Jul 8: 1980

Into the 1980s now and the tone of some music changes. This is my wife's favourite decade. Electronic bands and synthesisers along with punk and dance music started to displace some of the other bands from the charts.

'The Blues Brothers' was released this year.

This is a wonderful film, which features plenty of memorable tunes which are now familiar from stage musicals and repeat viewings. Some fine guest star musicians as well.

The car chase to Chicago is an epic way to end the film with a record breaking number of cars destroyed in the process. Carrie Fisher was excellent in this film too.

Mike Oldfield played Knebworth that year.

Several years later, the film was released. I wanted to see it, and I was interested to see that it was playing at a cinema in Rotherham. It was the part of a double bill... the first film was called "Private Teacher" and was a bit 'risque'... google it... so I had to sit through that although I wanted to see the music not the other things.

Rush released 'Permanent Waves' in 1980.

I was working on a Saturday at the time for a local greengrocer. This meant driving over to the town of Mexborough in South Yorkshire where he had a market stall. I bought this track as a 7" single one Saturday... I also saw the first posters for the Genesis 'Duke' album in Woolworths the same time.

We had a DJ booth in our sixth-form centre at school in Wickersley Comprehensive - plus a couple of pinball tables and table-tennis tables. It was quite a good facility if you stayed on to do 'A' levels.

I did 4 'A' levels at school, and picked up a 5th one later.

Invisible airwaves
Crackle with life
Bright antennae bristle
With the energy
Emotional feedback
On a timeless wavelength
Bearing a gift beyond price –
Almost free…

Jethro Tull released 'A' which was originally meant to be a solo album by Ian Anderson, after the Tull line up changed considerably including Eddie Jobson on keyboards and violin.

The track 'Crossfire' referenced the Iranian Embassy siege. I remember this event which happened in April of 1980. Live television coverage of the 1980 final between Alex Higgins and Cliff Thorburn was famously interrupted by the footage of the raid. I had been watching the match and we decided to get our cues and get the bus down to Rotherham (the fare was 2p at the time) and play snooker at the Central Snooker Club at the bottom of the High Street - which is still there. That was one of several we used to play at at the time - smoky and dark but when the lights came on you were focussed on the game.

I had a quarter sized table at home and we used to play a lot when I was in the Sixth form (when I had a free period...) - it didn't help my 'A' level studies.

When I go to the RGS, I often walk past the Embassy and tomorrow night I am due to stay in Prince's Gate, just behind the row of Embassy buildings facing Hyde Park.

Lyrics:

Spring lights in a hazy May
And a man with a gun at the door
Someone's crawling on the roof above
All the media here for the show

I've been waiting for our friends to come
Like spiders down ropes to free-fall
A thirty round clip for a visiting cards
Admit one to the embassy ball

Caught in the crossfire on Princes Gate Avenue
In go the windows, out go the lights
So call me a doctor, fetch me a policeman
I'm down on the floor in one hell of a fight

What are your 1980 memories?