I Heart the 80s
July 28th, 2010
This is the other copy of the Daily Mirror from the 1980s that I kept, a dramatic wraparound cover from the day after the IRA tried to assassinate Maggie Thatcher in Brighton. Together with the front page from Live Aid they’re like the light and dark sides of the 80s coin.
I’m not sure how I feel about this now but I have to admit that at the time there was a moment when I wished they’d got her. The woman did inspire a rather irrational level of hate.
See the full-size version here.
Download: Suspect Device – Stiff Little Fingers (mp3)
I thought that you might have chosen ‘Tramp the dirt down’ by Elvis Costello. It’s going to be strange when she dies, because I think a mixture of hatred and deep respect will come to the surface. Some people will never forgive her, while many will think she was the great moderniser. It’s difficult to imagine what Britain would be like if she hadn’t happened. Bob Geldof claims that she was the ultimate punk, who tore up the rule book and took the power away from the unions, royal family and the establishment, and gave it to entrepreneurs, council house owners and middle class shareholders. Certainly a revised opinion from how it seemed at the time. I remember the ripple of excitement that went through my college when the news came on that she’d gone. Would a Maggie 2.0 get into power now? Probably.
I never liked that song much, wishing for someone’s death seems a bit much to me even Thatcher and I thought Costello was overdoing the bile a bit even back then.
So Morrissey’s ‘Margaret on the guillotine’ is off the menu then? ;)
How about ‘I’m in love with Margaret Thatcher’ by the Notsensibles?
or ‘I can’t let Maggie go’ by The Honeybus?
Perfect excuse to watch the girl in the hotair balloon….
(did anyone ever try this bread?)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NopAq6tUHVk
I wanted a song about terrorism more than her, and couldn’t remember one from the 80s so had to go with SLF.
My Dad was in a Slimcea commercial once, can’t find that on YouTube sadly.
I stayed in the Grand Hotel a good few years ago with work and asked the porter if I could see the room where Maggie nearly got killed to be told in no uncertain terms no and that it was in extremely bad taste to even ask.
I still feel hatred towards the woman. She won’t have shed a tear for the thousand dead in the Falklands and the millions of lives she ruined.
I will be partying when she dies and if they give her a State Funeral, I will go in to work on principle
Funny how Thatcher is now seen as having forced all these horrible things on the British public. I moved to London to work in the early 1980s, and I was surprised by how popular Maggie was in the south. There really was a ‘loadsamoney’ culture, with people boasting about their British Telecom shares and how much their former council house was worth. I can’t say I hate ‘Thatch’, except perhaps for giving Ben Elton enough material to keep him in regular employment throughout the 80s. And I have to thank the Tories for Norman Tebbit. I took his advice and got on my bike, and ended up in Sydney. Good on ya, Norm!
Ha! Ha! Ben Elton! He’s probably more reviled than Thatch these days.
Michael, up here in the Scotland there is no revisionism, she has always been reviled and yes she did force “horrible things on the British public”, Cruise misiles, the Poll Tax, the destruction of manufacturing to name but three.
Just where did it all go wrong with Ben Elton? He used to be quite popular, I thought.
Amazing front page – must have really stood out in the newspaper pile at the newsagents or street vendors. Interesting use of photo of Ms T with her eyes closed…if you didn’t know better you might think she was the one murdered.
Did the Mirror do wraparound covers often? Had they done any before…or since?
(The only equivalent I can think of for my local paper was them putting out an afternoon edition on September 11th 2001 (or 12th for us west of the International Date Line)…it’s a morning paper; there aren’t any afternoon papers here.
Whoa! Lot of strong feelings for those of you who lived throught it. Must have been quite an influence. I’m glad you put it up, if only so I could get a taste of what you there had been through.
The Mirror did a wraparound for the moon landing, I know they did some others too.
Yeah, I don’t even live in England and I’m puzzled about when the Ben Elton love came crashing down, last time he seemed to perform was in 93 at the awesome sounding AIDS benefit that also featured Steve Coogan and the like. And to be frank, I don’t totally buy Stewart Lee’s contempt for him “selling out” either. When comedians grow older. they just dunno what to do with their lives so Ben decided to go the “meh, I’ma do whatever” and I ain’t bitter about it. I’m just grateful that he gave us The Young Ones and Blackadder before growing up, so to speak. I also always think of him doing that stupid dance to Sham 69′s If the Kids are united on that parody youth bandstand show thingy. That was my first introduction the band, actually so thanks Ben, for helping me come to enjoy the catchy Borstal breakout.
Sorry for the essay, lads. Carry on.
I think it’s just the old story of what was once “alternative” becoming mainstream and losing its edge. I remember coming back to England one time in the late 90s to discover Ben Elton on the telly with Ronnie Corbett as a regular guest on his show. I mean, I loved the Two Ronnies but weren’t Ben’s generation supposed to have done away with the old guard?
Hm well actually, according to the director and producer on the commentary for the newish young ones dvds collection, the cast had a lot of respect for old British comedians.
Oh and speaking of Ron Corbett:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nOc_ZbrEvXs
I dunno all the British personalities they mention, but I’ma sucker for impressions.
I still have the wrap around cover the Mirror did the Monday after Hillsborough, not for the squeamish though, RIP
Hate Thatcher and what she did and I will never forgive her, the unions needed knocking into shape that’s for sure, but she did not do that, she just steamrollered over working men trying to earn a decent living and used the police force like an invading army in what was supposed to be a free country.
As for Ben Elton, like all of us you look a bit silly trying to hang onto your youth when you move through and past middle age, he still produced some classic stuff.
Stumbled into this website whilst googling a pub in Deal, Kent. (Not sure why I mentioned that as it’s not really relevant).
I grew up in the 80s, was a member of CND (remember them?) and a committed labour party member.
Where the fuck did it all go wrong? I mean, I could’ve ended up the same way as Ben Elton for fucks sake.
Hang on, that’s apparently not too bad!
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