Being famous in the 1980s

[Richard1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

And being the 1980s, the personalised number plate was allowed to be seen on camera.

I notice that Alan Sugar's car in The Apprentice doesn't have the plates blurred out.

[George 1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

And being the 1980s, the personalised number plate was allowed to be seen on camera.

[Richard1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

Once they had made their first million, buying a Rolls Royce with a personalised plate & posing for the press alongside it was very common.

[George 1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

Is there any way I can make the image in the previous post just a little bit bigger?

[George 1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

A few years ago before I joined this forum, I created a montage of different images of celebrities, television programmes, big news and sport events, pop videos, and even adverts throughout the 1980s - I started off chronologically and added some more at the bottom of the picture as time went on. They are mostly from still images of YouTube clips (some are no longer on there), cut and pasted, and even my avatar is included if you look carefully. I wonder how many images that you recognise from that decade... : -



(You may need a magnifying glass or even a microscope to see them in detail, but they are all images from the 1980s).

[George 1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

I see Gwynneth Powell in there, but not Todd Carty?

Also, there was another Paul Young (the singer in Sad Cafe and sometimes Mike + the Mechanics), deceased, alas.

Powell was in Grange Hill for almost the entire 1980s as Headteacher (save for 1980 and 1985 as Deputy Head) hence her inclusion. I can't stand EastEnders, so that might be one reason why Carty isn't listed - Tucker's hard luck, methinks.

I was indeed referring to Paul Young, whether he laid his hat, etc. And a prominent face courtesy of Look In Collect-a-Pages, Jackie, Oh Boy, etc on the walls in my sister's bedroom circa 1985.

[George 1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

Not to belittle your efforts here George but of-course whilst these people were indeed famous in the 80s the majority of them started their respective careers much earlier

They probably did, but I feel that atmosphere of the 1980s helped the people listed to be more successful than in previous decades. Play Your Cards Right feels better than Sunday Night at the London Palladium because simply PCYR was made in colour for example - we didn't get the "Brucie's wig" stuff in the 1960s, did we? Some celebrities don't find their proper niche until decades after they became famous.

The way I look at it is that the 1980s wasn't black and white just like two decades before, and wasn't full of Big Brother / I'm a Celebrity stuff like two decades later - the mix of the 1980s was just right.

[tex]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

Not to belittle your efforts here George but of-course whilst these people were indeed famous in the 80s the majority of them started their respective careers much earlier

[Clare]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

I see Gwynneth Powell in there, but not Todd Carty?

Also, there was another Paul Young (the singer in Sad Cafe and sometimes Mike + the Mechanics), deceased, alas.

[George 1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

THE 202 MAKERS OF THE 1980s - THE PEOPLE WHO WERE FAMOUS IN THAT DECADE
　
Here is a list of the 202 most famous people of the 1980s as far as I am concerned - the list was originally to have been 101 of them, but there were so many of them that I have decided to double the number of people on the list.
　
Those who made great inpact in that decade - the only rule is that a person must not have been born or have died in that decade. Of course, a lot of them were famous (or made a huge impact in society at least) before the decade bagan and after the decade ended. Was there a day that passed by during that decade without seeing any of them (or seeing their names at least) on television, or in a newspaper or a magazine?
　
Some names are familiar, while others are not...
　
1) RUSS ABBOT
2) JONATHAN AITKEN
3) ADAM ANT
4) PRINCE ANDREW, DUKE OF YORK
5) MICHAEL ASPEL
6) CHERYL BAKER
7) RONNIE BARKER
8) MICHAEL BARRYMORE
9) GRANT BAYNHAM
10) JEREMY BEADLE
11) DAVID BELLAMY
12) FLOELLA BENJAMIN
13) HYWEL BENNETT
14) LENNIE BENNETT
15) CHRISTOPHER BIGGINS
16) CILLA BLACK
17) LIONEL BLAIR
18) IAN BOTHAM
19) FRANK BOUGH
20) JIM BOWEN
21) DAVID BOWIE
22) TOMMY BOYD
23) GYLES BRANDRETH
24) RICHARD BRANSON
25) ERIC BRISTOW
26) FRANK BRUNO
27) ZOLA BUDD
28) ROB BUCKMAN
29) GORDON BURNS
30) GEORGE BUSH
31) KATE BUSH
32) GAVIN CAMPBELL
33) CANNON AND BALL
34) GEOFF CAPES
35) BOB CAROLGEES
36) FRANK CARSON
37) JUDITH CHALMERS
38) BOB CHAMPION
39) PRINCE CHARLES
40) CHAS 'N' DAVE
41) JULIAN CLARY
42) BRIAN CLOUGH
43) SEBASTIAN COE
44) JOAN COLLINS
45) PHIL COLLINS
46) MATTHEW CORBETT
47) RONNIE CORBETT
48) JIMMY CRICKET
49) LESLIE CROWTHER
50) EDWINA CURRIE
51) BIG DADDY
52) PAUL DANIELS
53) JIM DAVIDSON
54) DICKIE DAVIES
55) SHARRON DAVIES
56) STEVE DAVIS
57) BOBBY DAVRO
58) LES DAWSON
59) ROBIN DAY
60) CAROL DECKER
61) LES DENNIS
62) ANNE DIAMOND
63) DIANA, PRINCESS OF WALES
64) JONATHAN DIMBLEBY
65) JASON DONAVAN
66) SHEENA EASTON
67) EDDIE "THE EAGLE" EDWARDS
68) QUEEN ELIZABETH II
69) BEN ELTON
70) NICK FALDO
71) ALEX FERGUSON
72) SARAH FERGUSON
73) MICHAEL FISH
74) BRUCE FORSYTH
75) DAVID FROST
76) JILL GASCOIGNE
77) MIKE GATTING
78) BOY GEORGE
79) BOB GELDOF
80) BRIAN GLOVER
81) DUNCAN GOODHEW
82) MICHAEL GRADE
83) RUSSELL GRANT
84) SARAH GREENE
85) DEREK GRIFFITHS
86) BRUCE GYNGELL
87) PAUL HARDCASTLE
88) KEITH HARRIS
89) DAVID HASSELHOFF
90) GEOFFREY HAYES
91) LENNY HENRY
92) PAUL HENRY
93) BENNY HILL
94) BOB HOLNESS
95) GORDON HONEYCOMBE
96) GEOFFREY HOWE
97) FRANKIE HOWERD
98) TED HUGHES
99) ROD HULL
100) GLORIA HUNNIFORD
101) DAVID ICKE
102) VICKY IRELAND
103) JESSE JACKSON
104) MICHAEL JACKSON
105) CLIVE JAMES
106) DEREK JAMESON
107) DAVID "KID" JENSEN
108) POPE JOHN PAUL II
109) HOWARD JONES
110) HENRY KELLY
111) MATTHEW KELLY
112) SARAH KENNEDY
113) NIK KERSHAW
114) MAGGIE KIRKPATRICK
115) NEIL KINNOCK
116) BONNIE LANGFORD
117) SIMON LE BON
118) RUSTIE LEE
119) MARTYN LEWIS
120) ANDREW LLOYD WEBBER
121) MAUREEN LIPMAN
122) LITTLE AND LARGE
123) KENNY LOGGINS
124) MADONNA
125) TIMMY MALLETT
126) ROBERT MAXWELL
127) IAN McCASKILL
128) JOHN McCRIRICK
129) TREVOR McDONALD
130) RALPH McTELL
131) FREDDIE MERCURY
132) GEORGE MICHAEL
133) KYLIE MINOGUE
134) BOB MONKHOUSE
135) DUDLEY MOORE
136) ADRIAN MOORHOUSE
137) ALISON MOYET
138) RUPERT MURDOCH
139) DENIS NORDEN
140) ANDREW O'CONNOR
141) DES O'CONNOR
142) TOM O'CONNOR
143) BILL ODDIE
144) DAVID OWEN
145) NICK OWEN
146) ELAINE PAIGE
147) SU POLLARD
148) GWYNNETH POWELL
149) PRINCE
150) ESTHER RANTZEN
151) CLAIRE RAYNER
152) MIKE READ
153) RONALD REAGAN
154) ANNEKA RICE
155) CLIFF RICHARD
156) LIONEL RICHIE
157) ANGELA RIPPON
158) KATE ROBBINS
159) TED ROGERS
160) JIM ROSENTHAL
161) ROBERT RUNCIE
162) TESSA SANDERSON
163) ARTHUR SCARGILL
164) SELINA SCOTT
165) HARRY SECOMBE
166) TOM SELLECK
167) CAPTAIN SENSIBLE
168) PETER SHILTON
169) WAYNE SLEEP
170) BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
171) ALVIN STARDUST
172) FREDDIE STARR
173) DAVID STEELE
174) SHAKIN' STEVENS
175) ROD STEWART
176) STING
177) MIRIAM STOPPARD
178) UNA STUBBS
179) MR T
180) JIMMY TARBUCK
181) CHRIS TARRANT
182) DENNIS TAYLOR
183) NORMAN TEBBIT
184) MARGARET THATCHER
185) DALEY THOMPSON
186) CLIFF THORBURN
187) SANDI TOKSVIG
188) TORVILL AND DEAN
189) TINA TURNER
190) BONNIE TYLER
191) TRACEY ULLMAN
192) SUZANNE VEGA
193) GARY WATSON
194) ROY WALKER
195) CLIVE WEBB
196) "MAD" LIZZIE WEBB
197) SIMON WESTON
198) KIM WILDE
199) GARY WILMOT
200) BERNIE WINTERS
201) TERRY WOGAN
202) VICTORIA WOOD
203) PAUL YOUNG (ONE TOO MANY, METHINKS!)
204) ER...
205) THAT'S IT

[George 1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

Richard also mentioned about celebrity candidates standing on a flimsy platform in elections back in the 1980s - apart from the obvious Lord Sutch by-elections in that decade, it made me think of the 1984 Chesterfield by-election where Tony Benn re-entered the Commons after losing his Bristol seat the year before. Bill Maynard of all people, stood as an Independent (some said it was Independent Labour) and was fourth with just over 1,000 votes, losing the pre-1985 12.5% deposit. Because of Maynard's fame and also the particular time of the election, I would have bet that he would have been close to a Conservative than Labour.

TV-am was full of Conservatives - in fact, it was regarded as Margaret Thatcher's favourite TV station - Bruce Gyngell the boss was Mrs Thatcher's friend; her daughter Carol Thatcher worked for the station; Jonathan Aitken MP was the first Chief Executive of the station; Gyles Brandreth (of the Tuesday Postbag) became a Conservative MP; Jimmy Greaves was a Conservative voter, etc. The unions members being locked out a la Wapping, etc. I am sure that the IBA felt that like the Daily Telegraph of broadcasters at the time! It doesn't bother me at all though.

It was still an agreeable decade to live in.

[George 1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

And of course, the IBA made sure that we had proper commercial TV as well.

[George 1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

Thanks, I was trying to put things in a 1980s context about a Labour victory in a general election, when it looked like a future Labour government would put a lot of tax on high earners.

This was when anything like New Labour would have been pie in the sky thinking.

If you look at those who supported Foot or Kinnock back then - in particular Kinnock in 1987, they were mostly alternative comedians such as Ben "12 more hours of Thatcherism to go" Elton; Tony Robinson; Rowan Atkinson (although one would imagine Mr Bean to be a Conservative if he knew what to do in a Polling Station) - anyone who appeared on a Friday or Saturday night on BBC 2 or Channel 4, whereas Conservative supporters would be mainstream BBC 1 and ITV entertainers pre-watershed which were harmless and would be seen by the majority of households. Those who were mainstream in the public's conscience - Paul Daniels, Bob Monkhouse, Jimmy Tarbuck, Cilla Black, etc. I would rather have watched a 7.00 pm Monkhouse game show back then rather watch than Ben Elton trying to be funny by using bad language at 11.00 pm so that he doesn't die on stage.

And Pete Murray claimed that he was sacked from Radio 2 because of his unofficial Public Election Broadcast on Breakfast Time while reviewing the daily papers, claiming that a vote for Michael Foot would be a vote for communism. On that day, Labour has a PEB, the Greens got a spot on TV later on and the Liberal leader featured on Election Call on Radio 4. Even in my old constituency, it was Labour since 1945 until Thursday 9th June 1983, and remained like that for nine years.

The closest one had to New Labour in the 1980s was the SDP which didn't have much of a chance.

[tex]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

[QUOTE=George 1978;237536]Great list, Richard! Especially the one referring to leaving the country if Labour won in 1997 - Jim Davidson, Frank Bruno, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Paul Daniels were four celebrities who mentioned that they were going to do just that, I believe. I think that as the list was from a 1980s perspective, 1997 was two General Elections away into the future to consider those things!

In addition to being a guest on Wogan as I said in my opening gambit, they could have also hosted it for a week when Tel was on one of his dozen annual holidays![/QUO

[Richard1978]

Re: Being famous in the 1980s

Great list, Richard! Especially the one referring to leaving the country if Labour won in 1997 - Jim Davidson, Frank Bruno, Andrew Lloyd-Webber and Paul Daniels were four celebrities who mentioned that they were going to do just that, I believe. I think that as the list was from a 1980s perspective, 1997 was two General Elections away into the future to consider those things!

In addition to being a guest on Wogan as I said in my opening gambit, they could have also hosted it for a week when Tel was on one of his dozen annual holidays!

Thanks, I was trying to put things in a 1980s context about a Labour victory in a general election, when it looked like a future Labour government would put a lot of tax on high earners.

This was when anything like New Labour would have been pie in the sky thinking.