I Love the '80s (U.S. TV series)

I Love the '80s is a decade nostalgia television program that was produced by VH1, based on the BBC series of the same name. The first episode, "I Love 1980", premiered on December 16, 2002, through the final episode, "I Love 1989", premiered on December 20, 2002.

Recurring segments

• Lionel Richie presented "Makeout Songs" from each year.
• Bret Michaels presented "Babes" from each year.
• Traci Lords presented "Hunks" from each year.
• "Weird Al" Yankovic compares trends of the given year and the present day in the "Then and Now" segment.
• Andrew Dice Clay presented the "Mr. & Ms." of each year.
• Soleil Moon Frye presented people, bands, and products that were "Born In" the given year.
• A public service announcement (PSA) from each year was presented.
• During the credits of every episode, a clip from a popular music video was played without any type of commentary. These were usually replaced with a show promo by Vh1.

1980

• The Love Boat
• Caddyshack
• The Vapors' "Turning Japanese"
• Punk and preppy fashion
• Strawberry Shortcake
• The Blue Lagoon and Brooke Shields' Calvin Klein ads
• Designer jeans
• Air Supply's "All Out of Love"
• Pat Benatar and Deborah Harry (of Blondie)
• Who shot J. R.?
• 9 to 5
• Urban Cowboy
• Queen's "Another One Bites the Dust"
• Kenny Rogers
• Xanadu
• Airplane!
• The Sugarhill Gang's "Rapper's Delight"
• The Pretenders' "Brass in Pocket"
• Mattel Electronic Football
• Miracle on Ice
• That's Incredible!
• The Empire Strikes Back

Makeout songs of 1980: Air Supply - "Every Woman in the World", Dan Fogelberg - "Longer", & Captain & Tennille - "Do That to Me One More Time"

End Credit Video is Devo's "Whip It"

1981

• Cable Television and MTV
• Porky's
• Reagan assassination attempt
• Pope John Paul II assassination attempt
• The Royal Wedding
• Luke and Laura (characters from General Hospital)
• Rick Springfield
• Arthur
• The Greatest American Hero
• De Lorean DMC-12
• Rubik's Cube
• Kool & the Gang's "Celebration"
• Fridays
• Stripes
• Bosom Buddies
• John McEnroe
• Hall & Oates' "Private Eyes"
• Members Only
• Atari 2600
• The Jeffersons
• Raiders of the Lost Ark

Makeout songs of 1981: REO Speedwagon - "Keep on Loving You", Foreigner - "Waiting For a Girl Like You", Lionel Richie & Diana Ross - "Endless Love"

PSA of 1981: Girl Scouts in Gymnastics

End Credit Video is The Police's "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic"

1982

• Mullets
• VJs
• Toni Basil's "Mickey"
• Fast Times at Ridgemont High
• The J. Geils Band's "Centerfold"
• Square Pegs
• Rocky III
• Ozzy Osbourne
• Joan Jett's "I Love Rock 'N Roll"
• The Dukes of Hazzard
• The Go-Go's
• Olivia Newton-John's "Physical"/Jane Fonda's Workout/aerobics fashion
• A Flock of Seagulls' "I Ran (So Far Away)"
• Trivial Pursuit
• Keytar
• Joanie Loves Chachi
• Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man
• Tommy Tutone's "867-5309/Jenny"
• Dungeons & Dragons
• Poltergeist
• Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five's "The Message"
• Silver Spoons
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

Makeout songs of 1982: Joe Cocker - "Up Where We Belong" and Lionel Richie - "Truly"
Babes of 1982: Kim Wilde, Brit-Pop Babe ("Kids In America"), Rae Dawn Chong, Cave Babe (Quest For Fire), Kirstie Alley, Vulcan Babe
PSA of 1982: Time for Timer "Sunshine on a Stick" PSA
End Credit Video is The Human League's "Don't You Want Me"

1983

• National Lampoon's Vacation
• Family Ties
• Diff'rent Strokes
• Cabbage Patch Kids
• Michael Jackson's Thriller
• Flashdance
• Duran Duran
• Valley Girl
• Pat Benatar's "Love Is a Battlefield"
• Scarface
• The A-Team
• Def Leppard's Pyromania
• Eddie Murphy Delirious
• Dexys Midnight Runners' "Come on Eileen"
• Jerry Falwell vs. Larry Flynt
• Knight Rider
• WarGames
• Wacky wall walker
• Styx's "Mr. Roboto"
• He-Man and the Masters of the Universe
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi

Makeout songs of 1983: The Police - "Every Breath You Take", Spandau Ballet - "True" & Marvin Gaye - "Sexual Healing"

PSA of 1983: Smokey Bear- Mask of Joanna Cassidy

End Credit Video is Madness' "Our House"

1984

• Breakdancing
• Footloose
• Madonna
• Corey Hart's "Sunglasses at Night"
• "Where's the beef?"
• Bruce Springsteen's Born in the U.S.A.
• Mary Lou Retton
• Webster and Punky Brewster
• Huey Lewis and the News
• Miami Vice
• The Terminator
• Transformers and Care Bears
• Wham!
• Prince
• Sixteen Candles
• Cyndi Lauper
• Michael Jackson's Pepsi commercial disaster
• Lionel Richie's "Hello"
• This Is Spinal Tap

Makeout songs of 1984: Mike Reno & Ann Wilson - "Almost Paradise", Phil Collins - "Against All Odds", and John Waite - "Missing You"

PSA of 1984: Don't let your lungs go to pot- Cast of Fame

End Credit Video is Nena's "99 Red Balloons"

1985

• WrestleMania
• MacGyver
• Back to the Future
• Mötley Crüe's "Home Sweet Home"
• The Goonies
• Pee-wee's Big Adventure
• Small Wonder
• Bryan Adams' "Summer of '69"
• Big hair
• Fletch
• "The Super Bowl Shuffle"
• Bartles & Jaymes
• Cocoon
• Til Tuesday's "Voices Carry"
• Live Aid
• The Facts of Life
• Eddie Murphy's "Party All the Time"
• The Breakfast Club and St. Elmo's Fire
• Day-Glo and oversized message T-shirts
• Pound Puppies
• "We Are the World"/Hear 'n Aid

Makeout songs of 1985: Wham! - "Careless Whisper", Sade - "Smooth Operator", and Madonna - "Crazy for You"

End Credit Video is Tears for Fears' "Shout"

1986

• Ferris Bueller's Day Off
• Wheel of Fortune
• Hands Across America
• Teddy Ruxpin
• ALF
• Pretty in Pink
• Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach"
• Swatch
• 1986 World Series and the Bill Buckner fielding error
• The Cosby Show
• Baby On Board
• "Crocodile" Dundee
• Celebrity marriages (specifically Tommy Lee and Heather Locklear, Arnold Schwarzenegger and Maria Shriver and Tatum O'Neal and John McEnroe)
• Whitney Houston
• Comic Relief
• Janet Jackson
• Stand by Me
• Run-D.M.C.'s "Walk This Way"
• Top Gun

Makeout songs of 1986: Berlin- "Take My Breath Away", Peter Cetera & Amy Grant - "The Next Time I Fall", Atlantic Starr - "Secret Lovers"

PSA of 1986: "Vote With A Friend. Make It Count More" with Quincy Jones and James Ingram

End Credit Video is Mr. Mister's "Kyrie"

1987

• Dirty Dancing
• Tiffany and Debbie Gibson
• Hair crimping
• Lisa Lisa and Cult Jam
• Fatal Attraction
• Hair metal
• FOX (specifically The Tracey Ullman Show, Married... with Children, and 21 Jump Street)
• R.E.M.'s "It's the End of the World as We Know It (And I Feel Fine)"
• Controversial extra-martial affairs (specifically Oliver North and Fawn Hall, Gary Hart and Donna Rice, Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker and Jessica Hahn)
• Wall Street
• Beastie Boys' "Fight for Your Right"
• Acid wash & Converse
• Cheers
• Salt-N-Pepa's "Push It"
• Hollywood Shuffle
• Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love"
• The two Coreys
• U2's The Joshua Tree

Makeout songs of 1987: Billy Vera & The Beaters - "At This Moment", Crowded House - "Don't Dream It's Over", & LL Cool J - "I Need Love"
PSA Of 1987: Anti-Drug (Marijuana) "I learned it by watching you!"

End Credit Video is Wang Chung's "Everybody Have Fun Tonight"

1988

• Mike Tyson
• Child's Play
• Roseanne
• Rick Astley's "Never Gonna Give You Up"
• Guns N' Roses
• The Wonder Years
• Modern Rock (Specifically INXS, The Cure, Morrissey, Depeche Mode, & Erasure)
• Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
• Bobby McFerrin's "Don't Worry Be Happy"
• California Raisins
• Perfect Strangers
• George Michael's Faith
• Pictionary and Win, Lose or Draw
• UB40s "Red, Red Wine"
• Working woman's wardrobe, Color Me Beautiful (seasonal colors)
• Yo! MTV Raps, "Parents Just Don't Understand", N.W.A and the rise of gangsta rap
• Who's the Boss?
• Terence Trent D'Arby
• The neo-hippie movement
• Grateful Dead's "Touch of Grey"
• Rain Man

Makeout songs of 1988: Patrick Swayze - "She's Like the Wind", Richard Marx - "Hold On to the Nights", and Cheap Trick - "The Flame"
PSA of 1988: Buckle Up (Car Crash Test Dummies)

End Credit Video is INXS' "Mediate"

1989

• New Kids on the Block
• Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure
• Milli Vanilli
• Game Boy and Tetris
• COPS
• Rob Lowe's sex video
• Cher's "If I Could Turn Back Time"
• Do The Right Thing
• Madonna's "Like a Prayer" music video and the ensuing Pepsi controversy
• Say Anything...
• The Arsenio Hall Show
• The B-52's "Love Shack"
• Bobby Brown
• Afrocentric clothing
• Baywatch
• Aerosmith's "Love in an Elevator"
• Heathers
• Saved by the Bell
• Tone Loc's "Funky Cold Medina"
• The fall of the Berlin Wall

Makeout songs of 1989: Richard Marx - "Right Here Waiting", Simply Red - "If You Don't Know Me by Now", and The Cure - "Lovesong"
PSA of 1989: AIDS Prevention

End Credit Video is Madonna's "Express Yourself"

External links

• I Love the 80s at VH1.com