The 1980s … close your eyes and what do you see, hear, smell, feel?
Here’s my 80s smorgasbord. Many appear in my novel Public Battles, Private Wars.
People: Madonna, Princess Diana, Mrs Thatcher, Paula Yates, Debbie Harry, Reagan, Arthur Scargill, Bruce Kent, Tony Benn, Michael Foot, miners, steelworkers…
Fashion: pixie boots, frilly white shirts, huge shoulder pads, terrible perms, flicked fringes, men in make-up…
Sounds: Heaven 17, Human League, Bowie, Prince, Michael Jackson, The The, Yazoo, The Specials, The Pretenders, Blondie, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, B52s…
Places: Manchester, Corfu, Grantham, Yorkshire, Wales, Docklands, Dallas…
Smell and taste: Quiche Lorraine, Dubonnet, Grolsch, snakebites, Vol au Vents, Lasagne, Chilli, Prawn Cocktail, Arctic Roll, Pot Noodle, Findus crispy pancakes, Perrier, Revlon Charlie Red, Calvin Klein’s Obsession, Yves Saint Laurent’s Opium, Brut…
Film & Telly: Dance with a Stranger, Dallas, Back to the Future, Blade Runner, Trading Places, The Breakfast Club, The Tube, The Color of Money, Cagney and Lacey, The Love Boat, Tiswas, Worzel Gummidge, Grange Hill, Boys from the Blackstuff, Bread…
The author in 1984 – tanned and grumpy
Here’s a picture of me in 1985, looking tanned (it was taken in Greece) and grumpy. Please feel free to share yours, and if you like Pinterest, I’ve an 80s board there too. Happy memories!
Laura Wilkinson 