Welcome to the best of the 80s Britain

Updated: May 29, 2023

Delve into the best of the 80s culture in Britain through film, TV and music and tap into your own exclusive retro lifestyle.

The 80s was a tumultuous decade here in Britain. There was a radical political shift across the land, with the first female prime minister, aptly named the “Iron Lady” (Margaret Thatcher) in charge from 1979-1990. Her conservative policies were intent on pushing capitalism, and selling off most of Britain's industries in favour of privatisation. Her policies soon coined the term, Thatcherism.

Margaret Thatcher - Thatcherism — Margaret Thatcher Cutout

There were major economic transformations, which played a role in reshaping the British economy, fostering the growth of the financial sector and the rise of "yuppies" (young urban professionals). Check out this post to learn more about "yuppies".

The list of depression grows with the likes of:

The miner's strikes of 1984
The Falkland's War (1982)
Cultural Shifts - which included vibrant music scenes, with genres like new wave, punk, synth-pop, and electronic music gaining prominence.
Rise in consumerism
Social unrest - including the Brixton protests and a surge in violence in Northern Ireland.
Global Humanitarian disasters - Ethiopian famine and the AIDS pandemic.
Escalations in the "Cold War"

The Rise Of An Iconic Culture

Even with all these serious and somewhat depressive events and circumstances, this didn't stop the rise in such a classic and iconic culture, dominated by multi coloured tracksuit's, the mullet, headbands, yuppies, and the walkman.

A culture that is still immortalised in great movies like "Risky Business" and "Back to the future" and music grooves that still get us up, dancing and singing (maybe somewhat badly). This is and was the 80s in Britain.