The Eighties Online

Michael Jackson costumes will be hot this Halloween. And I think that's great! It's totally acceptable to dress up as Michael. That's a fine tribute to his memory.

This is especially true if you consider "Thriller". Isn't this the ultimate Halloween song?

It's been 3 months since The King of Pop's untimely death and in another month "This Is It! The Movie" will be released in theaters across the country at the end of October.

I am saddened by all the sensational news coverage of Michael and his family over the last three months and glad it has started to die down.

Throughout history great men, and women have been vilified and attacked by the media, by those who did not understand. Many great people have been misunderstood!

So just remember you media people, you radio talk show hosts, you rag "entertainment magazine" publishers, you "so-called" reporters, TMZ, the Enquirer and others, these our our beloved icons. We are a powerful force! You attach them, you attack us.

So, save your sensational journalism for the reality TV stars and leave Kirstie Alley alone. Leave Michael Jackson alone. Leave Elizabeth Taylor alone. Leave Madonna alone. Leave the late Patrick Swayze alone. Leave Michael J. Fox alone.

Michael Jackson died yesterday afternoon and the reality of this unexpected event is still sinking in around the world.

I watched the Jackson 5 on the Mike Douglas show in the 1970's. I watched, glued to the screen, Michael bloom into the King of Pop on the Motown 25th Anniversary special in 1982 and, like millions of others across the globe, I was blown away!

I listened to Thriller repeatedly in the coming years. I watched Michael's pioneering videos in the early days of MTV.

While the passing of Farrah Fawcett was expected, and we have already mourned for her and her family, with Michael, this has come as such as surprise to everyone.

The first single from The Jackson Five was "I Want you Back", released in 1969 soon after signing with Motown Records. The Jackson family never looked back.

As early as 1972, singing and dancing out in front of the group, Michael was clearly destined to become the cornerstone of the Jackson family dynasty.

By the early 1980s, Michael Jackson was ready to break away from his brothers, releasing Thriller in 1982. Thriller still holds the record for the most top 10 singles from one record.

Another star of one of our favorite 80s sitcoms died earlier today. Estelle Getty passed away last year. Both were loved stars of the 80s comedy, The Golden Girls.

We will miss them both very much, but thankfully both women left us a wonderful show to watch over and over again.

Sorry, but we could not find any full episodes of The Golden Girls, Maude, or even All in the Family. That just goes to what classic TV shows they are.

Meet the Golden Girls in Lifetime's Golden Girls Special (June 2003).

As graduation approached in the spring of 1983, I began to plan, well hope is more like it, that I could attend the US Festival in Southern California.

This was four days of live music and entertainment from all those acts we saw on MTV (back when they used to play music videos).

There were very few artists who did not play at The US Festival.

From Van Halen to the Scorpions, to The Clash and Missing Persons, there were more than 100 bands and musicians at The US Festival.

Well, I did not get to go, and would love to hear some stories for anyone who did.

Is this available on DVD? If it is I would sure buy it for my collection.

Here are a few highlights from 1983's US Festival in San Bernadino, California.

Maybe there will be a resurgence of the kind of music festivals of the past, like LiveAid and The US Festival. One can only hope!

Thank You Seth McFarland!

In 21st Century Speak, Peter Griffin lingo

This is Frickin' Sweet!

Just about every episode of Family Guy makes fun of the 80s.

This one is not only no exception, but from the Bryan Adams Rip-Off, and the Men Without Hats dance at the party, to the appearance by Megatron from The Transformers, this one is fully funny and an excellent example of what makes the 80s such good material for comedy!

Video made available courtesy of Fox Television (another product of the 80s) and Hulu.

The Regeneration Tour 2008 begins tonight at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, Arizona. The 22-date concert series across North America runs through August 31st and will feature ABC, Belinda Carlisle, A Flock of Seagulls, The Human League and Naked Eyes playing their classics. Revenge of the 80s Radio plans to cover the August 22nd appearance at Jones Beach on Long Island.

Mike Score of A Flock of Seagulls recently talked with us; that discussion will be played on the August 8th show. We had already spoken with Martin Fry of ABC and The Human League’s Phil Oakey over the past month. Many of these bands are working on new projects: Among them: Martin Fry’s latest solo album, Traffic, was recently released in the U.K, Score is working on a solo CD and has planned one with his new Seagulls lineup.

Information on tickets and concert dates is available on the Regeneration Tour website. It also has an internet forum available.

We will also keep you up to date on the latest Regeneration Tour news on Revenge of the 80s Radio.

The Regeneration Tour Kicks Off Today
80s Hits

It was August 1, 1981 when the first all-music video cable TV channel was born.

As the popularity of video programs on some cable and network stations was rising, MTV made history while taking advantage of this trend.

They led off with the 1979 hit “Video Killed the Radio Star” by the Trevor Horn-led Buggles (from the album The Age of Plastic).

Among America’s new celebrities were the VJs: Martha Quinn, Nina Blackwood, JJ Jackson, Mark Goodman and Alan Hunter.

More would come in later years, but these were the originals. MTV was a huge boon for New Wave music.

Bands quickly learned how to make the most of all the publicity they were getting from their well-produced videos that those

mini-movies turned many songs that would go otherwise unplayed by mainstream radio into major hits.

In a past interview Stan Ridgway referred to MTV’s role in Wall of Voodoo’s success as people who saw the videos called radio stations requesting artists like them, Missing Persons, The Little Girls, Berlin and others that they were “forced to play them” (When I was doing all-talk radio, I would always say that the market should decide what’s played instead of a bunch of industry suits and their inadequate “market tests”).

The 80s gave us multitudes of great movies, comedies, dramas and more, that 80s fans can watch over and over.

It's often a special treat for parent's to share their favorite 80s movies with their kids.

Titles like Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Ghostbusters are perennial favorites.

For your enjoyment and entertainment, here are a few of the classic 80s movies available to view in their entirety on the internet.

You'll need a pretty fast internet connection to get the best experience.

For now, a few of these awesome 80s movie titles have only clips available, but will soon be available in full.

Say Hello To My Little Friend Clip
Scarface 1983
Video|02:08|R|
Tony Montana fires back at his assailants with his little friend.
A determined Cuban immigrant named Tony Montana climbs his way to the top and becomes the cocaine king of 1980s Miami.

Political Prisoner
Scarface 1983
Video|02:15|R|
Tony Montana is interviewed by the INS.

Raising Arizona
Raising Arizona
Feature Film |1:34:07 |Rating : PG-13
When a childless couple consisting of an ex-con and an ex-cop decide to help themselves to one of another family's quintuplets, their lives get more complicated than they anticipated.