Life in Britain in the early 1980s

[George 1978]

The most famous networked programme from Border in the 1980s was BMX Beat. I have wondered how many kids at the time from outside of the Border ITV region actually knew that Border was an ITV company as opposed to an independent TV production company.

I would have thought that Mr and Mrs was the most famous Border programme to be networked - all Border networked programmes had either Derek Batey, Stu Francis, or the Krankies in them!

BMX was such a huge thing in the 1980s, although I think that the BMX craze actually kicked off from around 1983 onwards - mostly due to the Australian film from that year, BMX Bandits which was noticeable for an early appearance from Nicole Kidman in it. And BMX Beat was known for its theme tune as well - the ripoff of the 1973 cover version of the Shadows' Apache. And the ident at the end which had "=D- BORDER TELEVISION - OUTSIDE BROADCAST" written on it.

[Arran]

BMX was such a huge thing in the 1980s, although I think that the BMX craze actually kicked off from around 1983 onwards - mostly due to the Australian film from that year, BMX Bandits which was noticeable for an early appearance from Nicole Kidman in it.

The early 1980s BMX boom took off suddenly and rapidly (in contrast to the late 1990s BMX revival which took off slowly and gradually) but I'm unsure what exactly was the trigger.

E.T. undoubtedly increased the popularity of BMX but it was certainly not the trigger as it was shown in British cinemas in December 1982 after the Raleigh Burner went on sale some time during the first half of 1982.

There is a theory that as soon as kids saw their first BMX they would abandon Chopper bikes as if they were toxic. There is probably some truth to this as BMX bikes are agile and fun to ride whereas Chopper bikes are clumsy and unwieldy, although in reality Chopper bikes were on their way out as early as 1978.

It's notable that BMX was generally a pre-teenage bike in the early 1980s whereas it became commonplace for teenagers and young adults to ride a BMX in the late 1990s and 2000s.

[George 1978]

I know that Raleigh bikes were very popular at the start of the 1980s and pre-dated BMX by a couple of years - Raleigh used to have their factory here in Nottingham (Radford, I think), and they were to Nottingham what Rolls Royce was to Derby.

[Arran]

I know that Raleigh bikes were very popular at the start of the 1980s and pre-dated BMX by a couple of years - Raleigh used to have their factory here in Nottingham (Radford, I think), and they were to Nottingham what Rolls Royce was to Derby.

Raleigh was quite slow to get into BMX; didn't understand BMX very well; and didn't really like BMX, but was faced with a dilemma of either manufacture BMX or the company goes bust. To further complicate matters, Raleigh was also mired with outdated manufacturing technology (like brazed frame joints rather than welded frame joints) and complex politics (including matters relating to Sturmey Archer gears) that was prohibitive to establishing themselves as a BMX manufacturer.

Despite these setbacks, BMX was a commercial success for Raleigh and the Burner has established itself as Britain's national BMX and a true icon of the 1980s. They are very collectable nowadays and people pay silly money for them.

[Arran]

It's also debatable whether it was the bikes or the sport that was the driving force behind sales of BMX in the early 1980s. It is notable that the predominant sport was racing in the early 1980s whereas it was tricks in the late 1990s. BMX tracks sprang up in every town in Britain during the early 1980s.

There was a craze for plastic mag wheels in the early 1980s but experienced riders (as opposed to kids who wanted to show off to their friends) knew they were a gimmick more than anything else. They never really made a comeback during the revival of the late 1990s.

[George 1978]

Miners strike of 1984

Scargill's finest hour.

[Arran]

I remember by early 1990s BMXs were on they way out because Mountain Bikes were popular by then.

The legend was that the day when the last BMX rolled off the production line at the Raleigh factory was the day that BMX in Britain officially died. The exact day is one of the nation's best kept secrets but it illustrated the power that Raleigh once had in deciding which type of bike was mainstream and which wasn't.

Raleigh had started working on mountain bikes in 1985 because they wanted to manufacture a type of bike that could appeal to both children and adults. The adult bike market in the early 1980s was very small both in comparison to the children's bike market at the time and the adult bike market of the 2000s.

Adults in the early 1980s generally didn't go cycling. My mother says that a man riding a bike in the early 1980s was often viewed as being unemployed (remember Norman Tebbit) and a woman was often viewed as not having a driving licence, unless they were clearly a university student or a lycra clad racing bike enthusiast out on a Sunday.

[George 1978]

It's also debatable whether it was the bikes or the sport that was the driving force behind sales of BMX in the early 1980s. It is notable that the predominant sport was racing in the early 1980s whereas it was tricks in the late 1990s. BMX tracks sprang up in every town in Britain during the early 1980s.

There was a craze for plastic mag wheels in the early 1980s but experienced riders (as opposed to kids who wanted to show off to their friends) knew they were a gimmick more than anything else. They never really made a comeback during the revival of the late 1990s.

Does anyone remember those badged-sized coloured plastic lights that you could put on your bike, and was available free in packs of Kellogg's Corn Flakes? - I think that they called them "spokey-dokeys" or something. When you cycled, they would light up. They were advertised during Children's ITV ad breaks.

[George 1978]

Some would also say Thatcher's too after the Falklands as she could play left wingers like Scargill like a fiddle.

The TV-am interview with Scargill from 1984 is worth watching on YouTube - fascinating to see John Stapleton interview him, and you know that Scargill looks out of place on that Thatcherite TV-am sofa.

[tex]

Does anyone remember those badged-sized coloured plastic lights that you could put on your bike, and was available free in packs of Kellogg's Corn Flakes? - I think that they called them "spokey-dokeys" or something. When you cycled, they would light up. They were advertised during Children's ITV ad breaks.

Indeed!...also the esso petrol giveaway tiger tails that you would put on the handlegrips, plastic brake pull covers, spoke clackers, stick on frame transfers,the little square solenoid powered lights, puncture repair kit pouch on the back of the seat, bulb style horns......Wow talk about pimp my ride!

[Arran]

Miners strike of 1984

That's a huge subject in its own right.

My mother was astounded at how many police officers had been called in to confront the miners. She spotted police vehicles from most of the forces in the south of England up in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.

[George 1978]

That's a huge subject in its own right.

My mother was astounded at how many police officers had been called in to confront the miners. She spotted police vehicles from most of the forces in the south of England up in Yorkshire and Nottinghamshire.

Did the trade unions of any other professions back in the 1980s have as much prominence in the news back then as the miners did when they went on strike? As a school pupil (i.e. a consumer of education) back then I know that the NASUWT and NUT had the occasional strike, and thus, we had the odd day off from school, or it was the case that the UNISON people such as the lollipop ladies and cleaners and all that did the same, and so with the former, we had a policeman showing us across the road instead at morning rush hour. I don't think that either Nigel de Gruchy or Doug McAvoy were the Arthur Scargill of teaching unions were they? - they never had such high profile even if they served minors rather than miners.

[George 1978]

Indeed!...also the esso petrol giveaway tiger tails that you would put on the handlegrips, plastic brake pull covers, spoke clackers, stick on frame transfers,the little square solenoid powered lights, puncture repair kit pouch on the back of the seat, bulb style horns......Wow talk about pimp my ride!

I might look for that old Kellogg's Corn Flakes advert on YouTube, circa 1990 in which an excited Timmy Mallet-alike voiceover said: "some people, c ock-a-doodle-doo! While some people, c ock-a-doodle-don't".

[Arran]

Some would also say Thatcher's too after the Falklands as she could play left wingers like Scargill like a fiddle.

Thatcher was not a woman of war. She knew nothing about warfare. She probably didn't know one end of a rifle from the other!

Her strategy was to place trust in our military top brass then reap the rewards of the victory. She ended up as a superhero who did nothing except subcontract out decision making to people with the expertise in fighting wars.

My mother thought that Thatcher was a bit of a fraud who was potentially trying to set herself up as another Winston Churchill (a superhero who was a lousy peacetime politician) after the Falklands victory, except that her finest hour wasn't her own.

[George 1978]

I remember my Grandad used to ride a bike in the 1980s until he got too old, though he never owned a car.

My uncle also liked to cycle where possible.

Norman Tebbit would have been proud of him.