the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1989 in Britain

To be fifteen in Britain in 1989 was to have “Ride on Time” by Black Box everywhere, Batman on every screen, and Neighbours on after school. That year, gas cost £0.38/L and Batmania sweeping Britain as Tim Burton's Batman hits cinemas was the new thing. Born in 1974? You turned 15 in 1989 — a teenager from 1987 to 1993, 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 1989 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1989

Ride on Time — Black Box

  1. Ride on Time — Black BoxItalo-house euphoria that soundtracked the second summer of love, hands up in a sweaty warehouse.
  2. Back to Life — Soul II Soul feat. Caron WheelerSoul II Soul's warm, funky drop making you feel impossibly cool just walking down the road.
  3. Swing the Mood — Jive Bunny and the MastermixersYour nan loved it and so, secretly, did you, all rock'n'roll fun and no shame.
  4. Pump Up the Jam — Technotronic feat. FellyBelgian beats hijacking every school disco, the pump-pump-pump you couldn't stop your feet obeying.
  5. Eternal Flame — The BanglesThe Bangles' aching ballad for that one slow dance you'd replay in your head for years.

▶ Play your 1989 reel

why this one mattered

Six weeks at number one and the biggest seller of the year, this piano-house monster was the sound of Britain discovering the dancefloor. Diva vocals, that stabbing piano, a summer of pirate radio and warehouse parties: for a fifteen-year-old in 1989, it felt like the future had a beat.

the year-end #1 was Ride on Time by Black Box was the UK's best-selling single of 1989.

the movies you are watching in 1989

  • Batman
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
  • Rain Man
  • Ghostbusters II
  • Dead Poets Society

the tv shows you are binging in 1989

  • Neighbours
  • Blackadder Goes Forth
  • Only Fools and Horses
  • Birds of a Feather
  • Grange Hill

the games you are playing in 1989

  • Tetris
  • Super Mario Land
  • Kick Off
  • Stunt Car Racer
  • Rick Dangerous
  • Populous

what things cost in 1989

What things cost in 1989
a pint of lager£1.25
a cinema ticket£2.80
a first-class stamp20p
a gallon of gas£0.38/L
the average income£13,000

trending this year

acid house & warehouse raves
Sky Television
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sky_Channel_1989.webp · Public domain
Sky Television
The World Wide Web (proposed)
Photo by User:Coolcaesar at en.wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:First_Web_Server.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
The World Wide Web (proposed)
the Amiga 500 Batman Pack
Photo by Bill Bertram (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Amiga500_system.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.5
the Amiga 500 Batman Pack
Blockbuster Video

the gadgets you just got

Commodore Amiga 500
the Sega Master System
Sky satellite dish
Photo by Jaggery (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Satellite_dishes_on_Risca_Road_house_walls,_Crosskeys_-_geograph.org.uk_-_7390630.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Sky satellite dish
the personal CD Discman
Photo by Mikus (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sony-Discman-D-E307CK.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
the personal CD Discman
the video camcorder
Photo by David162se (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hitachi_VM-600E_VHS_Camcorder.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
the video camcorder

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
Skips
AI-generated illustration
Skips
Toffos
AI-generated illustration
Toffos
Pot Noodle
Photo by Nema Evin (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pot_Noodle_before_water_added_(King_size_Chicken_%26_Mushroom).jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Pot Noodle
Wham bar
AI-generated illustration
Wham bar

what everyone is drinking

Tango
AI-generated illustration
Tango
Vimto
Photo by GreaterPonce665 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vimto_Can.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Vimto
Um Bongo
AI-generated illustration
Um Bongo
Lilt
AI-generated illustration
Lilt
Panda Pops
AI-generated illustration
Panda Pops

what made the news in 1989

  • The Hillsborough disaster kills 96 Liverpool fans at an FA Cup semi-final in April
  • The Berlin Wall falls in November as communism collapses across Eastern Europe
  • The Marchioness riverboat sinks on the Thames, killing 51 partygoers
  • The poll tax is introduced in Scotland ahead of England, sparking mass protests
Hillsborough disaster: 96 Liverpool fans die at Sheffield
Photo by Jeremy Bolwell (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hillsborough_Disaster_memorial_on_Old_Haymarket,_Liverpool_-_geograph.org.uk_-_8040065.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Hillsborough disaster: 96 Liverpool fans die at Sheffield
The Berlin Wall falls as the Iron Curtain crumbles
Photo by Raphaël Thiémard (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fall_of_the_Berlin_Wall_1989,_people_walking.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Berlin Wall falls as the Iron Curtain crumbles
Marchioness riverboat disaster kills 51 on the Thames
Photo by Paul Farmer (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Memorial_Plaque_for_the_Marchioness_-_geograph.org.uk_-_1257839.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Marchioness riverboat disaster kills 51 on the Thames
The poll tax is introduced in Scotland, sparking protest
Photo by Christopher Hilton (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anti_Poll-Tax_Federation_premises,_London_Road,_Glasgow,_1993_(geograph_3319248).jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
The poll tax is introduced in Scotland, sparking protest
The Second Summer of Love: acid house and warehouse raves peak
AI-generated illustration
The Second Summer of Love: acid house and warehouse raves peak

what everyone is saying

  • "Sorted"everything's handled
  • "Top one, nice one, get sorted"the rave-scene greeting of the year
  • "Mad for it"Madchester-era enthusiasm for a night out
  • "Safe"a nod of approval, all good
  • "Bangin'"praise for a great tune or party

the summer of 1989.

you think you've got all the time in the world.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1989 goes.

Turn 1989 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1989 reel with sound