# 1980s nostalgia

1980s nostalgia is nostalgia for certain aspects of the 1980s. 1980s retro is retro related to the 1980s. 1980s revival is the revival of some aspect or aspects of the 1980s.

## Generation Z

Generation Z are nostalgic about the 1980s, in anglosphere countries and in Japan, even though they were born after the end of the 1980s. The same is true of members of Generation Y born after the 1980s in South Korea. Tom van Laer (University of Sydney) and Davide Christian Orazi (Monash University) described the effect of the television series Stranger Things on Generation Z as "pseudo nostalgia", but Charles Fairchild (University of Sydney) disputes that concept and label. In 2022, Spotify said that Generation Z are more nostalgic for the 1980s than for other decades.

## Duration and geography

According to The New York Times, 1980s nostalgia has existed since the 1990s. Trend researchers reported that 1980s nostalgia had started by 1993, and the Washington Post reported the existence of a 1980s nostalgia wave in 1994. In 2010, Simon Reynolds said the 2000s was the retro twin of the 1980s in some countries. It has been said that, if a twenty-year nostalgia cycle applied, then 1980s nostalgia would have ended circa 2010. In 2016, it was said that this had not happened, and that a twenty-year nostalgia cycle did not appear to apply. As of 2025, 1980s nostalgia continues.
In Japan, it has been said that the Shōwa retro boom that began in 2017 is centred on the 1980s.
In 2024, Zestanakis said 1980s nostalgia exists on a global scale.

## Music

1980s music was more popular than that of other decades in Europe in 2010. In North America and Europe, it has been said that the quality of 21st century pop music is largely actually inferior to that of the 1980s. Lost 80's Live is a 1980s nostalgia concert tour. There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Michael Jackson. 1980s nostalgia music genres include synthwave, vaporwave, chillwave, sovietwave, the '80s remix and hypnagogic pop. There are 1980s nostalgia radio stations.

## Fashion

Some 1980s fashions have been revived in the 2010s and 2020s. 1980s fashions that have been revived include shoulder pads, power suits and 1980s makeup.

## Toys

There is nostalgia for the Rubik's Cube. Some 1980s toys have become collectibles, and some have become valuable.

## Video games

Showa American Story is a Chinese video game set that combines American 1980s nostalgia with Japanese Shōwa nostalgia, as seen from the perspective of a video game developer who encountered the pop culture of those countries as a child in 1980s China. Its trailers feature 1980s music from Warabe, and the first went viral in 2022.

## Argentina

Graduados (2012) is a 1980s nostalgia telenovela.

## Australia

There is nostalgia for the 1980s television program Round the Twist and for the 1980s art of Ken Done. The Newsreader (2021) is a nostalgia television program about the 1980s. Back to the 80s (2001) is a 1980s nostalgia musical. The Galvatrons have produced 1980s retro music.

## Belgium

There are 1980s nostalgia radio stations such as Nostalgie.

## Canada

There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Men Without Hats and Mini Pop Kids; and for 1980s food brands such as President's Choice cookies. There are 1980s retro markets.

## Denmark

There is nostalgia for 1980s music. There is 1980s retro lego.

## Finland

As of 2013, there is more nostalgia for the 1980s than for any other decade. There are 1980s nostalgia television documentaries. There is nostalgia for 1980s toys. Litku Klemetti's Kukkia muovipussissa (2021) is a 1980s retro album and an expression of nostalgia for the 1980s music of Mona Carita.

## Germany

There is more nostalgia for the 1980s than for any other decade. There is nostalgia for 1980s Italo pop and the 1980s music of artists such as Nena and the Scorpions. Deutschland 83 (2015) is a nostalgia television programme about the 1980s.

## Greece

There are 1980s nostalgia exhibitions. The third series of Ta Kalytera mas Chronia (2023) is a 1980s nostalgia television programme. There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Anna Vissi and Charis Alexiou.

## India

There is nostalgia for The Ramayan. There are 1980s nostalgia coffee table books.

## Indonesia

There are collectors of 1980s pop music cassette tapes. There is nostalgia for 1980s Indonesian disco music; and for 1980s films such as Gengsi Dong, Ratu Ilmu Hitam and Catatan Si Boy. There are 1980s nostalgia concerts and music festivals.

## Ireland

There is 1980s nostalgia among young people. There are 1980s nostalgia bands, radio services and music festivals. There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Bagatelle, Cry Before Dawn, Hothouse Flowers and Johnny Logan; and for 1980s television programmes such as Bosco, Dempsey's Den and Wanderly Wagon.

## Japan

In Japan, 1980s nostalgia is part of the broader phenomenon of "Shōwa nostalgia" and "Shōwa retro". There is nostalgia for 1980s television programmes such as Takeshi's Castle and The Best Ten; for 1980s city pop, new music and kayōkyoku music; for the 1980s music of artists such as Mariya Takeuchi, Yōko Oginome, Meiko Nakahara, Saki Kubota, Rebecca, Akina Nakamori, Seiko Matsuda, Hiroko Yakushimaru and Wink; for 1980s arcade games such as Pac-Man and Galaga; for 1980s computer consoles such as Famicom; for 1980s hairstyles such as the Seiko-chan cut; for 1980s floral pattern tableware; for 1980s vending machines; for 1980s analogue technology such as disposable cameras and cassette tapes; and for 1980s second hand goods. Extremely Inappropriate! (2024) is a nostalgia television programme about the 1980s. Musicians ClariS (2023) and NewJeans (2024) have performed cover versions of 1980s songs that imitate the stage routines of Wink and Seiko Matsuda.
In 2017, the Yōko Oginome song "Dancing Hero (Eat You Up)" (1985) reached number 2 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100 chart. In 2021, the Mariya Takeuchi song "Plastic Love" (1985) reached number 5 on the Oricon Singles Chart.

## Norway

Tilbake til 80-tallet (2006) is a 1980s nostalgia documentary. Gylne tider (2002) is a nostalgia television programme that includes the 1980s. There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of A-ha, Åge Aleksandersen, The Kids, Pelle Parafins Bøljeband and Return. There are 1980s nostalgia concerts.

## Philippines

There is nostalgia for 1980s music such as the 1980s OPM music of the Boyfriends, Hagibis, Sampaguita and VST & Company.

## Singapore

There is nostalgia for 1980s mosaic playgrounds.

## South Korea

There is nostalgia for the television programmes, music and fashion of the 1980s. There is nostalgia for 1980s technology such as cassette tapes. Reply 1988 (2015) is a nostalgia television series about the 1980s.

## Sweden

There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Factory, Magnum Bonum and Noice. There are 1980s nostalgia concerts.

## United Kingdom

In 2024, there was more nostalgia among people under thirty for the 1980s than for any other decade. There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of OMD, David Bowie, Duran Duran, Bananarama, George Michael, Boy George, Level 42 and Bucks Fizz; and for Frankie Say Relax T-shirts, New Romantics, Smash Hits, Filofax, spandex, fluffy dice, Knightmare, Blake's 7, V, Max Headroom, Woolworths Pic n Mix, rave, shell suits, 1980s jewellery, and 1980s Christmases. Now 80s is a 1980s nostalgia music television channel. Ashes to Ashes (2008) is a nostalgia television programme about the 1980s. The Here and Now Tour is a 1980s nostalgia concert tour. The Rewind Festival is a 1980s nostalgia music festival. There are 1980s nostalgia cruises, websites, museum exhibitions and experiential theatre. I Love the '80s (2001), Sounds of the Eighties (1996) and Match of the Eighties (1997) are 1980s nostalgia documentaries. 1980s music was rebroadcast in the music archive programme Top of the Pops 2 (1994), and 1980s episodes of Top of the Pops were repeated on BBC 4 from 2015 to 2020. Heart 80s and Absolute Radio 80s are 1980s nostalgia radio stations.
The Kate Bush song "Running Up That Hill" (1985) reached number 1 on the UK singles chart in 2022 as a result of being included in the fourth series of Stranger Things. In 2017, 1980s music was more popular than that of other decades. 1980s retro albums include Goldfrapp's Head First (2010) and Duran Duran's Future Past (2021).
Briscoe said that 1980s nostalgia frequently views the 1980s through an American lens that does not accurately reflect 1980s Britain.

## United States

1980s nostalgia was predicted by the Cafe '80s (1989). There is nostalgia for 1980s music, fashion, hairstyles and childhood; for 1980s films such as those of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Sylvester Stallone; and for the New York of the early 1980s. There are 1980s nostalgia conventions.
Nostalgia television programmes about the 1980s include That '80s Show (2002), Everybody Hates Chris (2005), The Americans (2013), The Goldbergs (2013), Halt and Catch Fire (2014), Stranger Things (2016) and Paper Girls (2022). Nostalgia films about the 1980s include The Wedding Singer (1998), Donnie Darko (2001), The Squid and the Whale (2005), Watchmen (2009), Adventureland (2009), Hot Tub Time Machine (2010), Atomic Blonde (2017), and Totally Killer (2023). The films Pixels (2015) and Ready Player One (2018) are expressions of 1980s nostalgia. The film Drive (2011) is an expression of 1980s retro. Grosse Pointe Blank and Romy and Michele's High School Reunion are 1980s nostalgia films, from 1997, about the high school renunions of people who graduated in the 1980s. 1980s nostalgia documentaries include I Love the '80s (2002) and The Greatest Night in Pop (2024). The Big 80's (1994) was a 1980s nostalgia music television programme. The 1980s nostalgia boom includes remakes and reboots of, and sequels to, films and television programmes released in the 1980s.
The Metallica song "Master of Puppets" (1986) charted in 2022, as a result of being included in Stranger Things. In 2021, 1980s music was more popular than that of other decades. There is nostalgia for the 1980s music of Blondie. By 2024, it was reported that Michael Jackson's music, including especially the album Thriller (1982) and the single "Thriller" (1983), becomes popular around Halloween every year, and often reappears on Billboard charts, including the Billboard Hot 100 and the Billboard 200. Taylor Swift's 1989 (2014) is a 1980s retro album. Now That's What I Call the 80s (2007) is a 1980s nostalgia compilation album.
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (2002) is a 1980s retro video game. There are 1980s nostalgia influencers on social media.