What Happened in 1981

Rainbow release Difficult to Cure

Difficult to Cure is the fifth studio album released by Rainbow, in 1981, and marked a further commercialisation of the band's sound. Blackmore... Read more

Charlie Brenneman Is Born

Charlie Brenneman (born February 9, 1981) is a professional mixed martial arts fighter and winner of the first season of the popular television... Read more

Rush release Moving Pictures

Moving Pictures is the eighth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush. The album was recorded and mixed October to November 1980 at Le Studio,... Read more

Stardust Fire

The fire at the Stardust Club in Dublin in February 1981 was responsible for the deaths of 48 people. The investigation and subsequent Inquiry... Read more

Judas Priest release Point of Entry

Point of Entry is the seventh album from the British heavy metal band Judas Priest. It was released on 26 February 1981. In 1980 Judas Priest... Read more

FDA Approves Sandoz's Restoril

Restoril is a sleeping aid used in the short-term treatment of insomnia, a condition in which patients have difficulty falling asleep or staying... Read more

Stephen King publishes Roadwork

Roadwork is a novel by Stephen King, published in 1981 under the pseudonym Richard Bachman as a paperback original. It was collected in 1985 in the... Read more

"Chariots Of Fire" Is Released

Chariots of Fire is a 1981 British film loosely based on historical events surrounding the British athletic team before and during the 1924 Summer... Read more

The Lord Of The Rings Radio Series Is Released

In 1981 the UK radio station BBC Radio 4 broadcast a dramatisation of J. R. R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings in 26 half-hour stereo instalments.... Read more

The Rolling Stones Release 'Sucking in the Seventies'

Sucking in the Seventies is the fourth official compilation album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1981. As the successor to 1975's Made in the... Read more

"Diva" Is Released

Diva is a 1981 film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, adapted from a novel of the same name by Daniel Odier (under the pseudonym Delacorta). It is... Read more

Accept releases Breaker

Breaker is the third album released by the heavy metal band Accept. It was once again recorded at Delta-Studio in Wilster with Dirk Steffens... Read more

Ozzy Osbourne Releases "Blizzard of Ozz" in the US

Blizzard of Ozz is a heavy metal album by Ozzy Osbourne, recorded in Surrey, UK and released on September 20, 1980 in the UK and on March 27, 1981... Read more

Indiana Beats North Carolina in Final Four

The 1981 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament involved 48 schools playing in single-elimination play to determine the national champion of... Read more

Attempted Assassination of US President Ronald Reagan

The Reagan assassination attempt occurred on March 30, 1981, just 69 days into the presidency of Ronald Reagan. While leaving a speaking engagement... Read more

53rd Academy Awards

The 53rd Academy Awards, honoring the best in film for 1980, were presented March 31, 1981, at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. The... Read more

Stephen King publishes Danse Macabre

Danse Macabre (1981) is a non-fiction book by Stephen King, about horror fiction in print, radio, film and comics, and the genre's influence on... Read more

Funkadelic releases The Electric Spanking of War Babies

The Electric Spanking of War Babies is the twelfth studio album by American funk band Funkadelic, released in 1981 on Warner Bros. Records. The... Read more

Grateful Dead Releases Reckoning

Reckoning is a 1981 live double album by the Grateful Dead. It consists of acoustic material recorded live in September and October 1980. Some... Read more

Tom Watson wins the 45th Masters Tournament

In the first Masters played on bentgrass greens, Tom Watson won his second Masters title fending off challenges from runners-up Johnny Miller and... Read more

First Orbital Space Shuttle Flight

The first launch of the Space Shuttle occurred on 12 April 1981, exactly 20 years after the first manned space flight, when the orbiter Columbia,... Read more

"Gregory's Girl" Is Released

Gregory's Girl is a 1981 coming-of-age romantic comedy film written and directed by Bill Forsyth. Like many of Forsyth's movies, it is set in his... Read more

Van Halen Releases "Fair Warning"

Fair Warning is the fourth studio album by American hard rock band Van Halen, released in 1981. Fair Warning went double platinum, which means it... Read more

1981 NBA Finals - Celtics Defeat Rockets

The 1981 NBA World Championship Series was the championship round of the 1980-81 NBA season, pitting the Boston Celtics against the Houston... Read more

"Pixote" Is Released

Pixote: a Lei do Mais Fraco (English: Pixote: The Law of the Weakest), (1981) is a Brazilian drama film directed by Hector Babenco. The screenplay... Read more