1982
The first UK TV showing of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Superteams, Doddy! and La Belle Isobel broadcast. The Cinema of Andrzej Wajda, Something Else - Just the Music and The Glorious Effect broadcast on BBC2. Scene 81 broadcast on Radio 1. The Bee-Gees broadcast on Radio 2. Alistair Cooke Recalls 1 January 1932 broacast on Radio 4. A Sheet Metal Worker Is Approached By Ivor Cutler broadcast on Radio 3. ITV launched three regional TV stations - Central, TV South and TV South West, replacing ATV Midlands, Southern Television and Westward Television respectively. Peru's Javier Pérez de Cuéllar became the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Mike Post Featuring Larry Carlton's 'The Theme From Hill Street Blues'/'Aaron's Tune' and The Stranglers' 'Golden Brown'/'Love Thirty' released.
It's a Christmas Knockout broadcast. In Front Of The Children and a production of Verdi's Aida broadcast on BBC2. Weapon Of Peace and Bumble & The Beez featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole was introduced to a national audience in the radio play The Diary Of Nigel Mole Aged 13¾, in BBC Radio 4's Thirty-Minute Theatre strand. The Welsh Army of Workers claimed responsibility for a bomb explosion at the Birmingham headquarters of Severn Trent Water. Holders Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal in a North London derby in the FA Cup Third Round. Liverpool beat Swansea City four-nil, while Manchester United are beaten by Second Division Watford. British Rail retired its last Class Fifty Five Deltic diesel-electric locomotives from service. The first episode of the short-lived 'adult' Tisaw spin-off OTT broadcast on ITV.
The final episode of The Generation Game presented by Larry Grayson and the first episodes of Gulliver In Lilliput and Couples - presented by Gay Search - broadcast. The Blasted Heath broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us strand. The first episode of Radio 1's The Record Producers broadcast. The first episode of Airline broadcast on ITV.
The first episode of Police broadcast. Peter Davison made his first full appearance as The Doctor in the opening episode of the Doctor Who serial Castrovalva. The series had moved from the Saturday tea-time slot it had occupied since 1963 to a twice-weekly schedule on Monday and Tuesday evenings at 18.55. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in conversation with lain Johnstone featured on a Film 82 Special. The first episodes of BBC2's Dancing Girls and Riverside - featuring live performances from New Order and Bow, Wow, Wow - broadcast. The Cure were in session on The John Peel Show ('The Figurehead', 'A Hundred Years', 'Siamese Twins'). The Little Giants broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand. Jim Lloyd introduced Silly Wizard recorded at the Cambridge Folk Festival on Radio 2's Folk On Two.
Rita May's England's Greens & Peasant Land broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first UK TV showing of Peter Weir's masterful Picnic At Hanging Rock opened BBC2's Australian Film Season strand. In The Crafty Cockney, Sid Waddell profiled Eric Bristow.
The first episode of The Story Of The Treasure Seekers broadcast. The first episode of BBC2's Tigris: The Sumerian Voyage of Thor Heyerdahl broadcast. The fourth India/England test at Calcutta was drawn. Keith Fletcher top-scored for the vistors in England's first innings and David Gower in the second. Aspects Of The Fringe broadcast on Radio 4.
The first episodes of BBC2's Ennal's Point and The English Language broadcast. The Old Grey Whistle Test broadcast the Jim Morrison documentary No One Here Gets Out Alive. The first episode of Huckleberry Finn & His Friends broadcast. Peter Powell presented Top Of The Pops included appearances from Alton Edwards, Mobiles, Shakatak, The Human League, Madness, Foreigner, Jon & Vangelis and Meat Loaf.
The first episode of Fame Is The Spur broadcast. Spandau Ballet and Ben Elton appeared on BBC2's The Oxford Road Show. The Combination broadcast in the Playhouse strand. The launch of London Weekend Television's Friday evening magazine programme The Six O'Clock Show and the first episode of Shine On Harvey Moon broadcast. John Barnwell resigned as manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, whose fortunes had declined sharply in the two years since he took them to sixth place in the First Division and League Cup victory. The Wild Swans' magnificent 'Revolutionary Spirit'/'God Forbid', XTC's 'Senses Working Overtime'/'Blame The Weather', 'Tissue Tigers (The Arguers)' and Orange Juice's 'Felicity'/'In A Nutshell' released.
Peter Davison appeared on Swap Shop and, showing the outstanding self-control one associated with The Doctor, managed not to punch Noel Edmonds, hard, in the mush. Mon Oncle D'Amerique shown in BBC2's Film International strand. The British Embassy in Buenos Aires lodged a formal protest against a visit of Argentine scrap metal workers to the Falklands dependancy of South Georgia. The reason for the landing was a 1978 contract between a company owned by the Argentine businessman Constantino Davidoff and the British company Christian Salvesen for the removal of an abandoned whaling station on the island. Aware of the contract, the Argentine Navy conceived of a sneaky plan to hijack Davidoff's business in South Georgia, in order to establish an undercover base on the disputed territory. The action was code named Operation Alpha. Eddy Grant appeared on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. Adam Ant was interviewed about his videoson Rock On. The Goodies episode Robot broadcast on LWT.
The first episode of King's Royal broadcast. The first UK TV showing of The Shootist. The first UK TV showing of Bruce Beresford's The Club in BBC2's Australian Cinema Season strand. The lowest ever UK temperature of minus 27.2 °C was recorded at Braemar, in Aberdeenshire. This equalled a record set at the same location in 1895. The record would be matched again at Altnaharra in 1995. Tommy Vance replaced Tony Blackburn as host of Radio 1's Top Forty show.
So You Think You Know What's Good for You? broadcast. The first episodes of BBC2's Other People's Lives and The Computer Programme broadcast. Fad Gadget, dance from Dance Theatre Britannica and Stewart Copeland featured on Riverside. Mark Thatcher, the son of That Awful Thatcher Woman, disappeared in the Sahara desert during the Paris-Dakar rally. Rhoda with The Special AKA's 'The Boiler'/'Theme From' released. The first UK broadcast of Hill Street Blues on ITV.
A Cotswold Death broacast in the Play For Today strand. The first Uk TV showing of The Irishman in BBC2's Australian Film Season strand. Inside Aldermaston broadcast. The Argentinian Joint Armed Forces committee began planning for military invasion of the Falkland Islands.
Three of the four League Cup fifth round matches were postponed due to bad weather. In the surviving game, Liverpool drew nil-nil at Barnsley. The first episode of George Melly's They're Playing My Tune and Iris Murdoch's The Bell broadcast on BBC2.
The Great Hedgehog Mystery broadcast in the Wildlife On One strand. The first episodes of BBC2's Robinson's Travels, Muggeridge: Ancient & Modern and History On Your Doorstep broadcast. Mark Thatcher was, tragically, found safe and well in the Sahara, six days after going missing.
Miss Great Britain 1982 - introduced by Henry Kelly and Ray Moore - broadcast. A Silly Little Habit broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark's 'Maid Of Orleans (The Waltz Joan Of Arc)'/'Navigation', Rico & The Special AKA's 'Jungle Music'/'Rasta Call You' and the worst record ever made by anyone, ever, Adrian Gurvitz's 'Classic'/'Runaway' released.
The World Cup Draw was broadcast live from Madrid. It was a chaotic event and suffered from a number of mishaps and technical problems with then FIFA general secretary Sepp Blatter presiding. Kenneth Griffith's The Most Valuable Englishman Ever broadcast on BBC2. The first UK TV showing of Tomorrow I'll Be Scalding Myself With Tea in the Film International. Faded Glam Queen of Seventy Six, Midge Ure was Andy Peebles' guest on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. The Goodies episode Football Crazy broadcast on LWT.
Puffer's Progress broadcast. The first UK TV showing of Summerland in BBC2's Australian Film Season. George Martin featured in Radio 1's The Record Producers.
A Complaint Of Rape, the third episode of the BBC's fly-on-the-wall documentary series Police, showing a trio of male police officers treating a female sexual assault complainant appallingly. It shocked viewers and led to changes in future police treatment of rape allegations. Mari Wilson feature on BBC2's Riverside. Pink Industry were in session on The John Peel Show. The fifth India/England test at Madras was drawn. Gundappa Viswanath scored a double century for the hosts, Graham Gooch replied with a hundred for the visitors.
Under The Skin broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Four Hundred & Forty Four Days ... And Counting broadcast. Toni Basil, Arena: Private Life Of The Ford Cortina and Beardsley & His Work broadcast on BBC2.
The first UK TV showing of Thou Shalt Not Kill in The Wednesday Film strand. The Man Behind The Mask broadcast in BBC2's Chronicle strand. Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat thrown at him during a performance in Des Moines, Iowa, mistaking it for a toy. Or, so he claimed.
David Jensen presented Top Of The Pops featuring Gillan, Mobiles, XTC, Jon & Vangelis, Phil Lynott, Meat Loaf, OMD, Christopher Cross, Foreigner and Bucks Fizz. Too Much Reality broadcast on BBC2. The Go-Go's and Level 42 featured on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Miners voted against strike action and accepted the National Coal Board offer of a nine per cent pay rise.
The Boy From Space broadcast in the Look & Read strand. No Enemies On The Left? broadcast in BBC2's Newsweek strand. Aubrey broadcast in the Playhouse strand. Haircut One Hundred's 'Love Plus One'/'Marine Boy' and Rhoda With The Special AKA's 'The Boiler'/'Theme From The Boiler' released.
From Hull, Hell & Halifax broadcast on BBC2. Third Division Oxford United caused the shock of the FA Cup Fourth Round with a three-nil win at Brighton & Hove Albion. Watford claimed another First Division victim, beating West Ham United two-nil. Paul Weller featured on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. The Goodies episode Big Foot broadcast on LWT.
Alan Ayckbourne and Lindsay Anderson featured on Omnibus. The Axing Of The Himalayas - narrated by Edward Woodward - broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us strand. Super Bowl XVI saw The San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Joe Montana capture their first National Football League championship beating the Cincinnati Bengals at Detroit's Pontiac Silverdome. Consideration of the Argentine military junta's plans to recapture the Falkland Islands was first revealed in a series of articles in La Prensa newspaper. Articles which were, it would seem, read by no one in the Foreign Office or MI6 London. A bit remiss, one could suggest.
Film 82 previewed Body Heat and Fort Apache, The Bronx and interviewed Sting on the set of Brimstone & Treacle. The Sabbatical broadcast in BBC2's West Country Tales strand. were in session on The John Peel Show ('Politician', 'I Won't Close My Eyes', 'Love Is All Is Alright' and the epic 'Prince Baldhead Meets Gymslip & The School Girls At The Chemist'). In a rub-a-dub style(e).
Commitments broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Girl In A Glider and Exmoor Man broadcast on BBC2. The first UK TV showing of Cathy's Child in the Australian Cinema Season. Unemployment in the UK was recorded at over three million for the first time since the 1930s. The Icicle Works were in session on The John Peel Show ('In The Cauldron Of Love', 'A Factory In The Desert', 'All Is Right', 'When Winter Lasted Forever').
The Naked Runner shown in The Wednesday Film strand. Riding The Summer Sun broadcast on BBC2. The B-52's Mesopotamia released.
Goodbye, Mister Kent broadcast. The Last Resort broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand.
The Lost Continent shown in The Late Film strand. Preview broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The Jam's 'Town Called Malice'/'Precious', Depeche Mode's 'See You'/'Now, This Is Fun', Soft Cell's 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye'/'Instrumental', The Associates' 'Party Fears Two''It's Better This Way', The Fun Boy Three With Banarama's 'It Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)'/'The Funrama Theme', Ian Sludge Lees' 'Viva England'/'The Young Footballer' and Modern Romance's 'Queen Of The Rapping Scene (Nothing Ever Goes The Way You Plan)'/'Can You Move?' released.
Barry Humphreys was the guest on Parkinson, albeit as Dame Edna Everage. And, was therefore about as funny as cancer of the testicles. Protest & Survive broadcast on BBC2. The first computer virus, the Elk Cloner, written by fifteen-year old Rich Skrenta, was found. It infected Apple II computers via a floppy disk. Sheena Easton appeared on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. Classix Nouveaux and A Flock of Seagulls (and their damned silly haircuts) featured on In Concert. The Goodies episode Change Of Life broadcast on LWT.
The first episode of Stalky & Co broadcast. The Odd Angry Shot shown in BBC2's Australian Cinema Season.
The first appearance of The Mara in the Doctor Who serial, Kinda. BBC2's Riverside featured music from King Sounds and The Israelites and video from Kraftwerk and Thomas Dolby. The fourth and final series of Not The Nine O'Clock News began. Sales of tabloid newspapers were reported to have been boosted substantially since last summer by the introduction of bingo. The Sun had, reportedly, enjoyed the biggest rise in sales. To twats, mostly.
Life After Death broadcast in the Play For Today strand. A Year In The Life Of Viscount Weymouth brodcast on BBC2. Orange Juice's You Can't Hide Your Love Forever released.
Olivia Newton-John broadcast. Ancient Mariners broadcast in BBC2's Chronicle strand. ITV showed the network premiere of John Carpenter's Halloween.
John Peel presented Top Of The Pops with appearances from OMD, Jets, AC/DC, XTC, Christopher Cross, Kraftwerk and Theatre Of Hate. The World Land Speed Record: These Forty Glorious Years broadcast on BBC2. The George Formby Story broadcast in the Forty Minutes strand. The Edgar Winter Band and Soft Cell featured on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The sixth and final test of - a very dull - India/England series at Kanpur was drawn. Highlights included centuries for Ian Botham and Kapil Dev.
XTC appeared on BBC2's The Oxford Road Show. Out Of Step broadcast in the Playhouse strand. Laker Airways collapsed (leaving six thousand passengers stranded abroad) with debts of two hundred and seventy million knicker. Kraftwerk's 'Showroom Dummies'/'Numbers', ABC's 'Poison Arrow'/'Theme From Man-Trap', Madness's' Cardiac Arrest'/In The City', Marc Bolan's 'Mellow Love'/'Foxy Boy', 'Lunacy's Back' and UB40's 'I Wont Close My Eyes'/'Folitician' released.
Joan Collins was the guest on Parkinson. The Play Away Square Tomato Show broadcast on BBC2. Nick Lowe featured on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. The Queen commemorated her Pearl Jubilee. The Goodies episode Holiday broadcast on LWT.
Don Siegal's The Black Windmill shown in The Sunday Film strand. The first UK TV showing of The Mango Tree in BBC2's Australian Film Season strand. Mickie Most was the subject of Radio 1's The Record Producers.
The Changing Face Of Venus broadcast in The Sky At Night strand. Bauhaus and Pete Shelley featured on BBC2's Riverside. The Breakdown broadcast in the West Country Tales strand. Echo & The Bunnymen were in session on The John Peel Show ('Taking Advantage', 'An Equation', 'No Hands'). Alice Sophia Eve born in London.
The Silly Season broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first UK TV showing of Blue Fin in BBC2's Australia Film Season strand. Ron Saunders announced his resignation as manager of defending league champions Aston Villa. He was succeeded by assistant Tony Barton. That Awful Thatcher Woman confirmed the forthcoming 'retirement' of HMS Endurance, the Royal Navy's Antarctic ice patrol vessel currently on station in the South Atlantic. The Ministry of Defence's 1981 Defence White Paper had proposed naval cuts including the decommissioning of Endurance. Subsequent events exposed the idiocy of this decision by some stupid plank.
The first UK broadcast of Bret Maverick. The first episode of BBC2's Nancy Astor and Prendiville's Finest Innings broadcast.
Tommy Vance presented Top Of The Pops with Fun Boy Three & Bananarama, The Stranglers, Bow Wow Wow, Adrian Gurvitz, Hall & Oates, Depeche Mode, The J Geils Band, Modern Romance, Haircut 100 and The Jam. Burgled in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Aswad and XTC appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Natalie Dormer born in Reading.
The first UK broadcast of McClain's Law. A Shilling Life broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The opening of the first Next clothing store, a rebranding of the merged Joseph Hepworth and Kendall chains. XTC's English Settlement released. Costa-Gavras's Missing and Francis Ford Coppola's One From The Heart premiered. Kiss' 'A World Without Heroes'/'Mister Blackwell' released.
Chelsea shocked (and stunned) Liverpool two-nil at Stamford Bridge in the FA Cup Fifth Round. Shrewsbury Town beat Ipswich Town two-one, Watford's cup run ended with a two goal defeat to Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur beat Aston Villa one-nil. Spain - A Return To The Battlefields broadcast on BBC2. The first UK TV showing of Andrei Tarkovsky's Mirror in the Film International strand. Joan Armatrading appeared on Radio 1's In Concert. David Bowie In Bertolt Brecht's Baal EP ('Baal's Hymn', 'Remembering Marie'/'Ballad Of The Adventurers', 'The Drowned Girl', 'The Dirty Song') released. Ruth Wilson born in Ashford. The final episode of The Goodies, Animals Are People Too broadcast on LWT.
The first episode of Paint! broadcast. The first episode of BBC2's The Flight Of The Condor. Phil Spector profiled on Radio 1's The Record Producers.
The first appearance of The Terileptils in the Doctor Who serial The Visitation. The White Bird Of Laugliter broadcast BBC2's West Country Tales. Birmingham City sacked manager Big Jim Smith, following a run of but one win since the beginning of October, which had left the club just outside the relegation zone.
The first episode of Legacy of Murder broadcast. The Mackenzie File and the first episode of Seapower broadcast on BBC2. Van Morrison's Beautiful Vision released. The Marine Girls featuring Tracey Thorn were in session on The John Peel Show.
James Stewart appeared on Parkinson. The first episode of Dayan broadcast on BBC2.
Mike Read presented Top Of The Pops with appearances from Toni Basil, Madness, UB40, ABC, Tight Fit, Robert Palmer, George Benson and Jets. The Jam became the first band since The Beatles in 1966 to play two songs on a TOTP episode, both sides of their current number one single, 'Town Called Malice' and 'Precious'. The first episode of BBC2's County Hall broadcast. Nine days after walking out on Aston Villa, Ron Saunders made a surprise return to management with their local rivals, Birmingham City. Theatre Of Hate were in session on The John Peel Show.
You Only Live Once shown in The Late Film strand. The Workshop broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The DeLorean car factory in Belfast was put into receivership. The Undertones' 'Beautiful Friend'/'Life's Too Easy', Showaddywaddy's 'Good Timing'/'You Always Stand Me Up' and Goldie Alexander's 'Show You My Love'/'Go Back' released.
Chesney Allen , Roy Hudd and Christopher Timothy joined Michael Parkinson in a celebration of The Crazy Gang on Parkinson. The first UK TV showing of Passe Ton Bac D'Abord in BBC2's Film International strand. Bill Wyman appeared on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. The Jam (previewing songs from their forthcoming LP) and Department S featured on In Concert recorded at The Hippodrome, Golders Green.
Barry Norman profiled Paganini in Omnibus. End Play shown in BBC2's Australian Cinema Season. Glyn Johns featured in Radio 1's The Record Producers. Sri Lanka's inaugural test in Colombo ended in a seven wicket victory for England. David Gower top-scored for the visitors whilst highlights also included five wicket hauls for Derek Underwood (in his final test) and John Emburey.
Tony Sibson defeated Dwight Davison on points in a Final Eliminator for the World Middleweight Championship, setting up a fight with Marvin Hagler. Reds and Absence Of Malice previewed on Film 82. The Visitor broadcast in BBC2's West Country Tales. The Apostolic Delegation was promoted to the Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain by Pope John Paul II; the first pro-nuncio was Bruno Heim.
Jim Allen's Willie's Last Stand broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first UK TV showing of Caddie in BBC2's Australian Film Season strand. Desert Island Discs profiled on Arena. The Glasgow-registered coal ship, Saint Bedan was bombed and sunk by an IRA unit driving a hijacked boat in Lough Foyle. Lou Reed's The Blue Mask released. Blancmange were in session on The John Peel Show. England beat Northern Ireland four-nil in the Home International Championship at Wembley. Bryan Robson, Kevin Keegan, Ray Wilkins and Glenn Hoddle were on target. Brighton's Stephen Forster and West Brom's Cyrille Regis made their international debuts.
The British Rock and Pop Awards broadcast. Winners included Alison Moyet, Boy George, Duran Duran and Dexys Midnight Runners. The first UK TV showing of The Yakuza. Riot broadcast in BBC2's Chronicle strand.
Tomorrow's World included 'a new system to make credit cards super-safe using a magnetic strip that can't be erased.' Bucks Fizz, alleged Scouse 'comedian' Stan Boardman and ventriloquist Terri Rogers were guests on BBC2's Russell Harty filmed on the Bravo oil production platform, one hundred miles off Aberdeen. Tragically, all involved did return to the mainland. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that teachers who cane, belt or tawse children against the wishes of their parents would be in breach of the Human Rights Convention.
The first UK TV showing of The Devil's Eight. How Many Miles To Babylon? broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. Nick Lowe's Nick The Knife and XTC's 'Ball & Chain'/'Punch & Judy', 'Heaven Is Paved With Broken Glass' and Associates' 'Party Fears Two'/'It's Better This Way' released.
Leo Sayer and Duran Duran provided millions of Britons with an incentive to have a long lie-in with their appearance on Swap Shop. What About Your Ma, Is Your Da Still Workin'? broadcast in BBC2's Open Door strand. The Auden Landscape broadcast. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company gave its last performance at the end of a final London season, having been in near-continuous existence since 1875. Radio 1 broadcast the final episode of Playground. Phil Oakey appeared on My Top Twelve. Des O'Connor In Concert broadcast on Radio 2.
True Grit: A Further Adventure shown in The Sunday Film strand. The first UK TV showing of Sunday Too Far Away in BBC2's Australian Film Season strand. Radio 1 broadcast the final episode of Junior Choice.
The first episode of Alexa broadcast in the Love Story strand. Forged Papers broadcast on BBC2. Simple Minds were in session on The John Peel Show ('Promised You A Miracle', Love Song', 'Sons & Fascination', 'King Is White & In The Crowd'). Andrej Lettrich's Otec - starring Pavol Angst, Lubomír Paulovic and Petra Cernocká - premiered. The first episode of Murphy's Mob broadcast on ITV.
John Willett and Alan Clarke's adaptation of Baal - starring David Bowie - broadcast. And it was, indeed, immensely marvellous. Unearthly Powers broadcast in the Everyman strand. The Barbican broadcast on BBC2. The second TV version of John Mortimer's A Voyage Round My Father, produced by Thames, broadcast. Barry Levinson's Diner premiered.
The Queen opened the Barbican Centre. The venue's Opening Concert was broadcast on BBC2. That Awful Thatcher Woman urged preparation of contingency plans in case of increased Argentine hostility towards the Falkland Islands. One of history's finest examples of 'shutting the stable door after the horse had buggered off'.
The first UK broadcast of Perry Como's Bahamas Holiday. Japan and Thompson Twins appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln published. An unofficial follow-up to three BBC2 documentaries that were part of the Chronicle strand, the authors put forward a - frankly barmy - hypothesis that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, had one or more children and that descendants of the line emigrated to what is now Southern France. Once there, they intermarried with the noble families which would eventually become the Merovingian dynasty, whose claim to the throne of France was championed by a secret society called the Priory of Sion. They concluded that the Holy Grail was, in fact, this sacred royal bloodline. An international bestseller on its release, The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail spurred interest in its central thesis and was a major influence on Dan Brown's drivelling nonsense The Da Vinci Code. In 2005, Tony Robinson narrated The Real Da Vinci Code, shown on Channel Four, a critical evaluation of the theories of Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln (and, subsequently, Brown). The programme included lengthy interviews with many of the protagonists. Arnaud de Sède, son of Gérard de Sède, stated categorically that his father and Pierre Plantard (authors of the 1967 book L'Or De Rennes) had 'made up' the existence of the supposedly one thousand-year-old Priory of Sion and described the entire story as 'piffle.' Historian Richard Barber wrote: 'The Templar-Grail myth is at the heart of the most notorious of all the Grail pseudo-histories, The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail, which is a classic example of the conspiracy theory of history. It is, essentially, a text which proceeds by innuendo, not by refutable scholarly debate.' Or, in other words, it's a load of horseshit. An unofficial cricket tour of South Africa by and 'England' squad captained by Graham Gooch began. The tour was originally to be financed by Holiday Inns, who made their support conditional on Ian Botham being part of the touring party. When he decided not to take part, it was left to South African Breweries to underwrite the cost, leading to the touring side being named as the South African Breweries England XI. The squad included Geoffrey Boycott, Alan Knott, Dennis Amiss, John Emburey, Mike Hendrick, Chris Old, Derek Underwood and Peter Willey. Upon their return, the players each received three-year international bans from the TCCB, effectively ending the test careers of most of them (Gooch and Emburey did, eventually, return to the national side). Over the course of the 1980s, a further six rebel tours were undertaken to South Africa by players from different test-playing nations.
The first episode of The Ian Wooldridge Interview featured odious fantasist and, subsequently, jailed lair Jeffrey Archer. The first episode of BBC2's Dear Heart. The BBC was given permission by the Government to start broadcasting television programmes on two satellite channels from early 1986. Ultimately, the channels were not launched. John Belushi was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. Men At Work's 'Down Under'/'Crazy', Slade's 'Ruby Red'/'Funk Punk And Junk', The Sinatras' 'You Make Me Feel Like I'm Wearing New Clothes'/'Finding Your Own Level' and Everything But The Girl's 'Night & Day'/'Feeling Dizzy', 'On My Mind' released.
Buddy Rich, Roy Castle, Kenny Everett and Samy Davis Jr were the guests on Parkinson. Her Mother's House broadcast on BBC2. Shrewsbury Town's impressive FA Cup run came to an end when they lost five-two to Leicester City at Filbert Street in the Sixth Round. In two London derbies, Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea three-two and Queens Park Rangers won one-nil at home to Crystal Palace. West Bromwich Albion took the remaining Semi-Final place with a two-nil win over Coventry City. The Radio 1 weekend breakfast show was renamed The Saturday Show and The Sunday Show. Children's requests continued to be a mainstay of the show and Maggie Philbin and Keith Chegwin joined Tony Blackburn as co-presenters. The Pretenders appeared on In Concert.
Futebol Brasil broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us strand. The Beatles At The Beeb broadcast on Radio 1.
The first appearance of The Cyberman in Doctor Who since 1975 at the climax for episode one of Earthshock. Pete Sayers Entertains featured special guest Frank lfield at The Snape Maltings. Killing Joke; a psychedelic night at the new London club, The Fridge, Billy Connolly speaking his mind, former Sham 69 singer, Jimmy Pursey, danced to a Stranglers tune (well, sort of) and Tony Blackburn 'at home' with Eddie Tudorpole was the line-up on an utterly memorable episode of BBC2's Riverside. The first episode of Imagined Worlds broadcast. The final episode of Not The Nine O'Clock News broadcast. And, still, the memory kinda lingers. The Fall's Hex Enduction Hour released.
Tishoo broadcast in the Play For Today strand.
Alan Whicker appeared on Parkinson. The Circus Moves On - In Calabria broadcast on BBC2.
Simon Bates presented performances from Bow Wow Wow, Fun Boy Three & Bananarama, Depeche Mode, Julio Iglesias, Haircut One Hundred, Associates, Adrian Gurvitz and Tight Fit on Top Of The Pops. The first episode of BBC2's Poems In Their Place broadcast.
Kotch shown in The Late Film strand. Pocketful Of Dreams broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The first episode of The Blues broadcast, featuring performances by Booker White, Houston Stackhouse, Sonny Blake and Sam Chatman. The closure of Queen Street Mill, Burnley, the last steam driven weaving shed to work commercially. The Jam's The Gift, Killing Joke's 'Empire Song'/'Brilliant', Dexys Midnight Runners' 'The Celtic Soul Brothers (More Please)'/'Love Part 2', Weekend's sublime 'The View From Her Room'/'Leaves Of Spring' and A Flock Of Seagulls' 'I Ran'/'Pick Me Up' released. Katsuhiko Fujii's Onna Shinnyû-Shain 5-ji Kara 9-ji Made - starring Junko Asahina - premiered.
The first episode of Ken Dodd's Showbiz broadcast. 'As The Cybermen return to Doctor Who, thriller writer and Newsnight reporter Gavin Scott celebrates thirty years of television monsters with guest appearances threatened by Daleks, Sea Devils, Mandrells, Yeti, Sontarans and Krynoids' on BBC2's Did You See ...? Liverpool retained the League Cup with a three-one win over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. UFO featured on Radio 1's In Concert.
Claire Bloom profiled on Omnibus. The first UK TV showing The Life & Assassination Of The Kingfish on BBC2. The first episode of the flawed-but-interesting Whoops Apocalyse broadcast on ITV.
A location report on The Draughtsman's Contract featured on Film 82. The Birthday Party made their UK TV debut and Paul Weller and Martin Fry were interviewed on BBC2's Riverside. John Cooper Clark was in session on The John Peel Show ('Midnight Shift', 'Night People', 'The New Assassin, 'The Day My Pad Went Mad'). Richard & Linda Thompson's Shoot Out The Lights and Yazoo's 'Only You'/'Situation' released.
Mike Leigh's Home Sweet Home broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first death of a Doctor Who companion - Adric - since 1965 in episode four of Earthshock. Russell Harty's Irish Night Out broadcast on BBC2. York City, currently bottom of the Fourth Division, sacked manager Kevin Randall. Former captain Barry Swallow was appointed as his replacement, their third manager of the season. Blake Edwards' Victor/Victoria premiered. Claus von Bülow was found extremely guilty of the attempted murder of his wife by a court in Newport, Rhode Island. On appeal, however, the conviction was reversed.
Aston Villa reached the Semi-Final of the European Cup with a two-nil victory over Dynamo Kiev. Liverpool were knocked-out, losing two-one to CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria. In The European Cup Winners Cup, Tottenham Hotspur also progressed on aggregate against Eintract Frankfurt. Scotchland's last surviving European representative, Dundee United, were knocked out of the UEFA Cup, losing three-nil in Yugoslavia to Radnički Niš. The Spirit Of Carnival broadcast on BBC2.
That's Life - Having A Baby broadcast. Hunt Saboteurs broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. A legal case brought by That Awful Whitehouse Woman against the National Theatre concerning alleged obscenity in Howard Brenton's play The Romans In Britain was - satisfyingly - defeated when Whitehouse's solicitor, Graham Ross-Cornes, a chief witness, revealed under cross-examination that he had been sitting at the very back of the theatre when he claimed to have seen a penis. The prosecution withdrew after defence counsel Jeremy Hutchinson QC demonstrated that Ross-Cornes could have witnessed the actor's thumb protruding from his fist. The case ended after the Attorney-General entered a nolle prosequi. Whitehouse had to meet the costs of the case. Which was funny. An Argentine scrap metal dealer raised the Argentine flag in South Georgia, effectively kicking-off the Falklands conflict, big-time. Fun Boy Three's eponymous debut LP released. Dead Or Alive and The Nightingales were in session on The John Peel Show.
The Satan Bug and Hannie Caulder shown on BBC1. All I Ask Is A Tall Ship ..., Empires Of War and A Musical Canal Celebration broadcast on BBC2. Keeping In Touch broadcast in the Playhouse strand. Argentine troops landed on South Georgia, precipitating a war which would leave over nine hundred dead. So, well done them. The Blizzard's Of Oz guitarist, Randy Rhoads, was killed in a freak accident in Leesburg, Florida when the plane in which he was a passenger buzzed Ozzy Osbourne's tour bus and crashed into a house. The plane's pilot and a female passenger were also killed. Japan's 'Ghosts'/'The Art Of Parties' and Anti-Nowhere League's 'I Hate ... People'/'Let's Break The Law' released.
Guests on Swap Shop included Kevin Keegan, Adam Ant and Steve Davis. Sidney Hayers' Payroll shown in BBC2's Midnight Movie strand. Admiral Anaya, Commander in Chief of the Argentine Navy and a member of the ruling military junta ordered an advance in Argentina's Falklands invasion plans. Foreigner featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Which would've been well worth avoiding. Dame Edith Everett broadcast on Radio 2.
The first UK TV showings of Logan's Run and, on BBC2, Winter Kills. Harry H Corbett died aged fifty seven. His former Steptoe & Son co-star, Wilfrid Brambell made an emotional appearance on BBC News to pay tribute. HMS Endurance, at Port Stanley, sailed for South Georgia with two helicopters and a Royal Marines detachment in an effort to sort out the shit that had been dumped in its lap by crass inaction in London. Secret Affair appeared on Radio 1's Studio B15 whilst Tony Visconti was profiled on The Record Producers.
His Master's Voice? broadcast in the Panorama strand. Evil Under The Sun profiled on Film 82. A Tall Story: How Salman Rushdie Pickled All India broadcast in BBC2's Arena strand. U2's 'A Celebration'/'Trash, Trampoline & The Party Girl' released.
A Sudden Wrench broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first episode of BBC2's Fields Of Play broadcast.
Sportsnight features highlights of Atletico Bilbao versus an England XI, a dress rehearsal for Ron Greenwood's side in the stadium where they would play their first three World Cup matches. The Survival Of The Species, the final episode of BBC2's The Making Of Mankind broadcast. Talking Heads' The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads released. A Royal Marines detachment from HMS Endurance landed on South Georgia to monitor Argentine activity at Leith.
The first episode of Love Is Old, Love Is New broadcast in the Love Story strand. Frank Lloyd Wright: The Robie House and Take Me Back To New Orleans broadcast on BBC2. 'Bespectacled old wino' Roy Jenkins won the Hillhead by-election in Glasgow for the Social Democrats. The situation on South Georgia dramatically escalated with the arrival of armed personnel in military uniform from the Argentine ship Bahia Paraiso intent on a bit of argy-bargy.
No Drums, No Bugles shown in The Late Film strand. The first episode of BBC2's The Wooldridge View broadcast. The Guest broadcast in the Playhouse strand. Tears For Fears' 'Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)'/'The Prisoner', Blancmange's 'I've Seen The Word'/'God's Kitchen', The RAH Band's 'Perfumed Garden'/'Funk Me Down To Rio '82' and Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder's truly horrifying 'Ebony & Ivory'/'Rainclouds' released. Listen, you two, pianos are all very well but they're not going to sort out the problems of the world, right?
The final episode of Swap Shop broadcast. Though, tragically, this did not signal the end of Noel Edmonds TV career. Oxford won The Boat Race. Battle Of The Bands broadcast, introduced by Mike Read and Rula Lenska. The was the culmination of a nationwide competition to find the 'best new pop or rock band' this year and featured such astounding talent as Shoot The Moon, Private ID, Thin End Of The Wedge, Mezzoforte, Andy Pandemonium and, eventual winners, The Crack (no, me neither). The judges were Hazel O'Connor, Suzi Quatro, Stuart Colman, John Entwistle, Paul Gambaccini and Noddy Holder and the guest band was Dollar. There Ought To Be Clowns and Harold Pinter's The Hothouse broadcast on BBC2. Way of the West and Afraid of Mice appeared on Radio 1's In Concert. Peter Davison and Christopher Timothy presented Radio 2's Star Choice from the Daily Scum Mail Ideal Home Exhibition.
Barry Norman profiled the forthcoming Oscars in Omnibus. Seven Days In May shown on BBC2 in 'a season of feature films portraying the darker side of American power politics.' The UK TV premiere of The Spy Who Loved Me on ITV. An Argentine invasion fleet set sail for the Falklands. In Los Angeles, David Crosby was extremely arrested for possession of Quaaludes and drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of cocaine, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of an outrageous moustache. All of which carried a potential jail sentence. Especially the latter.
The first UK broadcast of Cagney & Lacey. A Dream Of Alice broadcast on BBC2. Royal assent was given in London to the Canada Act which set the stage for the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. The Beat were in session on The John Peel Show ('Spar Wid Me', 'Till The End Of The Party', 'She's Going She's Gone', 'Save It For Later', 'Sole Salvation', 'Patou & Roger A-Go Talk'). Sparks' Angst In My Pants and Bananarama with The Fun Boy Three's 'Really Saying Something'/'Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares' released. The Fifty Fourth Academy Awards, hosted by Johnny Carson, was held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Chariots Of Fire won Best Picture.
Eve Set The Balls Of Corruption Rolling broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The Balby Street Kids broadcast on BBC2.
Journey Into Frequency Space broadcast. The first episode of BBC2's Haydn Festival broadcast. The Au Pairs were in session on The John Peel Show. Southampton remained leaders of the First Division, but Liverpool and Ipswich Town were closing in, a point behind and both with games in hand. Swansea City and Manchester United completed the top five. The bottom three of Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers remained unchanged. Watford overhauled Luton Town as Second Division leaders, with Sheffield Wednesday completing the top three. Rotherham United, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United were close behind in the promotion race. Fulham defender Dave Clement, who was capped five times by England and spent the first fourteen years of his career at Queens Park Rangers, committed suicide. British intelligence were both shaken and stirred to learn of Argentine intentions to invade the Falklands. Having, apparently, not previously bothered to analyse the entirely unambiguous signals coming out of Buenos Aires for the past few months.
The first episode of Badger By Owl-Light broadcast. The Teardrop Explodes were in concert at the Riverside Studios on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Including a memorably mental version of 'The Culture Bunker'. 'This is Kevin speaking ... I put a gun to yer head!' China Crisis were in session on The John Peel Show. An unnamed twelve-year-old Birmingham boy became one of the youngest people in England and Wales to be convicted of murder after he admitted killing an eight-year-old. He was sentenced to be detained indefinitely. President Reagan failed to persuade President Galtieri to abort the proposed invasion of the Falkland Islands.
Newsweek: Sex & Violence - Is Pornography Dangerous? broadcast on BBC2. The Sidmouth Letters broadcast in the Playhouse strand. The Falklands War began as Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. The first Argentine troops landed by helicopter three miles from Port Stanley. The eighty man garrison of Royal Marines was vastly outnumbered and, after brief resistance, Governor Rex Hunt surrendered and the Argentine occupation began. The UN condemned the act with Resolution 502. In the UK, a Royal Navy Task Force began to assemble and every eighteen year old in the country shat in their own breeks as rumours swept the country that conscription was about to be introduced. Elvis Costello & The Attractions' 'I'm Your Toy'/'Cry, Cry, Cry', 'Wondering', The Higsons' 'Conspiracy'/'Touchdown', The Farmer's Boys' 'I Think I Need Help'/'Squit', Simple Minds' 'Promised You A Miracle', The Chameleons' 'In Shreds'/'Less That Human', Roxy Music's 'More Than This', Haircut One Hundred's 'Fantastic Day'/'Ski Club', Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' 'I Love Rock 'N' Roll'/'Love Is Pain' and The Beat's 'Save It For Later'/'What's Your Best Thing?' released. Paul Schrader's Cat People premiered. Crap film, great therme song.
Pop Quiz featured guest appearances from David Essex, Kenney Jones, Carlene Carter, Jake Burns, John Entwistle and Terry Hall. The first episode of BBC2's Discovering Hedgerows broadcast. The Old Grey Whistle Test featured live Rockpalast performances by Van Morrison and Rick James. Favourite Grittar won The Grand National. FA Cup holders Tottenham Hotspur reached the final for the second reason running with a two-nil win over Leicester City at Villa Park. Second Division Queens Park Rangers overcome West Bromwich Albion at Highbury to reach the final for the first time. Tottenham's victory was marred by Leicester fans booing Argentine midfielder Ossie Ardiles. Jean-Jacques Lagrange's Mérette - starring Anne Bos, Jean Bouise, Patrick Lapp and Isabelle Sadoyan - premiered. The final edition of Tiswas shown on ITV.
The first UK TV showing of Sunshine in The Sunday Film strand. A Lion Is In The Streets shown on BBC2. Peggy Lee Entertains broadcast. The British Falkland Islands government surrendered, placing the islands under Argentine control. The nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror left Faslane bound for the South Atlantic and armed to the teeth with Mark Eight torpedoes.
Film 82 previewed Das Boot. Maids, The Mad Shooter and the first episodes of Hawk Of The Wilderness and Vigil broadcast on BBC2. The first episode of Radio 1's John Peel In Liverpool broadcast. A Royal Navy task force of more than one hundred naval ships, including the aircraft carriers Invincible and Hermes and with HQ Three Commando Brigade and elements of Forty and Forty Two Commando, set sail for the Falklands from Portsmouth amid much flag-waving and cock-thrusting rhetoric. General Al Haig, the US Secretary of State, began marathon mediation efforts. Which spectacularly failed. The foreign secretary Lord Carrington resigned in shame and ignominy. Hayley Elizabeth Atwell born in London.
The first episode of QED, How To Pick Up Girls, Win Arguments & Influence People, broadcast. Wally K Daly's Whistling Wally broadcast in the PlayFor Today strand. Ca Canny But Ca Awa broadcast on BBC2. The British Government set up a War Cabinet to provide day-to-day political oversight of the Falklands campaign.
The first episode of Rough Justice, exposing apparent miscarriages of justice, broadcast. City Of The Dead broadcast in BBC2's Chronicle strand. Britain declared a two hundred-mile exclusion zone around the Falklands. Liverpool achieved a vital win over Manchester United at Old Trafford to move two points ahead of Ipswich Town at the top of the First Division. Growing Up In Northern Ireland, a Mailbag special, broadcast on Radio 1.
The first UK broadcast of The Littlest Hobo. The first episode of BBC2's Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You broadcast. Gil Scott-Heron and Tygers of Pan Tang appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Dave Edmunds' DE Seventh released. HMS Broadsword and HMS Yarmouth departed from Gibraltar bound for the South Atlantic. American Secretary of State Haig arrived in London in the latest round of his shuttle diplomacy.
Pole Vaulter Brian Hooper won World Superstars. The first UK TV showing of You Can't Take It With You on BBC2. Radio 1's Marathon Music Quiz began. David Bowie's 'Cat People (Putting Out Fire)'/'Paul's Theme (Jogging Chase)', The Fall's 'Look Know'/'I'm Into CB', Elton John's Jump Up!, The Stranglers' 'La Folie'/'Waltzinblack' and Squeeze's 'Black Coffee In Bed'/'The Hunt' released. The ocean liner SS Canberra departed from Portsmouth for the Falklands carrying Three Para and most of Forty and Forty Two Commandos.
The first UK TV showing of Dead Of Night. The first UK broadcast of The Trials of Alger Hiss on BBC2. Depeche Mode and Talk Talk featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Fun Boy Three's 'The Telephone Always Rings'/'The Alibi' released. Al Haig arrived in Buenos Aires to begin talks with the Junta. The EEC, except for Italy and Ireland, backed trade sanctions against Argentina in protest at the Falklands invasion.
The first UK broadcast of A Whale For The Killing. The Rock That Doesn't Roll broadcast on BBC2. Nicky Chinn and Mike Chapman featured on Radio 1's The Record Producers.
The first UK TV showing of Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. The Superteams, Doddy! and La Belle Isobel broadcast. The Cinema of Andrzej Wajda, Something Else - Just the Music and The Glorious Effect broadcast on BBC2. Scene 81 broadcast on Radio 1. The Bee-Gees broadcast on Radio 2. Alistair Cooke Recalls 1 January 1932 broacast on Radio 4. A Sheet Metal Worker Is Approached By Ivor Cutler broadcast on Radio 3. ITV launched three regional TV stations - Central, TV South and TV South West, replacing ATV Midlands, Southern Television and Westward Television respectively. Peru's Javier Pérez de Cuéllar became the Secretary-General of the United Nations. Mike Post Featuring Larry Carlton's 'The Theme From Hill Street Blues'/'Aaron's Tune' and The Stranglers' 'Golden Brown'/'Love Thirty' released.
It's a Christmas Knockout broadcast. In Front Of The Children and a production of Verdi's Aida broadcast on BBC2. Weapon Of Peace and Bumble & The Beez featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Sue Townsend's Adrian Mole was introduced to a national audience in the radio play The Diary Of Nigel Mole Aged 13¾, in BBC Radio 4's Thirty-Minute Theatre strand. The Welsh Army of Workers claimed responsibility for a bomb explosion at the Birmingham headquarters of Severn Trent Water. Holders Tottenham Hotspur beat Arsenal in a North London derby in the FA Cup Third Round. Liverpool beat Swansea City four-nil, while Manchester United are beaten by Second Division Watford. British Rail retired its last Class Fifty Five Deltic diesel-electric locomotives from service. The first episode of the short-lived 'adult' Tisaw spin-off OTT broadcast on ITV.
The final episode of The Generation Game presented by Larry Grayson and the first episodes of Gulliver In Lilliput and Couples - presented by Gay Search - broadcast. The Blasted Heath broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us strand. The first episode of Radio 1's The Record Producers broadcast. The first episode of Airline broadcast on ITV.
The first episode of Police broadcast. Peter Davison made his first full appearance as The Doctor in the opening episode of the Doctor Who serial Castrovalva. The series had moved from the Saturday tea-time slot it had occupied since 1963 to a twice-weekly schedule on Monday and Tuesday evenings at 18.55. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in conversation with lain Johnstone featured on a Film 82 Special. The first episodes of BBC2's Dancing Girls and Riverside - featuring live performances from New Order and Bow, Wow, Wow - broadcast. The Cure were in session on The John Peel Show ('The Figurehead', 'A Hundred Years', 'Siamese Twins'). The Little Giants broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand. Jim Lloyd introduced Silly Wizard recorded at the Cambridge Folk Festival on Radio 2's Folk On Two.
The first episode of The Story Of The Treasure Seekers broadcast. The first episode of BBC2's Tigris: The Sumerian Voyage of Thor Heyerdahl broadcast. The fourth India/England test at Calcutta was drawn. Keith Fletcher top-scored for the vistors in England's first innings and David Gower in the second. Aspects Of The Fringe broadcast on Radio 4.
The first episodes of BBC2's Ennal's Point and The English Language broadcast. The Old Grey Whistle Test broadcast the Jim Morrison documentary No One Here Gets Out Alive. The first episode of Huckleberry Finn & His Friends broadcast. Peter Powell presented Top Of The Pops included appearances from Alton Edwards, Mobiles, Shakatak, The Human League, Madness, Foreigner, Jon & Vangelis and Meat Loaf.
The first episode of Fame Is The Spur broadcast. Spandau Ballet and Ben Elton appeared on BBC2's The Oxford Road Show. The Combination broadcast in the Playhouse strand. The launch of London Weekend Television's Friday evening magazine programme The Six O'Clock Show and the first episode of Shine On Harvey Moon broadcast. John Barnwell resigned as manager of Wolverhampton Wanderers, whose fortunes had declined sharply in the two years since he took them to sixth place in the First Division and League Cup victory. The Wild Swans' magnificent 'Revolutionary Spirit'/'God Forbid', XTC's 'Senses Working Overtime'/'Blame The Weather', 'Tissue Tigers (The Arguers)' and Orange Juice's 'Felicity'/'In A Nutshell' released.
Peter Davison appeared on Swap Shop and, showing the outstanding self-control one associated with The Doctor, managed not to punch Noel Edmonds, hard, in the mush. Mon Oncle D'Amerique shown in BBC2's Film International strand. The British Embassy in Buenos Aires lodged a formal protest against a visit of Argentine scrap metal workers to the Falklands dependancy of South Georgia. The reason for the landing was a 1978 contract between a company owned by the Argentine businessman Constantino Davidoff and the British company Christian Salvesen for the removal of an abandoned whaling station on the island. Aware of the contract, the Argentine Navy conceived of a sneaky plan to hijack Davidoff's business in South Georgia, in order to establish an undercover base on the disputed territory. The action was code named Operation Alpha. Eddy Grant appeared on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. Adam Ant was interviewed about his videoson Rock On. The Goodies episode Robot broadcast on LWT.
The first episode of King's Royal broadcast. The first UK TV showing of The Shootist. The first UK TV showing of Bruce Beresford's The Club in BBC2's Australian Cinema Season strand. The lowest ever UK temperature of minus 27.2 °C was recorded at Braemar, in Aberdeenshire. This equalled a record set at the same location in 1895. The record would be matched again at Altnaharra in 1995. Tommy Vance replaced Tony Blackburn as host of Radio 1's Top Forty show.
So You Think You Know What's Good for You? broadcast. The first episodes of BBC2's Other People's Lives and The Computer Programme broadcast. Fad Gadget, dance from Dance Theatre Britannica and Stewart Copeland featured on Riverside. Mark Thatcher, the son of That Awful Thatcher Woman, disappeared in the Sahara desert during the Paris-Dakar rally. Rhoda with The Special AKA's 'The Boiler'/'Theme From' released. The first UK broadcast of Hill Street Blues on ITV.
A Cotswold Death broacast in the Play For Today strand. The first Uk TV showing of The Irishman in BBC2's Australian Film Season strand. Inside Aldermaston broadcast. The Argentinian Joint Armed Forces committee began planning for military invasion of the Falkland Islands.
Three of the four League Cup fifth round matches were postponed due to bad weather. In the surviving game, Liverpool drew nil-nil at Barnsley. The first episode of George Melly's They're Playing My Tune and Iris Murdoch's The Bell broadcast on BBC2.
The Great Hedgehog Mystery broadcast in the Wildlife On One strand. The first episodes of BBC2's Robinson's Travels, Muggeridge: Ancient & Modern and History On Your Doorstep broadcast. Mark Thatcher was, tragically, found safe and well in the Sahara, six days after going missing.
Miss Great Britain 1982 - introduced by Henry Kelly and Ray Moore - broadcast. A Silly Little Habit broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark's 'Maid Of Orleans (The Waltz Joan Of Arc)'/'Navigation', Rico & The Special AKA's 'Jungle Music'/'Rasta Call You' and the worst record ever made by anyone, ever, Adrian Gurvitz's 'Classic'/'Runaway' released.
The World Cup Draw was broadcast live from Madrid. It was a chaotic event and suffered from a number of mishaps and technical problems with then FIFA general secretary Sepp Blatter presiding. Kenneth Griffith's The Most Valuable Englishman Ever broadcast on BBC2. The first UK TV showing of Tomorrow I'll Be Scalding Myself With Tea in the Film International. Faded Glam Queen of Seventy Six, Midge Ure was Andy Peebles' guest on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. The Goodies episode Football Crazy broadcast on LWT.
Puffer's Progress broadcast. The first UK TV showing of Summerland in BBC2's Australian Film Season. George Martin featured in Radio 1's The Record Producers.
A Complaint Of Rape, the third episode of the BBC's fly-on-the-wall documentary series Police, showing a trio of male police officers treating a female sexual assault complainant appallingly. It shocked viewers and led to changes in future police treatment of rape allegations. Mari Wilson feature on BBC2's Riverside. Pink Industry were in session on The John Peel Show. The fifth India/England test at Madras was drawn. Gundappa Viswanath scored a double century for the hosts, Graham Gooch replied with a hundred for the visitors.
Under The Skin broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Four Hundred & Forty Four Days ... And Counting broadcast. Toni Basil, Arena: Private Life Of The Ford Cortina and Beardsley & His Work broadcast on BBC2.
The first UK TV showing of Thou Shalt Not Kill in The Wednesday Film strand. The Man Behind The Mask broadcast in BBC2's Chronicle strand. Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat thrown at him during a performance in Des Moines, Iowa, mistaking it for a toy. Or, so he claimed.
The Boy From Space broadcast in the Look & Read strand. No Enemies On The Left? broadcast in BBC2's Newsweek strand. Aubrey broadcast in the Playhouse strand. Haircut One Hundred's 'Love Plus One'/'Marine Boy' and Rhoda With The Special AKA's 'The Boiler'/'Theme From The Boiler' released.
From Hull, Hell & Halifax broadcast on BBC2. Third Division Oxford United caused the shock of the FA Cup Fourth Round with a three-nil win at Brighton & Hove Albion. Watford claimed another First Division victim, beating West Ham United two-nil. Paul Weller featured on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. The Goodies episode Big Foot broadcast on LWT.
Alan Ayckbourne and Lindsay Anderson featured on Omnibus. The Axing Of The Himalayas - narrated by Edward Woodward - broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us strand. Super Bowl XVI saw The San Francisco 49ers and quarterback Joe Montana capture their first National Football League championship beating the Cincinnati Bengals at Detroit's Pontiac Silverdome. Consideration of the Argentine military junta's plans to recapture the Falkland Islands was first revealed in a series of articles in La Prensa newspaper. Articles which were, it would seem, read by no one in the Foreign Office or MI6 London. A bit remiss, one could suggest.
Film 82 previewed Body Heat and Fort Apache, The Bronx and interviewed Sting on the set of Brimstone & Treacle. The Sabbatical broadcast in BBC2's West Country Tales strand. were in session on The John Peel Show ('Politician', 'I Won't Close My Eyes', 'Love Is All Is Alright' and the epic 'Prince Baldhead Meets Gymslip & The School Girls At The Chemist'). In a rub-a-dub style(e).
Commitments broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Girl In A Glider and Exmoor Man broadcast on BBC2. The first UK TV showing of Cathy's Child in the Australian Cinema Season. Unemployment in the UK was recorded at over three million for the first time since the 1930s. The Icicle Works were in session on The John Peel Show ('In The Cauldron Of Love', 'A Factory In The Desert', 'All Is Right', 'When Winter Lasted Forever').
The Naked Runner shown in The Wednesday Film strand. Riding The Summer Sun broadcast on BBC2. The B-52's Mesopotamia released.
Goodbye, Mister Kent broadcast. The Last Resort broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand.
The Lost Continent shown in The Late Film strand. Preview broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The Jam's 'Town Called Malice'/'Precious', Depeche Mode's 'See You'/'Now, This Is Fun', Soft Cell's 'Say Hello, Wave Goodbye'/'Instrumental', The Associates' 'Party Fears Two''It's Better This Way', The Fun Boy Three With Banarama's 'It Ain't What You Do (It's The Way That You Do It)'/'The Funrama Theme', Ian Sludge Lees' 'Viva England'/'The Young Footballer' and Modern Romance's 'Queen Of The Rapping Scene (Nothing Ever Goes The Way You Plan)'/'Can You Move?' released.
Barry Humphreys was the guest on Parkinson, albeit as Dame Edna Everage. And, was therefore about as funny as cancer of the testicles. Protest & Survive broadcast on BBC2. The first computer virus, the Elk Cloner, written by fifteen-year old Rich Skrenta, was found. It infected Apple II computers via a floppy disk. Sheena Easton appeared on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. Classix Nouveaux and A Flock of Seagulls (and their damned silly haircuts) featured on In Concert. The Goodies episode Change Of Life broadcast on LWT.
The first episode of Stalky & Co broadcast. The Odd Angry Shot shown in BBC2's Australian Cinema Season.
Life After Death broadcast in the Play For Today strand. A Year In The Life Of Viscount Weymouth brodcast on BBC2. Orange Juice's You Can't Hide Your Love Forever released.
Olivia Newton-John broadcast. Ancient Mariners broadcast in BBC2's Chronicle strand. ITV showed the network premiere of John Carpenter's Halloween.
John Peel presented Top Of The Pops with appearances from OMD, Jets, AC/DC, XTC, Christopher Cross, Kraftwerk and Theatre Of Hate. The World Land Speed Record: These Forty Glorious Years broadcast on BBC2. The George Formby Story broadcast in the Forty Minutes strand. The Edgar Winter Band and Soft Cell featured on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The sixth and final test of - a very dull - India/England series at Kanpur was drawn. Highlights included centuries for Ian Botham and Kapil Dev.
XTC appeared on BBC2's The Oxford Road Show. Out Of Step broadcast in the Playhouse strand. Laker Airways collapsed (leaving six thousand passengers stranded abroad) with debts of two hundred and seventy million knicker. Kraftwerk's 'Showroom Dummies'/'Numbers', ABC's 'Poison Arrow'/'Theme From Man-Trap', Madness's' Cardiac Arrest'/In The City', Marc Bolan's 'Mellow Love'/'Foxy Boy', 'Lunacy's Back' and UB40's 'I Wont Close My Eyes'/'Folitician' released.
Joan Collins was the guest on Parkinson. The Play Away Square Tomato Show broadcast on BBC2. Nick Lowe featured on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. The Queen commemorated her Pearl Jubilee. The Goodies episode Holiday broadcast on LWT.
Don Siegal's The Black Windmill shown in The Sunday Film strand. The first UK TV showing of The Mango Tree in BBC2's Australian Film Season strand. Mickie Most was the subject of Radio 1's The Record Producers.
The Changing Face Of Venus broadcast in The Sky At Night strand. Bauhaus and Pete Shelley featured on BBC2's Riverside. The Breakdown broadcast in the West Country Tales strand. Echo & The Bunnymen were in session on The John Peel Show ('Taking Advantage', 'An Equation', 'No Hands'). Alice Sophia Eve born in London.
The Silly Season broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first UK TV showing of Blue Fin in BBC2's Australia Film Season strand. Ron Saunders announced his resignation as manager of defending league champions Aston Villa. He was succeeded by assistant Tony Barton. That Awful Thatcher Woman confirmed the forthcoming 'retirement' of HMS Endurance, the Royal Navy's Antarctic ice patrol vessel currently on station in the South Atlantic. The Ministry of Defence's 1981 Defence White Paper had proposed naval cuts including the decommissioning of Endurance. Subsequent events exposed the idiocy of this decision by some stupid plank.
The first UK broadcast of Bret Maverick. The first episode of BBC2's Nancy Astor and Prendiville's Finest Innings broadcast.
Tommy Vance presented Top Of The Pops with Fun Boy Three & Bananarama, The Stranglers, Bow Wow Wow, Adrian Gurvitz, Hall & Oates, Depeche Mode, The J Geils Band, Modern Romance, Haircut 100 and The Jam. Burgled in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Aswad and XTC appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Natalie Dormer born in Reading.
The first UK broadcast of McClain's Law. A Shilling Life broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The opening of the first Next clothing store, a rebranding of the merged Joseph Hepworth and Kendall chains. XTC's English Settlement released. Costa-Gavras's Missing and Francis Ford Coppola's One From The Heart premiered. Kiss' 'A World Without Heroes'/'Mister Blackwell' released.
The first episode of Paint! broadcast. The first episode of BBC2's The Flight Of The Condor. Phil Spector profiled on Radio 1's The Record Producers.
The first appearance of The Terileptils in the Doctor Who serial The Visitation. The White Bird Of Laugliter broadcast BBC2's West Country Tales. Birmingham City sacked manager Big Jim Smith, following a run of but one win since the beginning of October, which had left the club just outside the relegation zone.
The first episode of Legacy of Murder broadcast. The Mackenzie File and the first episode of Seapower broadcast on BBC2. Van Morrison's Beautiful Vision released. The Marine Girls featuring Tracey Thorn were in session on The John Peel Show.
James Stewart appeared on Parkinson. The first episode of Dayan broadcast on BBC2.
Mike Read presented Top Of The Pops with appearances from Toni Basil, Madness, UB40, ABC, Tight Fit, Robert Palmer, George Benson and Jets. The Jam became the first band since The Beatles in 1966 to play two songs on a TOTP episode, both sides of their current number one single, 'Town Called Malice' and 'Precious'. The first episode of BBC2's County Hall broadcast. Nine days after walking out on Aston Villa, Ron Saunders made a surprise return to management with their local rivals, Birmingham City. Theatre Of Hate were in session on The John Peel Show.
You Only Live Once shown in The Late Film strand. The Workshop broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The DeLorean car factory in Belfast was put into receivership. The Undertones' 'Beautiful Friend'/'Life's Too Easy', Showaddywaddy's 'Good Timing'/'You Always Stand Me Up' and Goldie Alexander's 'Show You My Love'/'Go Back' released.
Chesney Allen , Roy Hudd and Christopher Timothy joined Michael Parkinson in a celebration of The Crazy Gang on Parkinson. The first UK TV showing of Passe Ton Bac D'Abord in BBC2's Film International strand. Bill Wyman appeared on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. The Jam (previewing songs from their forthcoming LP) and Department S featured on In Concert recorded at The Hippodrome, Golders Green.
Barry Norman profiled Paganini in Omnibus. End Play shown in BBC2's Australian Cinema Season. Glyn Johns featured in Radio 1's The Record Producers. Sri Lanka's inaugural test in Colombo ended in a seven wicket victory for England. David Gower top-scored for the visitors whilst highlights also included five wicket hauls for Derek Underwood (in his final test) and John Emburey.
Tony Sibson defeated Dwight Davison on points in a Final Eliminator for the World Middleweight Championship, setting up a fight with Marvin Hagler. Reds and Absence Of Malice previewed on Film 82. The Visitor broadcast in BBC2's West Country Tales. The Apostolic Delegation was promoted to the Apostolic Nunciature to Great Britain by Pope John Paul II; the first pro-nuncio was Bruno Heim.
The British Rock and Pop Awards broadcast. Winners included Alison Moyet, Boy George, Duran Duran and Dexys Midnight Runners. The first UK TV showing of The Yakuza. Riot broadcast in BBC2's Chronicle strand.
Tomorrow's World included 'a new system to make credit cards super-safe using a magnetic strip that can't be erased.' Bucks Fizz, alleged Scouse 'comedian' Stan Boardman and ventriloquist Terri Rogers were guests on BBC2's Russell Harty filmed on the Bravo oil production platform, one hundred miles off Aberdeen. Tragically, all involved did return to the mainland. The European Court of Human Rights ruled that teachers who cane, belt or tawse children against the wishes of their parents would be in breach of the Human Rights Convention.
The first UK TV showing of The Devil's Eight. How Many Miles To Babylon? broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. Nick Lowe's Nick The Knife and XTC's 'Ball & Chain'/'Punch & Judy', 'Heaven Is Paved With Broken Glass' and Associates' 'Party Fears Two'/'It's Better This Way' released.
Leo Sayer and Duran Duran provided millions of Britons with an incentive to have a long lie-in with their appearance on Swap Shop. What About Your Ma, Is Your Da Still Workin'? broadcast in BBC2's Open Door strand. The Auden Landscape broadcast. The D'Oyly Carte Opera Company gave its last performance at the end of a final London season, having been in near-continuous existence since 1875. Radio 1 broadcast the final episode of Playground. Phil Oakey appeared on My Top Twelve. Des O'Connor In Concert broadcast on Radio 2.
True Grit: A Further Adventure shown in The Sunday Film strand. The first UK TV showing of Sunday Too Far Away in BBC2's Australian Film Season strand. Radio 1 broadcast the final episode of Junior Choice.
The first episode of Alexa broadcast in the Love Story strand. Forged Papers broadcast on BBC2. Simple Minds were in session on The John Peel Show ('Promised You A Miracle', Love Song', 'Sons & Fascination', 'King Is White & In The Crowd'). Andrej Lettrich's Otec - starring Pavol Angst, Lubomír Paulovic and Petra Cernocká - premiered. The first episode of Murphy's Mob broadcast on ITV.
The Queen opened the Barbican Centre. The venue's Opening Concert was broadcast on BBC2. That Awful Thatcher Woman urged preparation of contingency plans in case of increased Argentine hostility towards the Falkland Islands. One of history's finest examples of 'shutting the stable door after the horse had buggered off'.
The first UK broadcast of Perry Como's Bahamas Holiday. Japan and Thompson Twins appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail by Michael Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln published. An unofficial follow-up to three BBC2 documentaries that were part of the Chronicle strand, the authors put forward a - frankly barmy - hypothesis that Jesus married Mary Magdalene, had one or more children and that descendants of the line emigrated to what is now Southern France. Once there, they intermarried with the noble families which would eventually become the Merovingian dynasty, whose claim to the throne of France was championed by a secret society called the Priory of Sion. They concluded that the Holy Grail was, in fact, this sacred royal bloodline. An international bestseller on its release, The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail spurred interest in its central thesis and was a major influence on Dan Brown's drivelling nonsense The Da Vinci Code. In 2005, Tony Robinson narrated The Real Da Vinci Code, shown on Channel Four, a critical evaluation of the theories of Baigent, Leigh and Lincoln (and, subsequently, Brown). The programme included lengthy interviews with many of the protagonists. Arnaud de Sède, son of Gérard de Sède, stated categorically that his father and Pierre Plantard (authors of the 1967 book L'Or De Rennes) had 'made up' the existence of the supposedly one thousand-year-old Priory of Sion and described the entire story as 'piffle.' Historian Richard Barber wrote: 'The Templar-Grail myth is at the heart of the most notorious of all the Grail pseudo-histories, The Holy Blood & The Holy Grail, which is a classic example of the conspiracy theory of history. It is, essentially, a text which proceeds by innuendo, not by refutable scholarly debate.' Or, in other words, it's a load of horseshit. An unofficial cricket tour of South Africa by and 'England' squad captained by Graham Gooch began. The tour was originally to be financed by Holiday Inns, who made their support conditional on Ian Botham being part of the touring party. When he decided not to take part, it was left to South African Breweries to underwrite the cost, leading to the touring side being named as the South African Breweries England XI. The squad included Geoffrey Boycott, Alan Knott, Dennis Amiss, John Emburey, Mike Hendrick, Chris Old, Derek Underwood and Peter Willey. Upon their return, the players each received three-year international bans from the TCCB, effectively ending the test careers of most of them (Gooch and Emburey did, eventually, return to the national side). Over the course of the 1980s, a further six rebel tours were undertaken to South Africa by players from different test-playing nations.
The first episode of The Ian Wooldridge Interview featured odious fantasist and, subsequently, jailed lair Jeffrey Archer. The first episode of BBC2's Dear Heart. The BBC was given permission by the Government to start broadcasting television programmes on two satellite channels from early 1986. Ultimately, the channels were not launched. John Belushi was found dead of an apparent drug overdose in the Chateau Marmont in Los Angeles. Men At Work's 'Down Under'/'Crazy', Slade's 'Ruby Red'/'Funk Punk And Junk', The Sinatras' 'You Make Me Feel Like I'm Wearing New Clothes'/'Finding Your Own Level' and Everything But The Girl's 'Night & Day'/'Feeling Dizzy', 'On My Mind' released.
Buddy Rich, Roy Castle, Kenny Everett and Samy Davis Jr were the guests on Parkinson. Her Mother's House broadcast on BBC2. Shrewsbury Town's impressive FA Cup run came to an end when they lost five-two to Leicester City at Filbert Street in the Sixth Round. In two London derbies, Tottenham Hotspur beat Chelsea three-two and Queens Park Rangers won one-nil at home to Crystal Palace. West Bromwich Albion took the remaining Semi-Final place with a two-nil win over Coventry City. The Radio 1 weekend breakfast show was renamed The Saturday Show and The Sunday Show. Children's requests continued to be a mainstay of the show and Maggie Philbin and Keith Chegwin joined Tony Blackburn as co-presenters. The Pretenders appeared on In Concert.
Futebol Brasil broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us strand. The Beatles At The Beeb broadcast on Radio 1.
The first appearance of The Cyberman in Doctor Who since 1975 at the climax for episode one of Earthshock. Pete Sayers Entertains featured special guest Frank lfield at The Snape Maltings. Killing Joke; a psychedelic night at the new London club, The Fridge, Billy Connolly speaking his mind, former Sham 69 singer, Jimmy Pursey, danced to a Stranglers tune (well, sort of) and Tony Blackburn 'at home' with Eddie Tudorpole was the line-up on an utterly memorable episode of BBC2's Riverside. The first episode of Imagined Worlds broadcast. The final episode of Not The Nine O'Clock News broadcast. And, still, the memory kinda lingers. The Fall's Hex Enduction Hour released.
Tishoo broadcast in the Play For Today strand.
Alan Whicker appeared on Parkinson. The Circus Moves On - In Calabria broadcast on BBC2.
Simon Bates presented performances from Bow Wow Wow, Fun Boy Three & Bananarama, Depeche Mode, Julio Iglesias, Haircut One Hundred, Associates, Adrian Gurvitz and Tight Fit on Top Of The Pops. The first episode of BBC2's Poems In Their Place broadcast.
Kotch shown in The Late Film strand. Pocketful Of Dreams broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The first episode of The Blues broadcast, featuring performances by Booker White, Houston Stackhouse, Sonny Blake and Sam Chatman. The closure of Queen Street Mill, Burnley, the last steam driven weaving shed to work commercially. The Jam's The Gift, Killing Joke's 'Empire Song'/'Brilliant', Dexys Midnight Runners' 'The Celtic Soul Brothers (More Please)'/'Love Part 2', Weekend's sublime 'The View From Her Room'/'Leaves Of Spring' and A Flock Of Seagulls' 'I Ran'/'Pick Me Up' released. Katsuhiko Fujii's Onna Shinnyû-Shain 5-ji Kara 9-ji Made - starring Junko Asahina - premiered.
The first episode of Ken Dodd's Showbiz broadcast. 'As The Cybermen return to Doctor Who, thriller writer and Newsnight reporter Gavin Scott celebrates thirty years of television monsters with guest appearances threatened by Daleks, Sea Devils, Mandrells, Yeti, Sontarans and Krynoids' on BBC2's Did You See ...? Liverpool retained the League Cup with a three-one win over Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley. UFO featured on Radio 1's In Concert.
Claire Bloom profiled on Omnibus. The first UK TV showing The Life & Assassination Of The Kingfish on BBC2. The first episode of the flawed-but-interesting Whoops Apocalyse broadcast on ITV.
A location report on The Draughtsman's Contract featured on Film 82. The Birthday Party made their UK TV debut and Paul Weller and Martin Fry were interviewed on BBC2's Riverside. John Cooper Clark was in session on The John Peel Show ('Midnight Shift', 'Night People', 'The New Assassin, 'The Day My Pad Went Mad'). Richard & Linda Thompson's Shoot Out The Lights and Yazoo's 'Only You'/'Situation' released.
Mike Leigh's Home Sweet Home broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first death of a Doctor Who companion - Adric - since 1965 in episode four of Earthshock. Russell Harty's Irish Night Out broadcast on BBC2. York City, currently bottom of the Fourth Division, sacked manager Kevin Randall. Former captain Barry Swallow was appointed as his replacement, their third manager of the season. Blake Edwards' Victor/Victoria premiered. Claus von Bülow was found extremely guilty of the attempted murder of his wife by a court in Newport, Rhode Island. On appeal, however, the conviction was reversed.
Aston Villa reached the Semi-Final of the European Cup with a two-nil victory over Dynamo Kiev. Liverpool were knocked-out, losing two-one to CSKA Sofia in Bulgaria. In The European Cup Winners Cup, Tottenham Hotspur also progressed on aggregate against Eintract Frankfurt. Scotchland's last surviving European representative, Dundee United, were knocked out of the UEFA Cup, losing three-nil in Yugoslavia to Radnički Niš. The Spirit Of Carnival broadcast on BBC2.
That's Life - Having A Baby broadcast. Hunt Saboteurs broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. A legal case brought by That Awful Whitehouse Woman against the National Theatre concerning alleged obscenity in Howard Brenton's play The Romans In Britain was - satisfyingly - defeated when Whitehouse's solicitor, Graham Ross-Cornes, a chief witness, revealed under cross-examination that he had been sitting at the very back of the theatre when he claimed to have seen a penis. The prosecution withdrew after defence counsel Jeremy Hutchinson QC demonstrated that Ross-Cornes could have witnessed the actor's thumb protruding from his fist. The case ended after the Attorney-General entered a nolle prosequi. Whitehouse had to meet the costs of the case. Which was funny. An Argentine scrap metal dealer raised the Argentine flag in South Georgia, effectively kicking-off the Falklands conflict, big-time. Fun Boy Three's eponymous debut LP released. Dead Or Alive and The Nightingales were in session on The John Peel Show.
The Satan Bug and Hannie Caulder shown on BBC1. All I Ask Is A Tall Ship ..., Empires Of War and A Musical Canal Celebration broadcast on BBC2. Keeping In Touch broadcast in the Playhouse strand. Argentine troops landed on South Georgia, precipitating a war which would leave over nine hundred dead. So, well done them. The Blizzard's Of Oz guitarist, Randy Rhoads, was killed in a freak accident in Leesburg, Florida when the plane in which he was a passenger buzzed Ozzy Osbourne's tour bus and crashed into a house. The plane's pilot and a female passenger were also killed. Japan's 'Ghosts'/'The Art Of Parties' and Anti-Nowhere League's 'I Hate ... People'/'Let's Break The Law' released.
Guests on Swap Shop included Kevin Keegan, Adam Ant and Steve Davis. Sidney Hayers' Payroll shown in BBC2's Midnight Movie strand. Admiral Anaya, Commander in Chief of the Argentine Navy and a member of the ruling military junta ordered an advance in Argentina's Falklands invasion plans. Foreigner featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Which would've been well worth avoiding. Dame Edith Everett broadcast on Radio 2.
The first UK TV showings of Logan's Run and, on BBC2, Winter Kills. Harry H Corbett died aged fifty seven. His former Steptoe & Son co-star, Wilfrid Brambell made an emotional appearance on BBC News to pay tribute. HMS Endurance, at Port Stanley, sailed for South Georgia with two helicopters and a Royal Marines detachment in an effort to sort out the shit that had been dumped in its lap by crass inaction in London. Secret Affair appeared on Radio 1's Studio B15 whilst Tony Visconti was profiled on The Record Producers.
His Master's Voice? broadcast in the Panorama strand. Evil Under The Sun profiled on Film 82. A Tall Story: How Salman Rushdie Pickled All India broadcast in BBC2's Arena strand. U2's 'A Celebration'/'Trash, Trampoline & The Party Girl' released.
A Sudden Wrench broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first episode of BBC2's Fields Of Play broadcast.
Sportsnight features highlights of Atletico Bilbao versus an England XI, a dress rehearsal for Ron Greenwood's side in the stadium where they would play their first three World Cup matches. The Survival Of The Species, the final episode of BBC2's The Making Of Mankind broadcast. Talking Heads' The Name Of This Band Is Talking Heads released. A Royal Marines detachment from HMS Endurance landed on South Georgia to monitor Argentine activity at Leith.
The first episode of Love Is Old, Love Is New broadcast in the Love Story strand. Frank Lloyd Wright: The Robie House and Take Me Back To New Orleans broadcast on BBC2. 'Bespectacled old wino' Roy Jenkins won the Hillhead by-election in Glasgow for the Social Democrats. The situation on South Georgia dramatically escalated with the arrival of armed personnel in military uniform from the Argentine ship Bahia Paraiso intent on a bit of argy-bargy.
No Drums, No Bugles shown in The Late Film strand. The first episode of BBC2's The Wooldridge View broadcast. The Guest broadcast in the Playhouse strand. Tears For Fears' 'Pale Shelter (You Don't Give Me Love)'/'The Prisoner', Blancmange's 'I've Seen The Word'/'God's Kitchen', The RAH Band's 'Perfumed Garden'/'Funk Me Down To Rio '82' and Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder's truly horrifying 'Ebony & Ivory'/'Rainclouds' released. Listen, you two, pianos are all very well but they're not going to sort out the problems of the world, right?
The final episode of Swap Shop broadcast. Though, tragically, this did not signal the end of Noel Edmonds TV career. Oxford won The Boat Race. Battle Of The Bands broadcast, introduced by Mike Read and Rula Lenska. The was the culmination of a nationwide competition to find the 'best new pop or rock band' this year and featured such astounding talent as Shoot The Moon, Private ID, Thin End Of The Wedge, Mezzoforte, Andy Pandemonium and, eventual winners, The Crack (no, me neither). The judges were Hazel O'Connor, Suzi Quatro, Stuart Colman, John Entwistle, Paul Gambaccini and Noddy Holder and the guest band was Dollar. There Ought To Be Clowns and Harold Pinter's The Hothouse broadcast on BBC2. Way of the West and Afraid of Mice appeared on Radio 1's In Concert. Peter Davison and Christopher Timothy presented Radio 2's Star Choice from the Daily Scum Mail Ideal Home Exhibition.
Barry Norman profiled the forthcoming Oscars in Omnibus. Seven Days In May shown on BBC2 in 'a season of feature films portraying the darker side of American power politics.' The UK TV premiere of The Spy Who Loved Me on ITV. An Argentine invasion fleet set sail for the Falklands. In Los Angeles, David Crosby was extremely arrested for possession of Quaaludes and drug paraphernalia, driving under the influence of cocaine, carrying a concealed weapon and possession of an outrageous moustache. All of which carried a potential jail sentence. Especially the latter.
The first UK broadcast of Cagney & Lacey. A Dream Of Alice broadcast on BBC2. Royal assent was given in London to the Canada Act which set the stage for the repatriation of the Canadian Constitution. The Beat were in session on The John Peel Show ('Spar Wid Me', 'Till The End Of The Party', 'She's Going She's Gone', 'Save It For Later', 'Sole Salvation', 'Patou & Roger A-Go Talk'). Sparks' Angst In My Pants and Bananarama with The Fun Boy Three's 'Really Saying Something'/'Give Us Back Our Cheap Fares' released. The Fifty Fourth Academy Awards, hosted by Johnny Carson, was held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles. Chariots Of Fire won Best Picture.
Eve Set The Balls Of Corruption Rolling broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The Balby Street Kids broadcast on BBC2.
Journey Into Frequency Space broadcast. The first episode of BBC2's Haydn Festival broadcast. The Au Pairs were in session on The John Peel Show. Southampton remained leaders of the First Division, but Liverpool and Ipswich Town were closing in, a point behind and both with games in hand. Swansea City and Manchester United completed the top five. The bottom three of Middlesbrough, Sunderland and Wolverhampton Wanderers remained unchanged. Watford overhauled Luton Town as Second Division leaders, with Sheffield Wednesday completing the top three. Rotherham United, Blackburn Rovers and Newcastle United were close behind in the promotion race. Fulham defender Dave Clement, who was capped five times by England and spent the first fourteen years of his career at Queens Park Rangers, committed suicide. British intelligence were both shaken and stirred to learn of Argentine intentions to invade the Falklands. Having, apparently, not previously bothered to analyse the entirely unambiguous signals coming out of Buenos Aires for the past few months.
The first episode of Badger By Owl-Light broadcast. The Teardrop Explodes were in concert at the Riverside Studios on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Including a memorably mental version of 'The Culture Bunker'. 'This is Kevin speaking ... I put a gun to yer head!' China Crisis were in session on The John Peel Show. An unnamed twelve-year-old Birmingham boy became one of the youngest people in England and Wales to be convicted of murder after he admitted killing an eight-year-old. He was sentenced to be detained indefinitely. President Reagan failed to persuade President Galtieri to abort the proposed invasion of the Falkland Islands.
Newsweek: Sex & Violence - Is Pornography Dangerous? broadcast on BBC2. The Sidmouth Letters broadcast in the Playhouse strand. The Falklands War began as Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. The first Argentine troops landed by helicopter three miles from Port Stanley. The eighty man garrison of Royal Marines was vastly outnumbered and, after brief resistance, Governor Rex Hunt surrendered and the Argentine occupation began. The UN condemned the act with Resolution 502. In the UK, a Royal Navy Task Force began to assemble and every eighteen year old in the country shat in their own breeks as rumours swept the country that conscription was about to be introduced. Elvis Costello & The Attractions' 'I'm Your Toy'/'Cry, Cry, Cry', 'Wondering', The Higsons' 'Conspiracy'/'Touchdown', The Farmer's Boys' 'I Think I Need Help'/'Squit', Simple Minds' 'Promised You A Miracle', The Chameleons' 'In Shreds'/'Less That Human', Roxy Music's 'More Than This', Haircut One Hundred's 'Fantastic Day'/'Ski Club', Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' 'I Love Rock 'N' Roll'/'Love Is Pain' and The Beat's 'Save It For Later'/'What's Your Best Thing?' released. Paul Schrader's Cat People premiered. Crap film, great therme song.
Pop Quiz featured guest appearances from David Essex, Kenney Jones, Carlene Carter, Jake Burns, John Entwistle and Terry Hall. The first episode of BBC2's Discovering Hedgerows broadcast. The Old Grey Whistle Test featured live Rockpalast performances by Van Morrison and Rick James. Favourite Grittar won The Grand National. FA Cup holders Tottenham Hotspur reached the final for the second reason running with a two-nil win over Leicester City at Villa Park. Second Division Queens Park Rangers overcome West Bromwich Albion at Highbury to reach the final for the first time. Tottenham's victory was marred by Leicester fans booing Argentine midfielder Ossie Ardiles. Jean-Jacques Lagrange's Mérette - starring Anne Bos, Jean Bouise, Patrick Lapp and Isabelle Sadoyan - premiered. The final edition of Tiswas shown on ITV.
The first UK TV showing of Sunshine in The Sunday Film strand. A Lion Is In The Streets shown on BBC2. Peggy Lee Entertains broadcast. The British Falkland Islands government surrendered, placing the islands under Argentine control. The nuclear submarine HMS Conqueror left Faslane bound for the South Atlantic and armed to the teeth with Mark Eight torpedoes.
Film 82 previewed Das Boot. Maids, The Mad Shooter and the first episodes of Hawk Of The Wilderness and Vigil broadcast on BBC2. The first episode of Radio 1's John Peel In Liverpool broadcast. A Royal Navy task force of more than one hundred naval ships, including the aircraft carriers Invincible and Hermes and with HQ Three Commando Brigade and elements of Forty and Forty Two Commando, set sail for the Falklands from Portsmouth amid much flag-waving and cock-thrusting rhetoric. General Al Haig, the US Secretary of State, began marathon mediation efforts. Which spectacularly failed. The foreign secretary Lord Carrington resigned in shame and ignominy. Hayley Elizabeth Atwell born in London.
The first episode of QED, How To Pick Up Girls, Win Arguments & Influence People, broadcast. Wally K Daly's Whistling Wally broadcast in the PlayFor Today strand. Ca Canny But Ca Awa broadcast on BBC2. The British Government set up a War Cabinet to provide day-to-day political oversight of the Falklands campaign.
The first episode of Rough Justice, exposing apparent miscarriages of justice, broadcast. City Of The Dead broadcast in BBC2's Chronicle strand. Britain declared a two hundred-mile exclusion zone around the Falklands. Liverpool achieved a vital win over Manchester United at Old Trafford to move two points ahead of Ipswich Town at the top of the First Division. Growing Up In Northern Ireland, a Mailbag special, broadcast on Radio 1.
The first UK broadcast of The Littlest Hobo. The first episode of BBC2's Sorry Mate, I Didn't See You broadcast. Gil Scott-Heron and Tygers of Pan Tang appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Dave Edmunds' DE Seventh released. HMS Broadsword and HMS Yarmouth departed from Gibraltar bound for the South Atlantic. American Secretary of State Haig arrived in London in the latest round of his shuttle diplomacy.
Pole Vaulter Brian Hooper won World Superstars. The first UK TV showing of You Can't Take It With You on BBC2. Radio 1's Marathon Music Quiz began. David Bowie's 'Cat People (Putting Out Fire)'/'Paul's Theme (Jogging Chase)', The Fall's 'Look Know'/'I'm Into CB', Elton John's Jump Up!, The Stranglers' 'La Folie'/'Waltzinblack' and Squeeze's 'Black Coffee In Bed'/'The Hunt' released. The ocean liner SS Canberra departed from Portsmouth for the Falklands carrying Three Para and most of Forty and Forty Two Commandos.
The first UK TV showing of Dead Of Night. The first UK broadcast of The Trials of Alger Hiss on BBC2. Depeche Mode and Talk Talk featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Fun Boy Three's 'The Telephone Always Rings'/'The Alibi' released. Al Haig arrived in Buenos Aires to begin talks with the Junta. The EEC, except for Italy and Ireland, backed trade sanctions against Argentina in protest at the Falklands invasion.
The first UK TV showing of The Bad News Bears. Emu's Easter Magical Show and The Best Of Paul Daniels were broadcast back-to-back whilst An Evening With Andrew Lloyd Webber was on BBC2. And, if that wasn't enough to persuade you to go out and get rotten drunk, nothing would. Bauhaus were in session on The John Peel Show. The Lenny Henry Easter Egg was broadcast on Radio 1. Tommy Steele - His Life, His Song broadcast of Radio 2. The Winged Boy broadcast on Radio 4.
The first of the Play For Tomorrow strand, Crimes, broadcast.
Where The Red Fern Grows shown in The Wednesday Film strand. The first episode of BBC2's The Woman In White. The Royal Navy's HMS Brilliant left Ascension for the South Atlantic. During the war, her two helicopters were involved in successfully attacking the Argentine submarine Santa Fe and she was the first Royal Navy warship to fire the Sea Wolf missile in action on 12 May when she shot down three A-4 Skyhawks. Rear Admiral Sandy Woodward departed from Ascension aboard HMS Glamorgan, along with HMS Alacrity, HMs Broadsword and HMS Yarmouth. Arthur Lowe gave a live interview on Pebble Mill At One. Later, he collapsed from a stroke in his dressing room at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, before a performance of Home At Seven in which was due to appear with his wife, Joan.
The final episode of the first series of The Kenny Everett Television Show featured 'Susan George, Lulu, Billy Connolly, Cannon & Ball and a cardboard replica of Michael Parkinson'! Chatsworth broadcast on BBC2. Arthur Lowe died aged sixty six.
The first episode of Odd One Out, featuring that odious gnome Paul Daniels, broadcast. The Queen Of Annagh broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. Shambeko! Say Wah!'s 'Remember'/'A Crack Is A Crack', Toto's 'Rosanna'/'It's A Feeling', Scritti Politti's 'Faithless (parts 1 & 2)' and Bad Manners' 'Got No Brains'/'Psychedelic Eric' released.
The Other Tour broadcast on BBC2. Canada repatriated its constitution, granting full political independence from the United Kingdom. The British military leaders for the forthcoming Falklands campaign met for the first time to discuss tactics on how to give the invading Argentines a damned good kicking. Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse, Commander-in-Chief of the fleet and Major General Moore, the land forces commander, flew to Ascension Island to meet Sandy Woodward, Three Commando brigade leader Major General Julian Thompson and Commodore Michael Clapp who commanded the amphibious assault group aboard HMS Hermes. The BBC launched its first summer Saturday morning magazine programme, Get Set. Unlike its winter counterparts, the show was broadcast only during the first half of the morning. This allowed for an earlier start for Grandstand to accommodate test cricket. On weeks where cricket was not being played, a feature film was broadcast from 11am. The first UK broadcast of Pearl. Mari Wilson & The Marines & Marionettes and Buzzz featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Motörhead's Iron Fist released.
The first episode of Your Mind In Their Hands broadcast. Gilbert O'Sullivan broadcast on BBC2. Paul McCartney Talks To Andy Peebles broadcast on Radio 1.
An adaptation of La Ronde broadcast. The first episodes of BBC2's Langley South, Better Than New, Barry Manilow In Britain and A Family Band broadcast. Germany & The Argentine Bomb broadcast in the Newsnight strand. Associates were in session on The John Peel Show ('Waiting For The Love Boat', 'Australia', 'Love Hangover', 'A Severe Case Of Career Insecurity'). Laurie Anderson's Big Science released. Argentina rejected the US Secretary of State's latest peace proposals.
Bright Eyes broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Stantonbury: A Blueprint broadcast on BBC2. With the chances of a negotiated solution now, effectively, completely cattle-trucked the British War Cabinet officially ordered the repossession of Falklands and instructed their military accordingly.
The Wreck Of The Mary Rose broadcast in BBC2's Chronicle strand. Walsall's hopes of becoming the first Football League club to ground-share were dashed when FA officials blocked their plans to sell the Fellows Park stadium and become tenants at the Molineux, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Tottenham Hotspur lost the European Cup Winners' Cup Semi-Final two-one on aggregate to Barcelona. Aston Villa's goalless draw in Brussels against Andelecht saw them qualify for the European Cup final on aggregate. SAS and SBS troops landed, in secret, on South Georgia.
The first episode of Bird Of Prey broadcast. Denny Laine and Clint Eastwood & General Saint appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Oink!
The first episode of Make 'Em Laugh broadcast. Fun Boy Three appeared on BBC2's Something Else. By George! broadcast in the Playhouse strand. The Clash 'Know Your Rights'/'First Night Back In London', Madness's Complete Madness and Sammy Mackie's 'I'm Yer Man'/'Billy's Boys' released.
The Eurovision Song Contest was held in Harrogate, presented by Jan Leeming and won by Germany's Nicole with 'Ein Bißchen Frieden'. Britain's entry, Bardo's 'One Step Further' was seventh. The frst UK TV showing of One More Time on BBC2. The first British serviceman died in the Falklands War, when his Sea King helicopter crashed. Norman Whiteside, sixteen-year-old Northern Irish forward, made his first team debut for Manchester United in their one-nil win at Brighton & Hove Albion thirteen days before his seventeenth birthday. Clint Eastwood & General Saint and Black Roots were ranking in a rub-a-dub style on Radio 1's In Concert. Mur-dah!
The twenty fifth anniversary episode of The Sky At Night, The Unfolding Universe broadcast. Didier Pironi beat Ferrari teammate Gilles Villeneuve in the San Marino Grand Prix. Todd Rundgren featured in Radio 1's The Record Producers. The Royal Marines recaptured South Georgia after an initial failed landing by the SAS on the Fortuna Glacier. Israel completed its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula in accordance with the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty of 1979.
Madness and Bananarama featured on Cheggers Plays Pop. The Story Of Ruth broadcast on BBC2. Rod Stewart was mugged in Los Angeles. Stewart lost his Porsche to the mugger, but was not injured. At the alleged instigation of manager Bernie Rhodes, Joe Strummer vanished, forcing The Clash to postpone their forthcoming UK tour. Joe subsequently claimed that Rhodes had become worried because tickets were selling slowly for the Scottish leg of the tour and devised the scheme accordingly. It was planned for Strummer to travel, in secret, to Texas and stay with his friend, Joe Ely. Uneasy with this deception, Strummer instead decided to genuinely disappear and 'dicked around' in France for several weeks. Depeche Mode's The Meaning Of Life released.
Cricket broadcast in the Play For Tomorrow strand. Task Force - The Home Front broadcast. Nothing Final broadcast on BBC2. The War Cabinet in London gave approval for Operation Sutton, the British forces landings East Falkland. England beat Wales one-nil in the Home International Championship at Ninian Park. Trevor Francis scored the winner ten minutes from time.
Scotland and Northern Ireland drew one-all in the Home International Championship at Windsor Park. The Last Judgement broadcast on BBC2. Paul McCartney's Tug Of War released.
Nicole, Hot Chocolate, Yazoo, Monsoon, Rocky Sharpe & The Replays, Simple Minds, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Spandau Ballet and Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder featured on Top Of The Pops introduced by Richard Skinner. The Mick Burke Award broadcast on BBC2. The Ravishing Beauties were in session on The John Peel Show. Daniel and Christopher Smith, Britain's first test tube twins, were born to Josephine and Stewart Smith at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
The BBC North documentary As Others See Us broadcast. Lunch broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The Conservatives returned to the top of the opinion polls for the first time since late 1979. Liverpool were now clear at the top of the First Division, four points ahead of Ipswich Town with a game in hand. Swansea City were third. Manchester City, who led the league four months previously, were now tenth. Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers remained in the relegation zone, but Sunderland had climbed out of the bottom three at the expense of West Bromwich Albion. Luton Town's promotion from the Second Division now appeared almost certain, while Watford were also looking likely to reach the top flight for the first time. Sheffield Wednesday occupied the final promotion place, but Leicester City, Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers remained in contention. Influential rock and/or roll journalist Lester Bangs died in his New York apartment of an apparently accidental overdose of prescription drugs. The Associates' 'Club Country'/'AG It's You Again', John Cooper Clarke's 'The Day My Pad Went Mad'/'A Distant Relation', Kid Creole & The Coconuts' 'I'm A Wonderful Thing, Baby'/'Table Manners', The Scottish World Cup Squad's 'We Have A Dream'/'Wrap Up The Cup' and Japan's 'I Second That Emotion'/'Halloween' released. The US finally got off the fence and declared support for Britain in the Falklands conflict.
The first UK broadcast of Dynasty. Crazy Dream broadcast on BBC2. Bow Wow Wow and Fashion featured on Radio 1's In Concert. The first day of military action in the Falklands War. Argentinian Mirages attacked the task force, whilst British planes attacked the Port Stanley airfield. In Operation Black Buck, a Royal Air Force Vulcan bomber took off from Ascension Island, flew eight thousand miles (entailing much mid-air refueling) and bombed Port Stanley Airport. The runway sustained limited damage but the psychological effects were far greater in that Argentine intelligence were unable to determine how the British had managed to conduct such an audacious attack. Sea Harriers also attacked on the same target - the BBC's Brian Hanrahan memorably managed to work around reporting restrictions, stating: 'I'm not allowed to say how many planes joined the raid, but I counted them all out and I counted them all back.' The phrase later inspired the title of a book about conflict which he co-authored. SAS and SBS patrols landed on East and West Falklands and the government requisitioned RMS Queen Elizabeth II as a troop carrier for stage two of the task force.
Nye broadcast. Gold from the Deep broadcast on BBC2. Chris Thomas featured on Radio 1's The Record Producers. HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano with the loss of over three hundred lives. The incident became a cause célèbre for anti-war campaigners who claimed the Belgrano was not only outside the exclusion zone but also sailing away from the conflict although both the Belgrano's captain and the Argentine government did subsequently acknowledge that the attack was a legitimate act of war. The new British Foreign Secretary Francis Pym held talks with General Haig in Washington.
The first UK TV showings of The Big Bus and, on BBC2, Pepe Le Moko. The Cure's Pornography and Frank Zappa's Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch released. Rebecca Maria Hall born in London.
The Nuclear Family broadcast in the Play For Tomorrow strand. The first episode of Wogan broadcast. Suzi Quatro featured on BBC2's Roy Clark Travelling Music Show. Dub-poet Michael Smith was in session on The John Peel Show including the epic 'Mi Cyaan Believe It'. The Type Forty Two Destroyer, HMS Sheffield, was badly damaged by an Exocet missile killing twenty crew members and severely injuring twenty four. It finally sank on 10 May. The destruction of Sheffield (the first Royal Navy ship sunk in action since the Second World War) had a profound impact on the British public, bringing home the fact that the Falklands Crisis was now an actual war. A second Black Buck raid was carried out against Stanley airport; a Sea Harrier was shot down over Goose Green. Southampton and Coventry City draw five-all in the highest-scoring match of the First Division season. A brace from Ross Jenkins in Watford's win over Wrexham sealed their promotion from the Second Division. Jenkins himself was playing Watford in Division Four five years previously.
Viv Richards was profiled on Sportsnight. Trading To Extinction broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us strand.
Peter Duncan running in The London Marathon featured on Blue Peter. Spandau Ballet and Gang Of Four featured on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Serious Drinking were in session on The John Peel Show ('Spirit Of 66', 'Love On The Terraces', 'Hangover', 'He's An Angry Bastard But I Like Him', 'Walk Alone').
Steel Pulse appeared on BBC2's Something Else. Theatre Of Hate's 'The Hop'/'Conquistador', Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup Final Squad (With Chas & Dave)'s 'Tottenham, Tottenham'/'Spurs Medley', The Associates' 'Club Country'/'AG It's You Again', ABC's 'The Look Of Love (parts 1 & 2)', Corrine Gillies' 'You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies'/Bill Colman 'Keep On Dancing', The Comsat Angels' 'It's History'/'Zinger', Public Disgrace's 'Toxteth'/'LSD', 'Wars', Muriel Day's 'Nine Times Out Of Ten'/Jimbo 'Do The Skunk' and UB40' 'Love Is All Is All Right'/'One A Penny' released.
U2 appeared on Get Set For Summer. The first episode of Night Music broadcast. Let It Be shown on BBC2's Saturday Cinema strand. Gilles Villeneuve was killed during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
The BBC broadcast live coverage of the London Marathon for the first time. South American Sketchbook broadcast in The World About Us strand.
The first UK TV showing of Your Three Minutes Are Up in The Monday Film strand. The Mathis Magic broadcast on BBC2. The Clash's drummer Topper Headon was fired from the band due to his heroin addiction. New Order's 'Temptation'/'Hurt' and The Birthday Party's Junkyard released.
Stephen Lowe's Shades broadcast in the Play For Tomorrow strand. Set in 1999 it predicted, with uncanny accuracy, advances in virtual reality. And, with somewhat less plausibly, the future political domination of the SDP.
Barcelona beat Standard Liège two-one in the Final of the European Cup Winners' Cup in the Nou Camp. Royal Academy Summer Exhibition broadcast on BBC2. RMS Queen Elizabeth II departed from Southampton with most of Five Infantry Brigade aboard. HMS Glasgow was damaged by Argentine aircraft; Three Commando Brigade HQ issued Operational Order for the landings in San Carlos Water. Spanish priest Juan María Fernández y Krohn tried to stab Pope John Paul II with a bayonet during the latter's pilgrimage to the shrine at Fátima.
Disgraceful convicted sex offender Dave Lee Mister Hairy-Thingy presented Top Of The Pops featuring Duran Duran, Yazoo, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Fun Boy Three, Simple Minds, Hot Chocolate, Associates, Spandau Ballet and Nicole. Breaking The Silence broadcast in BBC2's Brass Tacks Reports strand. Wild Swans were in session on The John Peel Show ('No Bleeding', 'Enchanted', 'Thirst').
Status Quo - Live On One broadcast, celebrating forty years imaginative use of demin. The first UK TV showing of the movie adaptation of Doomwatch. Jam Today and Sophisticated Boom Boom featured on BBC2's Something Else. Jake's End broadcast in the Playhouse strand. The Clash's Combat Rock, Madness's 'House Of Fun'/'Don't Look Back', XTC's 'No Thugs In Our House'/'Chain Of Command', 'Limelight', 'Over Rusty Water', The Madskwad's 'We Are The Tartan Army (Band Of Angels)'/'The Belt Has Got To Stay', Associates' Sulk, The Passage's 'XOYO'/'Animal In Me', Hawkwind's Church Of Hawkwind, Randy Crawford's 'One Hello'/'That's How Heartaches Are Made' and Adam & The Ants' 'Goody Two Shoes'/'Red Sacb' released. The SAS launched an attack against Argentine forces on Pebble Island where the Argentine Navy had taken over a grass airstrip. This resulted in the destruction of several Argentine aircraft. Alex Higgins beat Jimmy White in a thrilling Semi-Final of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.
Roger Whittaker and Dana were the 'highlights' of Night Music. The Not The Finger In The Ear Show broadcast on BBC2. Nine Below Zero were on Radio 1's In Concert. Liverpool won the Football League title for the thirteenth time after they beat Tottenham Hotspur three-one and Ipswich Town lost by the same score at home to Nottingham Forest. Wolverhampton Wanderers were relegated despite beating West Ham United in their final match of the season. The other two relegation places were still to be decided, with Middlesbrough, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Leeds United all still in danger.
Dnnis Potter was interviewed by Barry Norman on Omnibus. F For Fake shown in BBC2's The Films of Orson Welles strand. Hurricane Higgins won the Embassy World Snooker Championship, his second world title, defeating Ray Reardon eighteen-fifteen in the final. Paul Gambaccini profiled Led Zeppelin on Radio 1.
Bow Wow Wow and Tight Fit featured on Cheggers Plays Pop. Which, presumably, meant the lion wasn't the only one sleeping tonight. The Changing Face Of Parliamentary Democracy broadcast on BBC2.
Easter 2016 broadcast in the Play For Tomorrow strand. Debbie Harry, Hinge and Bracket and Private Eye's Richard Ingrams, Willie Rushton and John Wells were the guests on Wogan. The first part of The Orson Welles Story broadcast in BBC2's Arena strand. Jackie Stewart looked ahead to the new law to make the wearing of seat belts compulsory in Top Gear. Middlesbrough drew with Liverpool and were relegated to the Second Division. West Bromwich Albion guaranteed safety by beating Leeds United two-nil. Wah! were in session on The John Peel Show ('Papa Crak', 'Satie's Faction', 'You'll Never Walk Alone (straight version)', 'You'll Never Walk Alone (silly version)', '8 to 8.30 Or 10 Till 12'). The SAS launched Operation Plum Duff, a reconnaissance mission preliminary to Operation Mikado, which was planned to destroy three Argentinean Exocet missiles and five Super Étendard fighter-bombers. The latter was subsequently called off after the Plum Duff insertion was revealed by a helicopter landing in Chile. Three weeks after disappearing, Joe Strummer and his girlfriend were found living in Paris, two days after they ran in the Paris Marathon.
The Harrisons Don't Go to School and the first episode of Frost In May broadcast. In the South Atlantic, a Sea King carrying SAS forces crashed into the sea during cross-decking, killing twenty one.
The Richard Dimbleby Lecture: Garret FitzGerald broadcast. The Cambridge Footlights Revue - featuring Penny Dwyer, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Paul Shearer, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson from the original University stage show directed by Jan Ravens - broadcast on BBC2. The Gymslips were in session on The John Peel Show ('Erika With A K', 'Renøes', 'Big Sister', 'Forty Eight Crash', 'You'll Never Walk Alone'). Stoke City beat West Bromwich Albion three-nil to retain their First Division status at the expense of Leeds United, who were relegated after eighteen successive seasons in the First Division. UN peace talks failed, ending any hope of a diplomatic solution to the Falkland crisis. Jessica Helen Lloyd born in Eardisley.
The Housewarming broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. U2 appeared live on Something Else. The British Amphibious Task Group under the command of Commodore Clapp mounted Operation Sutton. Royal Marines and paratroopers along with commando artillery and engineer units landed at San Carlos Bay and raised the Union flag. The bay, known as 'Bomb Alley' by British forces, was the scene of repeated air attacks by low-flying Argentine jets. A Brigade Maintenance Area was established at Ajax Bay. HMS Ardent was sunk by Argentinian aircraft in Falkland Sound. A number of Argentinian aircraft were also shot down. The Haçienda nightclub opened in Manchester. New Order's 'Temptation'/'Hurt', The Damned's 'Wait For The Blackout'/'Jet Boy, Jet Girl', Dana & The Northern Ireland World Cup Squad's 'Yer Man'/'Yer Man Theme', Siouxsie & The Banshees' 'Fireworks'/'Coal Mind', Echo & The Bunnymen's 'The Back Of Love'/'The Subject' and Soft Cell's 'Torch'/'Insecure Me' released. John Huston's Annie and Lewis Teague's Fighting Back premiered.
FA Cup holders Tottenham Hotspur drew one-one with Queen's Park Rangers in the Wembley final, forcing a replay. Tottenham were without their Argentine players Ossie Ardiles and Ricardo Villa, who have been removed from the team following hostility from rival fans. Psychology: The TV Studio broadcast on BBC2. Bert Jansch and Richard & Linda Thompson appeared on Radio 1's In Concert.
The first UK TV showing of Peter Collinson's And Then There Were None. The first episode of BBC2's Month Of The Dotors broadcast. Fun Day At Thorpe Park broadcast on Radio 1. HMS Antelope exploded when attempts to defuse an unexploded bomb failed. The Wall, a - not very good - film adaptation of Pink Floyd's 1979 LP premiered at Cannes. The Sunday Times published a rather hysterical article headlined How High Street Horror Is Invading The Home. This was the first time that the term 'video nasties' was used in the national press. 'The nasties are far removed from the suspense of the traditional horror film,' the article claimed. 'They dwell on murder, multiple rape, butchery, sado-masochism, mutilation of women, cannibalism and Nazi atrocities.' Specific titles singled out included The Driller Killer, SS Experiment Camp, Cannibal Holocaust, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I Spit On Your Grave and Snuff (which was described, wholly inaccurately, as 'horrifyingly convincing').
JB Priesley's I Have Been Here Before broadcast in the Play Of The Month strand. Banking On Allah: A Money Programme Special broadcast on BBC2. Scritti Politti were in session on The John Peel Show. Blondie's The Hunter released. The troop landers Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot and Sir Tristram were bombed in San Carlos Water, but the bombs failed to explode in all cases.
John Paul II - The People's Pope broadcast. HMS Coventry was sunk by Argentinian Sky Hawks. MV Atlantic Conveyor was hit by Argentinian Exocet missile. The container was carrying vital transport helicopters for the forthcoming land offensive. Just how close this one incident came to scuppering the retaking of the islands would not be revealed for several months. England beat the Netherlands two-nil in a friendly international at Wembley. Tony Woodcock and Paul Mariner were on target.
A Guide To Armageddon broadcast in the QED strand. The official opening of Kielder Water reservoir in Northumberland. It was the largest artificial lake in the UK by capacity and was surrounded by Kielder Forest, the largest planted woodland in Europe. Two Para left Sussex Mountain to advance on Goose Green. Aston Villa won the European Cup, a Peter Withe goal giving them victory over Fußball-Club Bayern München in Rotterdam. The Rolling Stones opened their European tour in Aberdeen. Steven Spielberg's ET - The Extra-Terrestrial premiered at Cannes.
Tottenham Hotspur retained the FA Cup thanks to a penalty from Glenn Hoddle in the replay against Queens Park Rangers. The Beaconsfield by-erection was held as a result of the death of sitting Conservative MP Sir Ronald Bell. Tim Smith retained the seat for the Tories with a comfortable majority against the SDP-Liberal Alliance candidate Paul Tyler. Future Labour Prime Minister, Tony Blair finished a distant third. It was notable for being the only erection of Blair's political career that he lost. Lindsay Anderson's Britannia Hospital premiered.
I Start Counting shown in The Late Film strand. Easy Money broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. Pope John Paul II's visit to the UK, the first by a reigning pope, began at Gatwick Airport; he later met the Queen in London. Sylvester Stallone's Rocky III premiered. The Battle of Goose Green commenced, the first land battle of the Falklands war. Two hundred and fifty Argentine soldiers were killed and seventeen British troops died in fierce fighting which lasted over a day. Lieutenant-Colonel H Jones of Two Para was killed leading an assault on an Argentine command post for which he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. British troops also reached the village of Darwin. Roxy Music's Avalon, After The Fire's 'Der Kommissar'/'Nobody Else But You' and Gary Numan's 'We Take Mystery (To Bed)'/'The Image Is' released.
Pope John Paul II visited Canterbury, the first time a pontiff has done so. He also celebrated mass at Wembley Stadium live on BBC2. The Battle of Goose Green concluded when British paratroopers defeated a far larger force of Argentine troops. Acting commander, Major Keeble accepted the Argentine surrender. Though the British troops were vastly outnumbered they took more than one thousand prisoners of war. MV Atlantic Conveyor sank under tow after being struck the previous day by two AM39 Exocets. England beat Scotland one-nil in the one hundredth international between the countries to win the Home International Championship. Paul Mariner scored the winner. Q Tips featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Anita Briem born in Reykjavík.
British Third Commando Brigade advanced to within twenty five miles of Port Stanley. Denning broadcast on BBC2. Paul Gambaccini profiled Dusty Springfield on Radio 1. BBC Radio York was given permission to provide a temporary service to cover Pope John Paul II's visit to York. The service, which ran for just over twenty four hours, operated on what would later become Radio York's MW frequency when the station launched in July 1983 and was simulcast on Radio Cleveland, Radio Leeds, Radio Humberside and Radio Sheffield.
Night Of One Hundred Stars broadcast. The Pope's British tour reached Scotland. Three Para and Forty Five Commando marched with heavy packs across the peat bogs of East Falkland in appalling weather conditions. Their progress was slow but they succeeded in taking the Argentine positions of Mount Kent and Mount Challenger by night fall. Unknown to senior British officers, the Argentine generals were determined to tie down the British troops in the Mount Kent area and, on 27 May, they sent transport aircraft loaded with Blowpipe surface-to-air missiles and commandos to Stanley. The Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre defeated Argentine troops at Top Malo House; Three Para arrived at the Douglas settlement and Estancia House; Forty Five Commando arrived at Teal Inlet settlement. The Smiths were formed at approximately this date in Manchester by Johnny Marr and Steven Morrissey. And with Bob Geldof appearing on Radio 1's My Top Twleve it was, frankly, not a moment too soon.
Cancer: The Politics & The Puzzle broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. Wogan featured one of the most Hellish line-ups in light entertainment history - That Awful Rantzen Woman, Leo Sayer, hideously unfunny Victoria Wood and The Great Soprendo. War Crimes trials have been held for less. The first UK TV showing of Un Moment D'Igarement on BBC2's Vive La France! strand. New Order were in session on The John Peel Show ('Turn The Heater On', 'We All Stand', 'Too Late', 'Five Eight Six'). Five Infantry Brigade began disembarking in San Carlos Water; Three Commando Brigade's forward base was established at Teal Inlet. In preparation for major engagements, Three Para and Forty Two and Forty Five Commandos began patrolling areas in vicinity of planned objectives. The Rolling Stones' 'Going To A Go-Go'/'Beast Of Burden' released.
Wildlife Jubilee and BBC2's Wildlife Talkabout broadcast, celebrating the twenty fifth anniversary of the BBC's Natural History Unit. England drew one-all with Iceland in a friendly international in Reykjavík. Ron Greenwood fielded a second-string team from his World Cup squad and they struggled in difficult conditions on a frozen pitch to hold an enthusiastic Iceland team. West Ham United's Paul Goddard, making his debut as a substitute for the injured Cyrille Regis, cancelled out Iceland's lead. Tottenham's Steve Perryman also made his international debut. England won the first Prudential Trophy ODI against India at Headingley by nine wickets. Barry Wood scored an undefeated seventy eight.
David Jensen presented a Top Of The Pops which included appearances by Junior, Charlene, ABC, Fun Boy Three, Echo & The Bunnymen, Siouxsie & The Banshees, Adam Ant and Madness. The Israeli ambassador to the UK, Shlomo Argov, was shot in London, an event which ultimately provoked the 1982 Lebanon War. The attempted assassins were members of Abu Nidal's organisation, a Palestinian splinter group which was hostile to the PLO. The Mitcham & Morden by-erection was held as a result of the sitting Labour MP (Bruce Douglas-Mann) transferring his allegiance to the SDP. Angela Rumbold gained the seat for the Conservatives, the first gain achieved by a ruling party at a by-erection since 1960 (and the last until 2017). Bluff Cove and Fitzroy were occupied by British troops from Two Para. England beat Finland four-one in their final World Cup warm-up international in Helsinki. Paul Mariner and Bryan Robson each scored twice.
Woody Allen's Take The Money & Run shown in The Late Film strand. Potatohead Blues broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. It's My Pleasure featured Roy Hattersley on Philip Larkin with Judi Dench and Alan Bennett. Allan Lamb scored ninety nine as England beat India by one hundred and fourteen runs at The Oval to take the Prudential Trophy. Paul Jones and John Peel joined Richard Skinner on Radio 1's Round Table reviewing this week's releases. Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist and Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan premiered. Just in case you didn't know, Spock died. It was very sad. Britain vetoed a Falklands ceasefire resolution tabled by Panama and Spain at the UN.
Altered Images appeared on Get Set For Summer. The Glastonbury Pilgrimage and 'I Thought I Was Taller': A Short History Of Mel Brooks broadcast on BBC2. The World Cup: A Captain's Tale broadcast on ITV.
The Lebanon War began just as all that nasty business in The Falklands was coming to a close: Israeli forces under Defence Minister Ariel Sharon invaded Southern Lebanon in Operation Peace For The Galilee, eventually reaching as far North as Beirut. The United Nations Security Council voted to demand that Israel withdraw its troops, forthwith (if not sooner). The Israelis, perhaps taking their lead from Britain two days earlier, told the UN to go fuck themselves. McLaren's John Watson won the United States Grand Prix in Detroit. David Jensen with the Radio 1 Roadshow Caravan broadcast from the Exhibition Park in Newcastle.
The first UK broadcast of Chicago Story. The first episode of BBC2's Museum Of The Year. The Passage were in session on The John Peel Show. Keep It Dark broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand.
Having finally decided whose side he was on in the Falklands War, President Reagan became the first American chief executive to address a joint session of Parliament. The Cortege and Barry Norman In Chicago broadcast on BBC2. Forty eight British servicemen from the Scots and Welsh Guards were killed when two supply ships, Sir Galahad and Sir Tristram, were bombed by Argentine A-4 Skyhawk air strikes off Bluff Cove. The disaster would provide the world with some of the most sobering images of the war as footage showed Navy helicopters hovering in thick smoke to winch survivors from the burning landing ships. Argentine General Mario Menéndez, commander of Argentine forces in the Falklands, was told - incorrectly - that nine hundred British soldiers had died. He expected that the losses would cause enemy morale to drop and the British assault to stall. But, they didn't. LCU Foxtrot Four was sunk by Argentine aircraft in Choiseul Sound; HMS Plymouth was damaged by an unexploded bomb.
The Tony Awards 1982 and the Pat Jennings profile, Number One broadcast. The Great Cover-Up broadcast on BBC2. Twenty pence coins were first issued into circulation.
Dylan Thomas broadcast. Tom Verlaine appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Southern Death Cult were in session on The John Peel Show.
World Cup 82 broadcast. The Man Who Married A French Wife & Other Stories broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The Teardrop Explodes' 'Tiny Children'/'Rachael Built A Steamboat', Bauhaus' 'Spirit'/'Terror Couple Kill Colonel', The Clash's 'Rock The Casbah'/'Long Time Jerk', Jeff Wayne's 'Matador'/'Henry Higgins', Dumpy's Rusty Bolts' 'Just For Kicks'/'Ride With Me', Kissing The Pink's 'Mister Blunt'/'Water In My Eye', Sparks' 'I Predict'/'Moustache' and Killing Joke's 'Chop Chop'/'Good Samaritan' released. Major assaults took place on the outer ring of Argentine defences around Port Stanley: Forty Two Commando at Mount Harriet, Three Para at Mount Longdon and Forty Five Commando at Two Sisters. All three were taken after fierece fighting. Three islanders were killed during a naval bombardment of Stanley.
Larry Holmes defended his World Heavyweight boxing title against Gerry Cooney at Caesar's Palace. HMS Glamorgan was struck by land-based Exocet missile; another Black Buck raid was conducted against radar installation at Stanley.
The first UK TV showing of The Gumball Rally. The World Cup began in Spain. In the opening match, holders Argentina were defeated one-nil by Belgium with an Erwin Vandenbergh goal. It was a bad day all round for the Argentines; Two Para with light armour support from the Blues and Royals, captured Wireless Ridge, the Scots Guards attacked Mount Tumbledown in some of the most bloody fighting of the conflict whilst the Gurkhas occupied Mount William. With the last natural defence line at Tumbledown breached, the Argentine defences outside Stanley began to run away. Paul Gambaccini profiled The Rolling Stones on Radio 1.
The Falklands War ended with a whimper rather than a bang as British forces reached the outskirts of Stanley after yomping across East Falkland from San Carlos Bay. They arrived to find the Argentine forces flying white flags of surrender and shitting in their own pants at what may have been in store for them. The formal Argentine capitulation was signed in the evening as General Mario Menendez surrendered to Major General Moore. Brazil and the Soviet Union lit up the early stages of the World Cup with a twenty four carat thriller in Seville. Trailing to an Andriy Bal goal, outstanding late strikes from Sócrates and Éder won the game for the brilliant Brazilians. The Canadian Grand Prix was won by Nelson Piquet, driving a Brabham-BMW. It was the first Formula One victory for a BMW-engined car, but the only victory of the season for defending Drivers' Champion Piquet. Team-mate Riccardo Patrese finished second with John Watson third in a McLaren-Ford. The World Cup: A Captain's Tale broadcast on ITV. Pete Townshend's All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes released.
England won the first of a three test series against India at Lord's by seven wickets. Derek Randall scored a century for the hosts whilst Ian Botham took five wickets in the first Indian innings and Bob Willis took six in the second. Allan Lamb and Derek Pringle made their test debuts. Scotland won their opening World Cup game five-two against New Zealand. In Group Three, Hungary defeated El Salvador ten-one, equalling the largest margin of victory recorded in the finals. The Steve Miller Band's Abracadabra released. Twenty Four Hours At Le Mans broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand.
Welsh miners went on strike to support health workers demanding a twelve per cent pay rise. England began their World Cup campaign with a fine three-one win over France. Bryan Robson's opening goal came after twenty seven seconds. Robson later added a second and Paul Mariner a third. It was the fifth successive international in which the Ipswich striker had found the net. This was an encouraging start for an England team missing the input of their captain, Kevin Keegan, who was suffering a recurrence of an old back injury and play-maker Trevor Brooking. Group Two saw one of the great World Cup upsets, a two-one victory of Algeria over reigning European Champions West Germany. The Man Alive Debate broadcast on BBC2. James Honeyman-Scott, guitarist of The Pretenders, died aged twenty five from heart failure caused by cocaine intolerance.
The first UK broadcast of the American musical high school drama Fame. The first episode of BBC2's Stravinsky & The Dance broadcast on BBC2. Jodie Auckland Whittaker born in Skelmanthorpe.
David Neary opened the scoring in Scotland's World Cup game against Brazil. That was as good as it got for the Scotch, however, with Brazil eventually winning four-one at a canter. Chains broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. It's My Pleasure featured Alan Price on George Orwell with Lindsay Anderson. Paul McCartney's 'Take It Away'/'I'll Give You A Ring', The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted By Harry Rabinowitz's 'BBC World Cup Grandstand (Jellicle Ball)'/'Strung 2' and Elvis Costello & The Attractions' 'You Little Fool'/'Big Sister', 'The Stamping Ground' released. Elvis also appeared with Martin Fry on Radio 1's Round Table.
Not The World Cup broadcast. Roberto Calvi an Italian financier, dubbed 'God's Banker' by the press because of his close association with the Holy See, was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge. He was Chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in one of Italy's biggest political scandals. Calvi's death became the source of enduring controversy and was ruled as murder after two coroners' inquests and an independent investigation. Five people were acquitted of killing Calvi in 2007. Popular - though unconfirmed - speculation linked the Vatican Bank, the Mafia and the clandestine Propaganda Due to his death. The Boomtown Rats appeared on Radio 1's In Concert.
The BBC relaunched its Sunday morning programme for the Asian community, Asian Magazine. British forces retook the South Sandwich Islands, which involved accepting the surrender of the Southern Thule Garrison at the Corbeta Uruguay base and declared hostilities in the South Atlantic over. Two days later the head of the Argentine military junta, General Leopold Galtieri, resigned in shame to be replaced by retired army General Reynaldo Bignone. England sealed qualification to the next stage of the World Cup, defeating Czechoslovakia two-nil. Trevor Francis scored the opener followed by a Josef Barmoš own goal (although Paul Mariner unsuccessfully attempted to claim the goal having been the last England player to touch the ball). A blow for England saw Bryan Robson join Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking on the injury list.
On Approval broadcast in the Play of The Month strand. Tony Sings & Buddy Swings broadcast on BBC2. The first child of The Prince and Princess of Wales, William, was born at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, the first birth in direct line of succession to the British throne to take place in a hospital. In the game between Kuwait and France at the World Cup, with France leading three-one, Alain Giresse scored a goal which was vehemently contested by the Kuwait team, who had stopped playing after hearing a whistle from the stands. Play had not resumed when Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, brother of the then-Kuwaiti Emir and president of the Kuwait Football Association, stroppily rushed onto the pitch to remonstrate with the referee, Miroslav Stupar of the Soviet Union. Stupar, faced with the Sheikh's protestations, inexplicably reversed his decision and disallowed the goal to the fury of the French. Maxime Bossis scored another goal a few minutes later and France won four-one. Stupar was banned from officiating thereafter at the competition and FIFA fined Al-Sabah a risibly inconsequential eight grand. The Jam's 'Just Who is The Five O'Clock Hero?'/'The Great Depression', 'War' released as a Dutch import. Despite this it still made number eight in the UK Singles Chart.
Leading two-one in the final minute of their third World Cup match against the USSR, Alan Hansen and Willie Miller hilariously collided with each other allowing Ramaz Shengelia to race through and equalise, eliminating the Scotch from the competition on goal difference. God, it was funny! A British Airways Boeing 747 suffered a temporary four-engine flameout and damage to the exterior of the plane, after flying through the otherwise undetected ash plume from Indonesia's Galunggung. ABC's The Lexicon Of Love released.
Argentina's two-nil victory over El Salvador saw then qualify for the next stage of the World Cup at the expense of Hungary who could only draw one-all with Belgium. China Crisis's 'African & White'/'Red Sails' released.
Mississippi Days & Southern Nights broadcast. Labour retained the Coatbridge & Airdrie seat in a by-erection caused by the death of sitting MP James Dempsey. William Clark, writing in the following day's Glasgow Herald, stated that the 'major upset from the poll' was the fact that both the SNP and Liberal candidates lost their deposits.
Northern Ireland defeated hosts Spain one-nil in the World Cup. The Irish had to play the majority of the second half with ten men after Mal Donaghy was dismissed for a push. Honduras had already held Spain to a draw. Spain eventually scraped through to the next round thanks to a controversial penalty in the two-one victory over Yugoslavia. England completed their first World Cup group via a one-nil win over Kuwait with a Trevor Francis goal. Kevin Keegan missed the game, having made a secret trip back to Germany for specialist treatment on his back injury. The 'Disgrace of Gijón' saw West Germany and Austria play out a farce at the El Molinón stadium. With Algeria and Chile having played the day previously, a win by one goals for West Germany would result in both the Germans and Austria qualifying at the expense of Algeria. West Germany took the lead after ten minutes through Horst Hrubesch, after which the remaining eighty minutes were characterised by few serious scoring attempts by either side. Both teams were accused of match-fixing, although FIFA ruled that neither team had actually broken any rules. In Group One, Cameroon held both Poland and Italy to draws and were only denied a place in the next round on the basis of having scored fewer goals than Italy. Italian journalists and tifosi heavily criticised their team for their uninspired performances; the squad was still reeling from the recent Serie A scandal where several national players were suspended for match fixing and illegal betting. Captain Sensible's 'Happy Talk'/'I Can't Stand It' and Keni Burke's 'Risin' To The Top (Give It All You Got)'/'Hang Tight' released. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner - starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young - John Carpenter's The Thing and Monty Python Live At The Hollywood Bowl premiered. Governor Rex Hunt returned to retake his role as Commissioner of the Falklands.
The first episode of David Essex Showcase broadcast. The Defences Of Britain broadcast on BBC2. The Go-Go's 'Vacation'/'Beatnik Beach' and Dexys Midnight Runners & The Emerald Express' 'Come On Eileen'/'Dubious' released. Dexys also appeared on Radio 1's In Concert.
Mike McLeod won the Great North Run for the second year. The Hidden Land broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us.
The rain-affected second test between England and India at Old Trafford was drawn. The highlight was a century from Ian Botham.
England drew nil-nil with West Germany in the first game of the second round of the World Cup in Madrid.
Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark broadcast. Karl Marx In London broadcast on BBC2. Nottinghamshire beat Lancashire by four wickets and Somerset beat Sussex by eight wickets in the Semi-Finals of the Benson & Hedges Cup. Attila The Stockbroker was in sesison on The John Peel Show.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's 'The Message' released. In World Cup Group C, Italy beat an Argentina side that included Diego Maradona and Mario Kempes two-one after a game in which Italian defenders Gaetano Scirea and Claudio Gentile proved themselves equal to the task of stopping the Argentinian attack. In any way necessary. Argentina now needed a win over Brazil, but ultimately lost three-one. Stroppy cry-baby Maradona kicked Brazil's João Batista in the groin (really hard) and was sent off late in the game.
West Germany beat Spain in Madrid meaning that England now had to beat Spain by two goals to qualify for a place in the World Cup Semi-Finals. Roy Jenkins was elected as Leader of the SDP. Elvis Costello & The Atractions' Imperial Bedroom, The Psychedelic Furs' 'Love My Way'/'Aeroplane', The Cure's 'The Hanging Garden'/'Killing An Arab', Weekend's 'Past Meets Present'/'Midnight Slows', The Damned's 'Lovely Money'/'I Think I'm Wonderful' and Hawklords' 'Who's Gonna Win The War?'/'Time Of' released.
Martina Navratilova defeated Chris Evert Lloyd in three sets in the Ladies Signles Final at Wimbledon. The first UK TV showing of Rainer Werner Fassbinder's Despair on BBC2. ASLEF train drivers went on strike over working hours. They returned to work on 18 July.
Jimmy Connors beat John McEnroe in five-set in the Men's Singles Final at Wimbledon. Heaven's My Destination broadcast in the Everyman strand. The first episode of Radio 1's The Lenny Henry Sunday Hoot! broadcast. Though, sadly not the last.
England drew nil-nil with Spain and were eliminated from the World Cup in the second group stage despite not having lost a game. Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking - both playing for their country for the final time - came on in the sixty third minute and the double substitution nearly brought reward. Keegan headed wide from the best chance of the match and Brooking had a shot well saved. Ron Greenwood retired as England manager after five years and was succeeded by Ipswich Town's Bobby Robson. The World Cup match between Brazil and Italy was the game of the tournament. Gentile was assigned to mark Zico, earning a yellow card and a suspension for the semi final. Paolo Rossi opened the scoring when he headed in Antonio Cabrini's cross with just five minutes played. Sócrates equalised seven minutes later. In the twenty-fifth minute Rossi stepped past Júnior, intercepted a pass from Cerezo across the Brazilians' goal and scored. The Brazilians threw everything at Italy in search of another equaliser. In the second half, Falcão collected a pass from Júnior and scored from twenty yards. At this stage, Brazil would have been through on goal difference, but in the seventy fourth minute, a poor clearance from an Italian corner saw Rossi score for the third time. In the dying moments Dino Zoff made a miraculous save to deny Oscar a goal, ensuring that Italy advanced to the semi final. The first episode of BBC2's Six Fifty-Five Special - presented by Sakky James and David Soul - broadcast. Yazoo's Don't Go released.
John Paul's People broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. The first episode of BBC2's Food & Drink.
Come Into The Garden Maud broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse. David Moorcroft broke the world five thousand metres world record at The Bislett Games in Oslo.
Italy beat Poland in the first World Cup Semi-Final through two goals from Paolo Rossi. In the game between France and West Germany, the Germans opened the scoring through Pierre Littbarski. The French equalised nine minutes later with a Michel Platini penalty. In the second half a long through ball sent French defender Patrick Battiston racing towards the German goal. Battiston flicked it past German keeper Harald Schumacher from the edge of the penalty area. Schumacher did not seem to go for the ball and clattered straight into the oncoming Battiston which left the French player unconscious. Schumacher's action has been described as 'one of history's most shocking fouls.' The ball went just wide of the post and Dutch referee Charles Corver deemed Schumacher's tackle on Battiston not to be a foul and awarded a goal kick. Play was interrupted for several minutes while Battiston, still unconscious and with a broken jaw, was carried from the field on a stretcher. After Manuel Amoros had sent a twenty five-yard drive crashing onto the German crossbar in the final minute, the match went to extra time. France's sweeper Marius Trésor fired a volley under Schumacher's crossbar. Six minutes later, Alain Giresse added a third. In the one hundred and second minute a counter-attack culminated in a cross that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge turned in at the near post, reducing France's lead. Then Germany took a short corner and after France failed to clear, Littbarski's cross to Horst Hrubesch was headed back to Klaus Fischer who volleyed the ball past French keeper Jean-Luc Ettori with a bicycle kick, levelling the scores. The resulting penalty shoot-out was the first at a World Cup finals. Giresse, Manfred Kaltz, Manuel Amoros, Paul Breitner and Dominique Rocheteau all converted penalties until Uli Stielike was stopped by Ettori, giving France the advantage. But then Schumacher saved Didier Six's shot. Littbarski, Platini and Rummenigge all scored before France defender Maxime Bossis had his kick parried by Schumacher and Hrubesch scored and send Germany to the World Cup final.
The first UK TV showing of Wild In The Sky in The Late Film strand. A Song At Twilight broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace and was apprehended after entering the royal bedroom. The Redskins' 'Lev Bronstein'/'The Peasant Army', The Stranglers' 'Strange LIttle Girl'/'Cruel Garden', The Apollinaires' 'The Feeling's Gone'/'The Feeling's Back', Yazoo's 'Don't Go'/'Winter Kills' and Blancmange's 'Feel Me'/'Instrumental' released. Steven Lisberger's Tron premiered.
The first episode of Radio 1's Peel's Pleasures broadcast. Michael Palin appeared on Get Set For Summer. Suffolk, Stateside! broadcast on BBC2. The Farmer's Boys' 'Whatever Is He Like?'/'I Lack Concentration' and Cocteau Twins' Garlands released.
In the World Cup Final, Italy's Antonio Cabrini fired a penalty wide in the first half. In the second, Paolo Rossi scored first for the third straight game, heading Gentile's cross at close range. Marco Tardelli's shot from the edge of the area beat Schumacher and then Alessandro Altobelli made it three-nil following a fine run by the outstanding Bruno Conti. Paul Breitner scored a late consolation for West Germany. The first UK TV showing of Lucky Star on BBC2.
A Celebration Of Sixty Years: Dinner With Auntie. Cavalcade ... A Backstage Story broadcast on BBC2. The Cure's 'The Hanging Garden'/'Killing An Arab' released. Rip, Rig & Panic were in session on The John Peel Show.
The first episode of The Twentieth Century Remembered broadcast. Late Night In Concert featured AC/DC. The third England/India test at The Oval was drawn. Ian Botham scored his highest test score (two hundred and eight) but England lost much goodwill with the snails pace of their second innings, particularly Chris Tavaré yawn-inducing seventy five in which took over four hours. The crowd showed their disgust and, memorably, a fifteen-year-old boy ran onto the pitch holding a stool, apparently indicating to Tavaré that he must need a rest. The boy, a young Angus Loughran - later better known as Fantasy Football League's Statto - was arrested by plod but, the interruption entertained the agitated fans and even amused officials so much that Loughran was offered life membership to The Oval.
Mary Stuart broadcast. The first episode of BBC2's Cloud Howe broadcast. Dislocation Dance were in session on The John Peel Show.
The first episode of Medical Express broadcast. Robin Denselow presented a Newsnight special profiling The Rolling Stones. The first UK broadcast of The Associates on BBC2. Geoffrey Prime, a British GCHQ civil servant, was remanded in custody on charges under Official Secrets Act and other assorted naughty badness. Prime's most damaging disclosure to the Soviet Union had been the revelation of the existence of 'Project Sambo', a programme designed to track the radio transmissions of Soviet submarines. Cocteau Twins were in session on The John Peel Show ('Wax And Wane'' 'Garlands', 'Alas Dies Laughing', 'Feathers Oar', 'Blades').
To Free An Eagle broadcast. A Family broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand.
Kevin Keegan appeared on The Little & Large Show, singing 'With A Little Help from My Friends'. Really badly. Why, Kev? Why, for the love of God, why? Pablo Picasso: The Legacy Of A Genius broadcast on BBC2. Morrissey Mullen and UK Players appeared on Radio 1's In Concert. As Seen On TV's 'Summer Holiday'/'We Don't Talk Anymore' and Pato & Ranking Roger's 'Pato & Roger (Ago Talk)'/'Cool Entertainer' released.
Rock Bottom broadcast. The Hunt For The Tenth Planet broadcast in The Sky At Night strand. Sergio Leone's A Fistful Of Dynamite shown on BBC2. Niki Lauda won the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. Paul Gambaccini profiled Stevie Wonder on Radio 1.
Little Eyolf broadcast in the Play Of The Month strand. The first episode of BA In Music broadcast. In Taking The Strain 'Noel Edmonds investigates stress.' And, by his presence in the programme in question, caused lots of it. The first episode of Third Eye broadcast on BBC2. Home Secretary William Whitelaw announced that Michael Trestrail (the Queen's bodyguard) had resigned from the Metropolitan Police Service over a relationship with a male prostitute. Yazoo were in session The John Peel Show.
The Danube Power Game broadcast. U2 appeared in Late Night In Concert. The Hyde Park and Regents Park bombings: the Provisional IRA detonated two bombs in Central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty seven people and leading to the deaths of seven horses. The Go-Go's Vacation released.
The first episode of Task Force South: The Battle For The Falklands broadcast. HMS Hermes, the Royal Navy flagship during the Falklands War, returned to Portsmouth.
The first episode of BBC2's The Promised Land? broadcast. John Russell Taylor's Hitchcock broadcast. Production of the Ford Cortina ended after twenty years and five incarnations. The Cortina's successor, the Sierra, would be built at Dagenham and in Belgium. The exclusion zone around the Falklands was lifted. Dexys Midnight Runners' Too-Rye-Ay released. That Awful Thatcher Woman rejected calls in parliament from, mostly, back-bench Tories MPs with a hard-on for capital punishment for a return of the death penalty for terrorist murder.
The first UK broadcast of Best Of The West. The Golden Eels broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand. Killing Joke's Revelations, Dalek I Love You's 'Holiday In Disneyland'/'Masks & Licenses', Scritti Politti's 'Asylums In Jerusalem'/'Jacques Derrida' and Kid Creole & The Coconuts' 'Stool Pigeon'/'In The Jungle' released. Colin Higgins's The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas and George Roy Hill's The World According To Garp premiered. During filming of Twilight Zone: The Movie in California, Vic Morrow and two child actors, Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, died during a helicopter accident.
Dollar appeared on Summertime Special and Yazoo on Saturday Live. Somerset beat Nottinghamshire by nine wickets in the final of the Benson & Hedges Cup. 'Driving In My Car'/'Animal Farm (Tomorrow's Dream Warp Mix)' released. Elisabeth Singleton Moss born in Los Angeles.
Genesis Fights Back broadcast. Kenneth Tynan was profiled in BBC2's Reputations strand. The Belle Stars featured in Radio 1's Studio B15.
The Human League's Love & Dancing released. Alasdair Milne succeeded Ian Trethowan as Director-General of the BBC.
Four Score Years and Then ... broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. The first episode of BBC2's Our Undersea World broadcast.
The first episode of BBC2's Film Buff Of The Year broadcast. Taylor Hackford's An Officer & A Gentleman premiered.
Clint Eastwood was profiled in a Film 82 special.
The first episode of Russell Harty At The Seaside broadcast. A Prisoner In The Caucasus broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand. Elvis Costello & The Attractions' 'Man Out Of Time'/'Town Cryer', Fun Boy Three's 'Summertime'/'Summer Of '82' and Squeeze's 'When The Hangover Strikes'/'Elephant Girl' released.
Summertime Special featured Little & Large, Chas & Dave, The Goombay Dance Band and The Grumbleweeds. Obviously some new used of the word 'special' that most viewers had never come across previously. Le Boucher shown in BBC2's Chabrol - A Tribute To The Master strand. Girlschool and Stampede featured on Radio 1's In Concert.
The first episodes of God & The Scientist and Home On Sunday broadcast. The government created Britoil as the privatised successor to the British National Oil Corporation. England won the first of a three test series against Pakistan at Edgbaston by one hundred and thirteen runs. Derek Randall scored a century. Ian Greig and Eddie Hemmings made their test debuts.
The first episode of Comic Roots featured Les Dawson. The first episode of BBC2's Jane - starring Glynis Barber - broadcast.
The first episode of The Show Me Show broadcast. The Pale Fountains were in session on The John Peel Show.
The first episode of Believe It Or Not broadcast. X-Rays: The Early Days broadcast on BBC2. The first child of The Prince and Princess of Wales was christened William Arthur Philip Louis.
David Jensen presented Top Of The Pops including appearances by Madness, Junior, The Brat, The Belle Stars, Kid Creole & The Coconuts, Bad Manners, The Stranglers, Dexys Midnight Runners and Donna Summer. The Go-Betweens were in session on The John Peel Show.
The first UK TV showing of Underground in The Late Film strand. A Toast To Melba broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand. Orange Juice's 'Two Hearts Together'/'Hokoyo', The Associates' 'Eighteen Carat Love Affair'/'Love Hangover', Modern Romance's 'Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White'/'Who Is John Du Prez?' and Duran Duran's 'Save A Prayer'/'Hold Back The Rain' released.
The first episode of Sin On Saturday broadcast. Quest For The Unicorn broadcast on BBC2. The first UK TV showing of La Route De Corinthe in the Chabrol - A Tribute To The Master strand. Ian Botham appeared on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. Though his musical taste, unlike his cricket, was 'orrible. Gary Glitter featured on In Concert. Not a broadcast which is likely to be repeated any time soon.
Telethon shown in The Sunday Film strand. Shakespeare Wallah shown in BBC2's Merchant Ivory Season strand. Patrick Tambay won the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg for Ferrari. René Arnoux and Keke Rosberg completed the podium. Paul Gambaccini profiled Bob Dylan on Radio 1.
Roy Hudd's Croydon featured in the Comic Roots strand. The first episode of Jimmy Perry's Turns broadcast on BBC2. It's Immaterial were in session on The John Peel Show.
Why Was Cairo Calm? broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. The first episode of BBC2's Arthur Negus Enjoys broadcast.
The first episode of Tomorrow's World At Large broadcast. Is Fat A Feminist Issue? broadcast in BBC2's The Man Alive Debate strand. Tottenham Hotspur paid Bristol Rovers one hundred and five thousand knicker for twenty year old defender Gary Mabbutt. Shriekback were in session on The John Peel Show ('All The Greek Boys Do The Hand Walk', 'My Spine Is The Base Line', 'Feelers').
Sylvester Stallone - The Making Of An American Dream broadcast. Mexico announced it was unable to pay its large foreign debt, triggering a debt crisis which quickly spread throughout Latin America. The first compact discs were produced in Germany.
Evaluating A Merger broadcast. Amaghi broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand. Adrian Gurvitz's 'Clown'/'Palace Sign', Soft Cell's 'What!'/'... So', Showaddywaddy's 'Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp-A-Bomp-A-Bomp)?'/'Do It Again' and UB40' 'So Here I Am'/'Silent Witness' released. In the case of the latter, a song about the misery of going to work, it was released less than a year after the same band's 'One In Ten' a song about the misery of being unemployed. Make your minds up, lads. Amy Heckerling's Fast Times At Ridgemont High with a script by Cameron Crowe premiered.
Robbie Coltrane appeared on Sin On Saturday discussing covetousness with Bernard Falk. La Femme Infidele shown in BBC2's Chabrol - A Tribute To The Master. George Best Appeared on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. Thin Lizzy featured on In Concert.
The first UK TV showing of Jennifer: A Woman's Story in The Sunday Film strand. The first episode of The Last Place On Earth and The Bewick Man broadcast on BBC2. Elio De Angelis won the Austrian Grand Prix at Zeltweg. Paul Gambaccini profiled David Bowie on Radio 1.
Late Night In Concert: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark broadcast. Dismissed cheaply twice by Abdul Qadir and Imran Khan, England lost the second test with Pakistan at Lord's by ten wickets. For the visitors, Mohsin Khan scored a double century. Depeche Mode's 'Get The Balance Right' released.
The first episode of An Inspector Calls broadcast. Roman Holliday were in session on The John Peel Show ('Motor Maniac', 'One More Jilt', 'Jive Dive', 'Standby').
Surrey beat Middlesex by one hundred and twenty five runs and Warwickshire beat Yorkshire by seven wickets in the Semi-Finals of the NatWest Trophy. Good Time George broadcast on BBC2. Four streets in Liverpool were named after each of The Beatles (a popular beat combo of the 1960s, you might've heard of them).
The first episode of Are We Being Served? broadcast. Newcastle United paid Southampton one hundred thousand smackers for Kevin Keegan who was still trying to live down that The Little & Large Show fiasco and his miss against Spain at the World Cup. Wor Kev quickly managed it. The Radio 1 Roadshow came from Southsea Common.
The first episode of Breakthrough broadcast. The Beast broadcast in the West Country Tales strand. Egon Schiele broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand. Mussolini With Knickers broadcast. Robert Wyatt's 'Shibuilding'/'Memories Of You', Yazoo's Upstairs At Eric's, Captain Sensible's 'Wot!'/'Strawberry Dross', Gary Numan's 'White Boys & Heroes'/'War Games', Afrika Bambaata & The Soul Sonic Force's 'Planet Rock'/'Instrumental' and Haircut One Hundred's 'Nobody's Fool'/'October Is Orange' released.
Dennis Waterman appeared on Summertime Special. Singing. Docteur Popaul shown in BBC2's Chabrol - A Tribute To The Master. Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Charity Shield at Wembley with a goal from Ian Rush.
Siding Spring broadcast in The Sky At Night strand. The first UK TV showing of The Householder in BBC2's Merchant Ivory Season strand. Paul Gambaccini profiled Eric Burdon & The Animals on Radio 1.
The Critic broadcast in the Play Of The Month strand. The Man From Atlanta broadcast on BBC2.
There's Something Wrong With Our Bloody Ships broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. The Shankly Gates were unveiled at Anfield, honouring former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly almost a year after his death. REM'S Chronic Town EP ('Wolves, Lower', 'Gardening At Night', 'Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)', 'A Million', 'Stumble') released.
The first episode of Top Secret broadcast. Arsenal sign twenty two-year-old striker Lee Chapman from Stoke City for half-a-million notes.
Bob Paisley announced that the coming season as Liverpool manager, his ninth in charge, would be his last. Ian Sharp's gormless Who Dares Wins - starring Lewis Collins - premiered.
Take Three Degrees broadcast. November Night broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre broadcast. Aztec Camera's 'Pillar To Post'/'Queen's Tatoos' [sic], Action Pact's 'Suicide Bag'/'Stanwell', 'Blue Blood', Simple Minds' 'Glittering Prize'/'Theme' and ABC's 'All Of My Heart'/'Overture' released.
Jimi Hendrix broadcast on BBC2. The First Division season began. Manchester United achieved the biggest win of the day beating Birmingham City three-nil. Peter Shilton left Nottingham Forest in a three hundred and twenty five thousand quid move to Southampton. In the Second Division, Kevin Keegan scored on his Newcastle debut in a one-nil win over Queens Park Rangers at a heaving St James Park. Caryl Churchill's play Top Girls premiered at the Royal Court Theatre. Eric Burdon was arrested for cocaine possession after a show at the Rockpalast in Cologne.
Wogan's Guide To The BBC broadcast. The first UK TV showing of Mad Ken Russell's Tommy on BBC2. Sixty five-year-old American Ashby Harper became the oldest person to swim the English Channel.
Summer Stars and Knockout Star Gala broadcast. Bank Holiday Rock and Squeeze In Concert broadcast on BBC2. David Jensen interviewed Chas & Dave on Radio 1. Saint David's Hall opened in Cardiff as the National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of Wales.
A Day At The Zoo broadcast. The Jam At Bingley Hall broadcast on BBC2. England won a closely fought third test against Pakistan at Headingley by three wickets to take the series two-one. Graeme Fowler and Vic Marks both made their test debuts. Christians In Search Of Filth were in session on The John Peel Show.
Tears For Fears were in session on The John Peel Show ('Ideas As Opiates', 'The Hurting', 'Suffer The Children', 'The Prisoner'). The Rolling Stones' Still Life released.
Jock & Roll, Rescue Flight, Moderne & Modernistic Architecture and Ready When You Are, Mister DeMille! broadcast on BBC2. Philippe Ducrest's Mettez Du Sel Sur La Queue De L'Oiseau Pour L'Attraper - starring Michel Constantin, André Pousse and Eveline Eyfel - premiered.
Those Radio Times and That Was Twenty Years Ago That Was broadcast. Death At Broadcasting House broadcast on BBC2's Sixty BBC Years strand. The first US Festival was held over the Labor Day Weekend near Devore, California. The Police, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead, Talking Heads and The B-52's were among the performers. Scritti Politti's Songs To Remember released.
The first episode of The Late, Late Breakfast Show broadcast. Between The Heather & The Sea broadcast on BBC2. Mike Leigh Making Plays broadcast in the Arena strand. Surrey beat Warwickshire by nine wickets in the final of the NatWest Trophy at Lord's. Manchester City's victory over Watford ensured they were only First Division side with a one hundred per cent record after three games. Their win came despite having Bobby McDonald in goal after Joe Corrigan was injured after three minutes. Paul Walsh scored his first three goals for Luton Town against Notts County as the Hatters won five-three. Bob Latchford scored three of Swansea City's four against Norwich City. Southampton's Justin Fashanu, on loan from Nottingham Forest, scored the winner in a victory Aston Villa. West Bromwich Albion beat Manchester United and a Liverpool win two-nil at Arsenal. The Who's It's Hard released. Peter Greenaway's The Draughtsman's Contact - starring Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Anne-Louise Lambert and Hugh Fraser - premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
The first episodes of Cousin Phillis and Anglo-Saxon Attitudes broadcast. Eliza Doolittle Goes To Bombay broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us strand. The first UK TV showing of Mike Leigh's The Birth Of The Goalie Of The 2001 FA Cup Team. Paul Gambaccini profiled The Temptations of Radio 1.
The European Athletics Championships began in Athens. The first episode of BBC2's A Many Splendoured Thing? broadcast. The Jam's 'The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow)'/'Pity Poor Alfie'/'Fever' released.
The first episodes of In At The Deep End and Barry Norman's Hong Kong Quest broadcast. The first UK broadcast of Scruples. The first episode of BBC2's One Of The Family broadcast. That Awful Thatcher Woman expressed her concern at the growing number of children living in single-parent families, but said that she is 'not opposed' to divorce. Sisters Of Mercy were in session on The John Peel Show ('1969', 'Alice', 'Good Things', 'Floor Show'). Stray Cats' Built For Speed released.
In the surprise of The European Athletics Championships, West Germany's Hans-Peter Ferner beat Sebastian Coe in the eight hundred metres final. Daley Thompson retained his Decathlon gold. The first episodes of BBC2's De Bono's Thinking Course and One Man's Yacht broadcast.
The first episode of Claire broadcast. The Bat That Cracked The Frog Code broadcast in the Wildlife On One strand. The first episode of BBC2's Fred broadcast. Peter Beardsley, the former Carlisle United striker playing for Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada, signed for Manchester United for three hundred and twenty five thousand smackers. Cameron Sharp won two hundred metres silver at The European Athletics Championships behind East Germany's Olaf Prenzler. Kathy Smallwood also won silver in the women's two hundred metres behind East Germany's Bärbel Wöckel (who, obviously, was in no way whatsoever pumped full of drugs).
Britain's Strongest Man broadcast. Madness, in concert at St Austell Coliseum broadcast of Radio 1's Pat Sharp Show. Gary Numan's I, Assassin, Gregory Isaacs' 'Night Nurse'/'Version' and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' 'Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)'/'Jezebell' released. Keith Connor won Triple Jump gold at The European Athletics Championships.
Watford went top of the First Division on goal difference beating West Bromwich Albion three-nil. Manchester United beat Ipswich Town three-one at Old Trafford. A thriller at Anfield saw Liverpool and Luton Town share six goals. Aston Villa beat Nottingham Forest four-one. Stoke City beat Swansea City four-one at the Victoria Ground. West Ham United beat Birmingham City five-nil. In the Second Division, Steve Lynex and Gary Lineker scored hat-tricks in Leicester City's six-nil win over Carlisle United. A Yorkshire derby at Hillsborough saw Leeds United beat Sheffield Wednesday three-two. Steve Cram won fifteen hundred metres gold at The European Athletics Championships. David Moorcroft won bronze behind Thomas Thomas Wessinghage in the five thousand metres. There was also silvers for the men's four by four hundred metres relay team (David Jenkins, Garry Cook, Todd Bennett and Phil Brown) and the women's four by one hundred metres squad (Wendy Hoyte, Kathy Smallwood, Bev Callender and Shirley Thomas). Dramatis and Kissing The Pink featured on Radio 1's In Concert.
The Attleborough Experiment broadcast. René Arnoux won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The first UK TV showing of Lady Sings The Blues. The Media War broadcast in the Panorama strand. The first episode of BBC2's Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery and Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind The Green Door. Simple Minds' New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) and The Pretenders' 'Back On The Chain Gang'/'My City Was Gone' released. After thirty two years, Radio 4's Listen With Mother was broadcast for the final time. It was replaced by a shorter programme, Listening Corner.
Barry Norman In Celebrity City broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. The Last Visitor broadcast on BBC2. Farmer's Boys were in session on The John Peel Show ('Soft Drink', 'Description Of The River Waveney At Wartwell', 'The Country Line', 'Drinking & Dressing Up', 'With These Hands I Built The World').
Liverpool and Aston Villa both won their opening European Cup matches (against Dundalk and Beşiktaş, respectively). There were also victories in the European Cup Winners Cup for Tottenham, Aberdeen and Swansea City (the latter, a club record twelve-nil against Sliema Wanderers of Malta). In the UEFA Cup Arsenal lost three-two to Spartak Moscow and Ipswich lost three-nil to Roma whilst there were draws for Manchester United and Southampton. The Gathering broadcast on BBC2.
The first episode of Police: Operation Carter broadcast. Pop - That's The Way The Money Goes asked 'could Scarlet Party - three youngsters from London's East End, become the new Beatles?' To which the answer was, no, they couldn't. Gold Fever broadcast in BBC2's Adventure World strand. Auschwitz & The Allies broadcast. The Gymslips were in session on The John Peel Show ('Barbara Cartland', 'Pie And Mash', 'Drink Problem', 'Thinking Of You', 'Robot Man').
The Chapman Report shown in The Late Film strand. Simple Minds appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The Clash's 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go'/'Straight To Hell', Elvis Costello & The Attractions 'From Head To Toe'/'The World Of Broken Hearts', Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners's 'Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)'/'Let's Make This Precious', Musical Youth's 'Pass The Dutchie'/'Please Give Love A Chance', Adam Ant's 'Friend Or Foe'/'Juanito The Bandito' and The Beat's 'Jeanette'/'March Of The Swivelheads' released.
The first UK TV showing of Two-Minute Warning in the Saturday Film strand. Don't Shoot The Ref, The Future Of Television and The Unquiet Coast broadcast on BBC2. Manchester United went top of the First Division with a win over Southampton at The Dell. Liverpool were second with a three-nil win over Swansea City at the Vetch Field. Stoke City were fourth, beating Ipswich Town three-two at Portman Road. The funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco took place.
The first episode of Will Tomorrow Work? broadcast. King Lear broacast in BBC2's The BBC Television Shakespeare strand.
The White Guard broadcast in the Play Of The Month strand. The first episodes of BBC2's Smiley's People and There's A Lot Of It About broadcast. The first use of BBC Schools' first computer generated ident. Tadeusz Konwicki's Dolina Issy - starring Anna Dymna, Maria Pakulnis and Danuta Szaflarska - premiered.
The first episode of Take Three Women broadcast. The Rank Charm School broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand.
Over My Dead Body broadcast on BBC2. England drew two-two with Denmark in Copenhagen in their opening 1984 European Championship qualifier, their first game under Bobby Robson. Trevor Francis scored both England goals. Luton Town's Ricky Hill made his international debut. An estimated fourteen per cent of the UK workforce was now reported to be unemployed. The Who began their 'farewell' tour in Washington DC. Leian Paul Piper born in Swindon.
The first episode of Wales & The Americas broadcast. Cinema Architecture broadcast on BBC2. Secretary of State for Energy Nigel Lawson announced that no industry should remain in state ownership unless there was an 'overwhelming' case.
Plants In Action broadcast. Fashion and Kissing The Pink broadcast on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Blancmange's Happy Families, The Piranhas' 'Zambezi'/'Who Needs You', 'Darabukkus', Siouxsie & The Banshees' 'Slowdive'/'Cannibal Roses', Tears For Fears' 'Mad World'/'Ideas As Opiates' and Shiekback's 'My Spine Is The Bassline'/'Tiny Birds' released. Mai Zetterling's Scrubbers - starring Amanda York, Chrissie Cotterill, Kate Ingram, Kathy Burke and Debby Bishop - premiered.
Dexys Midnight Runners appeared on Get Set For Summer. Klute shown in The Saturday Film strand. Michele Alboreto won the Caesar's Palace Grand Prix in Las Vegas. John Watson came second. Keke Rosberg finished fifth in a Williams-Ford to secure the Drivers' Championship. Watford beat Sunderland eight-nil at Vicarage Road, with Luther Blissett scoring four and Ross Jenkins and Nigel Callaghan each adding two. Liverpool went top of the First Division with a five-nil home win over Southampton after Manchester United were held to a goalless draw by Arsenal. Luton Town were the First Division's top scorers with twenty goals from their first seven games after drawing four-all at Stoke. Coventry City won four-two against Everton. There were four-one wins for Tottenham Hotspur against Nottingham Forest and West Ham United against Manchester City. In all, eleven First Division fixtures produced a total of fifty goals. The Eurythmics featured on Radio 1's In Concert. The Psychedelic Furs' Forever Now released.
The Mystery Of The Spiral Arm broadcast in The Sky At Night strand. The Ultimate Explorer broadcast in The World About Us strand. God Speed Co-Operation and the first episode of Fred Housego's History In Your Doorstep broadcast. Paul Gambaccini profiled John Lennon on Radio 1.
The first UK TV showing of Yesterday's Hero - starring Ian McShane - in The Monday Film strand. Can Your Mind Control Your Body? broadcast in BBC2's Hypnosis strand. Serious Drinking were in session on The John Peel Show ('RGB', 'Countdown To Bilko', '1-2-X-U'/'Bobby Moore Was Innocent', 'Drugs', 'Yours Or Mine'). General Motors launched the Spanish-built Opel Corsa, which was to be sold in Britain from April as the Vauxhall Nova. Depeche Mode's A Broken Frame and The Fall's Room To Live released.
With My Little Eye and Malta GC broadcast. The School Broadcasting Council broadcast on BBC2. Musical Youth were in session on The John Peel Show.
The first episode of The Jockey School broadcast. Windsor's War, the first episode of the Timewatch strand broadcast on BBC2.
The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane broadcast. The games were notable for large-scale protests by the Aboriginal rights movement in Australia, which brought to the centre of international media attention the lack of land rights, poor living condition and suppression of personal and political rights in Queensland in particular. The protests, were followed by large-scale arrests and lots of punching. Lord Denning delivered his last judgement as Master of the Rolls. After over one hundred years, the Inland Telegram service closed. Radio 1's fifteen anniversary Heroes & Villains concert was broadcast, introduced by Tony Blackburn and John Peel and featuring performances by The Merseybeats, The Rockin' Berries, Sandie Shaw, Billy Fury, The Tremeloes, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich and The Troggs. Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska released. Sidney J Furie's The Entity - starring Barbara Hershey and Nouchka van Brakel's Van De Koele Meren Des Doods - starring Renée Soutendijk, Erik Van't Wout and Adriaan Olree - premiered.
The Psychedelic Furs and The Bluebells appeared on The Old Grey Whitle Test. The first compact discs appeared in music stores in Japan as Sony launched the first consumer CD player (model CDP-101). Donald Fagen's The Nightfly, Siouxsie & The Banshees' 'Slowdive'/'Cannibal Roses', Bauhaus's 'Ziggy Stardust'/'Third Uncle', The Sinatras' 'Sweat'/'Big Fires Start Small', The Damned's 'Dozen Girls'/'Take That', 'Mine's A Large One, Landlord', 'Torture Me' and Kid Creole & The Coconuts' 'Annie I'm Not Your Daddy'/'You Had No Intention' released. Adonis In Dark Glasses broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand.
The first episodes of Multi-Coloured Swap Shop's Saturday morning replacement show Saturday Superstore and Carrott's Lib broadcast. The first UK TV showing of Demon Seed. The first episode of We Bring You Live Pictures broadcast on BBC2. Joe Jackson featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Liverpool's unbeaten start to the season ended when they were beaten by Ipswich Town at Portman Road. However, Bob Paisley's side were still top of the First Division on goal difference after Manchester United are held to a draw by Luton Town. A new production of the BBC's first radio drama, Danger, broadcast in Radio 4's Thirty-Minute Theatre strand.
The first episode of a - not particularly good - adaptation of The Hound Of The Baskervilles - starring Tom Baker and Terence Rigby as Holmes and Watson - broadcast. As part of its coverage of the 1982 Commonwealth Games, BBC1 broadcast a two-hour breakfast programme, Breakfast With Brisbane. It came three months ahead of the launch of Breakfast Time. Twenty Five Years In Space bradcast in BBC2's Horizon strand. The first episodes of Radio 1's The Story Of Pop Radio and Music Now broadcast. The Smiths gave their first public performance as a support act to Blue Rondo à la Turk during a student music and fashion show, An Evening Of Pure Pleasure, at Manchester's The Ritz Club. At this stage the band were a five piece consisting of Stephen Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Mike Joyce, bassist Dale Hibbert and percussionist and dancer James Maker. By the time they next performed live, at the Manhatten Club in January 1983, Hibbert had been replaced by Andy Rourke. Alan Palter's Swallows On The Water broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand.
Allan Wells won one hundred metres gold for Scotland at the Commnwealth Games. Compatriot Cameron Sharp won bronze.
Mark Tully's From Our Delhi Correspondent broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. Strawberry Switchblade were in session on The John Peel Show ('Ten James Orr Street', 'The Little River', 'Secrets', 'Trees & Flowers').
Saint Francis Of Assisi broadcast on BBC2. Nottingham Forest scored six past West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup. Madonna's debut single, 'Everybody'/'Dub Version', released.
The Commonwealth Games two hundred metres ended in a dead-heat with golds awards to both Mike MacFarlane of England and Allan Wells of Scotland. Dave Moorcroft won the five thousand metres gold with Nick Rose taking silver. Roedean broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. The Damned's Strawberries released. Sophisticated Boom Boom were in session The John Peel Show.
Shirley Strong won one hundred and ten metres hurdles gold at the Commonwealth Games. Lorna Boothe won silver. The first episode of BBC2's L For Lester broadcast. Orange Juice and Bauhaus appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. With the economy slowly climbing out of recession after more than two years, That Awful Thatcher Woman vowed to stick to her economic policies and blamed 'previous governments' for the decline which she inherited. One or two people even believed her. Serious Drinking's 'Love On The Terraces'/Hypocrite', 'Bobby Moore Was Innocent', Orange Juice's 'I Can't Help Myself'/'Tongues Begin To Wag', Kissing The Pink's 'Watching Their Eyes'/'In Awe Of Industry', ABBA's 'The Day Before You Came'/'Cassandra', John Martyn's 'Hiss On The Tape'/'Livin' Alone', Squeeze's 'Annie Get Your Gun'/'Spanish Guitar' and Bad Manners' 'Samson & Delilah'/'Good Honest Man' released. Richard Benjamin's My Favourite Year premiered.
Education In Portugal broadcast. Steve Cram won fifteen hundred metres gold for England at the Commonwealth Games. England men's four by four hundred metres squad (Steve Scutt, Garry Cook, Todd Bennett and Phil Brown) also took gold, as did Christina Boxer in the women's fifteen hundred metres. Gillian Dainty was second. Manchester United went top of the First Division with a one-nil win over Stoke City, while Liverpool crashed down to fifth place via a three-one defeat at West Ham United.
Milan broadcast in the Omnibus strand. Ooh ... You Are Awful broadcast in The Sunday Film strand. The first episode of Boys From The Blackstuff premiered on BBC2.
Sweet Hostage shown in The Monday Film strand. The first episode of BBC2's Pop Carnival featured a performance by Clint Eastwood & General Saint. The Mary Rose, the flagship of Henry VIII that sank in 1545, was raised from the Solent. The Higsons were in session on The John Peel Show ('John Peel's New Sig Tune', 'You Should Have Run Me Down', 'Gangway', 'Annie & Billy', 'Put The Punk Back Into Funk'). Paul Weller presented the David Jensen Show on Radio 1, the first of four guest presenters taking over from Jensen who was, himself, filling in for Simon Bates earlier in the day. Ricardo Palacios's Mi Conejo Es El Mejor - starring Lina Romay, Emilio Linder and Elena Álvarez - premiered.
Who Killed The Lindbergh Baby? broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. Echo & The Bunnymen appeared on Pop Carnival. Girl In Brazil broadcast in BBC2. A 'victory parade' was held in London, broadcast on Radio 4 as The City Of London Salutes The Task Force.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge scored twice as West Germany beat England two-one in a friendly international at Wembley. Tony Woodcock scored for the hosts for whom Tottenham's Gary Mabbutt and Watford's Luther Blissett made their debuts. The Children Of Theatre Street broadcast on BBC2. Dave Wakeling of The Beat presented the David Jensen Show on Radio 1.
Tomorrow's World broadcast a feature of touch-screen technology. John Peel presented Top Of The Pops featuring Mari Wilson, Tears For Fears, The Pinkees, Barry Manilow, Olivia Newton John, America, Men At Work, John Mellencamp, Melba Moore, Ultravox, The Beatles and Musical Youth. Skindheads broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Gary Kemp presented the David Jensen Show on Radio 1.
Pebble Mill At One Is Ten Years Old Today! broadcast. Aswad appeared on BBC2's Something Else. The Ford Sierra was launched as a replacement for the long-running Cortina. The Undertones' 'The Love Parade'/'Like That', Blancmange's 'Living On The Ceiling'/'Running Thin' and Donna Summer's 'State Of Independence'/'Love Is Just A Breath Away' released.
Kool & The Gang appeared on The Late-Late Breakfast Show. The first UK TV showing of The Tree Of Wooden Clogs in BBC2's Film International strand. Manchester United stayed top of the First Division after a goalless draw with Liverpool. West Ham squandered the chance to go top, losing three-nil at Southampton. The Hank Wangford Band and The Stargazers appeared on Radio 1's In Concert.
The first UK broadcast of the TV movie The Night The Bridge Fell Down. The first UK TV showing of Lord Of The Flies on BBC2.
The Omega Man shown in The Monday Film strand. The Case Of The UFOs broadcast in BBC2's Horizon strand. The first episode of Clearings In The Jungle broadcast. Lotus Eaters were in session on The John Peel Show ('Can You Keep A Secret?', 'Stranger So Far', 'When You Look At Boys', 'The First Picture Of You').
The first episode of Squadron broadcast. Stephen Poliakoff's Soft Targets broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Molly Keane broadcast on BBC2. Bauhaus's The Sky's Gone Out released. John DeLorean was arrested for selling cocaine to undercover FBI agents in a hotel in Los Angeles. He was later found not guilty on the grounds of somewhat crass entrapment by The Feds.
Before The Massacre broadcast in the QED strand. Charlotte & Jane broadcast. Sixteen Up and Whodunnit? broadcast on BBC2. The Redskins were in session on The John Peel Show ('The Peasant Army', 'Kick Over The Statues', 'Reds Strike The Blues', 'Unionize', 'Pickin' The Blues'). During the UEFA Cup fixture between Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem, sixty six people were crushed to death.
Eric Sykes' Troupers broadcast. Rabbits Don't Cry broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Sinn Féin won their first seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly, with Gerry Adams taking the Belfast West seat. The Reverend Ian Paisley took umbrage.
The first episode of Partners broadcast. Pages Of War and The Rattle Bag broadcast on BBC2. Musical Youth's The Youth Of Today, Clint Eastwood & General Saint's 'Shame And Scandal In The Family'/'Banana Export' and Heaven Seventeen's 'Let Me Go'/'Instrumental' released.
Breakheart Pass shown in The Saturday Film strand. Russian Night ... 1941 broadcast on BBC2. First Division leaders Manchester United drew two-two in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford. West Ham missed another chance to go top of the league when they lost three-one to Brighton. West Bromwich Albion went second with a victory over Luton Town. Malcolm MacDonald's Fulham were top of the Second Division and looked well-placed for a second successive promotion after winning three-one against Burnley. Tears For Fears' 'Mad World'/'Ideas As Opiates' released.
Twentieth Century Apocalypse broadcast in the Omnibus strand. The first episode of BBC2's The Discovery Of Animal Behaviour broadcast. The UK TV premiere of Star Wars shown on ITV.
Tron previewed on Film 82. A Killing Rain broadcast in BBC2's Horizon strand. The first episode of Harry's Game broadcast on ITV.
Three Minute Hero broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Wildscreen 82 broadcast on BBC2. My Merseyside and Chinese Liverpool broadcast on Radio 4.
The Invisible World broadcast in the QED strand. The China Of The Manchu Emperors broadcast in BBC2's Timewatch strand. The Passage were in session on The John Peel Show. Three RUC officers were killed by an IRA bomb near Lurgan. Prince's '1999'/'How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?' released.
The Oxfraud Incident broadcast on BBC2. Matthew Robert Smith born in Northampton. Labour retained Peckham in a by-election caused by the death of sitting MP, Harry Lamborn. Twenty nine year old human rights lawyer Harriet Harman won the seat with over a four thousand majority. Former Labour Minister Dick Taverne, running for the SDP, came second, ahead of Tory John Redwood. Odious fascist louse Martin Webster (The National Front) received only but eight hundred votes and lost his deposit.
Killing Joke's Birds Of A Feather, Captain Sensible's 'Croydon'/'Jimi Hendrix's Strat', A Flock Of Seagulls' 'Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)'/'Committed', The Lurkers' 'Drag You Out'/'Heroin (Its All Over)', Joe Jackson's 'Steppin' Out'/'Another World', The Comsat Angels' After The Rain, Hawkwind's Choose Your Masques, Dumpy's Rusty Bolts' 'Boxhill Or Bust'/'It's Got To Be Blues', Weekend's 'Drumbeat For Baby'/'Sleepy Theory', Michael Jackson & Paul MCartney's 'The Girl Is Mine'/'Can't Get Outta The Rain' and Duran Duran's 'Rio'/'The Chauffeur (Blue Silver)' released.
Night Of The Hunter shown in BBC2's Midnight Movie strand. Liverpool returned to the top of the First Division beating Brighton three-one. West Ham United were second with a three-one victory over Manchester United. The top three were all level on twenty two points. West Bromwich Albion missed the chance to go top after they were beaten six-one at Ipswich. To pretty much universal surprise Paul Weller announced his intention to break-up The Jam after a forthcoming concert tour of the UK had been completed. They also made their final appearances on Top Of The Pops and The Tube during this period to promote their farewell single, 'Beat Surrender'. The tour included five consecutive nights at the Wembley Arena, all of which sold out within twenty minutes.
The first UK broadcast of A Woman Called Golda. Yosser's Story broadcast in BBC2's Boys From The Blackstuff. The first episode of Beau Geste broadcast. Programmes in Welsh were broadcast on BBC and HTV for the final time. The first episode of Young Sherlock - The Mystery Of The Manor House broadcast on LWT.
The first episode of Clock On At The Laughter Factory broadcast. The Synthesizer, People & Performance broadcast in BBC2's Riverside strand. The first episodes of The Further Adventures Of Lucky Jim and One Hundred Great Sporting Moments broadcast. The Welsh language television station, S4C, launched. Opinion polls suggested the Conservatives were still firmly in the lead, suggesting that a general erection would be held by next summer. The break-up of Blondie was announced.
Philip Martin's The Remainder Man broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first episode of Roots Of England broadcast on BBC2. The fourth terrestrial TV channel, Channel Four, began broadcasting, the first programme being the game show Countdown, hosted by Richard Whiteley. Other opening day programmes included the Liverpool-based soap opera Brookside and the first The Comic Strip Presents ..., Five Go Mad In Dorset. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' Long After Dark released.
Shroud Of Jesus: Fact Or Fake? broadcast in the QED strand. The first episode of Ebony broadcast on BBC2. Top Gear Special: Ring Round London broadcast. The Shooting Of Big Man broadcast in the Out Of Court strand. Jack Rosenthal's nostalgic coming-of-age drama P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang broadcast on Channel Four. Gilles Grangier and Sergiu Nicolaescu's Wilhelm Cuceritorul - starring Hervé Bellon, John Terry, Mircea Albulescu, Violeta Andrei and Christiane Jean - premiered.
The first episode of The Four Great Seasons broadcast. The first episode of BBC2's Eureka broadcast. Laurel & Hardy were in session on The John Peel Show ('Tell Her Sey Me Sorry', 'You're Nicked', 'Toast One Quick').
The first UK broadcast of Tales Of The Gold Monkey. The final episode of BBC2's Something Else featured poetry from Linton Kwesi Johnson and John Cooper Clarke. William Trevor's The Ballroom Of Romance broadcast. The debut of Channel Four's The Tube presented by Jools Holland and Paula Yates and featuring live performances by The Toy Dolls and The Jam. Siouxsie & The Banshees' A Kiss In A Dreamhouse, Madness's The Rise & Fall, The Higsons' 'Tear The Whole Thing Down'/'Ylang Ylang', Billy Idol's 'White Wedding'/'Dead On Arrival', Showaddywaddy's 'Goody Goody'/'I Want You To Be My Girl', George Harrison's Gone Troppo and Modern Romance's 'Best Years Of Our Lives'/'We've Got Them Running (The Counting Song)' replaced.
The first UK TV showing of With Six You Get Eggroll. Billy Bishop Goes To War broadcast on BBC2. Brides Of Dracula shown in the Midnight Movie strand. In the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, Liverpool beat Everton five-nil with four goals from Ian Rush and a further goal from Mark Lawrenson to maintain their lead at the top the First Division. West Ham United's title hopes took a hit when they lost five-two at Stoke, as did Manchester United's with a defeat at Brighton. Manchester City took advantage to go second following a two-nil win over Southampton. Ipswich Town, runners-up in the league for the last two seasons, were now fourth from bottom.
Pacific Journey broadcast. Walkabout shown in BBC2's Film Of The Week strand. The Thames Barrier was first publicly demonstrated. Coverage of American football was first shown on Channel Four, beginning the channel's several years of association with the sport. The programme was initially presented by Nicky Horne.
Scubbers and The Draughtsman's Contract were featured on Film 82. From Where I Stand and Inside Information broadcast on BBC2. Channel Four began broadcasting basketball coverage, presented by Simon Reed and Miles Aiken. Each week saw coverage of a match from the National Basketball League, with highlights of the first half and live coverage of the second. The first match was between the Birmingham Bullets and Crystal Palace. The Human League's 'Mirror Man'/'You Remind Me Of Gold' released.
Alan Bennett's Intensive Care broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first episode of The Young Ones - Demolition, starring Rik Mayall, Ade Edmondson, Nigel Planer, Christopher Ryan and Alexei Sayle - broadcast on BBC2. A Genius Like Us - a profile of Joe Orton and Kenneth Halliwell - broadcast in the Arena strand.
The Riddle Of Sleep broadcast in the QED strand. The first episode of The Barchester Chronicles broadcast on BBC2. The Farmer's Boys were live at the General Wolfe, Coventry on The John Peel Show. GCHQ intelligence officer Geoffrey Prime pleaded very guilty to seven espionage counts and three counts of sex offences against children. Prime was a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange, a pro-paedophilic activist group and his sex offences included indecently assaulting three girls aged eleven to fourteen. He was sentenced by Lord Lane to a total of thirty eight years in the The Slammer. The media were prevented from reporting on the affair until after his trial, which was conducted in secret session.
David Jensen presented Top Of The Pops including appearances from Blue Zoo, A Flock Of Seagulls, Clannad, Dionne Warwick, Donna Summer, Marvin Gaye and Eddy Grant. The Cruelty Man broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Orange Juice's Rip It Up released.
Suzi Quatro and Classix Nouveaux appeared on Crackerjack. The first episode of Alan Bennett's Objects Of Affection broadcast. Siouxsie & The Banshees' featured on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Pauline Black and Pete Townshend appeared on Radio 1's Round Table. Express Lift Tower in Northampton officially opened. Madness's 'Our House'/'Walking With Mister Wheeze', Associates' 'A Matter Of Gender'/'Even Dogs In The Wild', The Stranglers' 'European Female'/'Savage Beast' and Simple Minds' 'Someone, Somewhere (In Summertime)'/'King Is White & In The Crowd' released. In the Soviet Union, former KGB head Yuri Andropov was selected to become the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding the late Leonid Brezhnev who had died two days earlier. Antonio José Betancor's Valentina - starring Anthony Quinn, Jorge Sanz and Paloma Gómez - premiered.
Haircut One Hundred and Fleetwood Mac featured on The Late-Late Breakfast Show. Went The Day Well? shown in BBC2's Saturday Cinema. Lest We Forget broadcast. The 1977 Ballon d'Or winner, Allan Simonsen, scored on his début for Charlton Athletic, who were beaten three-two by Middlesbrough in the Second Division. In the top flight, Liverpool maintained a three-point lead at the top, beating Coventry City four-nil. West Ham were second with a victory over bottom-of-the-table Norwich City. Manchester United maintained their title push with a one-nil win over Tottenham, as did Watford beating Stoke City by the same scoreline at Vicarage Road. There were six goals in a thrilling clash at The Hawthorns, where West Bromwich Albion draw three-three with Swansea City. Talk Talk and Blancmange appeared on Radio 1's In Concert.
The Royal Variety Performance broadcast. The first UK TV showing of The Late Show on BBC2's The Great American Picture Show strand. The leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarność movement, Lech Walesa, was released from eleven months internment. Elvis Costello featured on Radio 1's Music Now.
The first UK TV showing of Car Wash. Brave New Babies? broadcast in the Horizon strand. The Cure's 'Let's Go To Bed' released. Julian Cope announced that The Teardrop Explodes had split. The product of their final sessions would make up the 1983 single 'You Disappear From View' and, several years later, the LP Everybody Wants To Shag ... The Teardrop Explodes. Unemployment remained in excess of three million. That Awful Thatcher Woman denied knowing of Geoffrey Prime's membership of the Paedophile Information Exchange in a House of Commons response to a written question from Geoffrey Dickens MP.
Frances Galleymore's A Mother Like Him broadcast in the Play For Today. A Play For Bridport broadcast in the Arena strand. The Young Ones episode Oil broadcast.
The first episode of Break Point broadcast. England beat Greece three-nil in Salonika in a European Championship qualifier. Tony Woodcock scored twice whilst debutant Sammy Lee of Liverpool added a third. Northern Ireland beat West Germany one-nil thanks to an Ian Stewart goal. The first Ashes test at Perth was drawn. A high-scoring match saw centuries for Derek Randall and Greg Chappell. Norman Cowans made his test debut. Terry Alderman sustained a serious shoulder injury which would keep him out of cricket for a year after he rashly tackled an England-supporter who had run onto the ground to celebrate England reaching four hundred in their first innings.
Highlights of The Eighteenth Cambridge Folk Festival broadcast on BBC2.
The first UK TV showing of Mario Bava's Danger: Diabolik in The Late Film strand. The first episodes of BBC2's Zone Of Occupation and Under Sail broadcast. Bauhaus and - making their TV debut - The The featured on The Oxford Road Show. Light Of The World and The Passions appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Alan Bennett's A Woman Of No Importance broadcast. Led Zeppelin's Coda, Slade & The Assorted Nutters Choir's '(And Now - The Waltz) C'Est La Vie'/'Merry Xmas Everybody (Live And Kickin')', Joni Mitchell's '(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care'/'Love', Kiss' 'Killer'/'I Love It Loud', The Apollinaires' 'Envy The Love'/'Give It Up' and The Damned's 'Generals'/'Disguise', 'Citadel Zombies' released.
Duran Duran appeared on Saturay Superstore. The Hounds Of Zaroff shown in BBC2's Midnight Movies strand. The FA Cup First Round produce giant-killing victories against Football League opposition for Altrincham, Boston United, North Shields, Bishop's Stortford and Slough Town. Liverpool were now four points ahead at the top of First Division with a two-one win at Notts County. Watford went second with a four-one win against Brighton. Manchester United's title hopes were hit by a two-one defeat at Aston Villa. Lords Of The New Church and The Hollywood Killers were on Radio 1's In Concert.
The first episode of Haywire broadcast. Paul Gambaccini profiled The Who on Radio 1.
Creep Show and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid previewed on Film 82. Shreikback, Attila the Stockbroker and Psychic TV featured on BBC2's Riverside. The Birthday Party were in session on The John Peel Show. The Jam's final double-pack single 'Beat Surrender'/'Shopping'/'Stoned Out Of My Mind'/'Move On Up'/'War' released.
Paula Milne's John David broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Upon Westminster Bridge broadcast in the Arena strand. The Young Ones episode Boring broadcast.
The Horse That Doped Itself broadcast in the QED strand. If The Spanish Armada Had Landed broadcast in BBC2's Timewatch strand. Representatives from eighty eight countries gathered in Geneva to discuss world trade.
Miners broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Derby County were fined ten grand and 'warned as to their future conduct' by the Football League over breaches of two regulations relating to illicit negotiations with Roy McFarland, who resigned as player-manager at Bradford City to return to the club for a second spell as a player. The Jamaica World Music Festival was held in Montego Bay. Acts over the three-days included Peter Tosh, Rick James, The Clash, Grateful Dead, Aretha Franklin and, in their final show before breaking up, Squeeze.
Children In Need broadcast. Tears For Fears appeared on The Oxford Road Show. Alan Bennett's A Day Out broadcast. The first episode of The Vocal Touch and the first UK broadcast of Les Jeunes Filles. Elvis Costello & The Attractions With The Royal Guard Horns' 'Party Party'/'Imperial Bedroom', Wah!'s 'The Story Of The Blues (Parts 1 & 2)', The Cure's 'Let's Go To Bed'/'Just One Kiss', Soft Cell's 'Where The Heart Is'/'It's A Mugs Game', David Bowie & Bing Crosby's 'Peace On Earth-Little Drummer Boy'/'Fantastic Voyage' and Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners' 'Let's Get This Straight (From The Start)'/'Old' released.
King Vidor: A Tribute broadcast on BBC2. The First Division title race saw Liverpool maintain their four-point lead over Watford, as Bob Paisley's team won three-nil at home to Tottenham and Graham Taylor's side beat Arsenal four-two at Highbury. The Wilko Johnson-Lew Lewis Band and Roddy Radiation & The Tearjerkers appeared on Radio 1's In Concert. Joe Sherman's Expose Me Now - starring Richard Pacheco and Tracy Denielle Martin - premiered.
The Return Of Raymond Mason broadcast in the Omnibus strand. The first UK TV showing of Rancho Deluxe in BBC2's The Great American Picture Show.
Cocaine Country broadcast in the Panorama strand. Heaven Seventeen and David Sylvian featured in BBC2's Riverside. Spear Of Destiny were in session on The John Peel Show.
Aliens broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Three Steps to Heaven broadcast in BBC2's Arena strand. The Young Ones episode Bomb broadcast. Michael Jackson released his sixth solo LP, Thriller, which would go on to become the largest selling LP of all time. Richard Attenborough's Gandhi premiered in New Delhi.
Big Day At Black Rock broadcast in the QED strand. A Certain Ratio were in session on The John Peel Show. Australia won the second Ashes test at Brisbane by seven wickets. Despite fifties from Allan Lamb and Graeme Fowler, Kepler Wessels' century on debut gave Australia a big lead which they never surrendered.
Over ten million viewers saw the Only Fools & Horses episode A Touch Of Glass, in which the Trotters accidentally smashed a priceless chandelier. Mister Moonlight broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Frankie Goes To Hollywood were in session on The John Peel Show ('Two Tribes', 'The World Is My Oyster', 'Krisco Kisses', 'Disneyland'). Marty Feldman died aged forty eight.
Siouxsie & The Banshees and Thomas Dolby featured in BBC2's The Oxford Road Show. Alan Bennett's Rolling Home broadcast. The premieres of the animation The Plague Dogs based on the novel by Richard Adams, Graeme Clifford's Frances and Fumihiko Katô's Dan Oniroku: Shôjo Mokuba-Zeme - starring Serina Nishikawa and Shirô Shimomoto. The most successful group of the 1970s, ABBA, released their final single until 2021, 'Under Attack'/'You Owe Me One'. The Beat's 'I Confess'/'Sole Salvation', Boney M's 'The Carnival Is Over'/'Going Back West', Tandoori Cassette's 'Angel Talk'/'Third World Briefcases', Marc Bolan & T Rex's 'Christmas Bop'/'Shy Boy', 'Ride A White Swan' and Siouxsie & The Banshees' 'Melt'/'Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant' released. Radios 1 and 2 simulcast for the final time.
Shalamar appeared on Saturday Superstore. Wege In Der Nacht shown in BBC2's Film International. The transmission time that Radio 1 lost in March 1980 was regained. Programmes again begin at 6am with Mike Smith presenting the new weekday early morning show. Weekend early shows were introduced and the station also recommenced Saturday evening broadcasting with Janice Long and Ooo Gary Davies joining to present new shows. Programming was also extended by two hours on Sunday evenings with Annie Nightingale's Request Show returning after a nine year hiatus. First Division leaders Liverpool suffer a shock defeat at Norwich City. Manchester United went second with a one-nil at Watford. Aston Villa were third with a home victory over West Ham. Nottingham Forest's title hopes were hit by a three-two defeat to local rivals Notts County. In the Second Division, Middlesbrough found themselves fifth from bottom and in danger of a second successive relegation after they lost four-nil at Wolves.
The first UK TV showings of Agatha and, on BBC2, The Killer Elite. The first episode of Sunday Night broadcast.
Gandhi previewed on Film 82. Boy George, Cabaret Voltaire, The Higsons and Ken Livingstone (reviewing ET) featured on BBC2's Riverside. The Chopper broadcast in the Arena strand. The Irish National Liberation Army killed seventeen people in a bomb attack at the Droppin Well Inn, Ballykelly. Gregory Isaacs & The Roots Radics were in session on The John Peel Show.
BBC2's The Reef broadcast. The Young Ones episode Interesting broadcast. The Undertones were in session on The John Peel Show ('Untouchable', 'The Love Parade', 'Luxury', 'The Sin Of Pride'). The first US execution by lethal injection was carried out in Texas on convicted murderer Charles Brooks.
Hang On I'll Just Speak To The World broadcast. A Very British Inventor broadcast on BBC2. Sidney Lumet's The Verdict, Walter Hill's Forty Eight Hours and Alan J Paluka's Sophie's Choice premiered.
Simon Bates presented Top Of The Pops with performances by Shalamar, Soft Cell, Shakin' Stevens, Yazoo, Junior, Lionel Richie, The Jam, Renee & Renato and David Bowie & Bing Crosby. The Lads' Night Out broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. The Martin Carthy Band and Chas & Dave featured on BBC2's The Eighteenth Cambridge Folk Festival.
Ian Wooldridge Interviews Spike Milligan broadcast. UB40 and the début appearance of Joboxers on BBC2's The Oxford Road Show. Alan Bennett's Marks broadcast. The Jam's Dig The New Breed and The Fun Boy Three's 'The More I See (The Less I Believe)'/'The Question Mark' released. Airplane II: The Sequel premiered. British chemist Aaron Klug won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 'for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes.' John Robert Vane won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with Sune Bergström and Bengt Samuelsson 'for their discoveries concerning prostaglandins and related biologically active substances.'
ABBA made their final public performance on The Late-Late Breakfast Show. The first UK TV showing of Do You Remember Dolly Bell? of BBC2's Film International strand. There was a major upset in the FA Cup Second Round as Third Division Wrexham lost to non-league Worcester City. The gap between Liverpool and Manchester United at the top of the First Division remained three points after Liverpool beat Watford three-one and Manchester United put four past Notts County. Nottingham Forest revived their title challenge with a two-one win over Swansea City. The Jam played their final gig at the Brighton Conference Centre.
Sports Review of 1982 broadcast. Daley Thompson won the Sports Personality Of The Year award. BBC2's The Grand Age Of Gardens broadcast. Aston Villa lost the Intercontinental Cup final to Argentina's Penarol in Tokyo. At Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, thirty thousand women held hands and formed a human chain around the nine-mile perimeter fence. Curiously, the missiles housed within the site did not spontaneously combust. Odd, that.
Two Weeks In Winter broadcast. The State Of The Planet broadcast in BBC2's Horizon strand.
Jeremy Paul and Alan Gibson's Another Flip For Dominick broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Rockaby broadcast in BBC2's Arena strand. The Young Ones episode Flood broadcast.
Gibraltar gained a pedestrian link to Spain, as the gates which separated the two states were re-opened after thirteen years. England beat Luxembourg nine-nil at Wembley in the European Championship qualifiers. Luther Blissett scored a hat-trick on his second England appearance. Débutant Mark Chamberlain of Stoke was also on the scoresheet as were Steve Coppell, Tony Woodcock, Glenn Hoddle, Phil Neal and an own goal by Luxembourg's keeper Jeannot Moes. Australia took a two-nil lead in the Ashes winning the third test at Adelaide by eight wickets. Greg Chappell scored another century for the hosts with David Gower briefly giving England something to shout about with a hundred of his own. John Peel's Festive Fifty began featuring, for this year only, both an annual and an all-time chart, compiled by listeners.
How Do I Look? broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. The United Freedom Front bombed an office of South African Airways in Elmont, New York and an IBM office in Harrison. Two police officers suffer hearing damage. In March 1984, the UFF claimed responsibility for the IBM bombing, stating the company was targeted because of its business in South Africa under Apartheid. Echo & The Bunnymen headlined a gig at Tiffany's in Glasgow, supported by Now Is The Time To Forget The Whimpering Child, Become The Warrior.
Alan Bennett's Say Something Happened broadcast on BBC2. Sydney Pollack's Tootsie and Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander - starring Pernilla Allwin and Bertil Guve - premiered. The Special AKA's 'War Crimes (The Crime Remains The Same)'/'Version' and Suzanne Danielle's 'Christmas Stockings'/'Treat Your Body' released.
The Likely Lads broadcast in The Saturday Film strand. Squeeze In Concert broadcast on BBC2. Liverpool extended their lead of the First Division to five points with a four-two win at Aston Villa, while Manchester United could only manage a goalless draw at Swansea. In the Second Division promotion race, Wolves beat leaders Queens Park Rangers four-nil at the Molineux to cut the gap between first and second places to three points.
David Puttnam was interviewed by Barry Norman on Omnibus including the first UK TV showing of clips from the Puttnam-produced Local Hero. The first episode of BBC2's Schoolgirl Chums broadcast.
Panorama chronicled Roberto Calvi's last days and uncovered new evidence which suggested that others had been involved in his death. The Mysterious Mister Tesla broadcast in the Horizon strand.
John Pittman's Ho! Ho! Ho! broadcast. Russell Harty's Christmas Party broadcast on BBC2.
Young Messiah broadcast. Sir Thomas More broadcast in BBC2's Timewatch strand. Everton signed twenty six-year-old midfielder Peter Reid - and, importantly, his monkey's heed - from Bolton Wanderers in a sixty thousand pound deal.
The first UK broadcast of Sinatra In Concert For The Americas. God's Frozen People and Triple Bill - featuring Ralph McTell, Therapy and The McClamans - broadcast on BBC2. Service Information was broadcast on BBC2 for the final time. More than twelve hundred jobs were lost in the West Midlands when the Round Oak Steelworks at Brierley Hill closed after one hundred and twenty five years.
Oh Yes I Am ... Oh No You're Not! broadcast. The Year They Raised the Rose, The Forgotten Voyage and The Old Grey Whistle Test Presents Elton John broadcast on BBC2. The latter was simultcast on Radio 1. The first episode of Old Stagers broadcast of Radio 2. The Browning Version broadcast on Radio 4.
The first UK TV showings of International Velvet and Death On The Nile. The World Of James Joyce broadcast on BBC2. X-Mal Deutschland were in session on The John Peel Show. Because nothing says Christmas like atonal German Goths bellowing. The Magic Of Geoff Love, Boston Pops' Christmas Party and Ed Stewart's Falklands Christmas broadcast on Radio 2. Wynford Vaughan-Thomas's The Countryside At Christmas broadcast on Radio 4. The Daughter Of Time broadcast in the Afternoon Theatre strand.
Dexys Midnight Runners and Madness appeared on the Boxing Day episode of Cheggers Plays Pop. The Ice House broadcast. The first UK TV showing of Airport 77. Spider's Web and The Ghost Downstairs broadcast on BBC2. With Boxing Day being on a Sunday for the last time until 1993, there were just two fixtures in the entire Football League. In the Second Division, promotion challengers Oldham Athletic and Leeds United drew two-two at Boundary Park. In the Third Division, there is a London derby at The Den, where Millwall lost one-nil to Orient in a relegation six-pointer. Paul Gambaccini profiled Paul McCartney on Radio 1. The Guardsman broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand.
The Funny Side Of Christmas broadcast. The first UK TV showings of Convoy and King Kong. A Drop In The Ocean broadcast on BBC2. Radio 1's Christmas Rock 'N' Roll Trivia Quiz broadcast. The UK TV premiere of Moonraker on ITV. Liverpool remained at the top of the First Division with a five-two win over Manchester City. There was an East Anglian derby clash at Portman Road, where Norwich boosted their survival bid with a three-two win over Ipswich Town. Birmingham City beat neighbours Aston Villa, three-nil to dent Tony Barton's team's hopes of winning a second league title. Wolves went top of the Second Division with a two-nil win at Shrewsbury Town, as Queens Park Rangers lost two-one at home to Chelsea. Margery Allingham's The Case Of The Late Pig broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand.
The UK TV premiere of Grease. Osprey broadcast on BBC2. The Merry Wives Of Windsor broadcast in The BBC Television Shakespeare strand. Jet Harris And Tony Meehan broadcast on Radio 1.
The Way Of The Wind and Team Disco Dance Championships broadcast. East Lynne broadcast on BBC2. Watford rose to third in the First Division with a win over West Ham. At the bottom, Norwich beat Luton and Birmingham drew with Swansea; all four clubs and Brighton were separated by a mere four points. In the Second Division, Queens Park Rangers beat Charlton to go level on points with Wolves at the top of the table. Neil Young's Trans and Wall Of Voodoo's 'Mexican Radio'/'Call of The West' released.
The first episode of 'Allo 'Allo! and The Barretts Of Wimpole Street broadcast. The first UK TV showing of All The President's Men on BBC2. Joyce In June broadcast. England won the fourth Ashes test at Melbourne by three runs in one of the most exciting finishes to a test match ever seen. In a tightly fought game, England appeared to be on the verge of victory after a brilliant spell of fast bowling by Norman Cowans (six for seventy seven) reduced Australia, chasing two hundred and ninety two, to two hundred and eighteen for nine. However, a last wicket stand between Allan Border and Jeff Thomson took the game into a fifth day and Australia edged towards an unlikely victory until Ian Botham induced an edge from Thomson. Chris Tavare did his best to drop the ball but Geoff Miller, next to him in the slip cordon, caught the rebound. Abbey Road broadcast on Radio 1.
Ghost In The Water and Across The Years broadcast. The first UK TV showing of the movie adaptation of Porridge. People Versus Scott broadcast on BBC2. Adrian Juste's Disco Show broadcast on Radio 1. Ray Moore's New Year's Eve Party broadcast on Radio 2. The eleventh annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special was broadcast in the US on ABC, with appearances by The Go-Go's, Hall & Oates, Barry Manilow and Jermaine Jackson. Omiros Efstratiadis' Roda, Tsanta & Kopana No II premiered. Donald Fagen's 'New Frontier'/'Maxine' released.
The first of the Play For Tomorrow strand, Crimes, broadcast.
Where The Red Fern Grows shown in The Wednesday Film strand. The first episode of BBC2's The Woman In White. The Royal Navy's HMS Brilliant left Ascension for the South Atlantic. During the war, her two helicopters were involved in successfully attacking the Argentine submarine Santa Fe and she was the first Royal Navy warship to fire the Sea Wolf missile in action on 12 May when she shot down three A-4 Skyhawks. Rear Admiral Sandy Woodward departed from Ascension aboard HMS Glamorgan, along with HMS Alacrity, HMs Broadsword and HMS Yarmouth. Arthur Lowe gave a live interview on Pebble Mill At One. Later, he collapsed from a stroke in his dressing room at the Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham, before a performance of Home At Seven in which was due to appear with his wife, Joan.
The final episode of the first series of The Kenny Everett Television Show featured 'Susan George, Lulu, Billy Connolly, Cannon & Ball and a cardboard replica of Michael Parkinson'! Chatsworth broadcast on BBC2. Arthur Lowe died aged sixty six.
The first episode of Odd One Out, featuring that odious gnome Paul Daniels, broadcast. The Queen Of Annagh broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. Shambeko! Say Wah!'s 'Remember'/'A Crack Is A Crack', Toto's 'Rosanna'/'It's A Feeling', Scritti Politti's 'Faithless (parts 1 & 2)' and Bad Manners' 'Got No Brains'/'Psychedelic Eric' released.
The Other Tour broadcast on BBC2. Canada repatriated its constitution, granting full political independence from the United Kingdom. The British military leaders for the forthcoming Falklands campaign met for the first time to discuss tactics on how to give the invading Argentines a damned good kicking. Admiral Sir John Fieldhouse, Commander-in-Chief of the fleet and Major General Moore, the land forces commander, flew to Ascension Island to meet Sandy Woodward, Three Commando brigade leader Major General Julian Thompson and Commodore Michael Clapp who commanded the amphibious assault group aboard HMS Hermes. The BBC launched its first summer Saturday morning magazine programme, Get Set. Unlike its winter counterparts, the show was broadcast only during the first half of the morning. This allowed for an earlier start for Grandstand to accommodate test cricket. On weeks where cricket was not being played, a feature film was broadcast from 11am. The first UK broadcast of Pearl. Mari Wilson & The Marines & Marionettes and Buzzz featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Motörhead's Iron Fist released.
The first episode of Your Mind In Their Hands broadcast. Gilbert O'Sullivan broadcast on BBC2. Paul McCartney Talks To Andy Peebles broadcast on Radio 1.
An adaptation of La Ronde broadcast. The first episodes of BBC2's Langley South, Better Than New, Barry Manilow In Britain and A Family Band broadcast. Germany & The Argentine Bomb broadcast in the Newsnight strand. Associates were in session on The John Peel Show ('Waiting For The Love Boat', 'Australia', 'Love Hangover', 'A Severe Case Of Career Insecurity'). Laurie Anderson's Big Science released. Argentina rejected the US Secretary of State's latest peace proposals.
Bright Eyes broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Stantonbury: A Blueprint broadcast on BBC2. With the chances of a negotiated solution now, effectively, completely cattle-trucked the British War Cabinet officially ordered the repossession of Falklands and instructed their military accordingly.
The Wreck Of The Mary Rose broadcast in BBC2's Chronicle strand. Walsall's hopes of becoming the first Football League club to ground-share were dashed when FA officials blocked their plans to sell the Fellows Park stadium and become tenants at the Molineux, home of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Tottenham Hotspur lost the European Cup Winners' Cup Semi-Final two-one on aggregate to Barcelona. Aston Villa's goalless draw in Brussels against Andelecht saw them qualify for the European Cup final on aggregate. SAS and SBS troops landed, in secret, on South Georgia.
The first episode of Bird Of Prey broadcast. Denny Laine and Clint Eastwood & General Saint appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Oink!
The Eurovision Song Contest was held in Harrogate, presented by Jan Leeming and won by Germany's Nicole with 'Ein Bißchen Frieden'. Britain's entry, Bardo's 'One Step Further' was seventh. The frst UK TV showing of One More Time on BBC2. The first British serviceman died in the Falklands War, when his Sea King helicopter crashed. Norman Whiteside, sixteen-year-old Northern Irish forward, made his first team debut for Manchester United in their one-nil win at Brighton & Hove Albion thirteen days before his seventeenth birthday. Clint Eastwood & General Saint and Black Roots were ranking in a rub-a-dub style on Radio 1's In Concert. Mur-dah!
The twenty fifth anniversary episode of The Sky At Night, The Unfolding Universe broadcast. Didier Pironi beat Ferrari teammate Gilles Villeneuve in the San Marino Grand Prix. Todd Rundgren featured in Radio 1's The Record Producers. The Royal Marines recaptured South Georgia after an initial failed landing by the SAS on the Fortuna Glacier. Israel completed its withdrawal from the Sinai Peninsula in accordance with the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty of 1979.
Madness and Bananarama featured on Cheggers Plays Pop. The Story Of Ruth broadcast on BBC2. Rod Stewart was mugged in Los Angeles. Stewart lost his Porsche to the mugger, but was not injured. At the alleged instigation of manager Bernie Rhodes, Joe Strummer vanished, forcing The Clash to postpone their forthcoming UK tour. Joe subsequently claimed that Rhodes had become worried because tickets were selling slowly for the Scottish leg of the tour and devised the scheme accordingly. It was planned for Strummer to travel, in secret, to Texas and stay with his friend, Joe Ely. Uneasy with this deception, Strummer instead decided to genuinely disappear and 'dicked around' in France for several weeks. Depeche Mode's The Meaning Of Life released.
Cricket broadcast in the Play For Tomorrow strand. Task Force - The Home Front broadcast. Nothing Final broadcast on BBC2. The War Cabinet in London gave approval for Operation Sutton, the British forces landings East Falkland. England beat Wales one-nil in the Home International Championship at Ninian Park. Trevor Francis scored the winner ten minutes from time.
Scotland and Northern Ireland drew one-all in the Home International Championship at Windsor Park. The Last Judgement broadcast on BBC2. Paul McCartney's Tug Of War released.
Nicole, Hot Chocolate, Yazoo, Monsoon, Rocky Sharpe & The Replays, Simple Minds, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Spandau Ballet and Paul McCartney & Stevie Wonder featured on Top Of The Pops introduced by Richard Skinner. The Mick Burke Award broadcast on BBC2. The Ravishing Beauties were in session on The John Peel Show. Daniel and Christopher Smith, Britain's first test tube twins, were born to Josephine and Stewart Smith at the Royal Free Hospital in London.
The BBC North documentary As Others See Us broadcast. Lunch broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The Conservatives returned to the top of the opinion polls for the first time since late 1979. Liverpool were now clear at the top of the First Division, four points ahead of Ipswich Town with a game in hand. Swansea City were third. Manchester City, who led the league four months previously, were now tenth. Middlesbrough and Wolverhampton Wanderers remained in the relegation zone, but Sunderland had climbed out of the bottom three at the expense of West Bromwich Albion. Luton Town's promotion from the Second Division now appeared almost certain, while Watford were also looking likely to reach the top flight for the first time. Sheffield Wednesday occupied the final promotion place, but Leicester City, Norwich City and Queens Park Rangers remained in contention. Influential rock and/or roll journalist Lester Bangs died in his New York apartment of an apparently accidental overdose of prescription drugs. The Associates' 'Club Country'/'AG It's You Again', John Cooper Clarke's 'The Day My Pad Went Mad'/'A Distant Relation', Kid Creole & The Coconuts' 'I'm A Wonderful Thing, Baby'/'Table Manners', The Scottish World Cup Squad's 'We Have A Dream'/'Wrap Up The Cup' and Japan's 'I Second That Emotion'/'Halloween' released. The US finally got off the fence and declared support for Britain in the Falklands conflict.
Nye broadcast. Gold from the Deep broadcast on BBC2. Chris Thomas featured on Radio 1's The Record Producers. HMS Conqueror sank the Argentine cruiser General Belgrano with the loss of over three hundred lives. The incident became a cause célèbre for anti-war campaigners who claimed the Belgrano was not only outside the exclusion zone but also sailing away from the conflict although both the Belgrano's captain and the Argentine government did subsequently acknowledge that the attack was a legitimate act of war. The new British Foreign Secretary Francis Pym held talks with General Haig in Washington.
The first UK TV showings of The Big Bus and, on BBC2, Pepe Le Moko. The Cure's Pornography and Frank Zappa's Ship Arriving Too Late To Save A Drowning Witch released. Rebecca Maria Hall born in London.
The Nuclear Family broadcast in the Play For Tomorrow strand. The first episode of Wogan broadcast. Suzi Quatro featured on BBC2's Roy Clark Travelling Music Show. Dub-poet Michael Smith was in session on The John Peel Show including the epic 'Mi Cyaan Believe It'. The Type Forty Two Destroyer, HMS Sheffield, was badly damaged by an Exocet missile killing twenty crew members and severely injuring twenty four. It finally sank on 10 May. The destruction of Sheffield (the first Royal Navy ship sunk in action since the Second World War) had a profound impact on the British public, bringing home the fact that the Falklands Crisis was now an actual war. A second Black Buck raid was carried out against Stanley airport; a Sea Harrier was shot down over Goose Green. Southampton and Coventry City draw five-all in the highest-scoring match of the First Division season. A brace from Ross Jenkins in Watford's win over Wrexham sealed their promotion from the Second Division. Jenkins himself was playing Watford in Division Four five years previously.
Viv Richards was profiled on Sportsnight. Trading To Extinction broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us strand.
Peter Duncan running in The London Marathon featured on Blue Peter. Spandau Ballet and Gang Of Four featured on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Serious Drinking were in session on The John Peel Show ('Spirit Of 66', 'Love On The Terraces', 'Hangover', 'He's An Angry Bastard But I Like Him', 'Walk Alone').
Steel Pulse appeared on BBC2's Something Else. Theatre Of Hate's 'The Hop'/'Conquistador', Tottenham Hotspur FA Cup Final Squad (With Chas & Dave)'s 'Tottenham, Tottenham'/'Spurs Medley', The Associates' 'Club Country'/'AG It's You Again', ABC's 'The Look Of Love (parts 1 & 2)', Corrine Gillies' 'You Don't Know Where Your Interest Lies'/Bill Colman 'Keep On Dancing', The Comsat Angels' 'It's History'/'Zinger', Public Disgrace's 'Toxteth'/'LSD', 'Wars', Muriel Day's 'Nine Times Out Of Ten'/Jimbo 'Do The Skunk' and UB40' 'Love Is All Is All Right'/'One A Penny' released.
U2 appeared on Get Set For Summer. The first episode of Night Music broadcast. Let It Be shown on BBC2's Saturday Cinema strand. Gilles Villeneuve was killed during qualifying for the Belgian Grand Prix.
The BBC broadcast live coverage of the London Marathon for the first time. South American Sketchbook broadcast in The World About Us strand.
The first UK TV showing of Your Three Minutes Are Up in The Monday Film strand. The Mathis Magic broadcast on BBC2. The Clash's drummer Topper Headon was fired from the band due to his heroin addiction. New Order's 'Temptation'/'Hurt' and The Birthday Party's Junkyard released.
Stephen Lowe's Shades broadcast in the Play For Tomorrow strand. Set in 1999 it predicted, with uncanny accuracy, advances in virtual reality. And, with somewhat less plausibly, the future political domination of the SDP.
Barcelona beat Standard Liège two-one in the Final of the European Cup Winners' Cup in the Nou Camp. Royal Academy Summer Exhibition broadcast on BBC2. RMS Queen Elizabeth II departed from Southampton with most of Five Infantry Brigade aboard. HMS Glasgow was damaged by Argentine aircraft; Three Commando Brigade HQ issued Operational Order for the landings in San Carlos Water. Spanish priest Juan María Fernández y Krohn tried to stab Pope John Paul II with a bayonet during the latter's pilgrimage to the shrine at Fátima.
Disgraceful convicted sex offender Dave Lee Mister Hairy-Thingy presented Top Of The Pops featuring Duran Duran, Yazoo, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Fun Boy Three, Simple Minds, Hot Chocolate, Associates, Spandau Ballet and Nicole. Breaking The Silence broadcast in BBC2's Brass Tacks Reports strand. Wild Swans were in session on The John Peel Show ('No Bleeding', 'Enchanted', 'Thirst').
Status Quo - Live On One broadcast, celebrating forty years imaginative use of demin. The first UK TV showing of the movie adaptation of Doomwatch. Jam Today and Sophisticated Boom Boom featured on BBC2's Something Else. Jake's End broadcast in the Playhouse strand. The Clash's Combat Rock, Madness's 'House Of Fun'/'Don't Look Back', XTC's 'No Thugs In Our House'/'Chain Of Command', 'Limelight', 'Over Rusty Water', The Madskwad's 'We Are The Tartan Army (Band Of Angels)'/'The Belt Has Got To Stay', Associates' Sulk, The Passage's 'XOYO'/'Animal In Me', Hawkwind's Church Of Hawkwind, Randy Crawford's 'One Hello'/'That's How Heartaches Are Made' and Adam & The Ants' 'Goody Two Shoes'/'Red Sacb' released. The SAS launched an attack against Argentine forces on Pebble Island where the Argentine Navy had taken over a grass airstrip. This resulted in the destruction of several Argentine aircraft. Alex Higgins beat Jimmy White in a thrilling Semi-Final of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield.
Roger Whittaker and Dana were the 'highlights' of Night Music. The Not The Finger In The Ear Show broadcast on BBC2. Nine Below Zero were on Radio 1's In Concert. Liverpool won the Football League title for the thirteenth time after they beat Tottenham Hotspur three-one and Ipswich Town lost by the same score at home to Nottingham Forest. Wolverhampton Wanderers were relegated despite beating West Ham United in their final match of the season. The other two relegation places were still to be decided, with Middlesbrough, Stoke City, West Bromwich Albion and Leeds United all still in danger.
Dnnis Potter was interviewed by Barry Norman on Omnibus. F For Fake shown in BBC2's The Films of Orson Welles strand. Hurricane Higgins won the Embassy World Snooker Championship, his second world title, defeating Ray Reardon eighteen-fifteen in the final. Paul Gambaccini profiled Led Zeppelin on Radio 1.
Bow Wow Wow and Tight Fit featured on Cheggers Plays Pop. Which, presumably, meant the lion wasn't the only one sleeping tonight. The Changing Face Of Parliamentary Democracy broadcast on BBC2.
Easter 2016 broadcast in the Play For Tomorrow strand. Debbie Harry, Hinge and Bracket and Private Eye's Richard Ingrams, Willie Rushton and John Wells were the guests on Wogan. The first part of The Orson Welles Story broadcast in BBC2's Arena strand. Jackie Stewart looked ahead to the new law to make the wearing of seat belts compulsory in Top Gear. Middlesbrough drew with Liverpool and were relegated to the Second Division. West Bromwich Albion guaranteed safety by beating Leeds United two-nil. Wah! were in session on The John Peel Show ('Papa Crak', 'Satie's Faction', 'You'll Never Walk Alone (straight version)', 'You'll Never Walk Alone (silly version)', '8 to 8.30 Or 10 Till 12'). The SAS launched Operation Plum Duff, a reconnaissance mission preliminary to Operation Mikado, which was planned to destroy three Argentinean Exocet missiles and five Super Étendard fighter-bombers. The latter was subsequently called off after the Plum Duff insertion was revealed by a helicopter landing in Chile. Three weeks after disappearing, Joe Strummer and his girlfriend were found living in Paris, two days after they ran in the Paris Marathon.
The Harrisons Don't Go to School and the first episode of Frost In May broadcast. In the South Atlantic, a Sea King carrying SAS forces crashed into the sea during cross-decking, killing twenty one.
The Richard Dimbleby Lecture: Garret FitzGerald broadcast. The Cambridge Footlights Revue - featuring Penny Dwyer, Stephen Fry, Hugh Laurie, Paul Shearer, Tony Slattery and Emma Thompson from the original University stage show directed by Jan Ravens - broadcast on BBC2. The Gymslips were in session on The John Peel Show ('Erika With A K', 'Renøes', 'Big Sister', 'Forty Eight Crash', 'You'll Never Walk Alone'). Stoke City beat West Bromwich Albion three-nil to retain their First Division status at the expense of Leeds United, who were relegated after eighteen successive seasons in the First Division. UN peace talks failed, ending any hope of a diplomatic solution to the Falkland crisis. Jessica Helen Lloyd born in Eardisley.
The Housewarming broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. U2 appeared live on Something Else. The British Amphibious Task Group under the command of Commodore Clapp mounted Operation Sutton. Royal Marines and paratroopers along with commando artillery and engineer units landed at San Carlos Bay and raised the Union flag. The bay, known as 'Bomb Alley' by British forces, was the scene of repeated air attacks by low-flying Argentine jets. A Brigade Maintenance Area was established at Ajax Bay. HMS Ardent was sunk by Argentinian aircraft in Falkland Sound. A number of Argentinian aircraft were also shot down. The Haçienda nightclub opened in Manchester. New Order's 'Temptation'/'Hurt', The Damned's 'Wait For The Blackout'/'Jet Boy, Jet Girl', Dana & The Northern Ireland World Cup Squad's 'Yer Man'/'Yer Man Theme', Siouxsie & The Banshees' 'Fireworks'/'Coal Mind', Echo & The Bunnymen's 'The Back Of Love'/'The Subject' and Soft Cell's 'Torch'/'Insecure Me' released. John Huston's Annie and Lewis Teague's Fighting Back premiered.
The first UK TV showing of Peter Collinson's And Then There Were None. The first episode of BBC2's Month Of The Dotors broadcast. Fun Day At Thorpe Park broadcast on Radio 1. HMS Antelope exploded when attempts to defuse an unexploded bomb failed. The Wall, a - not very good - film adaptation of Pink Floyd's 1979 LP premiered at Cannes. The Sunday Times published a rather hysterical article headlined How High Street Horror Is Invading The Home. This was the first time that the term 'video nasties' was used in the national press. 'The nasties are far removed from the suspense of the traditional horror film,' the article claimed. 'They dwell on murder, multiple rape, butchery, sado-masochism, mutilation of women, cannibalism and Nazi atrocities.' Specific titles singled out included The Driller Killer, SS Experiment Camp, Cannibal Holocaust, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, I Spit On Your Grave and Snuff (which was described, wholly inaccurately, as 'horrifyingly convincing').
JB Priesley's I Have Been Here Before broadcast in the Play Of The Month strand. Banking On Allah: A Money Programme Special broadcast on BBC2. Scritti Politti were in session on The John Peel Show. Blondie's The Hunter released. The troop landers Sir Galahad, Sir Lancelot and Sir Tristram were bombed in San Carlos Water, but the bombs failed to explode in all cases.
John Paul II - The People's Pope broadcast. HMS Coventry was sunk by Argentinian Sky Hawks. MV Atlantic Conveyor was hit by Argentinian Exocet missile. The container was carrying vital transport helicopters for the forthcoming land offensive. Just how close this one incident came to scuppering the retaking of the islands would not be revealed for several months. England beat the Netherlands two-nil in a friendly international at Wembley. Tony Woodcock and Paul Mariner were on target.
A Guide To Armageddon broadcast in the QED strand. The official opening of Kielder Water reservoir in Northumberland. It was the largest artificial lake in the UK by capacity and was surrounded by Kielder Forest, the largest planted woodland in Europe. Two Para left Sussex Mountain to advance on Goose Green. Aston Villa won the European Cup, a Peter Withe goal giving them victory over Fußball-Club Bayern München in Rotterdam. The Rolling Stones opened their European tour in Aberdeen. Steven Spielberg's ET - The Extra-Terrestrial premiered at Cannes.
I Start Counting shown in The Late Film strand. Easy Money broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. Pope John Paul II's visit to the UK, the first by a reigning pope, began at Gatwick Airport; he later met the Queen in London. Sylvester Stallone's Rocky III premiered. The Battle of Goose Green commenced, the first land battle of the Falklands war. Two hundred and fifty Argentine soldiers were killed and seventeen British troops died in fierce fighting which lasted over a day. Lieutenant-Colonel H Jones of Two Para was killed leading an assault on an Argentine command post for which he was awarded a posthumous Victoria Cross. British troops also reached the village of Darwin. Roxy Music's Avalon, After The Fire's 'Der Kommissar'/'Nobody Else But You' and Gary Numan's 'We Take Mystery (To Bed)'/'The Image Is' released.
Pope John Paul II visited Canterbury, the first time a pontiff has done so. He also celebrated mass at Wembley Stadium live on BBC2. The Battle of Goose Green concluded when British paratroopers defeated a far larger force of Argentine troops. Acting commander, Major Keeble accepted the Argentine surrender. Though the British troops were vastly outnumbered they took more than one thousand prisoners of war. MV Atlantic Conveyor sank under tow after being struck the previous day by two AM39 Exocets. England beat Scotland one-nil in the one hundredth international between the countries to win the Home International Championship. Paul Mariner scored the winner. Q Tips featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Anita Briem born in Reykjavík.
British Third Commando Brigade advanced to within twenty five miles of Port Stanley. Denning broadcast on BBC2. Paul Gambaccini profiled Dusty Springfield on Radio 1. BBC Radio York was given permission to provide a temporary service to cover Pope John Paul II's visit to York. The service, which ran for just over twenty four hours, operated on what would later become Radio York's MW frequency when the station launched in July 1983 and was simulcast on Radio Cleveland, Radio Leeds, Radio Humberside and Radio Sheffield.
Night Of One Hundred Stars broadcast. The Pope's British tour reached Scotland. Three Para and Forty Five Commando marched with heavy packs across the peat bogs of East Falkland in appalling weather conditions. Their progress was slow but they succeeded in taking the Argentine positions of Mount Kent and Mount Challenger by night fall. Unknown to senior British officers, the Argentine generals were determined to tie down the British troops in the Mount Kent area and, on 27 May, they sent transport aircraft loaded with Blowpipe surface-to-air missiles and commandos to Stanley. The Mountain and Arctic Warfare Cadre defeated Argentine troops at Top Malo House; Three Para arrived at the Douglas settlement and Estancia House; Forty Five Commando arrived at Teal Inlet settlement. The Smiths were formed at approximately this date in Manchester by Johnny Marr and Steven Morrissey. And with Bob Geldof appearing on Radio 1's My Top Twleve it was, frankly, not a moment too soon.
Cancer: The Politics & The Puzzle broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. Wogan featured one of the most Hellish line-ups in light entertainment history - That Awful Rantzen Woman, Leo Sayer, hideously unfunny Victoria Wood and The Great Soprendo. War Crimes trials have been held for less. The first UK TV showing of Un Moment D'Igarement on BBC2's Vive La France! strand. New Order were in session on The John Peel Show ('Turn The Heater On', 'We All Stand', 'Too Late', 'Five Eight Six'). Five Infantry Brigade began disembarking in San Carlos Water; Three Commando Brigade's forward base was established at Teal Inlet. In preparation for major engagements, Three Para and Forty Two and Forty Five Commandos began patrolling areas in vicinity of planned objectives. The Rolling Stones' 'Going To A Go-Go'/'Beast Of Burden' released.
Wildlife Jubilee and BBC2's Wildlife Talkabout broadcast, celebrating the twenty fifth anniversary of the BBC's Natural History Unit. England drew one-all with Iceland in a friendly international in Reykjavík. Ron Greenwood fielded a second-string team from his World Cup squad and they struggled in difficult conditions on a frozen pitch to hold an enthusiastic Iceland team. West Ham United's Paul Goddard, making his debut as a substitute for the injured Cyrille Regis, cancelled out Iceland's lead. Tottenham's Steve Perryman also made his international debut. England won the first Prudential Trophy ODI against India at Headingley by nine wickets. Barry Wood scored an undefeated seventy eight.
Woody Allen's Take The Money & Run shown in The Late Film strand. Potatohead Blues broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. It's My Pleasure featured Roy Hattersley on Philip Larkin with Judi Dench and Alan Bennett. Allan Lamb scored ninety nine as England beat India by one hundred and fourteen runs at The Oval to take the Prudential Trophy. Paul Jones and John Peel joined Richard Skinner on Radio 1's Round Table reviewing this week's releases. Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist and Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan premiered. Just in case you didn't know, Spock died. It was very sad. Britain vetoed a Falklands ceasefire resolution tabled by Panama and Spain at the UN.
Altered Images appeared on Get Set For Summer. The Glastonbury Pilgrimage and 'I Thought I Was Taller': A Short History Of Mel Brooks broadcast on BBC2. The World Cup: A Captain's Tale broadcast on ITV.
The Lebanon War began just as all that nasty business in The Falklands was coming to a close: Israeli forces under Defence Minister Ariel Sharon invaded Southern Lebanon in Operation Peace For The Galilee, eventually reaching as far North as Beirut. The United Nations Security Council voted to demand that Israel withdraw its troops, forthwith (if not sooner). The Israelis, perhaps taking their lead from Britain two days earlier, told the UN to go fuck themselves. McLaren's John Watson won the United States Grand Prix in Detroit. David Jensen with the Radio 1 Roadshow Caravan broadcast from the Exhibition Park in Newcastle.
The first UK broadcast of Chicago Story. The first episode of BBC2's Museum Of The Year. The Passage were in session on The John Peel Show. Keep It Dark broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand.
The Tony Awards 1982 and the Pat Jennings profile, Number One broadcast. The Great Cover-Up broadcast on BBC2. Twenty pence coins were first issued into circulation.
Dylan Thomas broadcast. Tom Verlaine appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Southern Death Cult were in session on The John Peel Show.
World Cup 82 broadcast. The Man Who Married A French Wife & Other Stories broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. The Teardrop Explodes' 'Tiny Children'/'Rachael Built A Steamboat', Bauhaus' 'Spirit'/'Terror Couple Kill Colonel', The Clash's 'Rock The Casbah'/'Long Time Jerk', Jeff Wayne's 'Matador'/'Henry Higgins', Dumpy's Rusty Bolts' 'Just For Kicks'/'Ride With Me', Kissing The Pink's 'Mister Blunt'/'Water In My Eye', Sparks' 'I Predict'/'Moustache' and Killing Joke's 'Chop Chop'/'Good Samaritan' released. Major assaults took place on the outer ring of Argentine defences around Port Stanley: Forty Two Commando at Mount Harriet, Three Para at Mount Longdon and Forty Five Commando at Two Sisters. All three were taken after fierece fighting. Three islanders were killed during a naval bombardment of Stanley.
Larry Holmes defended his World Heavyweight boxing title against Gerry Cooney at Caesar's Palace. HMS Glamorgan was struck by land-based Exocet missile; another Black Buck raid was conducted against radar installation at Stanley.
The first UK TV showing of The Gumball Rally. The World Cup began in Spain. In the opening match, holders Argentina were defeated one-nil by Belgium with an Erwin Vandenbergh goal. It was a bad day all round for the Argentines; Two Para with light armour support from the Blues and Royals, captured Wireless Ridge, the Scots Guards attacked Mount Tumbledown in some of the most bloody fighting of the conflict whilst the Gurkhas occupied Mount William. With the last natural defence line at Tumbledown breached, the Argentine defences outside Stanley began to run away. Paul Gambaccini profiled The Rolling Stones on Radio 1.
The Falklands War ended with a whimper rather than a bang as British forces reached the outskirts of Stanley after yomping across East Falkland from San Carlos Bay. They arrived to find the Argentine forces flying white flags of surrender and shitting in their own pants at what may have been in store for them. The formal Argentine capitulation was signed in the evening as General Mario Menendez surrendered to Major General Moore. Brazil and the Soviet Union lit up the early stages of the World Cup with a twenty four carat thriller in Seville. Trailing to an Andriy Bal goal, outstanding late strikes from Sócrates and Éder won the game for the brilliant Brazilians. The Canadian Grand Prix was won by Nelson Piquet, driving a Brabham-BMW. It was the first Formula One victory for a BMW-engined car, but the only victory of the season for defending Drivers' Champion Piquet. Team-mate Riccardo Patrese finished second with John Watson third in a McLaren-Ford. The World Cup: A Captain's Tale broadcast on ITV. Pete Townshend's All The Best Cowboys Have Chinese Eyes released.
England won the first of a three test series against India at Lord's by seven wickets. Derek Randall scored a century for the hosts whilst Ian Botham took five wickets in the first Indian innings and Bob Willis took six in the second. Allan Lamb and Derek Pringle made their test debuts. Scotland won their opening World Cup game five-two against New Zealand. In Group Three, Hungary defeated El Salvador ten-one, equalling the largest margin of victory recorded in the finals. The Steve Miller Band's Abracadabra released. Twenty Four Hours At Le Mans broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand.
The first UK broadcast of the American musical high school drama Fame. The first episode of BBC2's Stravinsky & The Dance broadcast on BBC2. Jodie Auckland Whittaker born in Skelmanthorpe.
David Neary opened the scoring in Scotland's World Cup game against Brazil. That was as good as it got for the Scotch, however, with Brazil eventually winning four-one at a canter. Chains broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. It's My Pleasure featured Alan Price on George Orwell with Lindsay Anderson. Paul McCartney's 'Take It Away'/'I'll Give You A Ring', The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Conducted By Harry Rabinowitz's 'BBC World Cup Grandstand (Jellicle Ball)'/'Strung 2' and Elvis Costello & The Attractions' 'You Little Fool'/'Big Sister', 'The Stamping Ground' released. Elvis also appeared with Martin Fry on Radio 1's Round Table.
Not The World Cup broadcast. Roberto Calvi an Italian financier, dubbed 'God's Banker' by the press because of his close association with the Holy See, was found hanging from Blackfriars Bridge. He was Chairman of Banco Ambrosiano, which collapsed in one of Italy's biggest political scandals. Calvi's death became the source of enduring controversy and was ruled as murder after two coroners' inquests and an independent investigation. Five people were acquitted of killing Calvi in 2007. Popular - though unconfirmed - speculation linked the Vatican Bank, the Mafia and the clandestine Propaganda Due to his death. The Boomtown Rats appeared on Radio 1's In Concert.
The BBC relaunched its Sunday morning programme for the Asian community, Asian Magazine. British forces retook the South Sandwich Islands, which involved accepting the surrender of the Southern Thule Garrison at the Corbeta Uruguay base and declared hostilities in the South Atlantic over. Two days later the head of the Argentine military junta, General Leopold Galtieri, resigned in shame to be replaced by retired army General Reynaldo Bignone. England sealed qualification to the next stage of the World Cup, defeating Czechoslovakia two-nil. Trevor Francis scored the opener followed by a Josef Barmoš own goal (although Paul Mariner unsuccessfully attempted to claim the goal having been the last England player to touch the ball). A blow for England saw Bryan Robson join Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking on the injury list.
On Approval broadcast in the Play of The Month strand. Tony Sings & Buddy Swings broadcast on BBC2. The first child of The Prince and Princess of Wales, William, was born at St Mary's Hospital, Paddington, the first birth in direct line of succession to the British throne to take place in a hospital. In the game between Kuwait and France at the World Cup, with France leading three-one, Alain Giresse scored a goal which was vehemently contested by the Kuwait team, who had stopped playing after hearing a whistle from the stands. Play had not resumed when Sheikh Fahad Al-Ahmed Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, brother of the then-Kuwaiti Emir and president of the Kuwait Football Association, stroppily rushed onto the pitch to remonstrate with the referee, Miroslav Stupar of the Soviet Union. Stupar, faced with the Sheikh's protestations, inexplicably reversed his decision and disallowed the goal to the fury of the French. Maxime Bossis scored another goal a few minutes later and France won four-one. Stupar was banned from officiating thereafter at the competition and FIFA fined Al-Sabah a risibly inconsequential eight grand. The Jam's 'Just Who is The Five O'Clock Hero?'/'The Great Depression', 'War' released as a Dutch import. Despite this it still made number eight in the UK Singles Chart.
Leading two-one in the final minute of their third World Cup match against the USSR, Alan Hansen and Willie Miller hilariously collided with each other allowing Ramaz Shengelia to race through and equalise, eliminating the Scotch from the competition on goal difference. God, it was funny! A British Airways Boeing 747 suffered a temporary four-engine flameout and damage to the exterior of the plane, after flying through the otherwise undetected ash plume from Indonesia's Galunggung. ABC's The Lexicon Of Love released.
Argentina's two-nil victory over El Salvador saw then qualify for the next stage of the World Cup at the expense of Hungary who could only draw one-all with Belgium. China Crisis's 'African & White'/'Red Sails' released.
Mississippi Days & Southern Nights broadcast. Labour retained the Coatbridge & Airdrie seat in a by-erection caused by the death of sitting MP James Dempsey. William Clark, writing in the following day's Glasgow Herald, stated that the 'major upset from the poll' was the fact that both the SNP and Liberal candidates lost their deposits.
Northern Ireland defeated hosts Spain one-nil in the World Cup. The Irish had to play the majority of the second half with ten men after Mal Donaghy was dismissed for a push. Honduras had already held Spain to a draw. Spain eventually scraped through to the next round thanks to a controversial penalty in the two-one victory over Yugoslavia. England completed their first World Cup group via a one-nil win over Kuwait with a Trevor Francis goal. Kevin Keegan missed the game, having made a secret trip back to Germany for specialist treatment on his back injury. The 'Disgrace of Gijón' saw West Germany and Austria play out a farce at the El Molinón stadium. With Algeria and Chile having played the day previously, a win by one goals for West Germany would result in both the Germans and Austria qualifying at the expense of Algeria. West Germany took the lead after ten minutes through Horst Hrubesch, after which the remaining eighty minutes were characterised by few serious scoring attempts by either side. Both teams were accused of match-fixing, although FIFA ruled that neither team had actually broken any rules. In Group One, Cameroon held both Poland and Italy to draws and were only denied a place in the next round on the basis of having scored fewer goals than Italy. Italian journalists and tifosi heavily criticised their team for their uninspired performances; the squad was still reeling from the recent Serie A scandal where several national players were suspended for match fixing and illegal betting. Captain Sensible's 'Happy Talk'/'I Can't Stand It' and Keni Burke's 'Risin' To The Top (Give It All You Got)'/'Hang Tight' released. Ridley Scott's Blade Runner - starring Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer and Sean Young - John Carpenter's The Thing and Monty Python Live At The Hollywood Bowl premiered. Governor Rex Hunt returned to retake his role as Commissioner of the Falklands.
The first episode of David Essex Showcase broadcast. The Defences Of Britain broadcast on BBC2. The Go-Go's 'Vacation'/'Beatnik Beach' and Dexys Midnight Runners & The Emerald Express' 'Come On Eileen'/'Dubious' released. Dexys also appeared on Radio 1's In Concert.
Mike McLeod won the Great North Run for the second year. The Hidden Land broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us.
The rain-affected second test between England and India at Old Trafford was drawn. The highlight was a century from Ian Botham.
England drew nil-nil with West Germany in the first game of the second round of the World Cup in Madrid.
Great Movie Stunts: Raiders of the Lost Ark broadcast. Karl Marx In London broadcast on BBC2. Nottinghamshire beat Lancashire by four wickets and Somerset beat Sussex by eight wickets in the Semi-Finals of the Benson & Hedges Cup. Attila The Stockbroker was in sesison on The John Peel Show.
Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five's 'The Message' released. In World Cup Group C, Italy beat an Argentina side that included Diego Maradona and Mario Kempes two-one after a game in which Italian defenders Gaetano Scirea and Claudio Gentile proved themselves equal to the task of stopping the Argentinian attack. In any way necessary. Argentina now needed a win over Brazil, but ultimately lost three-one. Stroppy cry-baby Maradona kicked Brazil's João Batista in the groin (really hard) and was sent off late in the game.
West Germany beat Spain in Madrid meaning that England now had to beat Spain by two goals to qualify for a place in the World Cup Semi-Finals. Roy Jenkins was elected as Leader of the SDP. Elvis Costello & The Atractions' Imperial Bedroom, The Psychedelic Furs' 'Love My Way'/'Aeroplane', The Cure's 'The Hanging Garden'/'Killing An Arab', Weekend's 'Past Meets Present'/'Midnight Slows', The Damned's 'Lovely Money'/'I Think I'm Wonderful' and Hawklords' 'Who's Gonna Win The War?'/'Time Of' released.
Jimmy Connors beat John McEnroe in five-set in the Men's Singles Final at Wimbledon. Heaven's My Destination broadcast in the Everyman strand. The first episode of Radio 1's The Lenny Henry Sunday Hoot! broadcast. Though, sadly not the last.
England drew nil-nil with Spain and were eliminated from the World Cup in the second group stage despite not having lost a game. Kevin Keegan and Trevor Brooking - both playing for their country for the final time - came on in the sixty third minute and the double substitution nearly brought reward. Keegan headed wide from the best chance of the match and Brooking had a shot well saved. Ron Greenwood retired as England manager after five years and was succeeded by Ipswich Town's Bobby Robson. The World Cup match between Brazil and Italy was the game of the tournament. Gentile was assigned to mark Zico, earning a yellow card and a suspension for the semi final. Paolo Rossi opened the scoring when he headed in Antonio Cabrini's cross with just five minutes played. Sócrates equalised seven minutes later. In the twenty-fifth minute Rossi stepped past Júnior, intercepted a pass from Cerezo across the Brazilians' goal and scored. The Brazilians threw everything at Italy in search of another equaliser. In the second half, Falcão collected a pass from Júnior and scored from twenty yards. At this stage, Brazil would have been through on goal difference, but in the seventy fourth minute, a poor clearance from an Italian corner saw Rossi score for the third time. In the dying moments Dino Zoff made a miraculous save to deny Oscar a goal, ensuring that Italy advanced to the semi final. The first episode of BBC2's Six Fifty-Five Special - presented by Sakky James and David Soul - broadcast. Yazoo's Don't Go released.
John Paul's People broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. The first episode of BBC2's Food & Drink.
Come Into The Garden Maud broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse. David Moorcroft broke the world five thousand metres world record at The Bislett Games in Oslo.
Italy beat Poland in the first World Cup Semi-Final through two goals from Paolo Rossi. In the game between France and West Germany, the Germans opened the scoring through Pierre Littbarski. The French equalised nine minutes later with a Michel Platini penalty. In the second half a long through ball sent French defender Patrick Battiston racing towards the German goal. Battiston flicked it past German keeper Harald Schumacher from the edge of the penalty area. Schumacher did not seem to go for the ball and clattered straight into the oncoming Battiston which left the French player unconscious. Schumacher's action has been described as 'one of history's most shocking fouls.' The ball went just wide of the post and Dutch referee Charles Corver deemed Schumacher's tackle on Battiston not to be a foul and awarded a goal kick. Play was interrupted for several minutes while Battiston, still unconscious and with a broken jaw, was carried from the field on a stretcher. After Manuel Amoros had sent a twenty five-yard drive crashing onto the German crossbar in the final minute, the match went to extra time. France's sweeper Marius Trésor fired a volley under Schumacher's crossbar. Six minutes later, Alain Giresse added a third. In the one hundred and second minute a counter-attack culminated in a cross that Karl-Heinz Rummenigge turned in at the near post, reducing France's lead. Then Germany took a short corner and after France failed to clear, Littbarski's cross to Horst Hrubesch was headed back to Klaus Fischer who volleyed the ball past French keeper Jean-Luc Ettori with a bicycle kick, levelling the scores. The resulting penalty shoot-out was the first at a World Cup finals. Giresse, Manfred Kaltz, Manuel Amoros, Paul Breitner and Dominique Rocheteau all converted penalties until Uli Stielike was stopped by Ettori, giving France the advantage. But then Schumacher saved Didier Six's shot. Littbarski, Platini and Rummenigge all scored before France defender Maxime Bossis had his kick parried by Schumacher and Hrubesch scored and send Germany to the World Cup final.
The first UK TV showing of Wild In The Sky in The Late Film strand. A Song At Twilight broadcast in BBC2's Playhouse strand. Michael Fagan broke into Buckingham Palace and was apprehended after entering the royal bedroom. The Redskins' 'Lev Bronstein'/'The Peasant Army', The Stranglers' 'Strange LIttle Girl'/'Cruel Garden', The Apollinaires' 'The Feeling's Gone'/'The Feeling's Back', Yazoo's 'Don't Go'/'Winter Kills' and Blancmange's 'Feel Me'/'Instrumental' released. Steven Lisberger's Tron premiered.
The first episode of Radio 1's Peel's Pleasures broadcast. Michael Palin appeared on Get Set For Summer. Suffolk, Stateside! broadcast on BBC2. The Farmer's Boys' 'Whatever Is He Like?'/'I Lack Concentration' and Cocteau Twins' Garlands released.
In the World Cup Final, Italy's Antonio Cabrini fired a penalty wide in the first half. In the second, Paolo Rossi scored first for the third straight game, heading Gentile's cross at close range. Marco Tardelli's shot from the edge of the area beat Schumacher and then Alessandro Altobelli made it three-nil following a fine run by the outstanding Bruno Conti. Paul Breitner scored a late consolation for West Germany. The first UK TV showing of Lucky Star on BBC2.
A Celebration Of Sixty Years: Dinner With Auntie. Cavalcade ... A Backstage Story broadcast on BBC2. The Cure's 'The Hanging Garden'/'Killing An Arab' released. Rip, Rig & Panic were in session on The John Peel Show.
The first episode of The Twentieth Century Remembered broadcast. Late Night In Concert featured AC/DC. The third England/India test at The Oval was drawn. Ian Botham scored his highest test score (two hundred and eight) but England lost much goodwill with the snails pace of their second innings, particularly Chris Tavaré yawn-inducing seventy five in which took over four hours. The crowd showed their disgust and, memorably, a fifteen-year-old boy ran onto the pitch holding a stool, apparently indicating to Tavaré that he must need a rest. The boy, a young Angus Loughran - later better known as Fantasy Football League's Statto - was arrested by plod but, the interruption entertained the agitated fans and even amused officials so much that Loughran was offered life membership to The Oval.
Mary Stuart broadcast. The first episode of BBC2's Cloud Howe broadcast. Dislocation Dance were in session on The John Peel Show.
The first episode of Medical Express broadcast. Robin Denselow presented a Newsnight special profiling The Rolling Stones. The first UK broadcast of The Associates on BBC2. Geoffrey Prime, a British GCHQ civil servant, was remanded in custody on charges under Official Secrets Act and other assorted naughty badness. Prime's most damaging disclosure to the Soviet Union had been the revelation of the existence of 'Project Sambo', a programme designed to track the radio transmissions of Soviet submarines. Cocteau Twins were in session on The John Peel Show ('Wax And Wane'' 'Garlands', 'Alas Dies Laughing', 'Feathers Oar', 'Blades').
To Free An Eagle broadcast. A Family broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand.
Kevin Keegan appeared on The Little & Large Show, singing 'With A Little Help from My Friends'. Really badly. Why, Kev? Why, for the love of God, why? Pablo Picasso: The Legacy Of A Genius broadcast on BBC2. Morrissey Mullen and UK Players appeared on Radio 1's In Concert. As Seen On TV's 'Summer Holiday'/'We Don't Talk Anymore' and Pato & Ranking Roger's 'Pato & Roger (Ago Talk)'/'Cool Entertainer' released.
Rock Bottom broadcast. The Hunt For The Tenth Planet broadcast in The Sky At Night strand. Sergio Leone's A Fistful Of Dynamite shown on BBC2. Niki Lauda won the British Grand Prix at Brands Hatch. Paul Gambaccini profiled Stevie Wonder on Radio 1.
Little Eyolf broadcast in the Play Of The Month strand. The first episode of BA In Music broadcast. In Taking The Strain 'Noel Edmonds investigates stress.' And, by his presence in the programme in question, caused lots of it. The first episode of Third Eye broadcast on BBC2. Home Secretary William Whitelaw announced that Michael Trestrail (the Queen's bodyguard) had resigned from the Metropolitan Police Service over a relationship with a male prostitute. Yazoo were in session The John Peel Show.
The Danube Power Game broadcast. U2 appeared in Late Night In Concert. The Hyde Park and Regents Park bombings: the Provisional IRA detonated two bombs in Central London, killing eight soldiers, wounding forty seven people and leading to the deaths of seven horses. The Go-Go's Vacation released.
The first episode of Task Force South: The Battle For The Falklands broadcast. HMS Hermes, the Royal Navy flagship during the Falklands War, returned to Portsmouth.
The first episode of BBC2's The Promised Land? broadcast. John Russell Taylor's Hitchcock broadcast. Production of the Ford Cortina ended after twenty years and five incarnations. The Cortina's successor, the Sierra, would be built at Dagenham and in Belgium. The exclusion zone around the Falklands was lifted. Dexys Midnight Runners' Too-Rye-Ay released. That Awful Thatcher Woman rejected calls in parliament from, mostly, back-bench Tories MPs with a hard-on for capital punishment for a return of the death penalty for terrorist murder.
The first UK broadcast of Best Of The West. The Golden Eels broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand. Killing Joke's Revelations, Dalek I Love You's 'Holiday In Disneyland'/'Masks & Licenses', Scritti Politti's 'Asylums In Jerusalem'/'Jacques Derrida' and Kid Creole & The Coconuts' 'Stool Pigeon'/'In The Jungle' released. Colin Higgins's The Best Little Whorehouse In Texas and George Roy Hill's The World According To Garp premiered. During filming of Twilight Zone: The Movie in California, Vic Morrow and two child actors, Myca Dinh Le and Renee Shin-Yi Chen, died during a helicopter accident.
Dollar appeared on Summertime Special and Yazoo on Saturday Live. Somerset beat Nottinghamshire by nine wickets in the final of the Benson & Hedges Cup. 'Driving In My Car'/'Animal Farm (Tomorrow's Dream Warp Mix)' released. Elisabeth Singleton Moss born in Los Angeles.
Genesis Fights Back broadcast. Kenneth Tynan was profiled in BBC2's Reputations strand. The Belle Stars featured in Radio 1's Studio B15.
The Human League's Love & Dancing released. Alasdair Milne succeeded Ian Trethowan as Director-General of the BBC.
Four Score Years and Then ... broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. The first episode of BBC2's Our Undersea World broadcast.
The first episode of BBC2's Film Buff Of The Year broadcast. Taylor Hackford's An Officer & A Gentleman premiered.
Clint Eastwood was profiled in a Film 82 special.
Summertime Special featured Little & Large, Chas & Dave, The Goombay Dance Band and The Grumbleweeds. Obviously some new used of the word 'special' that most viewers had never come across previously. Le Boucher shown in BBC2's Chabrol - A Tribute To The Master strand. Girlschool and Stampede featured on Radio 1's In Concert.
The first episodes of God & The Scientist and Home On Sunday broadcast. The government created Britoil as the privatised successor to the British National Oil Corporation. England won the first of a three test series against Pakistan at Edgbaston by one hundred and thirteen runs. Derek Randall scored a century. Ian Greig and Eddie Hemmings made their test debuts.
The first episode of Comic Roots featured Les Dawson. The first episode of BBC2's Jane - starring Glynis Barber - broadcast.
The first episode of The Show Me Show broadcast. The Pale Fountains were in session on The John Peel Show.
The first episode of Believe It Or Not broadcast. X-Rays: The Early Days broadcast on BBC2. The first child of The Prince and Princess of Wales was christened William Arthur Philip Louis.
The first UK TV showing of Underground in The Late Film strand. A Toast To Melba broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand. Orange Juice's 'Two Hearts Together'/'Hokoyo', The Associates' 'Eighteen Carat Love Affair'/'Love Hangover', Modern Romance's 'Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White'/'Who Is John Du Prez?' and Duran Duran's 'Save A Prayer'/'Hold Back The Rain' released.
The first episode of Sin On Saturday broadcast. Quest For The Unicorn broadcast on BBC2. The first UK TV showing of La Route De Corinthe in the Chabrol - A Tribute To The Master strand. Ian Botham appeared on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. Though his musical taste, unlike his cricket, was 'orrible. Gary Glitter featured on In Concert. Not a broadcast which is likely to be repeated any time soon.
Telethon shown in The Sunday Film strand. Shakespeare Wallah shown in BBC2's Merchant Ivory Season strand. Patrick Tambay won the German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring Baden-Württemberg for Ferrari. René Arnoux and Keke Rosberg completed the podium. Paul Gambaccini profiled Bob Dylan on Radio 1.
Roy Hudd's Croydon featured in the Comic Roots strand. The first episode of Jimmy Perry's Turns broadcast on BBC2. It's Immaterial were in session on The John Peel Show.
Why Was Cairo Calm? broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. The first episode of BBC2's Arthur Negus Enjoys broadcast.
The first episode of Tomorrow's World At Large broadcast. Is Fat A Feminist Issue? broadcast in BBC2's The Man Alive Debate strand. Tottenham Hotspur paid Bristol Rovers one hundred and five thousand knicker for twenty year old defender Gary Mabbutt. Shriekback were in session on The John Peel Show ('All The Greek Boys Do The Hand Walk', 'My Spine Is The Base Line', 'Feelers').
Sylvester Stallone - The Making Of An American Dream broadcast. Mexico announced it was unable to pay its large foreign debt, triggering a debt crisis which quickly spread throughout Latin America. The first compact discs were produced in Germany.
Evaluating A Merger broadcast. Amaghi broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand. Adrian Gurvitz's 'Clown'/'Palace Sign', Soft Cell's 'What!'/'... So', Showaddywaddy's 'Who Put The Bomp (In The Bomp-A-Bomp-A-Bomp)?'/'Do It Again' and UB40' 'So Here I Am'/'Silent Witness' released. In the case of the latter, a song about the misery of going to work, it was released less than a year after the same band's 'One In Ten' a song about the misery of being unemployed. Make your minds up, lads. Amy Heckerling's Fast Times At Ridgemont High with a script by Cameron Crowe premiered.
Robbie Coltrane appeared on Sin On Saturday discussing covetousness with Bernard Falk. La Femme Infidele shown in BBC2's Chabrol - A Tribute To The Master. George Best Appeared on Radio 1's My Top Twelve. Thin Lizzy featured on In Concert.
The first UK TV showing of Jennifer: A Woman's Story in The Sunday Film strand. The first episode of The Last Place On Earth and The Bewick Man broadcast on BBC2. Elio De Angelis won the Austrian Grand Prix at Zeltweg. Paul Gambaccini profiled David Bowie on Radio 1.
Late Night In Concert: Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark broadcast. Dismissed cheaply twice by Abdul Qadir and Imran Khan, England lost the second test with Pakistan at Lord's by ten wickets. For the visitors, Mohsin Khan scored a double century. Depeche Mode's 'Get The Balance Right' released.
Surrey beat Middlesex by one hundred and twenty five runs and Warwickshire beat Yorkshire by seven wickets in the Semi-Finals of the NatWest Trophy. Good Time George broadcast on BBC2. Four streets in Liverpool were named after each of The Beatles (a popular beat combo of the 1960s, you might've heard of them).
The first episode of Are We Being Served? broadcast. Newcastle United paid Southampton one hundred thousand smackers for Kevin Keegan who was still trying to live down that The Little & Large Show fiasco and his miss against Spain at the World Cup. Wor Kev quickly managed it. The Radio 1 Roadshow came from Southsea Common.
The first episode of Breakthrough broadcast. The Beast broadcast in the West Country Tales strand. Egon Schiele broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre strand. Mussolini With Knickers broadcast. Robert Wyatt's 'Shibuilding'/'Memories Of You', Yazoo's Upstairs At Eric's, Captain Sensible's 'Wot!'/'Strawberry Dross', Gary Numan's 'White Boys & Heroes'/'War Games', Afrika Bambaata & The Soul Sonic Force's 'Planet Rock'/'Instrumental' and Haircut One Hundred's 'Nobody's Fool'/'October Is Orange' released.
Dennis Waterman appeared on Summertime Special. Singing. Docteur Popaul shown in BBC2's Chabrol - A Tribute To The Master. Liverpool beat Tottenham Hotspur in the Charity Shield at Wembley with a goal from Ian Rush.
Siding Spring broadcast in The Sky At Night strand. The first UK TV showing of The Householder in BBC2's Merchant Ivory Season strand. Paul Gambaccini profiled Eric Burdon & The Animals on Radio 1.
The Critic broadcast in the Play Of The Month strand. The Man From Atlanta broadcast on BBC2.
There's Something Wrong With Our Bloody Ships broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. The Shankly Gates were unveiled at Anfield, honouring former Liverpool manager Bill Shankly almost a year after his death. REM'S Chronic Town EP ('Wolves, Lower', 'Gardening At Night', 'Carnival Of Sorts (Boxcars)', 'A Million', 'Stumble') released.
The first episode of Top Secret broadcast. Arsenal sign twenty two-year-old striker Lee Chapman from Stoke City for half-a-million notes.
Bob Paisley announced that the coming season as Liverpool manager, his ninth in charge, would be his last. Ian Sharp's gormless Who Dares Wins - starring Lewis Collins - premiered.
Take Three Degrees broadcast. November Night broadcast in BBC2's Globe Theatre broadcast. Aztec Camera's 'Pillar To Post'/'Queen's Tatoos' [sic], Action Pact's 'Suicide Bag'/'Stanwell', 'Blue Blood', Simple Minds' 'Glittering Prize'/'Theme' and ABC's 'All Of My Heart'/'Overture' released.
Jimi Hendrix broadcast on BBC2. The First Division season began. Manchester United achieved the biggest win of the day beating Birmingham City three-nil. Peter Shilton left Nottingham Forest in a three hundred and twenty five thousand quid move to Southampton. In the Second Division, Kevin Keegan scored on his Newcastle debut in a one-nil win over Queens Park Rangers at a heaving St James Park. Caryl Churchill's play Top Girls premiered at the Royal Court Theatre. Eric Burdon was arrested for cocaine possession after a show at the Rockpalast in Cologne.
Wogan's Guide To The BBC broadcast. The first UK TV showing of Mad Ken Russell's Tommy on BBC2. Sixty five-year-old American Ashby Harper became the oldest person to swim the English Channel.
Summer Stars and Knockout Star Gala broadcast. Bank Holiday Rock and Squeeze In Concert broadcast on BBC2. David Jensen interviewed Chas & Dave on Radio 1. Saint David's Hall opened in Cardiff as the National Concert Hall and Conference Centre of Wales.
A Day At The Zoo broadcast. The Jam At Bingley Hall broadcast on BBC2. England won a closely fought third test against Pakistan at Headingley by three wickets to take the series two-one. Graeme Fowler and Vic Marks both made their test debuts. Christians In Search Of Filth were in session on The John Peel Show.
Tears For Fears were in session on The John Peel Show ('Ideas As Opiates', 'The Hurting', 'Suffer The Children', 'The Prisoner'). The Rolling Stones' Still Life released.
Jock & Roll, Rescue Flight, Moderne & Modernistic Architecture and Ready When You Are, Mister DeMille! broadcast on BBC2. Philippe Ducrest's Mettez Du Sel Sur La Queue De L'Oiseau Pour L'Attraper - starring Michel Constantin, André Pousse and Eveline Eyfel - premiered.
Those Radio Times and That Was Twenty Years Ago That Was broadcast. Death At Broadcasting House broadcast on BBC2's Sixty BBC Years strand. The first US Festival was held over the Labor Day Weekend near Devore, California. The Police, Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers, Fleetwood Mac, Grateful Dead, Talking Heads and The B-52's were among the performers. Scritti Politti's Songs To Remember released.
The first episode of The Late, Late Breakfast Show broadcast. Between The Heather & The Sea broadcast on BBC2. Mike Leigh Making Plays broadcast in the Arena strand. Surrey beat Warwickshire by nine wickets in the final of the NatWest Trophy at Lord's. Manchester City's victory over Watford ensured they were only First Division side with a one hundred per cent record after three games. Their win came despite having Bobby McDonald in goal after Joe Corrigan was injured after three minutes. Paul Walsh scored his first three goals for Luton Town against Notts County as the Hatters won five-three. Bob Latchford scored three of Swansea City's four against Norwich City. Southampton's Justin Fashanu, on loan from Nottingham Forest, scored the winner in a victory Aston Villa. West Bromwich Albion beat Manchester United and a Liverpool win two-nil at Arsenal. The Who's It's Hard released. Peter Greenaway's The Draughtsman's Contact - starring Anthony Higgins, Janet Suzman, Anne-Louise Lambert and Hugh Fraser - premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
The first episodes of Cousin Phillis and Anglo-Saxon Attitudes broadcast. Eliza Doolittle Goes To Bombay broadcast in BBC2's The World About Us strand. The first UK TV showing of Mike Leigh's The Birth Of The Goalie Of The 2001 FA Cup Team. Paul Gambaccini profiled The Temptations of Radio 1.
The European Athletics Championships began in Athens. The first episode of BBC2's A Many Splendoured Thing? broadcast. The Jam's 'The Bitterest Pill (I Ever Had to Swallow)'/'Pity Poor Alfie'/'Fever' released.
The first episodes of In At The Deep End and Barry Norman's Hong Kong Quest broadcast. The first UK broadcast of Scruples. The first episode of BBC2's One Of The Family broadcast. That Awful Thatcher Woman expressed her concern at the growing number of children living in single-parent families, but said that she is 'not opposed' to divorce. Sisters Of Mercy were in session on The John Peel Show ('1969', 'Alice', 'Good Things', 'Floor Show'). Stray Cats' Built For Speed released.
In the surprise of The European Athletics Championships, West Germany's Hans-Peter Ferner beat Sebastian Coe in the eight hundred metres final. Daley Thompson retained his Decathlon gold. The first episodes of BBC2's De Bono's Thinking Course and One Man's Yacht broadcast.
The first episode of Claire broadcast. The Bat That Cracked The Frog Code broadcast in the Wildlife On One strand. The first episode of BBC2's Fred broadcast. Peter Beardsley, the former Carlisle United striker playing for Vancouver Whitecaps in Canada, signed for Manchester United for three hundred and twenty five thousand smackers. Cameron Sharp won two hundred metres silver at The European Athletics Championships behind East Germany's Olaf Prenzler. Kathy Smallwood also won silver in the women's two hundred metres behind East Germany's Bärbel Wöckel (who, obviously, was in no way whatsoever pumped full of drugs).
Britain's Strongest Man broadcast. Madness, in concert at St Austell Coliseum broadcast of Radio 1's Pat Sharp Show. Gary Numan's I, Assassin, Gregory Isaacs' 'Night Nurse'/'Version' and Joan Jett & The Blackhearts' 'Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)'/'Jezebell' released. Keith Connor won Triple Jump gold at The European Athletics Championships.
The Attleborough Experiment broadcast. René Arnoux won the Italian Grand Prix at Monza.
The first UK TV showing of Lady Sings The Blues. The Media War broadcast in the Panorama strand. The first episode of BBC2's Madhur Jaffrey's Indian Cookery and Kevin Turvey: The Man Behind The Green Door. Simple Minds' New Gold Dream (81-82-83-84) and The Pretenders' 'Back On The Chain Gang'/'My City Was Gone' released. After thirty two years, Radio 4's Listen With Mother was broadcast for the final time. It was replaced by a shorter programme, Listening Corner.
Barry Norman In Celebrity City broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. The Last Visitor broadcast on BBC2. Farmer's Boys were in session on The John Peel Show ('Soft Drink', 'Description Of The River Waveney At Wartwell', 'The Country Line', 'Drinking & Dressing Up', 'With These Hands I Built The World').
Liverpool and Aston Villa both won their opening European Cup matches (against Dundalk and Beşiktaş, respectively). There were also victories in the European Cup Winners Cup for Tottenham, Aberdeen and Swansea City (the latter, a club record twelve-nil against Sliema Wanderers of Malta). In the UEFA Cup Arsenal lost three-two to Spartak Moscow and Ipswich lost three-nil to Roma whilst there were draws for Manchester United and Southampton. The Gathering broadcast on BBC2.
The first episode of Police: Operation Carter broadcast. Pop - That's The Way The Money Goes asked 'could Scarlet Party - three youngsters from London's East End, become the new Beatles?' To which the answer was, no, they couldn't. Gold Fever broadcast in BBC2's Adventure World strand. Auschwitz & The Allies broadcast. The Gymslips were in session on The John Peel Show ('Barbara Cartland', 'Pie And Mash', 'Drink Problem', 'Thinking Of You', 'Robot Man').
The Chapman Report shown in The Late Film strand. Simple Minds appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. The Clash's 'Should I Stay Or Should I Go'/'Straight To Hell', Elvis Costello & The Attractions 'From Head To Toe'/'The World Of Broken Hearts', Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners's 'Jackie Wilson Said (I'm In Heaven When You Smile)'/'Let's Make This Precious', Musical Youth's 'Pass The Dutchie'/'Please Give Love A Chance', Adam Ant's 'Friend Or Foe'/'Juanito The Bandito' and The Beat's 'Jeanette'/'March Of The Swivelheads' released.
The first UK TV showing of Two-Minute Warning in the Saturday Film strand. Don't Shoot The Ref, The Future Of Television and The Unquiet Coast broadcast on BBC2. Manchester United went top of the First Division with a win over Southampton at The Dell. Liverpool were second with a three-nil win over Swansea City at the Vetch Field. Stoke City were fourth, beating Ipswich Town three-two at Portman Road. The funeral of Princess Grace of Monaco took place.
The first episode of Will Tomorrow Work? broadcast. King Lear broacast in BBC2's The BBC Television Shakespeare strand.
The White Guard broadcast in the Play Of The Month strand. The first episodes of BBC2's Smiley's People and There's A Lot Of It About broadcast. The first use of BBC Schools' first computer generated ident. Tadeusz Konwicki's Dolina Issy - starring Anna Dymna, Maria Pakulnis and Danuta Szaflarska - premiered.
The first episode of Take Three Women broadcast. The Rank Charm School broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand.
Over My Dead Body broadcast on BBC2. England drew two-two with Denmark in Copenhagen in their opening 1984 European Championship qualifier, their first game under Bobby Robson. Trevor Francis scored both England goals. Luton Town's Ricky Hill made his international debut. An estimated fourteen per cent of the UK workforce was now reported to be unemployed. The Who began their 'farewell' tour in Washington DC. Leian Paul Piper born in Swindon.
The first episode of Wales & The Americas broadcast. Cinema Architecture broadcast on BBC2. Secretary of State for Energy Nigel Lawson announced that no industry should remain in state ownership unless there was an 'overwhelming' case.
Plants In Action broadcast. Fashion and Kissing The Pink broadcast on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Blancmange's Happy Families, The Piranhas' 'Zambezi'/'Who Needs You', 'Darabukkus', Siouxsie & The Banshees' 'Slowdive'/'Cannibal Roses', Tears For Fears' 'Mad World'/'Ideas As Opiates' and Shiekback's 'My Spine Is The Bassline'/'Tiny Birds' released. Mai Zetterling's Scrubbers - starring Amanda York, Chrissie Cotterill, Kate Ingram, Kathy Burke and Debby Bishop - premiered.
The Mystery Of The Spiral Arm broadcast in The Sky At Night strand. The Ultimate Explorer broadcast in The World About Us strand. God Speed Co-Operation and the first episode of Fred Housego's History In Your Doorstep broadcast. Paul Gambaccini profiled John Lennon on Radio 1.
The first UK TV showing of Yesterday's Hero - starring Ian McShane - in The Monday Film strand. Can Your Mind Control Your Body? broadcast in BBC2's Hypnosis strand. Serious Drinking were in session on The John Peel Show ('RGB', 'Countdown To Bilko', '1-2-X-U'/'Bobby Moore Was Innocent', 'Drugs', 'Yours Or Mine'). General Motors launched the Spanish-built Opel Corsa, which was to be sold in Britain from April as the Vauxhall Nova. Depeche Mode's A Broken Frame and The Fall's Room To Live released.
With My Little Eye and Malta GC broadcast. The School Broadcasting Council broadcast on BBC2. Musical Youth were in session on The John Peel Show.
The first episode of The Jockey School broadcast. Windsor's War, the first episode of the Timewatch strand broadcast on BBC2.
The opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Brisbane broadcast. The games were notable for large-scale protests by the Aboriginal rights movement in Australia, which brought to the centre of international media attention the lack of land rights, poor living condition and suppression of personal and political rights in Queensland in particular. The protests, were followed by large-scale arrests and lots of punching. Lord Denning delivered his last judgement as Master of the Rolls. After over one hundred years, the Inland Telegram service closed. Radio 1's fifteen anniversary Heroes & Villains concert was broadcast, introduced by Tony Blackburn and John Peel and featuring performances by The Merseybeats, The Rockin' Berries, Sandie Shaw, Billy Fury, The Tremeloes, The Swinging Blue Jeans, Dave Dee, Dozy, Beaky, Mick & Tich and The Troggs. Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska released. Sidney J Furie's The Entity - starring Barbara Hershey and Nouchka van Brakel's Van De Koele Meren Des Doods - starring Renée Soutendijk, Erik Van't Wout and Adriaan Olree - premiered.
The Psychedelic Furs and The Bluebells appeared on The Old Grey Whitle Test. The first compact discs appeared in music stores in Japan as Sony launched the first consumer CD player (model CDP-101). Donald Fagen's The Nightfly, Siouxsie & The Banshees' 'Slowdive'/'Cannibal Roses', Bauhaus's 'Ziggy Stardust'/'Third Uncle', The Sinatras' 'Sweat'/'Big Fires Start Small', The Damned's 'Dozen Girls'/'Take That', 'Mine's A Large One, Landlord', 'Torture Me' and Kid Creole & The Coconuts' 'Annie I'm Not Your Daddy'/'You Had No Intention' released. Adonis In Dark Glasses broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand.
The first episodes of Multi-Coloured Swap Shop's Saturday morning replacement show Saturday Superstore and Carrott's Lib broadcast. The first UK TV showing of Demon Seed. The first episode of We Bring You Live Pictures broadcast on BBC2. Joe Jackson featured on Radio 1's In Concert. Liverpool's unbeaten start to the season ended when they were beaten by Ipswich Town at Portman Road. However, Bob Paisley's side were still top of the First Division on goal difference after Manchester United are held to a draw by Luton Town. A new production of the BBC's first radio drama, Danger, broadcast in Radio 4's Thirty-Minute Theatre strand.
Allan Wells won one hundred metres gold for Scotland at the Commnwealth Games. Compatriot Cameron Sharp won bronze.
Mark Tully's From Our Delhi Correspondent broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. Strawberry Switchblade were in session on The John Peel Show ('Ten James Orr Street', 'The Little River', 'Secrets', 'Trees & Flowers').
Saint Francis Of Assisi broadcast on BBC2. Nottingham Forest scored six past West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup. Madonna's debut single, 'Everybody'/'Dub Version', released.
The Commonwealth Games two hundred metres ended in a dead-heat with golds awards to both Mike MacFarlane of England and Allan Wells of Scotland. Dave Moorcroft won the five thousand metres gold with Nick Rose taking silver. Roedean broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. The Damned's Strawberries released. Sophisticated Boom Boom were in session The John Peel Show.
Shirley Strong won one hundred and ten metres hurdles gold at the Commonwealth Games. Lorna Boothe won silver. The first episode of BBC2's L For Lester broadcast. Orange Juice and Bauhaus appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. With the economy slowly climbing out of recession after more than two years, That Awful Thatcher Woman vowed to stick to her economic policies and blamed 'previous governments' for the decline which she inherited. One or two people even believed her. Serious Drinking's 'Love On The Terraces'/Hypocrite', 'Bobby Moore Was Innocent', Orange Juice's 'I Can't Help Myself'/'Tongues Begin To Wag', Kissing The Pink's 'Watching Their Eyes'/'In Awe Of Industry', ABBA's 'The Day Before You Came'/'Cassandra', John Martyn's 'Hiss On The Tape'/'Livin' Alone', Squeeze's 'Annie Get Your Gun'/'Spanish Guitar' and Bad Manners' 'Samson & Delilah'/'Good Honest Man' released. Richard Benjamin's My Favourite Year premiered.
Education In Portugal broadcast. Steve Cram won fifteen hundred metres gold for England at the Commonwealth Games. England men's four by four hundred metres squad (Steve Scutt, Garry Cook, Todd Bennett and Phil Brown) also took gold, as did Christina Boxer in the women's fifteen hundred metres. Gillian Dainty was second. Manchester United went top of the First Division with a one-nil win over Stoke City, while Liverpool crashed down to fifth place via a three-one defeat at West Ham United.
Milan broadcast in the Omnibus strand. Ooh ... You Are Awful broadcast in The Sunday Film strand. The first episode of Boys From The Blackstuff premiered on BBC2.
Sweet Hostage shown in The Monday Film strand. The first episode of BBC2's Pop Carnival featured a performance by Clint Eastwood & General Saint. The Mary Rose, the flagship of Henry VIII that sank in 1545, was raised from the Solent. The Higsons were in session on The John Peel Show ('John Peel's New Sig Tune', 'You Should Have Run Me Down', 'Gangway', 'Annie & Billy', 'Put The Punk Back Into Funk'). Paul Weller presented the David Jensen Show on Radio 1, the first of four guest presenters taking over from Jensen who was, himself, filling in for Simon Bates earlier in the day. Ricardo Palacios's Mi Conejo Es El Mejor - starring Lina Romay, Emilio Linder and Elena Álvarez - premiered.
Who Killed The Lindbergh Baby? broadcast in The Tuesday Documentary strand. Echo & The Bunnymen appeared on Pop Carnival. Girl In Brazil broadcast in BBC2. A 'victory parade' was held in London, broadcast on Radio 4 as The City Of London Salutes The Task Force.
Karl-Heinz Rummenigge scored twice as West Germany beat England two-one in a friendly international at Wembley. Tony Woodcock scored for the hosts for whom Tottenham's Gary Mabbutt and Watford's Luther Blissett made their debuts. The Children Of Theatre Street broadcast on BBC2. Dave Wakeling of The Beat presented the David Jensen Show on Radio 1.
Tomorrow's World broadcast a feature of touch-screen technology. John Peel presented Top Of The Pops featuring Mari Wilson, Tears For Fears, The Pinkees, Barry Manilow, Olivia Newton John, America, Men At Work, John Mellencamp, Melba Moore, Ultravox, The Beatles and Musical Youth. Skindheads broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Gary Kemp presented the David Jensen Show on Radio 1.
Pebble Mill At One Is Ten Years Old Today! broadcast. Aswad appeared on BBC2's Something Else. The Ford Sierra was launched as a replacement for the long-running Cortina. The Undertones' 'The Love Parade'/'Like That', Blancmange's 'Living On The Ceiling'/'Running Thin' and Donna Summer's 'State Of Independence'/'Love Is Just A Breath Away' released.
Kool & The Gang appeared on The Late-Late Breakfast Show. The first UK TV showing of The Tree Of Wooden Clogs in BBC2's Film International strand. Manchester United stayed top of the First Division after a goalless draw with Liverpool. West Ham squandered the chance to go top, losing three-nil at Southampton. The Hank Wangford Band and The Stargazers appeared on Radio 1's In Concert.
The first UK broadcast of the TV movie The Night The Bridge Fell Down. The first UK TV showing of Lord Of The Flies on BBC2.
The Omega Man shown in The Monday Film strand. The Case Of The UFOs broadcast in BBC2's Horizon strand. The first episode of Clearings In The Jungle broadcast. Lotus Eaters were in session on The John Peel Show ('Can You Keep A Secret?', 'Stranger So Far', 'When You Look At Boys', 'The First Picture Of You').
The first episode of Squadron broadcast. Stephen Poliakoff's Soft Targets broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Molly Keane broadcast on BBC2. Bauhaus's The Sky's Gone Out released. John DeLorean was arrested for selling cocaine to undercover FBI agents in a hotel in Los Angeles. He was later found not guilty on the grounds of somewhat crass entrapment by The Feds.
Before The Massacre broadcast in the QED strand. Charlotte & Jane broadcast. Sixteen Up and Whodunnit? broadcast on BBC2. The Redskins were in session on The John Peel Show ('The Peasant Army', 'Kick Over The Statues', 'Reds Strike The Blues', 'Unionize', 'Pickin' The Blues'). During the UEFA Cup fixture between Spartak Moscow and HFC Haarlem, sixty six people were crushed to death.
Eric Sykes' Troupers broadcast. Rabbits Don't Cry broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Sinn Féin won their first seats in the Northern Ireland Assembly, with Gerry Adams taking the Belfast West seat. The Reverend Ian Paisley took umbrage.
The first episode of Partners broadcast. Pages Of War and The Rattle Bag broadcast on BBC2. Musical Youth's The Youth Of Today, Clint Eastwood & General Saint's 'Shame And Scandal In The Family'/'Banana Export' and Heaven Seventeen's 'Let Me Go'/'Instrumental' released.
Breakheart Pass shown in The Saturday Film strand. Russian Night ... 1941 broadcast on BBC2. First Division leaders Manchester United drew two-two in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford. West Ham missed another chance to go top of the league when they lost three-one to Brighton. West Bromwich Albion went second with a victory over Luton Town. Malcolm MacDonald's Fulham were top of the Second Division and looked well-placed for a second successive promotion after winning three-one against Burnley. Tears For Fears' 'Mad World'/'Ideas As Opiates' released.
Twentieth Century Apocalypse broadcast in the Omnibus strand. The first episode of BBC2's The Discovery Of Animal Behaviour broadcast. The UK TV premiere of Star Wars shown on ITV.
Tron previewed on Film 82. A Killing Rain broadcast in BBC2's Horizon strand. The first episode of Harry's Game broadcast on ITV.
Three Minute Hero broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Wildscreen 82 broadcast on BBC2. My Merseyside and Chinese Liverpool broadcast on Radio 4.
The Invisible World broadcast in the QED strand. The China Of The Manchu Emperors broadcast in BBC2's Timewatch strand. The Passage were in session on The John Peel Show. Three RUC officers were killed by an IRA bomb near Lurgan. Prince's '1999'/'How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?' released.
The Oxfraud Incident broadcast on BBC2. Matthew Robert Smith born in Northampton. Labour retained Peckham in a by-election caused by the death of sitting MP, Harry Lamborn. Twenty nine year old human rights lawyer Harriet Harman won the seat with over a four thousand majority. Former Labour Minister Dick Taverne, running for the SDP, came second, ahead of Tory John Redwood. Odious fascist louse Martin Webster (The National Front) received only but eight hundred votes and lost his deposit.
Killing Joke's Birds Of A Feather, Captain Sensible's 'Croydon'/'Jimi Hendrix's Strat', A Flock Of Seagulls' 'Wishing (If I Had A Photograph Of You)'/'Committed', The Lurkers' 'Drag You Out'/'Heroin (Its All Over)', Joe Jackson's 'Steppin' Out'/'Another World', The Comsat Angels' After The Rain, Hawkwind's Choose Your Masques, Dumpy's Rusty Bolts' 'Boxhill Or Bust'/'It's Got To Be Blues', Weekend's 'Drumbeat For Baby'/'Sleepy Theory', Michael Jackson & Paul MCartney's 'The Girl Is Mine'/'Can't Get Outta The Rain' and Duran Duran's 'Rio'/'The Chauffeur (Blue Silver)' released.
Night Of The Hunter shown in BBC2's Midnight Movie strand. Liverpool returned to the top of the First Division beating Brighton three-one. West Ham United were second with a three-one victory over Manchester United. The top three were all level on twenty two points. West Bromwich Albion missed the chance to go top after they were beaten six-one at Ipswich. To pretty much universal surprise Paul Weller announced his intention to break-up The Jam after a forthcoming concert tour of the UK had been completed. They also made their final appearances on Top Of The Pops and The Tube during this period to promote their farewell single, 'Beat Surrender'. The tour included five consecutive nights at the Wembley Arena, all of which sold out within twenty minutes.
The first UK broadcast of A Woman Called Golda. Yosser's Story broadcast in BBC2's Boys From The Blackstuff. The first episode of Beau Geste broadcast. Programmes in Welsh were broadcast on BBC and HTV for the final time. The first episode of Young Sherlock - The Mystery Of The Manor House broadcast on LWT.
The first episode of Clock On At The Laughter Factory broadcast. The Synthesizer, People & Performance broadcast in BBC2's Riverside strand. The first episodes of The Further Adventures Of Lucky Jim and One Hundred Great Sporting Moments broadcast. The Welsh language television station, S4C, launched. Opinion polls suggested the Conservatives were still firmly in the lead, suggesting that a general erection would be held by next summer. The break-up of Blondie was announced.
Philip Martin's The Remainder Man broadcast in the Play For Today strand. The first episode of Roots Of England broadcast on BBC2. The fourth terrestrial TV channel, Channel Four, began broadcasting, the first programme being the game show Countdown, hosted by Richard Whiteley. Other opening day programmes included the Liverpool-based soap opera Brookside and the first The Comic Strip Presents ..., Five Go Mad In Dorset. Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers' Long After Dark released.
Shroud Of Jesus: Fact Or Fake? broadcast in the QED strand. The first episode of Ebony broadcast on BBC2. Top Gear Special: Ring Round London broadcast. The Shooting Of Big Man broadcast in the Out Of Court strand. Jack Rosenthal's nostalgic coming-of-age drama P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang broadcast on Channel Four. Gilles Grangier and Sergiu Nicolaescu's Wilhelm Cuceritorul - starring Hervé Bellon, John Terry, Mircea Albulescu, Violeta Andrei and Christiane Jean - premiered.
The first episode of The Four Great Seasons broadcast. The first episode of BBC2's Eureka broadcast. Laurel & Hardy were in session on The John Peel Show ('Tell Her Sey Me Sorry', 'You're Nicked', 'Toast One Quick').
The first UK broadcast of Tales Of The Gold Monkey. The final episode of BBC2's Something Else featured poetry from Linton Kwesi Johnson and John Cooper Clarke. William Trevor's The Ballroom Of Romance broadcast. The debut of Channel Four's The Tube presented by Jools Holland and Paula Yates and featuring live performances by The Toy Dolls and The Jam. Siouxsie & The Banshees' A Kiss In A Dreamhouse, Madness's The Rise & Fall, The Higsons' 'Tear The Whole Thing Down'/'Ylang Ylang', Billy Idol's 'White Wedding'/'Dead On Arrival', Showaddywaddy's 'Goody Goody'/'I Want You To Be My Girl', George Harrison's Gone Troppo and Modern Romance's 'Best Years Of Our Lives'/'We've Got Them Running (The Counting Song)' replaced.
The first UK TV showing of With Six You Get Eggroll. Billy Bishop Goes To War broadcast on BBC2. Brides Of Dracula shown in the Midnight Movie strand. In the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, Liverpool beat Everton five-nil with four goals from Ian Rush and a further goal from Mark Lawrenson to maintain their lead at the top the First Division. West Ham United's title hopes took a hit when they lost five-two at Stoke, as did Manchester United's with a defeat at Brighton. Manchester City took advantage to go second following a two-nil win over Southampton. Ipswich Town, runners-up in the league for the last two seasons, were now fourth from bottom.
Pacific Journey broadcast. Walkabout shown in BBC2's Film Of The Week strand. The Thames Barrier was first publicly demonstrated. Coverage of American football was first shown on Channel Four, beginning the channel's several years of association with the sport. The programme was initially presented by Nicky Horne.
Scubbers and The Draughtsman's Contract were featured on Film 82. From Where I Stand and Inside Information broadcast on BBC2. Channel Four began broadcasting basketball coverage, presented by Simon Reed and Miles Aiken. Each week saw coverage of a match from the National Basketball League, with highlights of the first half and live coverage of the second. The first match was between the Birmingham Bullets and Crystal Palace. The Human League's 'Mirror Man'/'You Remind Me Of Gold' released.
The Riddle Of Sleep broadcast in the QED strand. The first episode of The Barchester Chronicles broadcast on BBC2. The Farmer's Boys were live at the General Wolfe, Coventry on The John Peel Show. GCHQ intelligence officer Geoffrey Prime pleaded very guilty to seven espionage counts and three counts of sex offences against children. Prime was a member of the Paedophile Information Exchange, a pro-paedophilic activist group and his sex offences included indecently assaulting three girls aged eleven to fourteen. He was sentenced by Lord Lane to a total of thirty eight years in the The Slammer. The media were prevented from reporting on the affair until after his trial, which was conducted in secret session.
David Jensen presented Top Of The Pops including appearances from Blue Zoo, A Flock Of Seagulls, Clannad, Dionne Warwick, Donna Summer, Marvin Gaye and Eddy Grant. The Cruelty Man broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Orange Juice's Rip It Up released.
Suzi Quatro and Classix Nouveaux appeared on Crackerjack. The first episode of Alan Bennett's Objects Of Affection broadcast. Siouxsie & The Banshees' featured on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Pauline Black and Pete Townshend appeared on Radio 1's Round Table. Express Lift Tower in Northampton officially opened. Madness's 'Our House'/'Walking With Mister Wheeze', Associates' 'A Matter Of Gender'/'Even Dogs In The Wild', The Stranglers' 'European Female'/'Savage Beast' and Simple Minds' 'Someone, Somewhere (In Summertime)'/'King Is White & In The Crowd' released. In the Soviet Union, former KGB head Yuri Andropov was selected to become the general secretary of the Soviet Communist Party's Central Committee, succeeding the late Leonid Brezhnev who had died two days earlier. Antonio José Betancor's Valentina - starring Anthony Quinn, Jorge Sanz and Paloma Gómez - premiered.
Haircut One Hundred and Fleetwood Mac featured on The Late-Late Breakfast Show. Went The Day Well? shown in BBC2's Saturday Cinema. Lest We Forget broadcast. The 1977 Ballon d'Or winner, Allan Simonsen, scored on his début for Charlton Athletic, who were beaten three-two by Middlesbrough in the Second Division. In the top flight, Liverpool maintained a three-point lead at the top, beating Coventry City four-nil. West Ham were second with a victory over bottom-of-the-table Norwich City. Manchester United maintained their title push with a one-nil win over Tottenham, as did Watford beating Stoke City by the same scoreline at Vicarage Road. There were six goals in a thrilling clash at The Hawthorns, where West Bromwich Albion draw three-three with Swansea City. Talk Talk and Blancmange appeared on Radio 1's In Concert.
The Royal Variety Performance broadcast. The first UK TV showing of The Late Show on BBC2's The Great American Picture Show strand. The leader of Poland's outlawed Solidarność movement, Lech Walesa, was released from eleven months internment. Elvis Costello featured on Radio 1's Music Now.
Frances Galleymore's A Mother Like Him broadcast in the Play For Today. A Play For Bridport broadcast in the Arena strand. The Young Ones episode Oil broadcast.
The first episode of Break Point broadcast. England beat Greece three-nil in Salonika in a European Championship qualifier. Tony Woodcock scored twice whilst debutant Sammy Lee of Liverpool added a third. Northern Ireland beat West Germany one-nil thanks to an Ian Stewart goal. The first Ashes test at Perth was drawn. A high-scoring match saw centuries for Derek Randall and Greg Chappell. Norman Cowans made his test debut. Terry Alderman sustained a serious shoulder injury which would keep him out of cricket for a year after he rashly tackled an England-supporter who had run onto the ground to celebrate England reaching four hundred in their first innings.
Highlights of The Eighteenth Cambridge Folk Festival broadcast on BBC2.
The first UK TV showing of Mario Bava's Danger: Diabolik in The Late Film strand. The first episodes of BBC2's Zone Of Occupation and Under Sail broadcast. Bauhaus and - making their TV debut - The The featured on The Oxford Road Show. Light Of The World and The Passions appeared on The Old Grey Whistle Test. Alan Bennett's A Woman Of No Importance broadcast. Led Zeppelin's Coda, Slade & The Assorted Nutters Choir's '(And Now - The Waltz) C'Est La Vie'/'Merry Xmas Everybody (Live And Kickin')', Joni Mitchell's '(You're So Square) Baby I Don't Care'/'Love', Kiss' 'Killer'/'I Love It Loud', The Apollinaires' 'Envy The Love'/'Give It Up' and The Damned's 'Generals'/'Disguise', 'Citadel Zombies' released.
The first episode of Haywire broadcast. Paul Gambaccini profiled The Who on Radio 1.
Creep Show and Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid previewed on Film 82. Shreikback, Attila the Stockbroker and Psychic TV featured on BBC2's Riverside. The Birthday Party were in session on The John Peel Show. The Jam's final double-pack single 'Beat Surrender'/'Shopping'/'Stoned Out Of My Mind'/'Move On Up'/'War' released.
Paula Milne's John David broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Upon Westminster Bridge broadcast in the Arena strand. The Young Ones episode Boring broadcast.
The Horse That Doped Itself broadcast in the QED strand. If The Spanish Armada Had Landed broadcast in BBC2's Timewatch strand. Representatives from eighty eight countries gathered in Geneva to discuss world trade.
Miners broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Derby County were fined ten grand and 'warned as to their future conduct' by the Football League over breaches of two regulations relating to illicit negotiations with Roy McFarland, who resigned as player-manager at Bradford City to return to the club for a second spell as a player. The Jamaica World Music Festival was held in Montego Bay. Acts over the three-days included Peter Tosh, Rick James, The Clash, Grateful Dead, Aretha Franklin and, in their final show before breaking up, Squeeze.
Children In Need broadcast. Tears For Fears appeared on The Oxford Road Show. Alan Bennett's A Day Out broadcast. The first episode of The Vocal Touch and the first UK broadcast of Les Jeunes Filles. Elvis Costello & The Attractions With The Royal Guard Horns' 'Party Party'/'Imperial Bedroom', Wah!'s 'The Story Of The Blues (Parts 1 & 2)', The Cure's 'Let's Go To Bed'/'Just One Kiss', Soft Cell's 'Where The Heart Is'/'It's A Mugs Game', David Bowie & Bing Crosby's 'Peace On Earth-Little Drummer Boy'/'Fantastic Voyage' and Kevin Rowland & Dexys Midnight Runners' 'Let's Get This Straight (From The Start)'/'Old' released.
King Vidor: A Tribute broadcast on BBC2. The First Division title race saw Liverpool maintain their four-point lead over Watford, as Bob Paisley's team won three-nil at home to Tottenham and Graham Taylor's side beat Arsenal four-two at Highbury. The Wilko Johnson-Lew Lewis Band and Roddy Radiation & The Tearjerkers appeared on Radio 1's In Concert. Joe Sherman's Expose Me Now - starring Richard Pacheco and Tracy Denielle Martin - premiered.
The Return Of Raymond Mason broadcast in the Omnibus strand. The first UK TV showing of Rancho Deluxe in BBC2's The Great American Picture Show.
Cocaine Country broadcast in the Panorama strand. Heaven Seventeen and David Sylvian featured in BBC2's Riverside. Spear Of Destiny were in session on The John Peel Show.
Aliens broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Three Steps to Heaven broadcast in BBC2's Arena strand. The Young Ones episode Bomb broadcast. Michael Jackson released his sixth solo LP, Thriller, which would go on to become the largest selling LP of all time. Richard Attenborough's Gandhi premiered in New Delhi.
Big Day At Black Rock broadcast in the QED strand. A Certain Ratio were in session on The John Peel Show. Australia won the second Ashes test at Brisbane by seven wickets. Despite fifties from Allan Lamb and Graeme Fowler, Kepler Wessels' century on debut gave Australia a big lead which they never surrendered.
Over ten million viewers saw the Only Fools & Horses episode A Touch Of Glass, in which the Trotters accidentally smashed a priceless chandelier. Mister Moonlight broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. Frankie Goes To Hollywood were in session on The John Peel Show ('Two Tribes', 'The World Is My Oyster', 'Krisco Kisses', 'Disneyland'). Marty Feldman died aged forty eight.
Siouxsie & The Banshees and Thomas Dolby featured in BBC2's The Oxford Road Show. Alan Bennett's Rolling Home broadcast. The premieres of the animation The Plague Dogs based on the novel by Richard Adams, Graeme Clifford's Frances and Fumihiko Katô's Dan Oniroku: Shôjo Mokuba-Zeme - starring Serina Nishikawa and Shirô Shimomoto. The most successful group of the 1970s, ABBA, released their final single until 2021, 'Under Attack'/'You Owe Me One'. The Beat's 'I Confess'/'Sole Salvation', Boney M's 'The Carnival Is Over'/'Going Back West', Tandoori Cassette's 'Angel Talk'/'Third World Briefcases', Marc Bolan & T Rex's 'Christmas Bop'/'Shy Boy', 'Ride A White Swan' and Siouxsie & The Banshees' 'Melt'/'Il Est Né Le Divin Enfant' released. Radios 1 and 2 simulcast for the final time.
Shalamar appeared on Saturday Superstore. Wege In Der Nacht shown in BBC2's Film International. The transmission time that Radio 1 lost in March 1980 was regained. Programmes again begin at 6am with Mike Smith presenting the new weekday early morning show. Weekend early shows were introduced and the station also recommenced Saturday evening broadcasting with Janice Long and Ooo Gary Davies joining to present new shows. Programming was also extended by two hours on Sunday evenings with Annie Nightingale's Request Show returning after a nine year hiatus. First Division leaders Liverpool suffer a shock defeat at Norwich City. Manchester United went second with a one-nil at Watford. Aston Villa were third with a home victory over West Ham. Nottingham Forest's title hopes were hit by a three-two defeat to local rivals Notts County. In the Second Division, Middlesbrough found themselves fifth from bottom and in danger of a second successive relegation after they lost four-nil at Wolves.
The first UK TV showings of Agatha and, on BBC2, The Killer Elite. The first episode of Sunday Night broadcast.
Gandhi previewed on Film 82. Boy George, Cabaret Voltaire, The Higsons and Ken Livingstone (reviewing ET) featured on BBC2's Riverside. The Chopper broadcast in the Arena strand. The Irish National Liberation Army killed seventeen people in a bomb attack at the Droppin Well Inn, Ballykelly. Gregory Isaacs & The Roots Radics were in session on The John Peel Show.
BBC2's The Reef broadcast. The Young Ones episode Interesting broadcast. The Undertones were in session on The John Peel Show ('Untouchable', 'The Love Parade', 'Luxury', 'The Sin Of Pride'). The first US execution by lethal injection was carried out in Texas on convicted murderer Charles Brooks.
Hang On I'll Just Speak To The World broadcast. A Very British Inventor broadcast on BBC2. Sidney Lumet's The Verdict, Walter Hill's Forty Eight Hours and Alan J Paluka's Sophie's Choice premiered.
Simon Bates presented Top Of The Pops with performances by Shalamar, Soft Cell, Shakin' Stevens, Yazoo, Junior, Lionel Richie, The Jam, Renee & Renato and David Bowie & Bing Crosby. The Lads' Night Out broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. The Martin Carthy Band and Chas & Dave featured on BBC2's The Eighteenth Cambridge Folk Festival.
Ian Wooldridge Interviews Spike Milligan broadcast. UB40 and the début appearance of Joboxers on BBC2's The Oxford Road Show. Alan Bennett's Marks broadcast. The Jam's Dig The New Breed and The Fun Boy Three's 'The More I See (The Less I Believe)'/'The Question Mark' released. Airplane II: The Sequel premiered. British chemist Aaron Klug won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry 'for his development of crystallographic electron microscopy and his structural elucidation of biologically important nucleic acid-protein complexes.' John Robert Vane won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with Sune Bergström and Bengt Samuelsson 'for their discoveries concerning prostaglandins and related biologically active substances.'
ABBA made their final public performance on The Late-Late Breakfast Show. The first UK TV showing of Do You Remember Dolly Bell? of BBC2's Film International strand. There was a major upset in the FA Cup Second Round as Third Division Wrexham lost to non-league Worcester City. The gap between Liverpool and Manchester United at the top of the First Division remained three points after Liverpool beat Watford three-one and Manchester United put four past Notts County. Nottingham Forest revived their title challenge with a two-one win over Swansea City. The Jam played their final gig at the Brighton Conference Centre.
Sports Review of 1982 broadcast. Daley Thompson won the Sports Personality Of The Year award. BBC2's The Grand Age Of Gardens broadcast. Aston Villa lost the Intercontinental Cup final to Argentina's Penarol in Tokyo. At Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp, thirty thousand women held hands and formed a human chain around the nine-mile perimeter fence. Curiously, the missiles housed within the site did not spontaneously combust. Odd, that.
Two Weeks In Winter broadcast. The State Of The Planet broadcast in BBC2's Horizon strand.
Jeremy Paul and Alan Gibson's Another Flip For Dominick broadcast in the Play For Today strand. Rockaby broadcast in BBC2's Arena strand. The Young Ones episode Flood broadcast.
Gibraltar gained a pedestrian link to Spain, as the gates which separated the two states were re-opened after thirteen years. England beat Luxembourg nine-nil at Wembley in the European Championship qualifiers. Luther Blissett scored a hat-trick on his second England appearance. Débutant Mark Chamberlain of Stoke was also on the scoresheet as were Steve Coppell, Tony Woodcock, Glenn Hoddle, Phil Neal and an own goal by Luxembourg's keeper Jeannot Moes. Australia took a two-nil lead in the Ashes winning the third test at Adelaide by eight wickets. Greg Chappell scored another century for the hosts with David Gower briefly giving England something to shout about with a hundred of his own. John Peel's Festive Fifty began featuring, for this year only, both an annual and an all-time chart, compiled by listeners.
How Do I Look? broadcast in BBC2's Forty Minutes strand. The United Freedom Front bombed an office of South African Airways in Elmont, New York and an IBM office in Harrison. Two police officers suffer hearing damage. In March 1984, the UFF claimed responsibility for the IBM bombing, stating the company was targeted because of its business in South Africa under Apartheid. Echo & The Bunnymen headlined a gig at Tiffany's in Glasgow, supported by Now Is The Time To Forget The Whimpering Child, Become The Warrior.
Alan Bennett's Say Something Happened broadcast on BBC2. Sydney Pollack's Tootsie and Ingmar Bergman's Fanny & Alexander - starring Pernilla Allwin and Bertil Guve - premiered. The Special AKA's 'War Crimes (The Crime Remains The Same)'/'Version' and Suzanne Danielle's 'Christmas Stockings'/'Treat Your Body' released.
The Likely Lads broadcast in The Saturday Film strand. Squeeze In Concert broadcast on BBC2. Liverpool extended their lead of the First Division to five points with a four-two win at Aston Villa, while Manchester United could only manage a goalless draw at Swansea. In the Second Division promotion race, Wolves beat leaders Queens Park Rangers four-nil at the Molineux to cut the gap between first and second places to three points.
David Puttnam was interviewed by Barry Norman on Omnibus including the first UK TV showing of clips from the Puttnam-produced Local Hero. The first episode of BBC2's Schoolgirl Chums broadcast.
Panorama chronicled Roberto Calvi's last days and uncovered new evidence which suggested that others had been involved in his death. The Mysterious Mister Tesla broadcast in the Horizon strand.
John Pittman's Ho! Ho! Ho! broadcast. Russell Harty's Christmas Party broadcast on BBC2.
Young Messiah broadcast. Sir Thomas More broadcast in BBC2's Timewatch strand. Everton signed twenty six-year-old midfielder Peter Reid - and, importantly, his monkey's heed - from Bolton Wanderers in a sixty thousand pound deal.
The first UK broadcast of Sinatra In Concert For The Americas. God's Frozen People and Triple Bill - featuring Ralph McTell, Therapy and The McClamans - broadcast on BBC2. Service Information was broadcast on BBC2 for the final time. More than twelve hundred jobs were lost in the West Midlands when the Round Oak Steelworks at Brierley Hill closed after one hundred and twenty five years.
Oh Yes I Am ... Oh No You're Not! broadcast. The Year They Raised the Rose, The Forgotten Voyage and The Old Grey Whistle Test Presents Elton John broadcast on BBC2. The latter was simultcast on Radio 1. The first episode of Old Stagers broadcast of Radio 2. The Browning Version broadcast on Radio 4.
Dexys Midnight Runners and Madness appeared on the Boxing Day episode of Cheggers Plays Pop. The Ice House broadcast. The first UK TV showing of Airport 77. Spider's Web and The Ghost Downstairs broadcast on BBC2. With Boxing Day being on a Sunday for the last time until 1993, there were just two fixtures in the entire Football League. In the Second Division, promotion challengers Oldham Athletic and Leeds United drew two-two at Boundary Park. In the Third Division, there is a London derby at The Den, where Millwall lost one-nil to Orient in a relegation six-pointer. Paul Gambaccini profiled Paul McCartney on Radio 1. The Guardsman broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand.
The Funny Side Of Christmas broadcast. The first UK TV showings of Convoy and King Kong. A Drop In The Ocean broadcast on BBC2. Radio 1's Christmas Rock 'N' Roll Trivia Quiz broadcast. The UK TV premiere of Moonraker on ITV. Liverpool remained at the top of the First Division with a five-two win over Manchester City. There was an East Anglian derby clash at Portman Road, where Norwich boosted their survival bid with a three-two win over Ipswich Town. Birmingham City beat neighbours Aston Villa, three-nil to dent Tony Barton's team's hopes of winning a second league title. Wolves went top of the Second Division with a two-nil win at Shrewsbury Town, as Queens Park Rangers lost two-one at home to Chelsea. Margery Allingham's The Case Of The Late Pig broadcast in Radio 4's Afternoon Theatre strand.
The UK TV premiere of Grease. Osprey broadcast on BBC2. The Merry Wives Of Windsor broadcast in The BBC Television Shakespeare strand. Jet Harris And Tony Meehan broadcast on Radio 1.
The Way Of The Wind and Team Disco Dance Championships broadcast. East Lynne broadcast on BBC2. Watford rose to third in the First Division with a win over West Ham. At the bottom, Norwich beat Luton and Birmingham drew with Swansea; all four clubs and Brighton were separated by a mere four points. In the Second Division, Queens Park Rangers beat Charlton to go level on points with Wolves at the top of the table. Neil Young's Trans and Wall Of Voodoo's 'Mexican Radio'/'Call of The West' released.
The first episode of 'Allo 'Allo! and The Barretts Of Wimpole Street broadcast. The first UK TV showing of All The President's Men on BBC2. Joyce In June broadcast. England won the fourth Ashes test at Melbourne by three runs in one of the most exciting finishes to a test match ever seen. In a tightly fought game, England appeared to be on the verge of victory after a brilliant spell of fast bowling by Norman Cowans (six for seventy seven) reduced Australia, chasing two hundred and ninety two, to two hundred and eighteen for nine. However, a last wicket stand between Allan Border and Jeff Thomson took the game into a fifth day and Australia edged towards an unlikely victory until Ian Botham induced an edge from Thomson. Chris Tavare did his best to drop the ball but Geoff Miller, next to him in the slip cordon, caught the rebound. Abbey Road broadcast on Radio 1.
Ghost In The Water and Across The Years broadcast. The first UK TV showing of the movie adaptation of Porridge. People Versus Scott broadcast on BBC2. Adrian Juste's Disco Show broadcast on Radio 1. Ray Moore's New Year's Eve Party broadcast on Radio 2. The eleventh annual New Year's Rockin' Eve special was broadcast in the US on ABC, with appearances by The Go-Go's, Hall & Oates, Barry Manilow and Jermaine Jackson. Omiros Efstratiadis' Roda, Tsanta & Kopana No II premiered. Donald Fagen's 'New Frontier'/'Maxine' released.
