The Eighties Online

I remember it like it was yesterday. My jaw hit the floor as Michael slid across the stage that night in 1982, with his skinny tie, sequined jacket, high-water slacks, and white-gloved left hand.

Was the Motown 25th Anniversary the beginning of the end for Michael?

Little did we know then what was to come later. Michael was eccentric. That was obvious.

The surgery to bob his nose and cleave his chin, a llama, a giraffe and and ostrich roaming his estate in Southern California and a failed bid for the Elephant Man's remains were, while odd, not totally unusual for a celebrity.

In the early 80s, Michael Jackson was the biggest star in the music since Elvis and the Beatles. Album sales for Thriller surpassed even these biggest of acts in the music business, and the records still stand to this day.

Michael was electrifying! But, oh what a fall! I guess we've heard the last of him.

I just wanted to take a moment with our readers to share our support for Patrick Swayze and his family. We would love to see one of our favorite 80s stars, Mr. Swayze get on with his acting career and to beat the dreaded caner that has so abruptly intruded upon the life of a quiet and generous hollywood star.

Patrick Swayze was on M.A.S.H. very early in his career, which many did not know. Watch for this episode in the reruns and check the credits if you don't believe me.

Many will remember 1990's "Ghost" with Demi Moore when thinking of Mr. Swayze, however I enjoyed "Red Dawn" co-starring Lea Thompson the most of all his roles. But, "Dirty Dancing" is really deserving of a place in the top ten movies of the 1980'.

The doctor is optimistic about Mr. Swayze's chances at a full recovery, according to news reports.

Our hopes for a speedy recovery!

In the early 1980s thousands of UK bands hoped to make it like Duran Duran.

The second British invasion helped to power the new wave music explosion in the U.S. as many bands and artists were picked up by MTV and recording companies.

The list of eighties bands from the UK includes many thousands of lesser known 80sUK bands.

It was a great opportunity for bands and artists from the UK to do something different.

While inspired by a fusion of punk and synthesizers, the new wave music of the 80s was a musical genre or style all its own.

A few recommended 80s music artists like Howard Jones, Thomas Dolby, The Waitresses, The Cure, Haircut 100, Squeeze or Split Enz offer excellent examples of the new wave 80s music from the UK.

A-ha - Take on Me

ABC and Martin Fry - The Look of Love

Alphaville - Big in Japan

Anything Box

Basil, Toni - Hey Micki

Berlin - The Metro

Book of Love

Bow Wow Wow - I Want Candy!

Boy George - Karma Kameleon

Bronski Beat - I Feel love

Why would anyone want to murder John Lennon? I don't have an answer for that. It is tragic that we lost such an artist and human being as John Lennon.

The last day in John Lennon's short, prolific life was like a death in the family for more than Lennon's wife and son, Julian.

John Lennon's murder was, is, and always will be a great loss. When John Lennon was assassinated on Dec 8, 1980, many people, old enough to remember, would recall today exactly where they were, who they were with and what they were doing when they heard John Lennon was killed.

It is interesting to speculate, as a music lover, how much wonderful music Lennon would still be making today.

I listened to the Beatles as early as 1972. I remember spinning "hand me down" vinyl LP's on my plastic phonograph. I was blessed with copies of The Beatles "Magical Mystery Tour" and the 1966 masterpiece, "Rubber Soul". They were well played and scratched, but they sounded awesome.

Paul McCartney was going strong in the 1980s, recording hit singles with Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder, as well as recording several solo hit singles. I'm sure he missed his songwriting partner and childhood friend. And still does.

The mountain's crater had been rumbling and steaming for several weeks. I was camping near a mountain stream in the Cascade Mountain Range over 300 air miles from the mountain when it blew. What I heard sounded like blasting nearby.

Odd for early Sunday morning. But our party didn't think much of it until we boarded our rigs for the trip home and tuned in the radio.

As it turned out, a tremendous explosion of trapped gases, generating about 500 times the force or the atom bomb dropped on Hiroshima, blew the entire top off Mount St. Helens.

In a single blast Mount St. Helens was transformed from a picture-perfect symmetrical cone 9,667 feet high to a flat-top 1300 feet lower. Clouds of hot ash made up of pulverized rock were belched twelve mile into the sky.

The force of the prolonged energy burst rocketed into the upper atmosphere and slapped the skies. Vertical ripples spread through the atmosphere causing lazy fluctuations in the air. Hours later in Washington D.C., scientists would record gravity waves from Mount St. Helens crossing the Eastern Seaboard.

We grew up on 80`s music and we are still listening to 80`s music today.

Though much of the music was inspired by punk rock, only a fraction of it sounded much like that aggressive, revolutionary format.

MTV, one of the '80s most singular, well-known phenomena, served as a backdrop and venue for much of the pop music of the '80s.

By popularizing the music video format for the masses, the cable network allowed audiences a visual intimacy with their pop music idols never possible previously.

New wave's blend of punk, power pop, mainstream rock and disco constituted the first fresh genre to emerge in the Reagan Era. MTV, one of the '80s most singular, well-known phenomena, served as a backdrop and venue for much of the pop music of the '80s.

As a unique and distinct subgenre of new wave, synth pop was quite a force in mainstream and underground pop music during the first half of the '80s. It helped standardize the use of synthesizers across genres as well, among its several influences on pop music moving forward.

One of new wave's biggest stars, the Cars boasted a sound that encompassed several styles, including pure pop, power pop, classic rock and punk.

The '80s was a decade of significant political and cultural change. These events have an impact on our lives today and will into the future in so many ways.

There were also, admittedly, trivial or relatively unimportant events that took place in the 1980's. Here are some of the events that ranged from the deadly serious to the ridiculous.

So whether you loved the 1980s or hated it, there's something here for everyone who lived during this decade to bring back those nostalgic memories.

1980

• The $40 million "Heaven's Gate" took a dive after it's Thanksgiving premier.
• Despite a recession, auction prices started to soar. Lighting the way: A Tiffany Lamp sold for $360,000.
• Tampons caused toxic shock syndrome, resulting in 42 deaths.
• In Mexico city, Yin-Yin delivered the first giant panda born outside China, but smothered the cub shortly thereafter.
• "Friday the 13th" was a big enough grosser to scare up seven sequels by the end of the decade.
• Rubik's Cube, the product of a Hungarian inventor, tormented puzzlers trying to find the correct variation out of 43.2 quintillion possibilities.
• Dialects were Meryl Streep's signature. Her New York whine in "Kramer vs. Kramer" won her an Oscar.

The 80s movies and music define the fashions of the 80s about as good as anything.   Of course not everyone dressed as uniquely as Jon Crier's Duckie  character from "Pretty in Pink" or  Madonna in "Desperately Seeking Susan.  But many were extremely fashion conscious in the 1980s.

Pastel colors were seen on occasion. Most of the time preppy's or yuppies were seen in pastel colors.  The Izod and Polo shirts with the upturned collar or a pastel colored sweater tied over the shoulders. Black was worn mainly in mod, goth and punk circles.

The 80s hair and 80s makeup styles manifested in bright colored clothing and outrageous, big hair. Punk and new wave 80s makeup was at the extreme end, being load and colorful.

In the end, there were so many different 80s fashion styles and colors that the 80s can't be defined by any one fashion trend. The list of eighties fashions and accessories that follows is by no means complete. Please comment with any 80s fashion items that may have been left off.

These lists of what people wore in the 80s will be a big help to you if you are planning an 80s party and need an 80s outfit to wear. 80s parties are very trendy these days. And a big crowd pleaser.