My 80s Tribute Page

 

If you are like me you probably fantasize about a world where all your old favourite musical artists still churn out hits. Or where your favourite TV shows of the past are still in production. Or where Arnold Schwarzenegger is still a big musclebound action movie star.  Or where Buck Shelford is still in the All Blacks and 

Imagine if Ronald Reagan was still President of the USA
Imagine if Ronald Reagan was still President of the USA

Richard Hadlee is still bowling for the New Zealand Cricket team. Where Billy T James is still doing comedy. Or Ronald Reagan is still President of the USA. Well... maybe not that one. 

 

Or maybe there are other things from your childhood that you wish were still the same as they once were?

 

I for one miss going into Auckland city on a Saturday morning, during the mid-1980s and going to the different cinemas, (each one unique) to see a movie and then going to another to see a different movie. 4 movies in 1 day.  In those days there were enough good movies to warrant going to 4 in a row. At least I thought so. You can’t do that now because they have big cinema complexes, all generic and boring looking and there is only a short break before the next movie screens. And there are never anywhere near the number of good movies you want to see now as you did then. 

 

My personal favourite movie theater was the Civic, which had a huge upper floor with a roof that looked like a starry sky high above you. The architecture was amazing. 

 

Click on images below to enlarge.  

The Civic Theatre in Queen St Auckland. Now has live theatre and music, but used to show movies.
The Civic Theatre in Queen St Auckland. Now has live theatre and music, but used to show movies.
Inside the Civic today. Much the same as it was in the 80s. Imagine watching movies in this! I did.
Inside the Civic today. Much the same as it was in the 80s. Imagine watching movies in this! I did.

 

Back in the 80s, in between movies, I would head to the video games arcades, (of which there were three) with a pocketful of 20c pieces to play games like Gauntlet and Rygar. Ten dollars was enough to keep you going for ages, with each game being 20c to play.  These days due to home consoles, you might be lucky to find one games arcade and even then, the games there are expensive ones.  10 bucks in one of those will probably last you only 15 minutes. 

 

Games arcades. The good old days
Games arcades. The good old days

There are a lot of things to miss about the 80s.

 

It seems that a lot of people look down at that decade. There were certainly some things to be embarrassed about, like mullets and Rick Astley for instance.  But when you really think about it there are just so many things about the 80s which make it extra special. Things that make it unlike any other decade we’ve had in recent history.

 

This page takes a look at some of those things, music in particular. But also it looks at some of the technology we enjoy today all because of what was first pioneered in the 80s.

   

Click on the links. Take a nostalgic look back and find out why it was way better then than it is now.  Also be sure to check out my observations on how the music industry has changed over the last 50 years:

 

Why Pop Music was so much better in the 80s

Many TV icons

More big movie stars

More big blockbuster horror characters

Major movie franchises that were spawned

Other things that made the 80s great

 

If only it were the 80s again!