I am told that you shouldn’t live in the past, that you need to let go, move on, whatever ….. but there is just something about the 80’s for me that I will never let go of. Sure, there were bad things – shoulder pads, legwarmers, headbands etc., but there were a lot of very, very good things.
One of the things I loved best about the 80’s was the music. My friends and I started going to a teen club when we were about 16 – it was called ” Bumpers “, and it was in Surrey. That was where I fell in love with Erasure, Depeche Mode, Bronski Beat, Eurythmics, Howard Jones, Naked Eyes, Talk Talk, Modern English, Billy Idol, David Bowie, Duran Duran , Kate Bush, Simple Minds, Strange Advance, Ultravox …. and the list goes on and on. Yes, we all felt the lyrics were written for us personally, but the music itself was also amazing – back then, songwriters were brilliant, and songs didn’t all sound the same.
Never Boring
We used to love going dancing, several nights a week. After we outgrew Bumpers, we’d venture to New Westminster to The Courthouse, then we graduated to Vancouver : Heaven, The Edge, and the Gandydancer. All we wanted to do was surround ourselves with our close friends, listen to awesome music, and dance the night away. Some songs feel like they will stick in my head forever – like ” Heaven” by the Psychedelic Furs – it always made me feel like nothing bad could touch us while we were on that dancefloor. It was as though a magical forcefield kept anything negative out.
Most of our families thought our haircuts, and our clothes, were ” weird ” ( that’s putting it rather mildly ) and I’m sure they thought we were all getting into a lot of trouble, but we weren’t, really. We were just looking for acceptance – a place where we could hang out with others who felt you shouldn’t judge someone based on the way they wear their hair, or the fact that they have a bit of individuality when it comes to choosing clothes. The nightclubs were the perfect escape for us – somewhere we could be free to be ourselves, and not be judged. ( sounds like Paradise to me 🙂
1st Time I Shaved My Head
I can’t talk about the 80’s without mentioning clothes. The thing I loved best was that my friends and I certainly did NOT want to all wear the same thing – that would be pretty boring. The people we hung out with ranged from New Wave, Punk, Goth, Mods, Skaters …. and a whole lot of other “labels” that society put on us. Yes, most of us liked wild, interesting haircuts, but even then, no two were the same, either in cut, or colour. We weren’t afraid to be different – having friends that don’t judge you is pretty cool – you can actually relax and express yourself- what a concept …
Other than the music, I have to say that the shoes were my favourite part of the 80’s – specifically Fox and Fluevog. ( when they were still called that ) You can still get
Fluevogs – Yay! To this day, I still recall all the incredibly pointy black, shiny gorgeous shoes …. it makes me crazy seeing some of the footwear today, especially the fact that many seem to wear the same thing as everyone else. What happened to feeling free and safe enough to express your individuality ?
Hair Modelling Shot
I know the 80’s were a long time ago, but that doesn’t matter to me. I have a lot of fabulous memories from that decade, and most of them are about being on a dancefloor with lights flashing, music pumping, surrounded by very cool friends wearing phenomenal shoes …
Time may have gone by, but I think about those friends all the time. I’m happy to say that Facebook has been a great tool for finding those friends, and being found by them. It’s so good to be back in touch with them after so many years. I loved the 80’s, I will always miss the 80’s, and if I ever perfect that Time Machine, you’ll know where to find me …
