the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1987 in Britain

To be fifteen in Britain in 1987 was to have “Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley everywhere, Beverly Hills Cop II on every screen, and EastEnders on after school. That year, gas cost £0.38/L and the Acorn Archimedes, Britain's fastest home computer was the new thing. Born in 1972? You turned 15 in 1987 — a teenager from 1985 to 1991, right in the window a soundtrack bonds to you for life.

Compiled by the Original Lore archive from period charts, box-office and price records. How we build these · sources noted throughout.

▶ Play your 1987 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1987

Never Gonna Give You Up — Rick Astley

  1. Never Gonna Give You Up — Rick AstleyStock Aitken Waterman's redheaded miracle, that impossible baritone bouncing out of every corner shop.
  2. It's a Sin — Pet Shop BoysCamp, thunderous Catholic guilt you belted in the dark, secretly thrilled to feel so wicked.
  3. I Wanna Dance with Somebody — Whitney HoustonWhitney's pure joy exploding across the bedroom while you danced with a hairbrush microphone.
  4. La Isla Bonita — MadonnaSpanish-guitar longing for somewhere hotter than a drizzly British holiday you couldn't afford.
  5. Star Trekkin' — The FirmThe daft novelty everyone chanted in the playground, laughing before you'd even heard the record.

▶ Play your 1987 reel

why this one mattered

That unmistakable soulful boom from a ginger lad in a mac was inescapable in 1987, the biggest seller of the year and the sound of every Woolworths and school disco. Decades before it became the internet's favourite prank, it was simply the pop that owned your fifteenth summer.

the year-end #1 was Never Gonna Give You Up by Rick Astley was the UK's best-selling single of 1987.

the movies you are watching in 1987

  • Beverly Hills Cop II
  • Dirty Dancing
  • Fatal Attraction
  • The Living Daylights
  • Predator

the tv shows you are binging in 1987

  • EastEnders
  • Neighbours
  • Blackadder the Third
  • Bread
  • The Chart Show

the games you are playing in 1987

  • Out Run
  • Treasure Island Dizzy
  • Renegade
  • Bubble Bobble
  • Head Over Heels
  • Elite

what things cost in 1987

What things cost in 1987
a pint of lager£1.05
a cinema ticket£2.40
a first-class stamp18p
a gallon of gas£0.38/L
the average income£10,700

trending this year

Neighbours
Photo by Koala:Bear (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pin_Oak_Court_Filming.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Neighbours
Acorn Archimedes
Photo by mikkohoo (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acorn_Archimedes_A310_with_mouse_and_keyboard.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Acorn Archimedes
The Simpsons shorts
AI-generated illustration
The Simpsons shorts
disposable contact lenses
Photo by Toblerone~commonswiki (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acuvue.jpg · CC BY 2.5
disposable contact lenses
IKEA's first UK store
Photo by Eirian Evans (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IKEA_Store,_Warrington_-_geograph.org.uk_-_6394889.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
IKEA's first UK store

the gadgets you just got

Acorn Archimedes
Photo by mikkohoo (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Acorn_Archimedes_A310_with_mouse_and_keyboard.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Acorn Archimedes
Amiga 500
Photo by Bill Bertram (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amiga500_system.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.5
Amiga 500
Sony Discman D-50
Photo by Norbert Schnitzler (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sony_Discman_D_50.jpg · Public domain
Sony Discman D-50
camcorder
Photo by Darian Hildebrand (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:RCA_VHS_shoulder-mount_Camcorder.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
camcorder
Sega Master System
Phalange7, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Sega Master System

what everyone is snacking on

Wispa
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wispa-Split.jpg · Public domain
Wispa
Twix
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Twix.jpg · Public domain
Twix
Discos crisps
AI-generated illustration
Discos crisps
Refreshers
Photo by Mx. Granger (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Swizzels_Refreshers_1.jpg · CC0
Refreshers
Frazzles
Photo by Mightyhansa (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Frazzles_loose.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Frazzles

what everyone is drinking

Vimto
Photo by GreaterPonce665 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vimto_Can.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Vimto
Lucozade
AI-generated illustration
Lucozade
Kia-Ora
AI-generated illustration
Kia-Ora
Um Bongo
AI-generated illustration
Um Bongo
Ribena
Photo by Melaneas (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ribena-All-Sizes-and-Flavours.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Ribena

what made the news in 1987

  • The Great Storm batters southern England overnight in October, felling 15 million trees
  • The Herald of Free Enterprise ferry capsizes off Zeebrugge, killing 193 people
  • The King's Cross Underground fire kills 31 in November
  • Margaret Thatcher wins a third consecutive general election for the Conservatives
The Great Storm devastates southern England overnight
Photo by David Wright (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aftermath_of_the_Great_Storm_of_1987.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Great Storm devastates southern England overnight
Herald of Free Enterprise ferry capsizes off Zeebrugge
Photo by Archief Ranter (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Herald_of_Free_Enterprise_after_salvage.jpg · CC BY-SA 1.0
Herald of Free Enterprise ferry capsizes off Zeebrugge
King's Cross Underground fire kills 31
Photo by Christine Matthews (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Clock_and_Plaque_in_Memory_of_people_killed_in_King%27s_Cross_Fire_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1164154.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
King's Cross Underground fire kills 31
Thatcher wins a historic third term for the Conservatives
Photo by Unknown photographer (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Margaret_Thatcher_(1987).jpg · Public domain
Thatcher wins a historic third term for the Conservatives
Black Monday stock market crash wipes billions off shares
Photo by Autopilot (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Black_Monday_FTSE.svg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Black Monday stock market crash wipes billions off shares

what everyone is saying

  • "Brill"brilliant, shortened — pure ’80s Britain
  • "Wicked!"still the playground word for brilliant
  • "Loadsamoney"Harry Enfield's brash Thatcherite character and catchphrase
  • "Mint"northern slang for something great
  • "Get orf my land"a common playground catchphrase of the era

the summer of 1987.

the best of it still feels like it's coming.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1987 goes.

Turn 1987 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1987 reel with sound