The Eighties Online

Today, I boldly step forward and publicly proclaim that I love Bon Jovi. I admit a touch of embarrassment that my junior high obsession never quite resolved. My embarrassment usually causes me to hide this fact except with close friends. Even then, some friends tease me, good naturedly of course, about my continued infatuation with an “80s Big Hair Band.” So, why on earth at this point am I confessing my love affair with this rock group?

Last month, I rocked out at my seventh Bon Jovi concert. My husband, bless him, supports my love of the band and treated me to floor tickets. Approaching the doors to the concert, I noticed the wide range of ages represented in the crowd. Children, wide-eyed with excitement at their first concert, streamed in with their parents along with teens, twenty-somethings, and on up to those in their sixties.

Bon Jovi began making music 25 years ago. The song, “Runaway,” created the breakthrough the band needed to seal a record deal. Their album, Slippery When Wet, featured the songs that made them rock stars,”Livin’ on A Prayer” and “You Give Love a Bad Name.” These songs topped the charts in the late 1980s, the peak of the Big Hair Rock Band Era, and Bon Jovi fit the image perfectly. However, as the Big Hair Era faded away, Bon Jovi found staying power.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

U2: The Rona Elliot Interview
U2 in 1987, their breakout year.
NBC News Onstage

U2 discussing Ireland, their early years, social activism and more in this classic interview from 1987.

Like this post? Publish It On Your Own Blog

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

The 1987 Today Show Interview of The Material Girl at the height of her early fame - 1987 Jane Pauley

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

It’s shaping up to be the best summer on record for much live music with many of your favorite 80s stars on Tour. Some acts from the 80s are staging their biggest concert tours ever!

Bon Jovi is set for a record breaking summer tour. Classic 80s Pop icons Human League are joined by Belinda Carlisle, Dead or alive, ABC, A Flock of Seagulls and Naked eyes for The Regeneration Tour, an 80s Pop-Fest that’s going to be hard to beat. Not to be outdone, Cindi Lauper will partner up with The B-52s.

These are just two examples of hot live 80s music you can catch this summer. I already have my tickets for Billy Idol, appearing with band-mate, Steve Stevens at a little brewery in Oregon. This will be the fourth time I’ve seen Billy live. It’s too bad I have to pick and choose. The Journey/Cheap Trick/Heart Tour also sounds good to me!.

Damn! There’s too many to choose from.

Here’s the most complete list I could come up with:

Get your tickets NOW and please let me know if I’ve missed anything or anything is announced later.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

1981 was another banner year at the movies. Many favorite stars from the past were making movies and many great new actors were appearing on the scene.

Some of the little known actors of 1981, such as Denzel Washington, have gone to become “Mega Stars”

Here’s a list of the top 25 box office stars of 1981, some of the top movies of 1981, and promising new actors from that year.

“On Golden Pond” and “Raiders of the Lost Ark” are the two movies from 1981 that should be most remembered 27 years later.

So if you’re looking for a movie to rent or download, the movies and stars listed below can be a good place to find one you might have missed or would like to see again.

Top 25 Box Office Stars of 1981

1. Burt Reynolds

“The Cannonball Run”

“Sharkey’s Machine”

2. Clint Eastwood

3. Dudley Moore

“Arthur”

4. Dolly Parton

5. Jane Fonda

“Rollover” Co-Starring Kris Kristofferson

Co Starred in “On Golden Pond” with Henry Fonda and Katherine Hepburn

6. Harrison Ford

“Raiders of the Lost Ark”

7. Alan Alda

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!

Madonna is as popular today, if not more so, than she was twenty years ago. Not only is there a continuing interest in Madonna, but critics have recently rated her latest album 5 stars.

Well, the critics may love it, but how about you and I. Myself, being a total 80s kid, I miss the pre-90s Madonna.

But the new Madonna is still breaking social barriers for women and giving girls the hope to break through the glass ceiling to realize their full potential in their creative and work lives. In short, Maddona’s still totally cool!

For new and old Madonna fans, here are a few things you may not have known about one of your favorite stars:

1. Madonna was born Madonna Loise Veronica Ciccone.

2. She was the third child and eldest daughter of lower-middle class Italian American parents Silvio and Madonna.

3. The nickname her father gave her as a child was “Little Noni”.

4. Madonna was born on August 16, 1959 - making her a Leo. The Lion is considered to be generous and warmhearted, creative and enthusiastic, broad-minded and expansive, faithful and loving.

If you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!