1980s | the Decade that changed the world

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

1982

• The Falklands War 
• E.T. opens and immediately becomes a blockbuster
• Christmas number 1: Save Your Love by Renee and Renato

1983

• Margaret Thatcher wins landslide second term as Prime Minister
• Christmas number 1: Only You by The Flying Pickets

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

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

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