Why Are You An Eighties Fan?

This is one page of many, check out the intro at Why I Love The 80s where you can add your own memories as well.

This page currently edited by: stingr22. Past editor: Junior


So many things in the 80s were my favorite.. Music was a big part of being an â€oe80s person” .. Pop bands like Duran Duran, The Cars, and the Thompson Twins made me want to learn how to play the synth / keyboards and play music with my friends. Music was â€oereally different” back then, because you really had to â€oeplay” your instrument â€oeLIVE”.. not just pre-record and playback. You had to work with minimum technology and that would boost one's own creativity.. â€oebetter quality music”. Movies.. A lot of big titles in the 80s… Original Star Wars Trilogy, Indiana Jones Trilogy, ET, Most of the Star Trek Movies were in the 80s.. A lot of Sci-Fi and Adventure movies… Top Gun, Ghostbusters.. I could go on and on.. T.V.. The A-Team, RipTide, Dukes of Hazzard, Knight Rider, Automan… Old Japanese cartoon series… like â€oeForce Five (Shogun Warriors)” â€oeStarBlazers (Spaceship Yamamoto)” and good old favorites like â€oeThe Smurfs” , â€oeDungeons and Dragons” (yep a cartoon too not just a game..) The 80â€TMs also were the start of the video game consoles.. Odyssey, Atari 2600 and 5200, Intellivision, Colecovision, Astrovision, Sega Master System, Nintendo 8-bit system. â€oeMicroComputers” Commodore Vic-20, 64 and 128, Atari 400,800 and Ti99/4a It might sound weird.. but my heart aches sometimes when I think back to the â€oe80s.” Old.. yes, but we had some great times….
From: Mr.Tom

I was born in 87' the best part of the eighties. I take great pride in this year. The 80's to me is the God of all years in time. The HAIR!!! The MAKEUP!!! The CLOTHES!!!! And WACKY COLORS. Honestly nothing but good times. The creativity and positivity were very evident. And if you haven't noticed already mostly all our entertainment ICONS and Legends all Broke out in the eighties, MADONNA, MICHAEL JACKSON, and more... all Box office hits TOP GUN, BACK TO THE FUTURE, TERMINATOR. The 80's were innovative, with its own unique sound and style. Hollywood was really, Hollywood. Award Shows that you just couldn't miss. Music Videos and PEPSI COMMERCIALS like you never saw before, and an actual abundance of good looks and talent. The Rock was incredible one hit after another, POISON, WHITESNAKE, MOTLEY CRUE. Even though I was quite young, the energy always stayed with me, and i carry it with me today. I made up for lost times in eighties with the early 90's which were still somewhat the leftovers of the eighties. Not until Grunge and the Techno era took over. Now all you here is one stupid G-unit type song after another and they all sound the same, the boy band phase, Britney phase, trance crap, it just sucks. I really feel like my generation has been robbed, Now times are negative and just lost. Movies lack that certain something, Movie stars have just become ppl with rich parents or good clothes. Everybody looks the same there is no icon, i'm sorry but Britney and justin are not icons, and don't even come in comparison to Michael jackson or Madonna for that matter! I wish i could go back to the eighties a little older. C'MON EVERYBODY LETS BRING THE 80'S BACK, LET'S DO IT!!!! I know that if we all knew in time, down the road what was to come WE ALL WOULDV'VE HELD ON TO THE EIGHTIES A LITTLE LONGER!
From: Madelaine

I was born in 1982 and certainly I love the 80s because, despite the fact that I am from Mexico, I remember that my dad bought us a cool Houston Tracker System satellite dish, so I practically grew up watching all the cartoons, shows, and videos. I remember when I got my atari 2600, all the other kids were so jealous because they only got to play it by going to the arcade, and I had it right here at home. Endless days of playing Pitfall, I remember the fashion. Here in Mexico and especially where I live (Monterrey, MX), the fashion was pretty much the same as in the U.S., Altough I was only a kid during the 80s, I remember having my BK's or my L. A. Gear shoes and also having amazing toys like the He - Man action figures and the legendary small sized G.I. Joes, army ants, etc. I still go to the U.S. due to the cercany with my hometown (2 hours from TX) but you can't find those amazing goodies that my dad bought me 20 years ago, so basically I miss the 80s pretty much mostly because of the memories that take me to the happiest chilhood I could ever had...
From: John Rdz

I am not fully sure why I love the eighties, there seems to be a plethera of things about the eighties that draw me into a nostalgic state that just feels slightly euphoric. I am simply in love with all memories I have of the eighties. Memories of my toys, of the begining of MTV, music, Teen Beat mags, horror movies, TV shows, video games. Let me start with toys, man do I love the toys. I remember having to get every new GI Joe that came out, my favorites being Gung Ho, Snake Eyes, and Destro. Never mind the vehicles, the magnus opum of vehicles of course being The Hovercraft...it actually floated. You know this year as an insane reach I asked my wife to buy me some GI Joes for Christmas (I do have kids, so the toys would find use) and she actually got them for me. I tried to enjoy them, but you just can't go back in time. Why do we try so hard anyway, well we being those of us who actually read this stuff or write it. I have not forgotten the other toys and my memories of Star Wars figures are also fond.
From: Terry Murtha

Why I love the 80s... because I was born in 1978 and i was in grade school when I saw my first video on MTV and it was "Missing You" by John Waite(i'm such a big fan of his). I was also in love with Corey "Never Surrender" Hart, Paul Young, Journey, New Kids On The Block, Bon Jovi,etc. I could go on and I also thought Degrassi was soooooooooooo coool and groundbreaking and I live in NYC and does anybody have a copy of 80s Teen idols where are they now from vh1 from 98? Have a great day guys!
From: Rosie in NYC

I was born in 1971 and I will spare you the math but I graduated in 1989. I loved the big hair, the neon clothes, the music and the shows. I rememeber watching Richard Dean Anderson before he was McGyver and before he became the StarGate guy in a show that ran for maybe one season called Seven Brides for Seven Brothers along with River Phoenix, Peter Norton and Drake Hogestyn. I loved Dukes of Hazzard when they were good ol' boys and not Superman's father and I could go on forever. 80s music was the best Cyndi Lauper, (my fave) Duran Duran, Corey Hart, etc. Who can beat the 80s? They had everything and they had the best movies thanks to John Hughes. I can blab on about the 80s but then I would have to remember how old I am.
From: Shannon

Why I love the 80s? Where to begin? I was born in 1977 so I am a real child of the 80s. I'm from Holland and everyone my age remembers The Fun Factory with all cool cartoons. Everything seemed so innocent back then. I have vivid memories of waking up Saturday-morning and going downstairs, sitting in the living-room and being glued to the television. The best cartoons EVER were aired back then. He-man, G.I. Joe, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, Transformers. It was fun being a kid in the 80s. Playing ouside with your friends and your BMX-bikes for hours until mum called you in for dinner. After dinner watching MTV with Downtown Julie Brown!! There were actually music videos on - not the crap you have now. The music was way better then. It was original, fun and the artists actually had some talent. TV was fun and there was no violence and sex and all tht other crap. My favorite movies were Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Back To The future, and I could go on. I'm so glad I grew up in the 80s and I will always remember those golden days of fun, innocence and just plain decency. I pity the kids of today. The 80s RULE forever! THUNDERCATS HOOOOOO!!!!!
From: Nicole

I was proud to be born in the 1980s! March 22, 1985, to be exact. My brothers were born in 1981 and 1982, my sister in law was born in 1983, and my best friend was born in 1984. I have just started listining to 80s songs just a few years ago, and I'd like to thank Vh1 for bringing the 80s back with I Love The 80s! I love the music, I love the shows, the games, the fads, but most of all, I LOVE 1985!
From: Kenny Stahura

I am a 24-year old, and I grew up in the 80s. I remember "Alvin and the Chipmunks". My favorite character was Jeanette Chipette. She was the coolest one of the whole show. I still like her. I wish that I could find a doll, or a picture of her somewhere. She rocks!!! She made the show what it was.
From: Mary Chonowski

I was born in 1969 so the 80s were when I was in jr & sr high school. My 1st record album was Thriller followed soon after by ANYthing Duran Duran, Van Halen, Def Leppard, or Madonna. Levi's, Izod, Papagallo purses, and Nikes were cool. Hot pink and cammo pants just naturally went together.(Like those skinny ribbons woven into your barettes). My Little Pony, Care Bears, Strawberry Shortcake, & Transformers were actually new and original. Purple nail polish, Jelly Shoes, Impulse Body Spray (no Vanilla scent, I believe). There was only one Charlie perfume and it wasn't named for a color. You had at least one friend who wore Jontue. English Leather actually smelled good on the guy who passed you in the hall. Friday/Saturday nights just hanging out at the mall (or in the parking lot) and the cops were called just to send people on their way...not because someone was shot. Girls Scouts actually went door to door to sell their cookies...and your mom volenteered to be cookie chairman one year because no one else wanted to do it; then she found out why!! $1.00 movie theaters or $3.00 matinee shows. People actually wore clothes that fit...and you could admire someones "pockets" because they were where they belonged and not around their knees! Babysitting for $1.50/hr to buy even more of those rubber bracelets, another pair of sunglasses or metalic paint marker pens. Judy Blume and S.E Hinton were literary gods. Sesame Street didn't follow a timetable, and there wasn't a "Spanish word of the day". Playing "smear the queer" or just football across 4 neighborhood yards (even though 3 of them had no kids)and nobody yelled at you. Jolt Cola....Computers with no internet (how barbaric!!) Just a few of the ingredients that have made me who I am today.
From: Andrea

I always thought of the 1980s, up until now, as a very confused and meaningless musical decade. Don't get mad....I said "thought", not "think." Let me explain... I did have fun in the 1980s as a kid and had lots of friends...at the time. By my teenage years in the 1990s, I sort of realized how lame the 80s were and brushed it off like a meddling house fly. I was born in 1978, so all of the 80s I spent as a kid. I grew up listening to my parents old (new at the time) records and loving the R&B, early rap, end-of-disco era music, raggae, and early forms of techno. I wasn't into pop and rock growing up because of how and where I grew up (military), which, believe it or not, played a BIG role in the music I litened to back then. My sister was old enough to grasp the 80s because she was in her early teens. She was the pop rocker, totally into 80s fashion...I have pictures too...lol! I used to breakdance to Michael Jackson at age 6, beatbox to Biz Markie at age 9. I used to laugh at the way all my friends dressed at age 10....however, I think I started the "baggy jeans" trend at age 11. That's a funny story too. I never liked wearing tight jeans and spandex when they became popular at my elementary school in 1989, so I would ask my parents to buy me pants about 2 sizes bigger. Of course they looked at me all weird, but they figured it was what all the kids were wearing....not likely. The kids used to laugh at ME, saying I looked like a clown and that they could fit two or three of them in my jeans. Well I thought it was better than the imfamous "pegging" of pantlegs (where you'd cuff the bottoms and roll them halfway up your calves). It wasn't even for fashion reasons, I liked the comfort of them. Who'd of thought that by 1992, the baggy pants look would blow up the fashion trend? And it all started with ME in 1989. Anyways...I don't remember the early to mid 1980s, but I did get to know my surroundings later that decade. When 1998-2000 came around, I knew that I was going to know A LOT about the decade with the coming 80s revival..just like the 90s did with the 70s. I knew I was in for a decade of hurt. But you know...I like it now. I'm getting to know what the early and mid 80s were about and acknowledging more of what I didn't know about the last 3 years of the decade. I'm even looking into producing some 80s style beats with synths to show my respect to a decade I once condemned and hated for its crappy musical culture. All in all, I have a new refurbished outlook of that decade, and I have to say...I do love the 80s.
From: Sevin

I liked the 80s because the women dressed to attract not to repel,like the ugly 70s stuff they have been wearing since about 92. I loved to see the women in their 3 and 4 inch heels and their sexy short dresses and skirts. I also loved the sexy hairdos they used instead of the flat looking way they wear their hair now. I am 56 and still like attractive looking women. Sorry girls, but most guys if they had a pair, would tell you this is true.
From: Rick

I was born in 1981 and I am a still an eighties kid to this day. I miss the Levi's 501 boot-cut jeans , Lee jeans, and big hair. I love the eighties clothes and movies. My favorite movies are Mannequin, Outrageous Fortune, Sixteen candles, Pretty In Pink, and Weird Science. I also remember the saturday night fall lineup on September 14, 1985. I still remember Gimme A Break, Facts Of Life, Different Strokes, Punky Brewster (I had a crush on Soleil Moon Frye), Golden Girls, 227, and Hunter. I collected all of the Hunter episodes when it was on TV Land and now I have the first season 1984- 1985 on DVD. I am a still a huge fan of Fred Dryer. The other shows I remember are Siiver Spoons, Dynasty, Falcon Crest, Fame, Mama's Family, Growing Pains, Designing Women, and Solid Gold. But, my favorite of all time was Dance Fever. My favorite soaps were Guiding Light, Another World, and Santa Barbara. I loved Saved By The Bell because I have been a big fan of Screech (Dustin Diamond) since I was 14. In fact, I got to meet him for the first time when he was at a comedy tour in my hometown of Louisville, Kentucky. My favorite 80s music was Cyndi Lauper, Prince, Vanity 6, Appollonia, Morris Day, Oingo Boingo, Berlin, Tiffany, Debbie Gibson, Duran Duran, Corey Hart, and Depeche Mode.But my favorite of all was Madonna. When "Like A Virgin" came out, I bought it for the first time - this was my first album. Eighties music is still alive today. I loved the commercials. All the Levi's jeans ads, the New Coke 1985 commercial, Lee - the brand that fits. I remember the old nbc ads (a984-1989), Lynda Carter Maybelline commercials, and many ads that I will never forget. I was born to love the eighties. I am an eighties geek to this day!
From: Dwight Slemmons

The best thing about the eighties was my favorite actor, Dustin Diamond from "Saved By The Bell." He played Samuel "Screech" Powers from 1989-2000. I have been his fan ever since! I grew watching him on TV and I have been collecting his stuff for years and I have been saving his television stuff too. I am proud to be a fan of Dustin Diamond! When I was in high school, I used to act like Dustin all the time. I wanted to be Screech so bad that I used to try get this girl named lisa. It was Saved By The Bell! For real, Dustin Diamond is the reason I love the eighties and I am still his biggest fan...
From: Dwight Slemmons

Strawberry Shortcake
From: Kelly Kessler

One thing...PUDDING POPS! Where the heck have the PUDDING POPS gone?
From: Kristen

I was born in 1987, so unfortunately I was a little kid and couldn't really "live" through the era. However some of my best memories were at this time. I remember watching My Little Pony and the Care Bears (lol carebear staaare).I had Strawberry Shortcake dolls. Big hair was cool! I remember seeing a few episodes of Weird Science and I was obsessed with Full House. I remember my Cyndi Lauper-fashion-inspired babysitter watching MTV 24/7. I watch all the 80s movies that come on TV. My favorites are: all the Molly Ringwald stuff, Breakfast Club, Rock'n Roll High School, and Ferris Bueller's Day Off. I look back at pictures of myself wearing the side ponytails and clashing neon/jumpsuits haha. I love Archie comics and the music is possibly the BEST thing about the 80s- Duran Duran, Tears for Fears, A-Ha, New Order, Billy Idol. I am really into all the 80s synth, dance, and of course the 80s hair bands (hot guys with long hair and tight jeans- you don't see that much anymore *sniff). Some of my favorite bands from the 80s would be Def Leppard, Ratt, Cinderella, Van Halen, Scorpions, Motley Crue, Corey Hart, Soft Cell, Skidrow. I get sad when I think that I will never live my prime time years in an era as cool as the 80s- that I will never go to a good concert! :( It can definitely be said it was a more simple time (All Michael Jackson had to worry about was making good music!). Anyhow, I just wanted to say that the 80s inspired a lot of things and I think the era will live on forever!
From: Leanne

I was born in 1981. I didn't get to enjoy the 80s as a teenager but I do remember alot from that decade. I remember Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles coming on every Saturday morning on CBS and watching Back To The Future every chance I got. I still have my old VHS tapes of the show as well as the new DVD box set. I still want a DeLorean. Maybe I can borrow Doc's, go back in time, and re-live the 80s all over again. I still collect and listen to 80s music. My favorite band is still Huey Lewis and the News.
From: Gabba Gabba Hey!

This site is cool, I love the 80s because they were an awesome time! Heavy Metal was truly heavy metal, MTV was truly about the music, TV shows were better, cartoons were way cooler then. There will be no other decade like the 80s. Long live the 80s!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
From: Metalhead

First off I want to say that everyone who experienced the 80s decade are so lucky! I sadly had to experience the 90s...... o how fun!(sarcastic) But, I am happy that the 80s are still popular! I love the music and I am a self-proclaimed "I love the 80's" babe! The movies were cool...I especially love "Sixteen Candles", but who doesn't! I have many, many favorite songs and movies from this decade, so it's totally impossible to pick a favorite. Now the style - that is a whole different story! But it's one of the things that made the 80s and one of the reasons which make the 80's so unique!
From: Kiley*

This is one page of many, check out the intro at Why I Love The 80s where you can add your own memories as well.