Why We Love the 80's

In most youngsters' opinions, the 80's were the best decade for entertainment. Whether it was movies, music, TV, or anything like that, we all remember how awesome it was. Of course, there are also some who didn't even know the 80's even existed. If you're one of those people, you're in luck, because I'm gonna take you back in time! The following article is going to take a look at some of the most remembered things of the 80's.


Ghostbusters
Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters started out as a 1984 movie starring Bill Murray and Rick Morranis. Throughout the rest of the decade, added to the franchise were a sequel, an animated series, toys, a breakfast cereal, and even a temporary Hi-C flavor. And, of course, who can ever forget the theme song? Yep, that song, written by Ray Parker Jr. is without a doubt one of the biggest hit songs of the 80's. Of course, the popularity of the Ghostbusters did fade away in the 90's, but the original movie will remain a true classic.


Ferris Bueller's Day Off
This 1986 movie, starring Matthew Broderick, is strangely one of the greatest 80’s movies of all time. A story of a guy named Ferris Bueller who is playing hookie to do whatever he wants all day. The most memorable segments of this movie are where Ferris lip syncs to “Twist and Shout”, and when Ben Stein continues to say, “Bueller?...Bueller?” The moral of the film is: Life moves by pretty quickly; if you don’t stop to take a look at it, it might pass you by.


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
I’m sure everybody remembers the Ninja Turtles. These guys were introduced in the late 1980’s and remained popular with the kids in the late 80’s and early 90’s. That was a fad back in those days, but as of the 2000’s, the Ninja Turtles have been making quite a comeback, whether it’s the revival of a new series or just remembering the old series. Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo will always be remembered by us retro junkies.


Fraggle Rock
This TV series, launched in 1983, is another one of Jim Henson’s famous shows. It was also one of his last shows. There was also an animated version of this series, which came out after the Muppet version ended it's production in 1987, but that version sucked compared to the original. Still, if it was hot in the 80’s, then it’s a memorable show to us all.


Gummi Bears
Okay, they’re called Gummi Bears, yet they look nothing like the Gummi Bears that we eat. I don’t think there are any purple, pink or blue Gummi Bears, but who cares? Disney’s Adventures of the Gummi Bears was a TV series by Disney, which aired in 1985 and was cancelled in 1990. This series is what launched the line of Disney shows that are known by many as the Disney Afternoon shows. Following this series would be Duck Tales, Rescue Rangers, Tale Spin, and many many more.


Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers
Chip and Dale are the two chipmunks who always bothered Donald Duck in the 1940’s and 1950’s. And to think that one day, they’d become crime fighters. Ironically, yes, they did. This was a pretty famous part of the Disney Afternoon lineup which ran as a series from 1989 to 1992.


The Breakfast Club
This is yet another one of the most memorable movies of the decade. This 1985 film about 5 students spending time in Saturday school. Don’t really have much to say about this movie aside from the fact that it’s popular theme song is Simple Minds’ smash hit, “Don’t You Forget About Me”.


Pop Rocks
The 80’s was also the decade when Pop Rocks were introduced. These were a pretty good candy for their time. It still is a good candy, in my favor. Just to let you guys know, from my point of view, Pop Rocks are totally safe. I learned from the Mythbusters that mixing Pop Rocks with soda will not make your stomach explode.


The Dominos Noid
During the 80’s, he was the mascot of Domino’s Pizza. The Noid always liked to ruin pizzas, but he always failed to destroy Domino’s Pizza. Even though he was banned from the commercial world in 1989, all us who grew up in the 80’s will always remember him.


Alvin and the Chipmunks
They were introduced to the world in 1958 with “The Chipmunk Song” and continued to grow in the 60’s, but then they disappeared. This famous chipmunk trio made a comeback in 1983 with the hit show, “Alvin and the Chipmunks”. People who have seen or are watching the Chipmunks now will never look at Rock & Roll the same way again.


Muppet Babies
Okay, I mentioned the Fraggle Rock cartoon, now here’s another Jim Henson-produced cartoon series. This 1984 series featured animated baby versions of some of Jim Henson’s famous Muppets. However, compared to most Muppet shows in the past, this one is quite bizarre with all the pop culture references mixed in and all the big imaginations the characters all had.


Care Bears
The Care Bears were a phenomenon in the 80’s. They started out in the early 80’s as a merchandising line of stuff like greeting cards, which was later followed by four movies released from 1985 – 1988, and a TV series released around the time of the movies. Today, Care Bears merchandise can still be found just about anywhere. It’s just strange how long they’ve survived. I even see fads like Rainbow Brite and Strawberry Shortcake appearing everywhere, so I guess little girl stuff just sticks with people very easily.


MTV
Without a doubt, the launch of MTV in 1981 was definitely one of the most memorable moments in Rock & Roll history. With MTV launched, music videos have become the big thing to artists of those days and today, but alas, today, the Internet has launched many careers in the music industry. Still, you all gotta remember the day when the Buggles showed the first video on MTV to their one-hit wonder, “Video Killed the Radio Star”.


Culture Club
I can’t really say much about this band. This band, lead by Boy George, had two very well-known hits, 1982’s “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” and 1983’s “Karma Chameleon”, but that’s pretty much all I can name unless I was a hardcore fan. The only other popular thing that Boy George did was when he joined Band-Aid in 1984 to perform “Do They Know It’s Christmas”.


Phil Collins
Phil Collins started out as the drummer for a 1970’s progressive rock band called Genesis. After two of the members left the band in the mid 1970’s, Phil became the lead singer of the band and changed them into a pop band. In the 80’s, Phil started his solo career and kept it going while at the same time work with the band. Phil Collins released quite a number of hits in the 80’s like Genesis’ “Turn It On Again”, “Misunderstanding”, “Abacab”, “No Reply At All”, “That’s All”, “Invisible Touch”, “In Too Deep” and “Throwing It All Away” as well as his own “In the Air Tonight”, “Sussudio”, “One More Night” and “Another Day in Paradise”.


U2
U2 is one of the most unique rock bands of all time. This Irish band, lead by lead singer, Bono, has been releasing huge hits since their 1980 debut album, “Boy”. They scored big with hits like 1980’s “I Will Follow”, 1983’s “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Year’s Day”, and 1984’s “Pride (In the Name of Love)”. But in 1987, when they released their fifth studio album, “Joshua Tree”, the whole world was blown away, especially by the power of the memorable “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For”, the love song, “With or Without You”, and the band’s signature song, “Where the Streets Have No Name”. 1988’s “Desire” was their last 80’s hit, but they continued amazing their fans in the 90’s and 2000’s with “Mysterious Ways”, “Beautiful Day”, “Vertigo” and more.


Under Pressure
This song has been decided by many as one of the best duets ever made. This song has become a huge hit for both Freddy Mercury (the lead singer for Queen) and David Bowie. Sadly, the song will never be sung this way again due to Mercury’s death in 1991, but the song will live on.


The Land Before Time
Here's something I really think "I Love the 80's" should have talked about. One of the many things I love about the 80’s. This 1988 classic, directed by Don Bluth, is a childhood favorite of many people who were born in the mid to late 80’s such as myself. It kind of surprises me that this movie did well in theaters while Disney’s “Oliver & Company” flopped. The Land Before Time is one of my most unforgettable pastimes. Oh, and don’t pay attention to any of the direct-to-video sequels of this movie that didn’t have any of Don Bluth’s involvement; just stick with this classic!


Huey Lewis and the News
The 80’s were also the decade Huey Lewis launched his career. Some of his most memorable hits of the time were “I Want a New Drug”, “If This Is It”, “Do You Believe In Love”, “Heart and Soul”, “The Power of Love” and “Hip to Be Square”. No matter what others may think his best song is, his #1 hit will always be “The Heart of Rock & Roll”!


Back to the Future
I’d like to conclude with this famous 80’s movie. “Back to the Future” is a true 80’s classic, hands down. With the acting genius of Michael J. Fox and Christopher Lloyd and all the cool special effects of the time, what more can you ask for? How about a hit song by Huey Lewis and the News, an 8-bit video game based on the movie, a way far-out guitar solo to “Johnny B. Goode”, and it all comes packed into this small package.

And there you have it. That's a list of some of the biggest memorabilia from the 80's. That was quite a decade. I really wish I could go back to that time and see how cool everything was back then. I don't know what else to say, but the 80's will always be retro for as long as we live.