Electric dreams and excess in the 1980s
What comes to mind when you think of the 1980s? Perhaps anti-nuclear demonstrations, health crises, conflict and the dominant figures of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan. Undoubtedly, it’s also shoulder pads, brick-like mobile phones, classic arcade games, and synthesisers. As a decade of rampant consumerism, technological advancement and political and social upheaval, the ‘80s can certainly be seen as a time of excess, extremes and contradictions.
Covering topics such as the rise of Conservatism, the threat of nuclear war, Indigenous land rights and social activism alongside subcultures, music, consumer culture and new technologies, AM’s 1980s Culture and Society provides a multi-faceted insight into the decade’s complex landscape through a variety of materials and diverse perspectives. And with technology changing the way that people worked, communicated, spent their leisure time, and interacted with the world around them, its advancement is a prominent presence in the resource.
Perspective: Electronic Music, 1983. Material sourced from The British Film Institute.
One documentary film in particular explores the impact that developments in computer software and equipment had on music production and the resulting explosion of electronic music. Produced in the UK in 1983 and featuring interviews with composer Tim Souster and The Human League frontman Phil Oakey, the documentary focuses on the fact that it is now possible to produce music that is solely created through synthesisers and computer technology, opening up new opportunities for people to creatively express themselves without having to learn to play an instrument. Narrator Paul Vaughan describes the technology as “mathematics in motion” and notes that “the equipment removes a barrier to expression, makes it possible to reproduce the music we all compose in our dreams”.
CLEM: Contact list of electronic music, 1983. © Alex Douglas. Material sourced from Bowling Green State University.
The growing appetite for electronic music is reflected across a number of zines featured in 1980s Culture and Society, including CLEM: Contact List of Electronic Music, a publication dedicated to providing a detailed directory for everything from synthesiser companies and fanzines to radio stations and record distributors, its aim being to help foster communication amongst fellow enthusiasts.
Space Invaders championships [1], 1981. Material sourced from Mirrorpix.
Whilst the relationship between electronics and music continued to open up new creative avenues in the ‘80s, electronics and leisure time also took centre stage with the advent of home video game consoles and other electronic toys. The rise in popularity of such entertainment amongst consumers was rapid. Whilst Space Invaders was already a much-loved arcade game, 1980 saw its release on the Atari 2600 home video games console. Using the console, Britain held its first national Space Invaders championship in 1981, as can be seen in the above photograph. Small electronic games also became a staple in children’s catalogues. Ideal’s 1980 catalogue advertises its “Electronic Detective Game” which “challenges you to match wits with a fiendish master brain – a computer that can dream up 130,000 different crime situations!”.
Ideal 1980--wow!. Material sourced from The Strong National Museum of Play.
While technology today is embedded in every part of our daily lives, this resource captures a point in time when electronics and the consumer became intrinsically linked, creating new opportunities for creativity, communication, experimentation and leisure.
About the author
Amy Hubbard is an editor at AM.
About the collection
1980s Culture and Society is out now. Documentary, Perspective: Electronic Music, is freely available for 30 days.
Recent posts
In preparation for migration to AM Quartex, the University of Delaware Library, Museums and Press had to take stock of and rationalise seven distinct digital collections. Learn about how this was overcome in part three of this guest blog series.
From medieval markets to a global powerhouse, London’s evolution between 1450 and 1750 is vividly documented in the records of its livery companies. Central to the city’s economy, these institutions reveal how London navigated challenges like plagues, the Great Fire, and rapid growth, underscoring their vital role in shaping a thriving metropolis.