About Neon80s
I’m a child of the 80s, a true latchkey kid.
I remember the music, the clothes, the films, the technology and the excitement of wondering what was coming next. I remember buying records because I liked the cover, spending hours browsing shops with absolutely no idea what I was looking for, making mixtapes, rewinding cassettes and trying to record something from the radio without the DJ talking over the beginning.
And yes, I wore some of the clothes, and I started Neon80s because I love it all.
Not because I think everything was better back then, it wasn’t, but because there was something about the 80s that we’ve lost a little bit.
It was fun.
It was bright. It was loud. It was sometimes completely ridiculous. And somehow, the future felt exciting.
Computers were going to change everything. Cars would probably fly eventually. Robots were coming. Music videos were getting more extravagant by the week, home computers were appearing everywhere, and we were completely convinced that by the year 2000 we’d all be living in something resembling Back to the Future Part II.
We may have got that slightly wrong, and I miss the optimism.
So what’s Neon80s about?
You’ll find vinyl, clothes, books, art and other bits and pieces from, or inspired by, the decade so many love.
But I want Neon80s to be more than somewhere you click Add to Basket.
I want it to be somewhere you occasionally find yourself saying:
“Oh my God, I remember that!”
“I always wanted one of those.”
“What on earth were we thinking?”
All three are perfectly acceptable reactions.
There’s enough grey in the world at the moment. Enough uncertainty.
Enough doom, arguments, bad news and things demanding that we take them terribly seriously.
So this is my little attempt to put some colour back into it.
A corner of the internet where neon is encouraged, synthesisers are never considered excessive, album artwork is supposed to be enormous, and nobody is going to judge you for knowing all the words to a song you haven’t heard since 1986.
Come in. Have a rummage.
You might find something you remember. You might discover something you completely missed the first time around. You might buy something gloriously unnecessary simply because seeing it makes you smile.
That’s fine too. I’m not trying to recreate the past. I’d just like to bring a little of its fun, colour, hope and optimism with us.
Because whatever happened to the flying cars, I still think the future should be exciting.
And frankly, it could use a bit more neon.
Welcome to Neon80s.