Eightiesmania: The Return!
Thursday, October 23, 2008 by Graham Kibble-White
Now That’s What I Call 1983 – ITV1′s latest slice of ’80s nostalgia screens in November.
Celebrating, uh, the 25th anniversary of 1983, the channel are bringing back a slew of old pop acts for a one-night-only-performance, fronted by Denise Van Outen.
Artistes lined up include Ali Campbell (performing Red, Red Wine), Heaven 17 (Temptation), Howard Jones (What is Love and New Song), Kajagoogoo (Too Shy), Nick Heyward (Whistle Down the Wind), Nick Kershaw (I Won’t Let The Sun Go Down on Me), Paul Young (Wherever I Lay my Hat) and Tony Hadley (True).
The latter says, quite accurately: “I am the white van man; because everyone I see around London always seems to be leaning out of a white van saying, ‘Alright Tone, how’s going?’ People are still very kind after 30 years of doing this. I’m a very lucky boy.”
Surely the 80s nostalgia has died a death now… please!
Oh great! Thanks ITV1, does it mean they are also going to bring back mass unemployment and Maggie Thatcher in Number Ten? Maybe they are going to put on Knight Rider and 321 before it or go the whole hog and just show a Saturday schedule from 1983.
Where is JoBoxers band?
I’d actually love to watch a full Saturday night schedule from (insert vintage year of choice). Continuity, ads, trails the lot. It’d be a treat.
As for this show, ITV seem to have a knack for making these things incredibly cheesy. Still, I might give it a go, if only to see how they’ve all aged. I’d rather Nick Kershaw sang The Riddle though (a song that always reminds me of playing Sinclair Spectrum games for some reason..)
Good old Howard Jones, nice to see him getting two songs, though maybe I smell a meldey going on there. But this might be alright really, as long as they don’t go with the all the usual “rubik’s cubes/kids from fame/wagon wheels were bigger” crud.