1985 in history
Here are some light-hearted facts about 1985, designed to serve as a prep sheet for a radio feature on 1985.
I created this page because when I needed some notes to create a few talking points about 1985 in Ireland I couldn't find any suitable sources, so I thought I'd share what I did find. It applies to 1985 in Britain too.
You can also look at years other than 1985:
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1985
Phil Collins first performed at the Live Aid concert at Wembley (London). Five hours later he joined the Live Aid concert in Philadelphia at the same local time as in London, thanks to the Concorde.
[Irish] President Hillery presented Bob Geldof with a cheque for £7 million as the Irish contribution to the appeal, making Ireland the highest donor country per capita.
After Nintendo won their case against Universal Studios over their game Donkey Kong, they thanked their attorney with a $30,000 sailboat named Donkey Kong and "exclusive worldwide rights to use the name for sailboats".
Casio keyboards were popular Christmas gifts.
Around 1,300 police officers clashed with 600 New Age travellers who were trying to hold the Stonehenge Free Festival, in what became known as The Battle of the Beanfield.
Aretha Franklin's voice was legally declared one of Michigan's natural resources.
1985 Launches
Symbolics.com became the first ever website to have dot com in its name.
The "pizza saver" was invented. It’s that little bit of plastic which goes in the middle of a takeaway pizza to stop it hitting the top of the box.
New Coke was introduced. It was sweeter than the original Coca-Cola and hugely unpopular; it was quickly changed. It was then re-released in 2019 after being featured in 'Stranger Things'.
The popular game Tetris was launched.
The Sinclair C5 was launched.
Microsoft launched Windows 1.0.
The first country code domains were launched. .gb and .uk were supposed to be the country codes for websites registered in Britain, but the British decided to go with things like .co.uk and .org.uk instead. The public weren't allowed to use .uk until 2014; .gb has never been used.
1985 in Film
Back To The Future was the biggest film of the year.
Other big films include Rambo: First Blood Part II, Rocky IV, The Goonies, Police Academy and The Breakfast Club.
1985 in TV
Big TV shows of the year (not premiers): Wish You Were Here, Open All Hours, Last Of The Summer Wine, It'll Be Alright On The Night, The Two Ronnies and That's Life.
EastEnders aired for the first time on BBC One (with Den Watts) and MacGyver was shown for the first time.
The Golden Girls aired for the first time. It was created as a joke, a parody of Miami Vice, with old people sitting around playing cards. NBC liked the idea so much they turned it into a show.
Miami Vice was shown on British TV for the first time.
The children's BBC service CBBC launched.
Full House began on TV, as did Cilla Black's Blind Date.
1985 in Ireland
Nutgrove Shopping Centre in Dublin opened, and its branch of McDonald's was the first drive thru restaurant in Europe.
The first Croke Park (Dublin) concert took place with U2, Squeeze, REM, The Alarm and In Tua Nua.
Thousands travelled to see reports of moving statues in Ballinspittle. There were also reports of Jesus appearing in a knot of wood in a wardrobe in Darndale. Moving statues were reported at 30 other locations.
A massive thunderstorm hit Ireland, damaging buildings and killing hundreds of animals.
Spike Island Jail in County Cork was left in ruins following a riot by prisoners.
The Ireland national rugby union team won the Five Nations Championship at Lansdowne Road.
The Irish team won the Triple Crown and Five Nations Championship at Lansdowne Road. They beat England 13–10.
While these facts about 1985 have been checked against third-party sources (and have been used on air before!), they are provided in good faith to inspire your research and no guarantee is made about their accuracy or their uniqueness. You can use the facts however you wish: most people just take a couple of points they remember and talk around then.
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