They were often unreliable and prone to rust, but there are still many of us who are very fond of the old cars from the 70s and 80s. So which were your favourites? To help you decide, you'll find lots of photos of classic and not-so classic cars, inc. models by British Leyland, as well as sports cars and some American cars, too. Plenty of car photos and plenty of memories, too - visit the 80s Cars page.
Retro Computers
The 1980s saw the beginning of the home computing revolution, a time when many of us actually learned how to program our computers. Which games consoles and computers did you use back in the 80s? From the very simple ZX80 to the highly popular, 16 bit Commodore Amiga, they can all be found on the 80s Computers page.
Eighties Video Games
Computer games were a lot simpler back in the 1980s, but they were also a lot more accessible. Frogger, Defender and Pac-Man were particular favourites of mine, and you can access many old classics on this page and play online for free, as well as read reviews of other computer games from the 80s.
Childhood Toys & Games
Some of these are going to bring the memories of your childhood flooding back! Read about the most popular toys and games from both the 1970s and 80s including Subbuteo, BigTrak, Action Man, Cabbage Patch Dolls and many more on the 80s Toys page.
So what did you wear in the eighties? This page features crazy New Romantic big hair and quiff hair styles for men, Parachute Pants, Don Johnson (from Miami Vice) in his white suits, "Choose
Life" T-shirts, pixie boots, boxer shorts, Ray Bans, big spectacles - the list goes on! Did you have 80s style or were you like me, an 80s fashion disaster!
These video clips and photos will help you to relive your 70s or 80s childhood, and on this page you can look at bucketloads of old-fashioned confectionary from the past, some of which has now disappeared, and some of which is still being made today. The question is, did you love anyone enough to give them your last Rolo?
Is it just me, or was there much more to watch on the TV when we were kids? Although we only had three TV channels here in the UK, there was always something to watch, and this page features links to dozens of pages about both British and American TV Shows from yesteryear. Were you a Dukes Of Hazzard fan, or maybe Charlie's Angels was more your thang?
The 1980s saw the birth of the music video revolution, thanks mainly to MTV. Here you'll find a complete A-Z of all the music video pages on the Simply Eighties site. It's an ever-growing list, and you find everything from ABBA to ZZ Top. Most of the videos are official (where available), and I've hand-picked the best quality ones from Youtube. From New Wave to 80s power ballads, they're all here!
80s Technology
So who had a trim phone?
Actually, we never had one of these as we weren't posh enough - just a
plain old, standard cream dial telephone for us! Anyway, on the 80s technology page I have written about my own experiences with VHS tapes, an Amstrad TV, CB Radio and a lot more besides.
80s Gadgets
So what gadgets couldn't we live without during the 1980s? Actually, we could live without them a darn sight better than than people do these days. Now that's either because the gadgets were rubbish, or because we were made of sterner stuff. Whatever your thoughts, here you'll find lots of pictures and facts about digital watches, instant cameras, VCR's and Sodastream.
Blancmange - Living On The Ceiling
Falco - Rock Me Amadeus
Janet Jackson - What Have You Done For Me Lately?
Midnight Oil - Beds Are Burning
Life In The 80s
The Simply Eighties website is dedicated entirely to the 1980s, and explores all areas of the great decade. The eighties was a decade that was very much in your face, with bold and daring fashions, crazy hair styles and groundbreaking music videos. The technology was groundbreaking, too, with Sinclair and Commodore bringing computing to the masses.
If you lived in the UK, then apart from Thatcherism, yuppies, miner's strikes, recession, shoulder pads, the mullet, puffball skirts, cabbage patch dolls, the ZX81 computer, Sinclair C5 and mobile phones the size of a brick, the eighties were really rather good!
Seriously, though, the intention of this site is to remind ourselves of what people were really up to in this brilliant decade, using videos wherever possible. Although aimed mainly at a British audience, visitors from other countries should find plenty to keep them amused, too.
Perhaps
you were heavily into the music and fashion of the 80s such as the New Romantics like Duran Duran and Japan ( maybe you still own a frilly shirt?), or maybe you were more into the 80s rock bands such as Whitesnake, Bon Jovi and Europe. Of course, some artists were harder to categorise. Adam Ant took new romanticism to another level and Frankie Goes To Hollywood ruffled feathers with their controversial songs about sex and nuclear armageddon.
I have very fond memories of the eighties. I was at school until 1984, and unlike today, you knew virtually every song in the pop charts. Every week kids up and down the country would eagerly await the new Top 30 charts on Radio 1, with a blank cassette in hand ready to tape each song off the radio - Of course, the tricky part was editing out the DJ's voice and joining the songs together!
Anyway, read on to discover
what was hot, and what was not so hot in this amazing decade.
So who bought the very first cassette/LP from the series way back in 1983? It's still the best one ever and featured no fewer than 11 number ones. A pig was used as the mascot for a short while during the 80s (as seen on the Now 3 vinyl above), but was dropped for No.6 which had a more "sophisticated" appearance - just plain boring if you ask me!
Launched in 1983 by Hasbro, this range of colourful pony toys became highly popular with little girls during the eighties. To cream as much money from lthe franchise as possible, a feature film and cartoon series were also made. See more 80s toys
Aah, the Sony Walkman. The brand is still going strong, although the technology is very much different, of course. The original portable cassette player was the must have gadget back in the 80s, particularly with leg warmer wearing joggers.
You'll find an ever-increasing range of nostalgic photos from the eighties (like the one above featuring the 80s Grange Hill Annual) and other decades, at my Retro Heaven page at Pinterest. This is a fast-growing social media site that involves pinning your own, or other people's photos onto boards - you can follow my boards at
What were people protecting their eyes with back in the 80s? Actually, some styles didn't protect the eyes at all and were worn purely as a fashion accessory. From Ray-Bans to shutter shades, on this revamped page I look back at the wide variety of styles that were worn in the eighties.
Sam was a page 3 model in the Sun newspaper for just three years, before launching a pop music career with "Touch Me (I Want Your Body)" which hit the No.1 spot in no less than 17 countries!
It's not hard to see why this page is popular! Even that image of flying saucer sweets is making me lick my lips. You'll find memories galore on this page.
Actually, this controversial pop star is still very much alive, and you'll find all the hits from his 80s band here, inc. the No.1 "You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)".
Glamour model Linda Lusardi went on to become a TV presenter and actress, and you'll be pleased to know that you can find out what happened to lots of other famous folk from the 80s on this page.
Fronted by Martin Fry, this sophisti-pop 80s band had the now legendary Trevor Horn to thank for launching their musical career. You can immerse yourself in their quality sound once more on this page.
Marc Almond and Dave Ball released some very memorable tunes during the eighties, and you can watch the synthpop duo's original videos on this page, inc, their biggest hit "Tainted Love".
They came and went in the blink of an eye, and this crazy post-punk band managed just one hit album and three Top 40 singles. Featuring a whole array of sound effects, Love Missile F1-11 was their biggest-seller, and now you can enjoy listening to it once more.
Only this guy could get away with shoving his arm up a bird's backside for a laugh, and being in the top ten must mean that plenty of people still have fond memories of his crazy antics.
