I’ve watched with some horror as the 80s have been re-written as being all about Michael J. Fox – sometimes I wonder if I dreamt it all or if I was living in another universe.
Because to me, the 80s were all about things like The Belle Stars, and Haysi Fantaysee (the Boy George line, as it were), and beautiful things like Bananarama and Funboy Three doing “Aint What You Do.”
There were all the sweet (and sweet voiced) boys, like Terry Hall (of Funboy Three and The Specials), and Dave Wakeling (of General Public and The Beat) (“Never You Done That” is one of my favorite love songs, & so damned melodically happy it hurts) and Marc Almond and Jimi Somerville, Roddy Frame and Howard Jones.
The geeks had just begun to rule the world, too: Howard DeVoto and Devo and Gary Numan.
Anyway, my 80s were not about hot cars and coke. They were more about dredlocks, lip gloss and rants about Reagan. And I haven’t failed to notice that my 80s seem to be taking a backseat historically to the super-consumerist, “we won the cold war” bullshit. Of course they love Reagan; some days I think they all have Alzheimer’s, since the queer, genderfucked, international, happy 80s seem to be disappearing from the record.
When I’m an old, old woman, I’m going to be in a rocking chair saying, “But boys did wear makeup! And girls did shave their heads!” & Then they’ll give me another little pill to forget, & I’ll hum “Europa & the Pirate Twins” till I sleep.