80s Quiz: 50 Questions And Answers

Five rounds of ten, answers at the bottom, nothing that needs a screen or a speaker.

Works for a fortieth, a fiftieth, a works quiz or a reminiscence session.

Round 1: music

1. Which charity single topped the chart at Christmas 1984?
2. Which 1985 concert was held at Wembley and Philadelphia on the same day?
3. Which Michael Jackson album is the best-selling of all time?
4. Which Wham! song was kept off the 1984 Christmas number one by Band Aid?
5. Which Birmingham band were named after a Barbarella character?
6. Which band sang 'Don't You Want Me' in 1981?
7. Which Scottish band released 'Don't You (Forget About Me)'?
8. Which 1987 Rick Astley song became a whole internet joke decades later?
9. Which Kate Bush song reached number one in 1985 - or did it?
10. Which Madonna album came out in 1984?

Round 2: television

• 11. Which BBC soap began in February 1985?
• 12. Which Channel 4 soap was set in a real Liverpool cul-de-sac?
• 13. Which children's game show was set in a dungeon?
• 14. Which cartoon mouse worked for the British secret service?
• 15. Which quiz show did Bob Holness present?
• 16. Who presented from the Broom Cupboard with Gordon the Gopher?
• 17. Which Grange Hill storyline led to a White House visit?
• 18. Which sitcom starred Rowan Atkinson across four historical periods?
• 19. Which puppet satire show launched in 1984?
• 20. Which Saturday morning show replaced Saturday Superstore in 1987?

Round 3: film

• 21. Which 1982 Spielberg film featured a stranded alien?
• 22. Which 1985 film sent Marty McFly to 1955?
• 23. Which 1984 comedy asked who you were going to call?
• 24. Which 1986 film starred Tom Cruise as a navy pilot?
• 25. Which 1980 film was the second Star Wars released?
• 26. Which 1987 British film starred Richard E Grant and Paul McGann?
• 27. Which 1988 film mixed animation and live action with a rabbit?
• 28. Which 1989 Batman film starred Michael Keaton?
• 29. Which 1983 Bond film starred Roger Moore and shares its name with a Fleming story?
• 30. Which 1986 film about a sword-carrying immortal used Queen on the soundtrack?

Round 4: news and events

• 31. Which conflict took place in 1982?
• 32. In which year did the miners' strike begin?
• 33. Which royal wedding took place in July 1981?
• 34. What happened at Chernobyl, and in which year?
• 35. Which storm hit southern England in October 1987?
• 36. What was Black Monday?
• 37. Which wall began to come down in November 1989?
• 38. Which space shuttle was lost in 1986?
• 39. Which UK city hosted the 1986 Commonwealth Games?
• 40. Which football disaster happened at Hillsborough, and in which year?

Round 5: everyday life

• 41. What did a Rubik's Cube have on each face?
• 42. What was a Walkman?
• 43. What did you do with a ZX Spectrum and a cassette recorder?
• 44. What was a Filofax used for?
• 45. What was the name of the small toy craze involving stickers of characters in the late eighties?
• 46. Which two home computers did most British children argue about?
• 47. What was a VHS tape mainly used for at home?
• 48. What was the shoulder pad for?
• 49. What did BT charge by, that made phone calls a source of household arguments?
• 50. What was Ceefax?

Answers

• 1 Do They Know It's Christmas? by Band Aid. 2 Live Aid. 3 Thriller. 4 Last Christmas. 5 Duran Duran. 6 The Human League. 7 Simple Minds. 8 Never Gonna Give You Up. 9 Running Up That Hill reached number three in 1985; it reached number one in 2022. 10 Like a Virgin.
• 11 EastEnders. 12 Brookside. 13 Knightmare. 14 Danger Mouse. 15 Blockbusters. 16 Phillip Schofield. 17 Zammo's heroin storyline and the Just Say No campaign. 18 Blackadder. 19 Spitting Image. 20 Going Live!
• 21 E.T. 22 Back to the Future. 23 Ghostbusters. 24 Top Gun. 25 The Empire Strikes Back. 26 Withnail and I. 27 Who Framed Roger Rabbit. 28 Batman. 29 Octopussy. 30 Highlander.
• 31 The Falklands War. 32 1984. 33 Charles and Diana. 34 A nuclear reactor disaster, 1986. 35 The Great Storm. 36 The stock market crash of October 1987. 37 The Berlin Wall. 38 Challenger. 39 Edinburgh. 40 The Hillsborough disaster, 1989.
• 41 Coloured squares - six faces, one colour each when solved. 42 A portable cassette player. 43 Loaded games, slowly. 44 A personal organiser. 45 Panini stickers and albums. 46 The ZX Spectrum and the Commodore 64. 47 Recording television off air. 48 Structure in the shoulders of jackets and dresses. 49 Units of time, with peak and off-peak rates. 50 The BBC's teletext service.

Shop cards

How to write it so it lands

• Music and adverts get the loudest rounds.
• Ten seconds of a clip is plenty.
• Mark between rounds so people can argue as they go.

Where to shop next

• 70s quiz questions and answers
• 90s quiz questions and answers
• 00s quiz questions and answers
• Decade music round questions
• Sweets quiz
• Advert slogan quiz
• Guess the year quiz
• Care home reminiscence quiz
• Printable nostalgia quiz sheets
• 50th birthday nostalgia quiz
• 60th birthday nostalgia quiz
• 70th birthday nostalgia quiz
• TV theme tunes quiz
• Adverts we can all still recite
• Nostalgic quiz questions
• How to run a quiz night
• Growing up in the 80s and 90s
• 80s and 90s party ideas
• Milestone birthday cards
• Free feel good tools
• Shop birthday cards
• Planning the party? Birthday party ideas
• How to make a balloon arch
• Photo booth prop ideas
• Birthday cards for kids
• Wedding cards
• Wedding cards guide
• Pin badges
• All guides

Frequently asked questions

What's a good 80s quiz round for a party?

Music and adverts get the most noise. If you can play clips, ten seconds of an intro is enough; if not, read the lyric and ask for the artist.

How long does a 50 question quiz take?

About an hour with marking between rounds, or ninety minutes if people are eating and talking through it.

Can I use these for a fundraiser?

Yes. Copy them freely for a school, church, club or charity night - there's no restriction from us.

Do you sell quiz packs?

No - we make greeting cards, prints and pin badges. Everything on this page is free to use.