Forget smartphones and the internet - CDs only arrived three years into the decade.
Maidstone River Festival in 1987Three glamorous TV stars were brought in to help push the sale of Mountbatten House in 1985. The Chatham skyscraper had remained empty in the 11 years since its completion and Fiona Fullerton, Anneka Rice and Diane Keane (left to right) were drafted in to promote it to businesses.Inside the Warehouse nightclub in Maidstone in the 1980s. Picture: Mick ClarkMiss Riceman Anne Nash with runners up Zena Richards and Rosalind Hanks in April 1984The Queen smiled happily at the crowds in Canterbury when she was in the city to open Cathedral House, the administrative hub of the cathedral in March 1987
It was a tumultuous time. Britain went to war, historic industries were shut down and the weather went wild.
As these classic pictures from Kent towns in the 1980s show, our county felt the full force...
1980
The country had quite the soundtrack as it entered the new decade.
The 1979 Christmas number one - Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall - was only knocked off top spot in January 1980 by the Pretenders with Brass in Pocket.
This was followed by Too Much Too Young by The Specials.
It's a world away from 2020's festive chart-topper Dont Stop Me Eatin' by LadBaby.
The Christmas Lights were up in Chatham in November 1980Police arresting a striking worker outside the Grain Power Station in June 1980. The dispute was over wages, working conditions and flexibility of labourWinners of the Littlebourne pancake race in 1980Children from Herne Bay School setting off on a skiing trip in February 1980When the Queen Mother dropped into New Romney in July 1980, yhe excitement was too much for brownie Juliette Payne, nine, who stepped out of the crowd to offer a pink rose to the royal visitor, then just burst into tears. But the Queen Mother came to the rescue by reaching out sympathetically to wipe away the tears and asking kindly: ''Did you pick it in your own garden?"Traffic seems to be on a collision course in this 1980 picture of Luton Arches. The area, a junction of five roads, had been Medway's equivalent to Picadilly Circus with a big city accident rate to match. The problem was eventually tackled with one-way routes, a new roundabout and the dualling of the A2 New Road, all completed by 1990Tony Benn met members of a trade group committee fighting the closure of Rochester Metal Box, led by Mr Bob Hills (centre), the committee chairman. With Mr Benn is ex-Rochester and Chatham MP Mr Bob Bean (left)Tonbridge High Street in August 1980Fire swept through Sheppey Comprehensive School in April 1980Woolworths can be seen on the right of this picture of High Street, Strood, in October 1980. The building is now home to Iceland FoodsEastgate in Rochester in March 1980. The Queen Charlotte on the left is still operating as a pub, the National Westminster Bank building in the middle distance is now occupied by the Cumin Club curry houseThe new bar in the Hazlitt Theatre, Maidstone, in 1980Chiesmans department store on the corner of Pudding Lane, Maidstone, in July 1980. The site is now occupied by The Herbalist gastropubThe National Westminster Bank in Maidstone High Street in September 1980 - today known as Natwest
In Kent, the year was marked by industrial disputes at both Rochester Metal Box and Grain Power Station.
It was to be a decade dominated by Margaret Thatcher's battles with the unions.
This would have huge ramifications for traditional industries in Kent and Medway.
1981
In June 1981, Chatham Dockyard worker's representatives arrived in Parliament to plea for the saving of the yard.
Days earlier Defence Secretary John Nott had announced it would close. Unions and workers battled in vain for three years to save the yard but it shut in 1984.
The 10-storey Fairbourne House tower block - nicknamed Faulty Tower - in The Tideway, Rochester, before its demolition in September, 1981And there she blows!These youngsters came ready with Union Flags when the Queen visited the Intelligence Centre at Templer Barracks, Ashford, in March 1981Pouring rain could not dampen the enthusiasm of 7,000 youngsters who gathered at Hever Castle in June 1981 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme with the help of the Duke himselfCrowds flocked to see the Duke at HeverThe Ritz cinema in Tonbridge, Kent, pictured in September, 1981. The tagline for sci-fi thriller Outland was "On Jupiter's moon, he's the only law..." It has a rating of 6.6 on IMDB.Inside the M2 Cafeteria at Farthing Corner in March, 1981Construction well underway at Dungeness B Power Station in November 1981 - it began operation two years later
By March, 2.4m people - or 10% of the UK workforce - were unemployed.
It was also the year the first London Marathon was held. Meanwhile Bucks Fizz, including Cheryl Baker, now of Tunbridge Wells, won the Eurovision Song Contest with Making Your Mind Up.
1982
The year was dominated by the Falklands War.
The conflict began when Argentina invaded the Islands in March.
The war ended in June as the Argentines signed their formal surrender aboard HMS Endurance, seen below returning to Chatham Docks in August.
HMS Endurance arriving at Chatham Docks from the Falklands in August, 1982In November 1982 conditions at the North School for Boys (Lower School) in Hythe Road were described as 'disgraceful' by local education watchdogs. Picture: Images of Ashford by Mike BennettKarina Banyard, Miss Ashford 1982Whitstable high street in 1982. Wheeler's Oyster Bar, on the right, is still there todayBumbles Wine Bar in Rainham in November 1982. Does anyone know what's there now? Please comment belowMaking a splash at Larkfield Leisure Centre in June 1982The opening of the new Safeway superstore at Larkfield, with Cllr John Adams and distribution manager Geoff Lane doing the honoursPope John Paul II blesses a young girl outside the Cathedral as Archbishop of Canterbury Dr Robert Runcie watches on in June 1982The Queen Mother at the opening of the Pilgrims Hospice in Canterbury in 1982
The Falklands War sparked a turnaround in Margaret Thatcher's political fortunes, with the Conservatives' approval rating soaring to 44% by November, 13 points ahead of Labour.
The year also saw John Paul II become the first pope to visit Canterbury Cathedral.
1983
It was a chilly start to the year, with the River Medway freezing solid at Rochester in February.
Once it had warmed up a few months later, the first ever Maidstone marathon was held in June.
The River Medway froze in Rochester in February 1983The Lower High Street, Ashford, during the 1983 Twinning Week celebrations which attracted major crowds anxious to extend friendship links with the partnership towns of Bad Munstereifel in Germany and Fougeres in France. Picture: Images of Ashford by Mike BennettThe Mudslingers were victorious in the Custard Pie Championships near Maidstone in July 1983Maidstone's first marathon was held in June 1983People enjoying one of the rides at Dreamland in Margate in 1983Youngsters from the Royal British Legion Playgroup at Aylesford, waved goodbye to the Duchess of Kent's helicopter after she arrived to open the legion's Churchill Centre, a rehabilitation and assessment unit, in December 1983Princess Michael of Kent in Gravesend in July 1983
Margaret Thatcher won a landslide at the General Election, with a majority of 144 seats.
It was also the year the first compact disc (CD) went on sale, James Dyson produced his prototype vaccum cleaner and Saga Magazine began publication.
The best-selling single of the year was Culture Club's Karma Chameleon.
1984
It was a sad day when more than 7,000 workers lost their jobs as Chatham Docks closed on March 31, having been a shipbuilding yard for more than 400 years.
The Queen paid a visit to the Medway Towns in October.
During the same month she also opened the law courts in Maidstone.
History was made in Chatham on February 17, 1984, when the white ensign was lowered for the last time at HMS Pembroke, breaking the town's 437-year link with the Royal NavyThe Queen opened the Law Courts on the riverside at Maidstone in October 1984. She is pictured here with Judge John Streeter, Kent's senior circuit judge. Picture: Kent Our Century by the People Who Lived ItChildren greeting the Queen as she opened the new Law Courts in Maidstone in October 1984The flames tore through Maidstone Motor Spares shop in High Street, Maidstone, in March 1984, with exploding paint cans creating a serious hazard for firemen. Part of the 17th century listed building collapsed and there was also damage to neighbouring propertiesThis sign on the A2 Chatham/Gillingham boundary in 1984 provoked complaints from locals. It replaced a sign simply saying 'Chatham' and people said it made visitors think they were driving straight into RochesterThe construction of Gillingham ice bowl in 1984. The £1m complex at Gillingham Business Park was designed to cater for 1,200 skaters and former Olympic gold medalist Robin Cousins was appointed director of coachingThe closed Rochester Odeon in the High Street near Star Hill in 1984. Plans to turn it into a bingo hall flopped. The game was in decline then, although there was a revival of fortunes in the 1990sNewcastle United manager Steve Bruce pictured in his playing days at Gillingham with his wife Jan in 1984. He made more than 200 appearances for the club before being signed by NorwichSainsbury's at the Angel Centre in Tonbridge in September 1984The entrance to Angel Walk, Tonbridge, in September 1984Shops in Tenterden High Street in June 1984Hundreds of new cars being stored at Sheerness Docks in July 1984The Mayor and Miss Maidstone at the 1984 Maidstone MarathonMedway's new superpub - The Avenue in Gillingham - was put to the test by Kent and England cricketers Graham Dilley and Chris Tavere in 1984. They raised outsized glasses to the success of the venue at a preview attended by the mayor and mayoress, Cllr George Smith and his wife.Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher on a visit to Dartford in August 1984The Queen delighted the crowds in Rochester High Street during a tour of the Medway Towns in October 1984 which included visits to the Molly Wisdom Hospice, Rochester's Corn Exchange, Chatham Dockyard and Gillingham Business Park. Picture: Kent Our Century by the People Who Lived ItPupils from Cuxton Junior School were ecstatic at the Queen's visit to Rochester in October 1984.Huge crowds turned out to say goodbye to the Queen Mother after she spent a day in Medway Towns in April 1984. Picture: Kent Our Century by the People Who Lived It
Nationally, the year was dominated by the miners' strike, following the announcement of the "accelerated closure" of several pits - including Snowdown near Dover.
Band Aid took the festive number one spot with Do They Know It's Christmas.
1985
There were more royal visits to Kent in 1985, with the Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Charles and Princess Diana all making trips to the county.
The miners' strike, which at its peak involved 142,000 mineworkers, ended in March after a year of bitter feuding.
Way before the dart charge online payments were introduced, a driver drops some coins in a toll booth at the Dartford Tunnel in August 1985Rachel Malic came face to face with the Princess of Wales at the William Harvey Hospital, Ashford, in December 1985. The Princess, as patron of the national Rubella Council, met women who had been vaccinated against German measles. She returned to the hospital in October 1992 to open the Paula Carr Diabetes Care CentreThe Royal Engineers had plenty of surprises in store for Prince Charles when he visited them at Chattenden Barracks, Gillingham in March 1985. They let him get behind the wheel of this giant army vehicle and invited him to crush a jaguar that looked exactly like his own car. In fact it was a wreck from a scrapheap that the Sapper had spruced upPrince Charles came face to face with this German bomb on a visit to the Royal Engineers at Chattenden, Gillingham. The bomb, nicknamed Hermann, had recently been defused in Sheffield by the bomb squad from ChattendenCrowds at Maidstone River Festival in 1985. Can you spot anyone you know?Chimneys on the Isle of Grain being demolished in February 1985Auntie's restaurant in Gravesend in March 1985. Picture: Reporter Newspapers, GravesendThe Duke of Edinburgh went aboard one of the Tall Ships gathered at Chatham Dockyard for the July 1985 Cutty Sark Tall Ships RaceBowketts bakery shop at Twydall, Gillingham, in August 1985Martin newsagents in The Parade at Staplehurst in September, 1985. It is now known as McColl'sWith a flourish, the Duke of Gloucester named a diesel locomotive on the Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway in May 1985. He unfurled the banner of Southlands School, New Romney, (now known as the Marsh Academy) to reveal the plaque bearing the name, John Southland, the man who founded the school in 1610. The Duke climbed into the cab of the loco and, with a bit of help from chief engineer Tony Crowhurst drove it from Hythe to New Romney. From there he went to Lydd to unveil a plaque to open an exhibition marking the town's centenary
It was also the year Bob Geldof, now of Faversham, brought Live Aid to London, raising millions for people starving in Ethiopia.
The biggest selling album was Dire Straits' Brothers in Arms, which became the first CD to sell more than one million copies.
1986
History was made at Canterbury Cathedral in February 1986 when Margaret Thatcher and French President Francois Mitterand signed the deal committing the UK and France to building the Channel Tunnel.
About 200 protesters, concerned about the impact on the environment and ferry jobs, turned out to express their disapproval, with one managing to hit Mitterand's car with an egg.
Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and President Francois Mitterand sign the Channel Tunnel treaty at a special ceremony at Canterbury Cathedral in February 1986. Protesters made their feelings known by throwing eggsJazz musician Acker Bilk joins Indian dancers at a charity garden party at the Walnut Tree in Yalding in September 1986The Kent Messenger Social Club Dinner Dance at the Royal Star Hotel, Maidstone, in 1986Alison Thorpe, Miss Ramsgate 1986For 20 years Rosemary Court and Laurel Court dominated the skyline around Tamar Drive, Strood. At 16 storeys high, the two tower blocks once provided homes for about 180 families. The honour of pushing the button to start the demolition in June 1986 went to five-year-old Jamie Wild and Michaila HitchcockSheerness Clock Tower pictured in March 1986Brian Henslow with deputy manager Maria Wood and Lindsey Walton behind the bar of the Roffen Club in Rochester in 1986Tony Cascarino, now a Times columnist, pictured playing for Gillingham FC in October 1986. He scored 78 goals in 219 appearances for the clubIn June 1986, The Queen Mother, Princess Margaret, Richard Burton, Elizabeth Taylor, John Betjeman and Noel Coward were among the guests at the wedding of Sheran Cazalet, daughter of race horse trainer Peter Cazalet, of Fairlawne, Shipbourne, and Simon Hornby of Berkshire, a director of W H Smith. The service, at Shipbourne Church, was conducted by the Archdeacon of Tonbridge, the Ven E E Maples Earle, who is seen here with the royal guests
The top-grossing film of the year at the box office was Top Gun, closely followed by Crocodile Dundee.
Meanwhile, the EastEnders Christmas special attracted the highest audience of all time for a TV drama - a record which stands to this day. Incredibly, 30.15 million people - more than half the population - tuned in to see Dirty Den serve divorce papers on his wife Angie.
1987
This year will always be remembered in Kent for the sinking of the Herald of Free Enterprise and The Great Storm.
On March 6, Townsend Thoresen's ferry capsized while en route to Dover from Belgium. Some 193 people died – 38 of them crew members.
The Great Storm hit in the early hours of October 16, as gusts of up to 110mph blasted the county. Houses and cars were crushed by falling trees as the hurricane struck, and four people lost their lives.
The capsized Herald of Free Enterprise in March 1987A special edition put together by the KM Group on the Zeebrugge disasterDozens of caravans were blown over at the White Horse leisure caravan park in Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey when the Great Storm hit in October 1987Five lime trees crashed down, crushing two cars, a lorry and two houses in Randall Street, MaidstoneAnother horrendous result of the Great Storm of 1987. A huge tree collapsed on the home of retired head teacher Jon Boad, in Chicago Avenue, GillinghamSt Justus Church, Rochester, was completely flattened by the Great Storm of 1987Steven Waller stands by the flattened remains of his home at Coldharbour Lane caravan site in AylesfordDamaged caused during the hurricane in Kennington, near AshfordA tree landed on top of a car in the driveway of a house in MaidstoneHeavy snowfall at All Saints Hospital in Chatham in January 1987, which closed at the turn of the century when services were moved to Medway Maritime Hospital. The site is now home to a housing estateClowning around at the Royal Star Arcade in Maidstone in 1987In November 1987, Countess Moutbatten of Burma, president of the Kent and Canterbury Hospital cancer care centre appeal, turned the first turf of the Mountbatten Centre - the county's first unit for diagnosing, treating and caring for cancer patientsDavid Frost visits attractions at Rochester's Dickens Centre in 1987This was the devastation caused when a 17-ton caterpillar track slid off a lorry in Gillingham high Street in August 1987. It shattered paving stones and sent one hurtling through this shop window, narrowly missing an elderly customerBearsted and Thurnham carnival in 1987Having fun at Bearsted and Thurnham carnival in 1987Margaret Thatcher on a visit to Walderslade Secondary School in June 1987The bunker that gave Churchill a grandstand view of the Battle of Britain is revealed in this picture taken in March 1987. Quarters used by the wartime PM are part of a labyrinth of tunnels behind Dover's famous white cliffs and beneath its castle. The system's existence and purpose had long been an official secret, but the underground base was struck from the classified list in November 1986Bob Geldof and daughter Fifi Trixie at a fete in Faversham in July 1987
In June, Margaret Thatcher secured her third term in office, although her majority was reduced to 102 seats from 144.
The following month, the Prime Minister ratified the Treaty of France with Francois Mitterand, and construction of the Channel Tunnel began in December. It finally opened in 1994.
And the biggest-selling single of the year? None other than Rick Astley's Never Gonna Give You Up.
1988
In Kent, Tides swimming pool in Deal was opened by Barbara Windsor, while La Parisienne nightclub in Folkestone welcomed its first punters.
Meanwhile, a countrywide seamen's strike which started on January 31 sparked traffic chaos as queues of lorries with nowhere to go built up on the roads.
A queue of lorries on the M20, caused by the docks strike at Folkestone in 1988The releasing of balloons for the 10th anniversary of Hempstead Valley Shopping centre in Gillingham in 1988. Do you recognise anyone in the photo?Sandra Hartman, landlady of The Bear, serves beer to her husband, a dandy for the day at the Dickens Festival in West Malling High Street in July 1988. It has since been renamed The FarmhouseRaising a glass at The Three Crutches pub in Strood in July 1988, which is still serving pints to this dayTaking part in the Maidstone half-marathon in 1988Commuters at Rainham station queue for a slow train to London at 7.45am on a wet Monday morning in March 1988Aerial view of the giant ferris wheel at Dreamland in Margate in September 1988Punters at The Bull pub in Penenden Heath, near Maidstone, in August 1988Lenham Carnival Queen Kelly Pearse (right), her princesses Sarah Butler (left) and Jacky Smith in June 1988Dressed up for the Hempstead Valley Fun Run in May 1988.The Regency Night Club in Gillingham pictured in November 1988. Launched as the NAAFI club, the venue became The Regency in 1982 before its final incarnation as Excalibur — which enjoyed a hugely successful run which last from 1989 until its close in 1998.Does anyone remember the names of these two behind the bar of Three Daws Pub in Gravesend in September 1988? Please comment below.TV presenter, Bill Buckley, with the ladies of East Malling Slimming Club at a charity fun day in June 1988Cuxton families were waging war on plans by Blue Circle Industries to re-open a quarry in September 1988Cuxton residents lodged their protest at County Hall in vain in 1988 as a cement firm won the fight for works at a beauty spotThe East Peckham Raft Race in 1988Ditton Custard Pie Championships in July 1988The Swedish contingent giving it right and left at the messy contestThe Medway Mustangs were crowned championsTraffic congestion in Gravesend High Street in October 1988Upper High Street, Ashford, in 1988
It was a year for firsts, with the inaugural Red Nose Day held in March raising £15m for Comic Relief.
And two months later pupils took the first ever GCSE exams.
1989
On Friday, September 22, 1989, the IRA detonated a 15lb bomb in the recreation room of the Royal Marines School of Music in Walmer, near Deal.
The blast, which could be heard two miles away, killed 11 bandsmen and injured a further 21 people. No one has ever been arrested or charged over the atrocity.
The Music School building in Deal destroyed by the bomb blast in September 1989Defiant bandsmen showed the marines fighting spirit by playing just days after the explosionThe spirit of the Marines was on show again exactly one week after the bomb, as the full staff band in full panoply marched through the town, applauded and cheered by hundreds of residentsA poignant and simple question for the bombersThere was a carnival atmosphere in Whitstable in May 1989 when the Prince of Wales dropped by as part of a whirlwind tour of east Kent. His day also included visits to Canterbury and FavershamThe Queen Mother paid tribute to Normandy veterans in July 1989 when she unveiled a plaque to them during a service in Canterbury Cathedral. She also took the salute of a march past of hundreds of Normandy veterans from all over the countryConstruction of the Queen Elizabeth bridge in 1989. Two 25-metre concrete caissons were sunk into the river bed, capable of withstanding the impact of a 65,000 ton shipHundreds of Maidstone United FC fans crowded the street to celebrate the teams promotion to the Football League in 1989Thousands of protesters took to the streets and staged rallies in what was an unprecedented display of people power against what would become the Eurostar rail link. This rally was outside County Hall in Maidstone in March, 1989. A huge sound system played the noise of a French high speed train to demonstrate what it would be like to live next to the linkBurham residents in 1989 protest against the planned Channel Tunnel Rail Link route, which would run south of their villageLong queues outside the Cannon Cinema in Chatham High Street were once typical, as this 1989 photograph shows. The cinema, at the corner of Upbury Way, became the ABC by the 1990s but the lure of modern multiplexes sealed its fate. When it closed 2002 only 69 people turned up to see the last film, despite it being the blockbuster Lord of the RingsWindow shopping in The Forum Shopping Centre in Sittingbourne in 1989Coral Social Club, Sheerness, in November 1989The Trebor sweets factory in Maidstone in 1989. It closed in 2000Chatham High Street pictured in 1989At Gravesend Regatta in 1989The Anglesea Centre, Gravesend, in October 1989Workers at the Goldwell factory in East Malling, were facing redundancy in July 1989 with the factory due to shut downThe Queen and Duke of Edinburgh visiting the County Show in Detling in July 1989
1989 also saw the closure of Kent's last colliery at Betteshanger, following that of Snowdown and Tilmanstone two years earlier.
A flu epidemic struck in November, with more than one million people in the UK infected by Christmas Eve. Between 19,000 to 25,000 deaths in the UK were attributed to the disease. The outbreak led to an increase in the use of flu vaccinations.
In the world of music, the top-selling single of the year was Ride On Time by Black Box, heralding the arrival of the rave scene in nightclubs in the 1990s.
To see more classic pictures of Kent in years gone by, click here.
