1980s Timeline: Key Dates, Events And Milestones

The 1980s in order, one year at a time, from 1980 to 1989.

Each year gives the headline of the year, the news that mattered, and the music, screen and sport people remember.

Useful for quizzes, school projects, reminiscence sessions and milestone birthday cards.

1980

• The decade opened with the SAS on live television and John Lennon's death in December.
• The Iranian Embassy siege in London ended with an SAS assault on 5 May, broadcast live while the snooker was on BBC Two.
• John Lennon was shot and killed in New York on 8 December.
• Unemployment rose sharply through the year and passed two million.
• The Police, Blondie and Abba all had number ones during the year.
• The Empire Strikes Back was the film of the year.
• The Moscow Olympics were held under a partial boycott; Sebastian Coe and Steve Ovett famously won each other's expected events.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1980

1981

• A royal wedding, riots in several cities and the first London Marathon.
• Charles, Prince of Wales, married Lady Diana Spencer at St Paul's Cathedral on 29 July, and the day was a public holiday.
• There were riots in Brixton in April and Toxteth in July.
• Unemployment passed two and a half million during the year.
• Adam and the Ants were the biggest chart act of the year, with 'Stand and Deliver' and 'Prince Charming' both reaching number one.
• Only Fools and Horses began in September, quietly, to small audiences.
• The first London Marathon was run on 29 March.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1981

1982

• The Falklands, the launch of Channel 4 and the arrival of the Spectrum.
• Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands on 2 April; the conflict ended with the Argentine surrender on 14 June.
• Channel 4 launched on 2 November, opening with Countdown.
• The Mary Rose was raised from the Solent on 11 October, live on television.
• Dexys Midnight Runners' 'Come On Eileen' was the best-selling single of the year.
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was the film of the year.
• England reached the second group stage of the World Cup in Spain without losing a match.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1982

1983

• Breakfast television, the pound coin and a general election landslide.
• Margaret Thatcher won the June general election with a large majority.
• Wearing a seatbelt in the front of a car became compulsory on 31 January.
• The one pound coin entered circulation in April.
• Culture Club, Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran were the chart acts of the year.
• BBC Breakfast Time launched on 17 January, with TV-am following on ITV in February.
• Manchester United beat Brighton in an FA Cup final replay.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1983

1984

• The miners' strike, the Brighton bombing and Band Aid at Christmas.
• The miners' strike began in March and ran for a year.
• The IRA bombed the Grand Hotel in Brighton during the Conservative Party conference on 12 October.
• British Telecom shares were sold to the public in November.
• Frankie Goes to Hollywood had 'Relax' and 'Two Tribes' at number one in the same year.
• Ghostbusters and Gremlins filled the cinemas.
• Torvill and Dean scored a perfect set of sixes for Bolero at the Sarajevo Winter Olympics in February.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1984

1985

• Live Aid, the first EastEnders and a very bad year in football.
• The miners' strike ended in March.
• The Bradford City stadium fire on 11 May killed 56 people; the Heysel disaster followed on 29 May.
• The first British mobile phone call on a commercial network was made on 1 January.
• 'The Power of Love' by Jennifer Rush was the year's best-selling single.
• EastEnders began on 19 February; the Christmas Day episode drew an enormous audience.
• English clubs were banned from European competition after Heysel.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1985

1986

• The Hand of God, Chernobyl and Neighbours arriving on daytime television.
• The Chernobyl nuclear accident occurred on 26 April; rainfall carried fallout to parts of Britain.
• The Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart shortly after launch on 28 January.
• Prince Andrew married Sarah Ferguson in July.
• 'Don't Leave Me This Way' by the Communards was the year's best-selling single.
• Neighbours began on BBC One and became a daytime and teatime fixture.
• Diego Maradona scored both the Hand of God and the goal of the century against England in the World Cup quarter-final on 22 June.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1986

1987

• The great storm, Black Monday and a third election win.
• The great storm struck southern England overnight on 15-16 October.
• Black Monday, 19 October, saw the biggest one-day fall in the London market.
• Margaret Thatcher won a third general election in June.
• The Herald of Free Enterprise capsized off Zeebrugge on 6 March; the King's Cross fire followed in November.
• 'Never Gonna Give You Up' by Rick Astley was the year's best-selling single.
• Dirty Dancing and Fatal Attraction filled the cinemas.
• Coventry City beat Tottenham Hotspur to win the FA Cup.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1987

1988

• Acid house, Kylie's first number one and a grim run of disasters.
• The Piper Alpha oil platform explosion on 6 July killed 167 people.
• Pan Am Flight 103 was destroyed over Lockerbie on 21 December.
• The Clapham Junction rail crash happened on 12 December.
• Kylie Minogue's 'I Should Be So Lucky' reached number one in February.
• Red Dwarf and Home and Away both began on British screens.
• Wimbledon beat Liverpool 1-0 in the FA Cup final.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1988

1989

• Hillsborough, the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the decade.
• The Hillsborough disaster on 15 April killed 97 Liverpool supporters.
• The Berlin Wall was opened on 9 November.
• The Marchioness disaster on the Thames happened on 20 August.
• 'Ride on Time' by Black Box was the year's best-selling single.
• Batman was the film of the year; Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade was close behind.
• Arsenal won the league at Anfield in the last minute of the final match on 26 May.
• Full year page: /blogs/news/look-back-to-1989

How to use this timeline

• Quiz round: read an event and ask for the year, or read a year and ask for what happened.
• Reminiscence: start at the year someone left school and read forwards.
• Milestone birthday: read the timeline from their birth year to the year they turned 18.
• Anyone born in 1980 turns 50 in 2030, 60 in 2040 and 70 in 2050.

Shop prints and posters

How to write it so it lands

• Read the timeline alongside the decade history guide: one gives the order, the other gives the story.
• For a birthday card, pick the one event from their birth year that still gets a reaction.
• Years rarely change neatly at the decade line. Check the year either side before setting a quiz question.

Where to shop next

• Look back to 1980
• Look back to 1981
• Look back to 1982
• Look back to 1983
• Look back to 1984
• Look back to 1985
• Look back to 1986
• Look back to 1987
• Look back to 1988
• Look back to 1989
• 1980s history: events, politics and culture
• 1980s calendar: year by year
• 1980s music: songs, genres and trends
• 1980s films and directors
• 1980s books, films and TV
• 1980s books: novels and authors
• 1980s art: artists and styles
• 1980s fashion: styles, designers and trends
• 1980s food: dishes, restaurants and trends
• 1980s travel: destinations and holidays
• 1980s technology: gadgets and computers
• 1980s shopping guide: what to buy
• 1980s games: board, card and video
• 1980s trivia: fun facts
• 1980s quiz: questions and answers
• 1980s party playlist
• The 1980s: the whole decade
• Retro gift guide: the 1980s
• The decade before: the 1970s
• The decade after: the 1990s
• All decade guides in one place
• Card messages by occasion: every guide in one place
• Card hub: cards, badges and messages by occasion
• Decade history by era
• Decade calendars: every year from 1920
• Decade timelines: key dates and events by era
• Decade music: songs, genres and trends
• Decade films: best movies and directors
• Decade books: novels, authors and reading trends
• Decade art: artists, styles and trends
• Decade fashion: styles, designers and trends
• Decade food: dishes, restaurants and eating trends
• Decade travel: destinations and holidays
• Decade technology: gadgets and computers
• Decade shopping guides
• Decade games: board, card and video games by era
• Decade trivia: fun facts by era
• Decade quizzes: questions and answers by era
• Decade trivia game: play for points
• Decade quiz: test your memory
• Shop art prints and posters
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• Toys of the 80s and 90s
• Computers and consoles we grew up with
• Saturday morning TV
• Cassette tapes and taping the charts
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
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• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What are the key dates of the 1980s?

The timeline above runs from 1980 to 1989, with the headline events of each year in order. The decade opened with the SAS on live television and John Lennon's death in December.

What happened in 1980?

The decade opened with the SAS on live television and John Lennon's death in December. There is a full page for 1980 at /blogs/news/look-back-to-1980.

Are the dates accurate?

Yes. Every date, name and event on this page is real and comes straight from our year-by-year pages, so the timeline and the year pages always agree.

Can I use this for a quiz or a school project?

Yes, freely. Print it, read it out, copy it - no permission needed. We make greeting cards, prints and pin badges; these pages are free.