1980s | the Decade that changed the world
27 Feb 2023![](https://d1gcn4slqqviv9.cloudfront.net/_imager/fd56144e33df64e164b8cef434e6945e/1980s_240226_153005_8f6a03dfcd0d991e5d0cd6304dd7db47.jpg)
1980
- The Arcade game Pac-Man is released
- Rubik’s Cube craze begins
- University tuition fees introduced for international students
- Christmas number 1: There’s No-One Quite Like Grandma by St Winifred’s School Choir
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1981
- 15% cut to Higher Education funding
- Royal Wedding of Charles and Diana
- Christmas number 1: Don't You Want Me by The Human League
1982
- The Falklands War
- E.T. opens and immediately becomes a blockbuster
- Christmas number 1: Save Your Love by Renee and Renato
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1983
- Margaret Thatcher wins landslide second term as Prime Minister
- Christmas number 1: Only You by The Flying Pickets
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1984
- UK unemployment levels hit their peak at 3 million people
- The Miners' Strike begins
- Further major cuts to Higher Education funding
- Christmas number 1: Do They Know It’s Christmas? by Band Aid
1985
- The first mobile phone calls in the UK are made
- A pint of beer costs 77p
- Les Misérables opens in the West End
- Margaret Thatcher becomes the first post-war Prime Minister to be publicly refused an honorary degree by Oxford University
- Christmas number 1: Merry Christmas Everyone by Shakin’ Stevens
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1986
- The word “Walkman” is added to the Oxford English Dictionary
- GCSE exams replace O Levels and CSEs
- Major industries are privatised
- Christmas number 1: Reet Petite by Jackie Wilson
1987
- Thatcher wins third general election for the Conservatives
- Christmas number 1: Always on My Mind by The Pet Shop Boys
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1988
- Academic tenure abolished in the Education Reform Act
- Ford Escort is UK's best-selling car
- Christmas number 1: Mistletoe and Wine by Cliff Richard
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1989
- Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web
- The Berlin Wall falls
- Christmas number 1: Do They Know It’s Christmas? by Band Aid II
Starter for Ten plays 29 Feb – 30 Mar