SOME OLD MAGAZINES FROM THE 1980S

by Sara Lewis, freelance writer
For this article, I thought I'd dig out some of my old 1980s magazine from the loft, dust them off (atchoo!) and photograph them. So without further ado, here they are. Enjoy them - Sara.

![]() |
Sounds magazine Nov 15th 1980 ft. Adam Ant |
![]() |
Kerrang Oct 17th 1987 ft. spoof rock band Bad News. |
Smash Hits was a mainstream pop magazine aimed at young teenagers and pre-teens. It was published fortnightly between 1978 and 2006. The magazine was at its peak during the 1980s. The format was more light-hearted and fun than rival pop mags.
Elle magazine cover from March 1988 |
The Face No.64 (Aug 1985) ft. George Michael |
The Face No.53 (September 1984) ft. Prince |
Smash Hits magazine March 1986 ft. Sigue Sigue Sputnik |
No1 magazine Dec 1985 ft. Midge Ure |
Look-In Magazine December 1982 ft. Nick Heyward |
Look-In January 1984 ft. David Hasselhoff |
Just Seventeen Feb 1987 ft. Pepsi and Shirlie |
Okay, so this is an annual and not a magazine. "It's Friday, it's five to five and it's Crackerjack!".
Radio Times Nov 1983 ft. Five Doctors and the Master |
Just Seventeen was a market leader and published between October 1983 and April 2004, and was a weekly until 1997 when it became a monthly due to falling sales.

Jackie May 15th 1982 ft. Kim Wilde

Match Weekly 4th July 1981
Match is still being published and launched on Sept 6th 1979 as a rival to Shoot!
Many of the magazines that we all grew up with, reached their peak in the 80s and saw a decline in sales in the 90s.
There are exceptions, of course. Woman's Own magazine was first published in 1932 and is still going strong, as are many other publications aimed at adult women such as Woman's Weekly which launched way back in 1911 and Elle which launched in 1945.
Nonetheless, many are long gone (particularly the teen magazines) and even the survivors now have to rely heavily on their digital editions. So be truly grateful that you grew-up at a time when magazines were thriving and the choice was phenomenal.
