1980 Events

The Shining is a 1980 psychological horror film directed by Stanley Kubrick, based on Stephen King's novel of the same name. Though it had mixed reviews from the critics upon its release ...

"11 O'Clock Tick Tock" was U2's third single, released May 23, 1980 (1980-05-23). It followed debut EP/single "Out of Control" and "Another Day," and was released prior to their debut alb...

The 1980 Stanley Cup Final was contested by the New York Islanders in their first-ever Finals appearance and the Philadelphia Flyers, in their fourth Finals appearance, first since 1976. ...

In the primary election, Bush focused almost entirely on the Iowa caucuses, while Reagan ran a more traditional campaign. Bush represented the centrist wing in the GOP, whereas Reagan rep...

May 29, 1980 Named NBA Rookie of the Year after averaging 21.3 points, 10.4 rebounds and 4.5 assists, and leading the Celtics to a then-record 32-game improvement (29-53 to 61-21). Also ...

Cultösaurus Erectus is a Blue Öyster Cult album released in 1980. Following the experiment with Mirrors, it was an attempt to return to the band's earlier hard-rock sound. The lead track ...

I'm a Rebel is the second album by the heavy metal band Accept, recorded in 1979 and released in 1980. It was the first of three consecutive Accept records to utilize Dirk Steffens as pro...

The 1980 United States Open Golf Championship was the 80th U.S. Open. The event was held from June 12-15, 1980 at Baltusrol Golf Club, Lower Course in Springfield Township, Union County, ...

Emotional Rescue is the 15th studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1980. Upon release, Emotional Rescue topped the charts in both the United States and United Kingdom. Record...

Dressed to Kill is a 1980 suspense thriller/horror film written and directed by Brian de Palma. It stars Michael Caine, Angie Dickinson and Nancy Allen. The original music score is compos...

Michael Dwayne Vick (born June 26, 1980, in Newport News, Virginia) is a professional American football quarterback for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League. He previou...

Airplane! is a 1980 American satirical comedy film directed and written by David Zucker, Jim Abrahams, and Jerry Zucker and released by Paramount Pictures. It stars Robert Hays and Julie ...

Twenty-six years ago, Itavia Airlines flight 870 took off from Bologna bound for Palermo with 81 passengers and crew aboard. An hour into the flight, it disappeared from the radar screens...

Deepest Purple: The Very Best of Deep Purple is a compilation album by the British hard rock band Deep Purple, released in 1980. It features the original hits of Deep Purple before their ...

Johnny Winter graces the cover of the first issue of Guitar World magazine, which was published back in July of 1980. Also featured inside were George Thorogood and Merle Travis.

In 1980 a group of restaurateurs approached the Mayor of Chicago with the idea of a food festival on the Fourth of July, and Taste of Chicago was born. Inspired by a “build it and they wi...

Bush ended up losing New Hampshire's primary with 23 percent to Reagan's 50 percent. Bush lost most of the remaining primaries as well, and formally dropped out of the race in May of that...

Ronald Reagan, the 33rd Governor of California, announced his candidacy for President of the United States in New York City on November 13, 1979. On July 17, 1980, he became the nominee o...

The Big Red One (The fighting first division of WWII, who were the first to capture German territory) is a 1980 war film written and directed by Samuel Fuller, produced by Lorimar and rel...

The 1980 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Moscow in the Soviet Union. In addition, the yachting events ...

Back in Black is the 7th studio album (in Australia, 6th in the rest of the world) by Australian hard rock band AC/DC, released on 25 July 1980. Back in Black was the first AC/DC album re...

In this era of tremendous tropical activity, we go back to a time when powerful hurricanes were far fewer in the Atlantic Basin. As a matter of fact, Hurricane Allen, which is the focus o...

"A Day Without Me" is the lead single from U2's debut album, Boy and was released in August 1980. It was the second single the band recorded after signing the contract with Island Records...

"For me, a few hours ago, this campaign came to an end. For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall neve..." —Ted Kennedy

Saudia Flight 163 was a scheduled passenger flight of Saudia that caught fire at Riyadh's International Airport (now the Riyadh Air Base) after a flight from Karachi, Pakistan. The fire, ...

Drama is the tenth studio album by British progressive rock group Yes. It is unique for being the first Yes album release without vocalist Jon Anderson. In early 1980, after rehearsing mu...

"Do not move or tilt this bomb, because the mechanism controlling the detonators in it will set it off at a movement of less than .01 of the open end Ricter scale. Do not try to take it..." —Note included with the bomb planted at Harvey's

The cover of Guitar World's second issue features a great shot of Pat Metheny with jazz box in hand.

Atlantic City is a film directed by Louis Malle. Filmed in late 1979, it was released in France and Germany in 1980 and in the United States in 1981. The script was written by John Guare....

Almost two months ago, in accepting the Presidential nomination of my party, I spoke of the historically unique crisis facing the United States. At that time I said: "Never before in o...

The beginning of the end of the Iran hostage crisis occurred on September 12th, 1980, as Ayatollah Khomeini announced four conditions for the release of the hostages. The conditions we...

Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps) is an album by David Bowie, released in September 1980 by RCA Records. It was Bowie's final studio album for the label and his first following the so-cal...

The Last Metro (original French title: Le Dernier Métro) is a 1980 film made by Les Films du Carrosse, written and directed by the French filmmaker François Truffaut, and starring Catheri...

The test bed aircraft (74-2065) was ready for its first test flight on September 18, 1980, just three weeks after the project was initiated. The first fully modified aircraft, AF Serial N...

Melvin and Howard is a 1980 American comedy-drama film directed by Jonathan Demme. The screenplay by Bo Goldman was inspired by real-life Utah service station owner Melvin Dummar, who was...

Ordinary People is a 1980 American film drama that marked the directorial debut of Robert Redford. The story concerns the disintegration of an upper middle class family in Lake Forest, Il...

The war began when Iraq invaded Iran, launching a simultaneous invasion by air and land into Iranian territory on 22 September 1980 following a long history of border disputes, and fears ...

Firestarter is a story by Stephen King originally serialized in Omni magazine and later published in novel form in 1980. The Novel was nominated for a British Fantasy Award in 1981.

Hotter than July is an album by Stevie Wonder, originally released on Motown's Tamla label on September 29, 1980. Despite the wide critical acclaim for Wonder's previous works such as Son...

Aretha is a solo album by R&B singer Aretha Franklin released on Arista Records in 1980. This is the second album with this title to be released by the artist, and the first ever for Aris...

Holmes defended his title against contenders of varying quality, many quite good--Tim Witherspoon, Earnie Shavers, Bonecrusher Smith, Leon Spinks, Gerry Cooney and Mike Weaver--but the mo...

"I Will Follow" is the opening track from U2's debut album, Boy. The song was released as a single, and has since become a fan favorite live; it is the only song U2 has performed on every...

The Elephant Man is a 1980 American film based on the story of Joseph Merrick (called John Merrick in the film), a severely deformed man in 19th century London. The film was directed by D...

Zenyattà Mondatta is the third album by The Police, released in 1980. The album was written during the band's second tour and recorded in four weeks (minus several days for concerts in...

The 1980 World Series matched the Philadelphia Phillies against the Kansas City Royals, with the Phillies winning in six games to capture the first of two World Series titles in franchise...

ROBERT MacNEIL: We're back now, for a full analysis of the Carter-Reagan encounter we've just witnessed. With us to score the debate as they saw it we have two top political pros, and add...

Boy is the debut album from Irish rock band U2, released October 20, 1980. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album received generally positive reviews. Common themes among the album's son...

Zork: The Great Underground Empire - Part I, later known as Zork I, is an interactive fiction computer game written by Marc Blank, Dave Lebling, Bruce Daniels and Tim Anderson and publish...

Later that year, in a close election, Governor Clinton lost the race for a second term to Republican Frank White. Feeling that he had not accomplished all that he wanted to do, he ran as ...

After receiving the Republican nomination, Reagan selected one of his primary opponents, George H.W. Bush, to be his running mate. His showing in the October televised debate boosted his ...