Portobello Book Blog

If like me, you were a teenager in the 1980s you will love flicking through this annual. I remember eagerly awaiting Christmas to see what annual I would get in my pile of presents. The 80s Annual has all the kinds of features you would have expected to see in the annuals of that time. It put me in mind of a cross between Jackie and Smash Hits. 

There was a great mix of interviews with the stars of the 80s, lots of snippets about of what happened in the different years, what records were hits, who we lost in each particular year and so on. It’s always fun to see who has aged well and who is now unrecognisable!

I particularly enjoyed The Secret Diary of an Untrendy Teenager – it could have been me writing them. Yes I most definitely was an untrendy teenager so I loved all these diary entries with her obsessive following of the charts, her passionate love for one group which was quickly transferred into an equally passionate love for the next big thing! The photo story was so funny to read. It looks so old-fashioned now and yet I loved those little romances with the speech bubbles looking stuck on. How our technology and expectations have changed!

I had great fun too doing all the quizzes, wordsearches and crosswords. I did quite well at the lyric quiz – it’s amazing how the words of a song you’ve never heard for years come back to you. All the individual features about style, music, news, tv shows even the food just took me right back.

The 80s Annual will bring back so many memories if you grew up in the 80s and is a must for any child of the 80s. A real feast of nostalgia which is sure to be appreciated in Christmas stockings this year.

Thank to the author for offering me a copy of this book. The 80s Annual was published by New Haven Publishing in hardback on 1st November 2016. You can order a copy online here: The 80s Annual

From the back of the book

A full-colour retrospective of the year, with more than a nod to the teenage magazines of the era, The 80s Annual embodies the excitement felt by the generation who grew up receiving an annual at Christmas. Featuring celebrity commentary on 80’s popular culture, 20 Question interviews, Top Tens, with contributions from Bruce Foxton, The Selecter, Johnny Hates Jazz, Musical Youth, Londonbeat, Then Jerico, Phil Fearon, Brother Beyond, Modern Romance, John Parr, Paul Hardcastle, Hazell Dean, Steve Blacknell, Garry Bushell, Matthew Rudd and more. Not forgetting the obligatory cheesy photo story, 80s fiction, crosswords, puzzles, and quizzes including Lyrically Challenged, Pop Quiz and Which 80s Group Are You? The 80s Annual offers the perfect combination of nostalgia and new. A great read for every adult 80s child.Going back to the 80s has never been so much fun!