At the end of August, I will be transporting myself back in time to the 1983/84 football season. I am doing this for a number of reasons, that begin with fond memories of a Xmas gift from my much missed Gran, and end with the diabolical state of the modern game.
I am busy preparing myself to begin this journey, and I have invested in football programmes and Panini stickers from this time, in a bid to transport myself back to 1983. In addition, I will be indulging in music, food and fashion from this era. If I do something, I do it properly.
One issue that I need to sort out, is how I discover the classified results every week. This is quite an issue, because obviously I need to find out the results to authenticate my experience.
YouTube have some videos that show the latest football results, but these are random clips that do not form a complete record of the season. The video below is from December 27th 1982, and shows how enjoyable and informative such a service was, before David Icke found God.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N4PkfqaqdWk
What I need is a fellow enthusiast, who would agree to send me the weekend and mid-week results through the post – there was no such thing as the internet back in the day.
The trouble is, that I do not know of anywhere where I can access the scores from a specific weekend. I could get a Rothmans Yearbook, but even then I would have to spend hours flicking back and to through the book to get a complete list of results. I could invest in old copies of Shoot magazine, or subscribe to a Sunday newspaper through the National Archive. I am trying to keep costs down.
The simplest solution would be to have a friend, who is prepared to help me out, in return for a similar favour. If anyone knows of a way around this problem, or would like to offer their assistance, please do get in touch.
In the meantime, why not listen to one of the biggest hits of 1983 [ I am quickly realising that 1983 was a absolutely shambolic year for music, but it is too late for me to change the season I am reliving].
From Wikipedia:
Spandau Ballet /ˈspændaʊ ˈbæl.eɪ/ were an English new wave band formed in Islington, London, in 1979. Inspired by the capital’s post-punk underground dance scene, they emerged at the start of the 1980s as the house band for the Blitz Kids, playing “White European Dance Music” as “The Applause” for this new club culture’s audience.[7][8][9] They became one of the most successful groups of the New Romantic era of British pop and were part of the Second British Invasion of the Billboard Top 40 in the 1980s, selling 25 million albums and having 23 hit singles worldwide.[10][11][12] The band have had eight UK top 10 albums, including three greatest hits compilations and an album of re-recorded material. Their musical influences ranged from punk rock and soul music to the American crooners Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett.[13]
The band’s classic line-up featured Gary Kemp on guitar, synthesiser and backing vocals, his brother Martin Kemp on bass, vocalist Tony Hadley, saxophonist Steve Norman and drummer John Keeble. Gary Kemp was also the band’s songwriter. Their debut single, “To Cut a Long Story Short“, reached No.5 in the UK in 1980. It was the first of ten UK Top 10 singles. The band peaked in popularity in 1983 with the album True, with its title track reaching No.1 in the UK and the top five in the US. In 2011 it received a BMI award as one of the most played songs in US history with four million airplays.[14] In 1984 they received a Brit Award for technical excellence and were the first act to be approached by Bob Geldof to join the original Band Aid line-up.[15] In 1985 they performed at the Live Aid benefit concert at Wembley Stadium.
