Why Are You An Eighties Fan?

This is one page of many, check out the intro at Why I Love The 80s where you can add your own memories as well.

This page currently edited by: stingr22. Past editor: Junior


OK...I'm 15 years old.(born in '94). Even though I did not live the greatness of the 80s, I wish I could go back and live that decade. I know a lot about the 80s. My favorite bands, even though some of them maybe started in the 70s, are: REO Speedwagon, Steve Perry, Earth Wind and Fire, AeroSmith, Guns and Roses, Duran Duran, The Beatsie Boys, The Beach Boys, Huey Lewis and The News, Madonna, .38 Special, Journey, Phil Collins, Steve Winwood, Young MC, Cheap Trick, Bee Gees, Boston, Bon Jovi, AC/DC, The Police, Sting, Twisted Sister, Saga, Asia, Billy Idol, Blondie, Chaka Khan, Bob Marley, The Cars, Bryan Adams, Def Leppard, Depeche Mode, Don Henley, The Eagles, Eddie Money, Europe, Flashdance, Frankie Goes to Holywood, INXS, Kansas, MC Hammer, Michael Jackson, Milli Vanilli, UB40, Pet Shop Boys, Billy Joel, Prince, Queen, Quiet Riot, Ratt, Robert Palmer, Rush, Santana, Steppenwolf, Tears for Fears, Styx, Tone-Loc, U2, Toto, Van Halen, Ziggy Marley, Rick Astley, ABC, Survivor, Tommy Tutone, Whitesnake, After the Fire, The Outfield, Cameo, The Human League, Men at Work, Crowded House, Animotion, Chicago, Rick Springfield, Bruce Springsteen, Cutting Crew, Naked Eyes, Corey Hart, Air Supply, Bruce Hornsby, Simple Minds, The Bangles, The Deam Academy, Boy George and Culture Club, John Parr, Thompson Twins, Bananarama, Bobby Brown, Mr. Mister, Steve Miller Band, Madness, Paul Simon, Foreigner, Tina Turner, Sade, Rupert Holmes, The Romantics, Starship, The Brothers Johnson, Rob Base & DJ E-Z Rock and The Scorpions. MY favorite songs are: Money for Nothing - Dire Straits / Nothing's Gonna Stop Us - Starship / Alone - Heart / Take It On the Run - REO Speedwagon / Carry On Wayward Son - Kansas / Stand Back - Stevie Nicks / Addicted to Love - Robert Palmer / Red, Red Wine - UB40. I also like 80s movie like Top Gun and This is Spinal Tap. This is definitely the best decade, of all time.
From: Pepe

Why I love the 80s? Because I was born in 1986 and all the good stuff was cool back then.
From: Jesus A. Acosta

Six words: Pound Puppies, Wrinkles Dogs, Spuds MacKenzie
From: WereDog

I was born in 1984,and I do remember most of the late 80s from the end of 1986 upwards. I love the 80s because it was the most innocent time of my life. I love the music and TV shows from back then. I loved the way most people treated me, and each other back then. I never had to worry about all of the junk that's going on in the world now.
From: Brandy Redell

I was Born in 1969 - graduated High School in 1987! I LOVED the 80's & spent much of my High School days with a 'NEW WAVE' hair-do that as my boyfriend at the time expressed - 'defied gravity'! As I became a senior & graduated high school my hair got longer & bigger- more Hairspray please- running out of hairspray was a fashion tragedy & could not happen! I LOVED music & it defined me in so many ways in those days- groups like- Depeche Mode, New Order, Phsycedelic Furs, Alphaville, etc... I really got into going to underage dance clubs (nice to live next to a larger city & access things like that)- they were 'Totally' the best & what really was important to me every Friday & Sat. night. That's when I really got into less known groups (had to go to specialty downtown record stores to get their music on 12" vinyl 'extended dance versions- 8-9 minute songs- YEAH! We thought we were so cool) We starved for groups like - File 13, Jamie Jupiter, Big Audio Dynamite, Love & Rockets, and more known like Human League, Thompson Twins, Adam Ant, and on & on.....!!! When MTV came out I was (I think in 7th grade) & I remember the first music video's - a lot were guys on stage performing ; then came Madonna (I so wanted to be a Material Girl), and who can forget Michael Jackson's THRILLER... It was the best thing ever at the time- MTV would have a countdown to the next showing of it & my Brother 7 I would be glued to the TV to catch it every time we could. I was over Michael Jackson by the time I hit high school but he was great in my Junior High days. My locker partner in 8th grade had him pasted all over our locker. I remember Leg warmers, jeans with zippers on the legs (ankles) so we could get into em' {today they have enough stretch in jeans that it's not necessary for those skinny jeans to have em' ; but I have seen them back in stores for today's youth- the 80's lives on}, Skinny Boys ties- made of leather- {Really}, Big plastic hoop earrings in all the bright colors- {I owned so many pairs}, Madonna Lace gloves & hair scarves, Shaker sweaters, and on & on. But all in all the 80's were just fun- but I think any decade someone is a teen in has something special for them - it's your teenage years- they rock! I know my Mom graduated in 1964 & loves those times today. My kids will graduate in 2013-2021... (wow do I sound old now) and I'm hoping they love their teen years & what ever is going on for them as much as I loved mine! It's so fun to share my Music & fav. Movies, TV shows, with them- (thank goodness for the internet- it makes it so easy to access these things with almost no effort.) So we had a lot in the 80's ; but I think we do today too... just with a little less hairspray & makeup! Thanks! Sandy
From: SKILIKEAGIRLSUN

I was born in 1968 so ALL of my teen years were during the 80's! Everyone before me has mentioned everything that was great about the 8's, the music, hair, clothes.....my best buddy & I had an 80s themed 40th birthday party this past September and it was just SO much fun! We looked up friends that we haven't seen in about 20 or 25 years and got to reconnect with a few of them and relived all the old memories. I am and always will be THE "80schik" (this is what my license plate says! :>)
From: Beaner

Shazam, Land of the Lost, Woody Woodpecker, Smurfs, Fortune Bubble Gum, Fresca soda, Buc-Wheats and King Vitamin cereal, Sanford and Son, Far-Out Space Nuts, Anything Hanna-Barbera or by Sid and Marty Kroft (sigmund and the seamonsters), Hong Kong Phooey, INXS, Billy Joel, Huey Lewis and the News, and the new wave revolution. I could just keep going and going and going....love the 80s!!
From: Tom Long Island/California

I am a big 80s hair band fan! It was the best time for music. It was the best time to be a teenager.
From: Denise

I was born in 1978. I grew up in the 80s and remember GI Joe, Transformers and Voltron as my faves growing up. All the crazy cereals and of course Nintendo. In the 90s all the cool stuff like GI Joe and the cool cartoons disappeared. I remember getting up on Saturday mornings to watch all the cool cartoons while eating bowl after bowl of sugary cereal. It was a great time to be a kid. The hair bands which seem goofy now were always good for a laugh and I remember my best friend across the street always ordered pay per view events and we would hold wrestling matches with our GI Joes on the couch cushions. Nowadays, the fads from the 80s seem hilarious, heck even the 90s fads seem goofy nowadays. If you wanted information, you actually had to go to the library back then, now we have the internet. I do miss the 80s fondly.
From: Scott

I passed my driving test in 1980 and my first car gave me so much freedom. Carefree days and no worries like mortgages and things.
From: Robbo

The 80s was by far the best decade I can remember, born in 1979. I was a kid in the eighties. Woke up on Saturday morning to watch awesome cartoons like He-man, Smurfs, Transformers, then play Nintendo games like Super Mario, Blades of Steel, Mike Tyson's Punchout. The sitcoms were the best! Who's the boss, Cosby Show, Family Matters, Different Strokes, Happy Days, Family Ties, Full House, and Saved by the Bell. Movies and acting were at their best. Nowadays people are not original at all - they copy music, movies and video games from the 80s. Neighborhoods were safe. Kids could play outside, ride there bike, and enjoy life. Wow - life has changed! It is now 2009 and we're seeing the death of Michael Jackson - one of the best things to come out of the eighties. Just like how innocent things were and how fun that could be. Take care.
From: Sam

The 80s were a time when the world felt safe. It was a decade of innocence for me, being a young child. I love the music the movies, the toys, and the fashion. Check out my store www.stuckinthe80s.com
From: Sarah Keane

Being born in the summer of 1984 puts me in a tough position, since I missed most of the 80s and my first memories are from 1987. I guess for all intensive purposes I was a 90s child, but although my childhood finished in the 1990s it had started in the 1980s, and many things from the 80s, the TV shows and the music lingered on into the earliest years of the 90s. And it was during these formative years that my ideas of what made good music were decided upon. Whilst I like early 90s music and it holds a lot of memories for me it's the 80s music that is special for me, it's the 80s music that I listen to daily and the 80s music that I have stacked all around the house, from the dance driven late 80s New Order songs to the heavy metal of Iron Maiden and thrash of Testament, though the punk, post-punk, the last throws of disco and the emerging sound of hip-hop and rap, the 80s had it all. Diversity, imagination and although there was a uniting theme of 'electronic synthesizers' throughout, I do feel as if the music was a much wider spectrum than that of the 00s where many bands and groups try to imitate each other and sound the same, or maybe I'm just showing my age? Some modern music is good but for me it's few and further examples that say the 1980s or 90s. The sound of the late 70s, the entire 80s and the early 90s are for me the era when music was cool, inspired and I'm glad I witnessed at least a small part of it first hand.
From: Sylvester

I was born in Oct 1980, so I had practically the whole decade to have fun. I remember eating Rainbow Brite cereal (for that sugar induced high), having a Teddy Ruxpin (now deemed scary, playing with Transformers and remembering how much better they were than GoBots. I remember when "A Nightmare on Elm Street" FIRST came out, I used to eat Donkey Kong cereal (83-84) and watched two versions of a cartoon called "Ghostbusters"; one with Slimer and the other created by Filmation, the same people who brought us He-Man and She-Ra! The 80s had the best music, best movies (especially horror movies), the best...EVERYTHING.
From: Chris

I was born in 1979, so most of my childhood was in the 80s. It was only 2 decades ago but life, the world was so different! Places were closed on Sundays, we used to drink from the garden hose and not contract a disease, giggle cookies came with stickers and Hugga Bunch Bears and My Kid Sister were what I looked forward to playing with after school. Kids couldn't wait to play outside and ride their bikes and we went in as soon as the lamp posts came on. Doors were left unlocked and mom could spank their kid at the grocery store without the cops getting a call. Childhood was rich with memories, and not those of kids shooting other children in school. Those were the days. Kids these days have no idea how good they could have it!
From: Lisa

I loved the 80s and miss the 80s very much...junior high, high school and college all in one decade...everything I did first, I did in the 80s....first kiss, first car, first beer, first time all in that wonderful decade. I miss the music, I miss my friends, I miss my girlfriend, I miss my car. I wanna go back!
From: John Y

I was born in the 60s but did not experience a magical decade until the 80s. I was too young to appreciate the 60s when I was going through it. All of my memories from the 70s sucked. The music was horrible (with the exception of some punk at the end) - and the clothes and hairstyles were hideous. Disco started out being OK but then the older generation embraced it and ruined it for everyone. The horrible 70s were capped off with the awful movie Urban Cowboy with everyone (including the local radio station) jumping on the Country music bandwagon… AHHHHH!!! The 80s were a fresh new start for my generation. There was so much hope and optimism in the air. The country music movement was quickly replaced with New Wave â€" which was an offshoot of punk. There were so many great bands and so much good music. It was also a very lucrative time for everyone and this was best encapsulated by Miami Vice. I will never forget Don Johnson having his gun drawn showing off his Ebel watch and then jumping into his Ferrari. There was also neon pink everywhere â€" the whole show just looked so decadent. Money seemed to be everywhere in the 80s until the stock crash of 1987 and then things changed…
From: Bulldog_Hack

I love the 80s because we had a lot more money and freedom than we have today, the best president ever, people were upbeat and optimistic about the future and we (thank God) didn't have this political correctness trap we live in today. The social fabric in America was different back then and we were all proud to be Americans. The quality of music, movies, and TV was much better and didn't have an agenda. And worst of all - I live under the impression that people were more intelligent back then! I miss the 80s.
From: Peter Moronie

Beginning with 1980, attitudes seemed to suddenly change. All of a sudden, because of Reagan, the country was once again filled with hope. The music scene in LA emerged, and people's attitudes toward and tolerances for each other grew. The 80s were about expressing yourself and enjoying freedom. The fact so many of today's teenagers claim they're a child or fan of the 80s is a testament to that, and in fact rather amazing. They listen to the music of the time, and yearn for a time to which they cannot possibly relate. I graduated in 1983, so my timeline conincides with the decade. I was young when the decade was young, and an adult by the time it ended. To give that decade meaning through words is futile. Suffice it say, I miss it terribly. The United States was still about freedom, music was about expression, living was not mere survival as it is today but experiencing life as it unfolded. The dawning of each day sent shivers up my spine in anticipation of what would happen next. The cars were awesome. The hard rock concerts were amazing. People were funny, were actual individuals and not oppressed. What made the 80s special? Everything. It was a unique decade in every way. Some people I grew up with label as it the decade of sex, others the decade of music, others as the decade of growth, others as the decade of style, others as the decade of learning. Unlike any decade which preceded it or followed, it cannot be labled as the "Decade Of One Thing" (i.e., the 50s were the decade of Rock 'n Roll, the 60s the decade of peace, the 70s the decade of sex, the 90s the decade of grunge, and the decade of 00 (which I would label as the decade of Bland). Indeed, the 80s were the Decade of Everything. I would imagine the teenagers and adults who experienced the Roaring Twenties are the only ones who can relate. Like them, we Gen-Xers followed a war and experienced a special time when the country was simply about having fun, recuperating, experimenting, finding out what makes life and each other special. The 80s were incredible, and if history is to be a timeline, will not be repeated for another forty years.
From: Mark

I was born in 1976 so I enjoyed the whole decade! I had practically EVERY toy made. I've been buying them back from ebay. The 80s were a time for KIDS to have FUN and be kids. We rode a bike with out a helmet, we came home when it was dark, we WORKED (paper routes, lemonade stands) we played manhunt, we bought those little plastic charms to rock on the plastic chains, we wore Jelly bracelets, carried a trapper keeper and had stick books. We were able to be kids in the 1980s. My favorite movie of all time is A CHRISTMAS STORY! Heathers, Pretty In Pink and The Breakfast Club were the cats meow too. Remember doing the "hand" songs with your friends? I recently taught my daughter how to do Miss Lucy:0) The Jersey shore was the best! The 80s will always have a special place in my heart!
From: Crazy80sGirl

This is one page of many, check out the intro at Why I Love The 80s where you can add your own memories as well.