I Remember: 1980
1980, unemployment is on the rise, reaching a postwar high of over 2,000,000 and the country slides into recession.
26 people are taken hostage after a group of six armed men stormed the Iranian embassy in South Kensington. After six days and the death of a hostage the SAS end the siege by storming the building, killing another hostage and all but one of the gunmen.
Philips and Sony launch the Compact Disc, although it is several years later before Audio CDs hit the stores and several years after that before the phrase "B side" is confined to history.
Back on vinyl, Blondie have three number one's in the UK charts: "Atomic", "Call Me" and "The Tide Is High".
"Don't Stand So Close To Me" by The Police was the years number one selling single (808,000 sales), and Kate Bush becomes the first British female artist to reach the top spot in the album charts.
John Lennon is shot dead in cold blood by Mark David Chapman on December 8, Lennons single "(Just Like) Starting Over" subsequently makes it to the Christmas number one spot...
...to be knocked off the top spot a week later by St. Winifred's School Choir with "There's No-one Quite Like Grandma".
The British Olympic Association defy the government and send athletes to the Summer Olympics in Moscow. Allan Wells wins gold in the Men's 100 metres as the USA boycott the games. Steve Ovett, Sebastian Coe, Daley Thompson and Duncan Goodhew also win gold for Great Britain.
Liverpool win the football league title and West Ham win the FA Cup with a 1-0 win over Arsenal, Trevor Brooking scores the only goal as the Hammers become on the second team from the Second Division to have won the trophy in postwar years.
Bjorn Borg wins his fifth consecutive Wimbledon men's singles title, by defeating beating John McEnroe (1-6, 7-5, 6-3, 6-7, 16-18, 8-6) in one of the finest final in the history of the All England Club.
Ronald Reagan is elected as the 40th President of the United States.
Small pox is considered eradicated by the World Health Orginization.
Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back, Airplane!, The Blue Brothers, Fame, Mad Max, Caddy Shack and Flash Gordon all have debuts on the big screen.
The big question in TV was 'Who shot JR?'. The first annual Children in Need charity appeal organised by the BBC and the first episodes of "Hi-De-Hi!", "Yes Minister", and "Button Moon" are broadcast, and games shows "Family Fortunes" and "Play Your Cards Right" make it onto our TV screens for the first time.
A massive 23,500,000 viewers tune in for the ITV showing of the James Bond film Live and Let Die.
Ford Europe launch the Escort MK3, to the delight of future boy racers everywhere.
The award winning Rubik's Cube is a sensation twisting millions of wrists around the world, I only completed it once after prising it open with a screwdriver and rearranging the pieces.
Pac-Man is launched, it would go on to be the best-selling arcade game of all time. Japanese game designer Toru Iwatani, and was inspired by a pizza with a slice missing. It was orginally named 'Puck-Man' but Japanese games company Namco realised that graffiti might not do their advertising any good!