THE Christmas number one single was There's No One Quite Like Grandma by St Winifred's School Choir, but the biggest selling single was Pink Floyd's Another Brick in the Wall (Part Two).

Metal fans - my photo shows I am one of you - will remember 1980 was the year Motorhead released seminal album Ace of Spades.

  • The big films of 1980 were The Empire Strikes Back, Raging Bull, The Blues Brothers and Ordinary People, with the latter scooping the best picture Oscar.
  • The 1980 Olympics in Moscow was broadcast around the world despite 62 nations, including the US, boycotting the games due to the USSR's invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Unsurprisingly, the USSR topped the medal table.
  • Notable deaths in 1980 included the shooting of John Lennon, the suicide of Joy Division lead singer Ian Curtis, Steve McQueen losing his battle with cancer and iconic black athlete and scourge of Hitler at the 1936 Berlin Olympics, Jesse Owens.
  • Notable births in 1980 included Home Alone star Macaulay Culkin, British Formula One driver Jenson Button and English footballers John Terry and Steven Gerrard.
  • 1980 Star Fact: On September 23, 1980 reggae legend Bob Marley played his final live concert at the Stanley Theater in Pittsburgh USA.