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The Sound of the Crowd

Dominic Sandbrook takes a look at a dynamic decade. This episode looks at how the early 80s saw new forces of choice and consumerism reshape British life.

Sandbrook takes a fresh look at a dynamic decade. 1980s Britain changed in everything from politics and sport to fashion and popular culture.

In the opening years of the 1980s, the powerful new forces of choice and consumerism were radically reshaping British life. The first episode looks at how the early 80s saw the powerful new forces of choice and consumerism radically reshape British life, tearing down existing ways of doing things and ripping up the rule book of British politics. This new culture of consumer-driven populism propelled Margaret Thatcher to victory. For the first time, 'who we were' became a question less about the fixed identities of region and class, and much more about the choices we made, from where we shopped to how we cooked, to what we wore. Thatcher may have embodied this change - but she didn't drive it.

This episode takes in everything from the popularity of Delia Smith to affordable fashions on the high street, from the subcultures of Britain's youth to the crisis of identity that rocked and splintered the political left. But it also shows how the mood of aspiration that swept the nation left certain sections of society adrift and alienated, from the hollowed out industrial heartlands of the Midlands to the inner city communities of south London and Liverpool.

59 minutes

Last on

Sat 13 Mar 2021 19:00
±«Óãtv Two

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  • After tackling the 60s & 70s, author Dominic Sandbrook looks to Britain in the 1980s.

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Clips

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Music Played

Timings (where shown) are from the start of the programme in hours and minutes

  • 00:01

    Gary Numan

    Are Friends Electric?

    Performer: Tubeway Army.
  • 00:03

    Prince

    Dirty Mind

  • 00:04

    Dana

    Something's Cookin' In The Kitchen

  • 00:06

    Kraftwerk

    Computer World

  • 00:06

    Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark

    Electricity

  • 00:11

    Yello

    Oh Yeah

  • 00:12

    XTC

    Making Plans for Nigel

  • 00:16

    808 State, Ub40

    One In Ten (808 Original Mix)

  • 00:17

    Hazel O’Connor

    Writing On The Wall

  • 00:19

    Visage

    Fade To Grey

  • 00:23

    Duran Duran

    Rio

  • 00:26

    The Douglas Wood Group

    Snooker

  • 00:27

    Pat Benatar

    Hit Me With Your Best Shot (2006 Digital Remaster)

  • 00:34

    Bucks Fizz

    Making Your Mind Up

  • 00:46

    Madonna

    Everybody

  • 00:52

    Yazoo

    Only You

  • 00:36

    Ian Dury & the Blockheads

    Reasons To Be Cheerful (Part Three)

  • 00:42

    Depeche Mode

    New Life

  • 00:58

    Elton John

    I'm Still Standing

  • 00:59

    Talking Heads

    Burning Down The House

Credits

Presenter Dominic Sandbrook
Writer Dominic Sandbrook
Executive Producer Chris Granlund
Director Alexander Leith
Series Producer Alexander Leith

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