top 20 Songs in SA for 1988 NEVER
GONNA GIVE YOU UP - Rick Astley; (I'VE HAD) THE
TIME OF MY LIFE (from Dirty Dancing) - Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes; I SHOULD BE SO LUCKY - Kylie Minogue;
HEAVEN IS A PLACE ON EARTH - Belinda Carlise;
PERFECT - Fairground Attraction; I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW – Tiffany; GET
OUTTA MY DREAMS GET INTO MY CAR - Billy Ocean; LOVE CHANGES EVERYTHING - Climie Fisher; MONY MONY -
Billy Idol; BEDS ARE BURNING - Midnight Oil; ALWAYS ON MY MIND - Pet Shop
Boys; YOU WIN AGAIN - Bee Gees; RISE TO THE OCCASION - Climie
Fisher; DREAMING – OMD; POP GOES THE WORLD - Men Without Hats;
UNDERNEATH THE RADAR – Underworld; FUNKYTOWN - Pseudo Echo; SIMPLY
IRRESISTIBLE - Robert Palmer; BARCELONA - Freddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballe; MY KIND OF GIRL - Cinema
1989
Feb After
suffering a mild stroke, PW Botha resigns as leader
of the National Party of SA
Mar Time
Inc. and Warner Communications announce their plans to merge into one big
company
The Exxon Valdez, carrying one million barrels of
oil, runs aground off the coast of Alaska
Apr During
an FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough, 94 soccer fans are crushed to death in Britain
Jun Over
2000 people are killed in Tiananmen Square as China cracks down on
pro-democracy demonstrators
Jul The
French Revolution celebrates its 200th Anniversary
Aug FW de Klerk takes office as SA’s
new president and promises an end to ‘Apartheid’
Estonians, Latvians and Lithuanians form a human
chain over 3 countries to demand their autonomy from the USSR
Oct Walter Sisulu and 7 other political prisoners are released by FW
de Klerk
In San
Francisco, an earthquake measuring 6.9 on the
Richter scale, kills 270 people
Nov At the
stroke of midnight on November 10, 1989, the Berlin Wall is brought down
Other Rob
Lowe is caught with an underaged girl in a porn
video | Pan Am declares itself bankrupt | ‘Miss Saigon’ opens in London | Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles become the latest craze | The Stealth Bomber is developed | The Ford
motor Company buys Jaguar for $2.5 billion | The
trade in ivory is now banned worldwide | The Viking II spacecraft flies past Neptune and detects 10 moons orbiting
Uranus
Film & TV Academy Award for ‘Best Picture’ goes to "Driving Miss Daisy" | On S.A.
TV, Empty Nest, Roseanne, The Golden Girls, Murder she Wrote and The Wonder
Years, show | At the movies, My Left Foot,
Ghostbusters II, Back to the Future II, The Naked Gun, Look Who’s
Talking and The Accidental Tourist are screened
Top 20 Songs in SA for 1989 THE
LOCOMOTION - Kylie Minogue; SHE WANTS TO DANCE WITH
ME - Rick Astley; DOMINO DANCING - Pet Shop Boys; I
WANT YOUR LOVE - Transvision Vamp; DON'T WORRY BE
HAPPY - Bobby McFerrin; THE RACE – Yello;
STOP YOUR FUSSIN' - Toni Childs; NOTHING'S GOING TO CHANGE - Glenn Medeiros;
FOREVER YOUNG - Rod Stewart; THE TWIST - The Fat Boys and Chubby Checker; A
GROOVY KIND OF LOVE - Phil Collins; SUPERSTITIOUS – Europe; ALL FIRED
UP - Pat Benatar; THE BLOOD THAT MOVES THE BODY -
A-Ha; WILD WILD WEST - The Escape Club; SECRET LAND
– Sandra; RADIO ROMANCE – Tiffany; BOYS – Sabrina; I OWE
YOU NOTHING – Bros; BOYS AND GIRLS - Mandy Smith
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