the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 1998 in Britain

To be fifteen in Britain in 1998 was to have “Believe” by Cher everywhere, Titanic on every screen, and Teletubbies on after school. That year, gas cost 60p/L and the Furby was the new thing. Born in 1983? You turned 15 in 1998 — a teenager from 1996 to 2002, 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 1998 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 1998

Believe — Cher

  1. Believe — CherThe first robotic wobble of Auto-Tune, Cher's comeback baffling and hypnotising every school-disco floor.
  2. It's Like That — Run-DMC vs Jason NevinsOld-school rap flipped into a stomping remix that owned every under-18s club night for months.
  3. C'est la Vie — B*WitchedFour Irish sisters, double denim and playground clapping games, giddy pre-teen summer distilled into one hook.
  4. Never Ever — All SaintsAll Saints' hushed heartbreak, cooler than the Spice Girls, whispered into your first proper walkman.
  5. Music Sounds Better with You — StardustFrench-house perfection looping one blissful riff, the sound of holidays you were finally old enough for.

▶ Play your 1998 reel

why this one mattered

That wobbling, robotic Auto-Tune hook was the sound of every school disco and taxi-ride home in late '98 — the year's biggest single by a mile. Daft, euphoric and quietly heartbroken under the gloss, it's pure fifteen-year-old catharsis, do-you-believe-in-life-after-love bawled at full volume.

the year-end #1 was the UK's best-selling single of 1998.

the movies you are watching in 1998

  • Titanic
  • Armageddon
  • There's Something About Mary
  • Saving Private Ryan
  • Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels

the tv shows you are binging in 1998

  • Teletubbies
  • Friends
  • The Royle Family
  • Ally McBeal
  • Match of the Day

the games you are playing in 1998

  • The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
  • Gran Turismo
  • Tomb Raider III
  • Banjo-Kazooie
  • Metal Gear Solid
  • Half-Life

what things cost in 1998

What things cost in 1998
a pint of lager£2.00
a cinema ticket£4.00
a first-class stamp26p
a gallon of gas60p/L
the average income£19,500

trending this year

Furby
Bastian730, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Furby
Apple iMac
Photo by Alterations by David Fuchs; original by Rama, licensed CC-by-SA (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IMac_G3_Bondi_Blue,_three-quarters_view.png · CC BY-SA 4.0
Apple iMac
Google
Lancelote, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0
Google
SMS texting
Photo by Miss Puzzle (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:SMS_composition_on_feature_phone.png · CC BY-SA 4.0
SMS texting
Sunny Delight

the gadgets you just got

Furby
Bastian730, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Furby
Apple iMac G3
Dennis van Zuijlekom, via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0
Apple iMac G3
Nokia 5110
Photo by Beamish4 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nokia_5110_-_Front.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Nokia 5110
Game Boy Color
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nintendo-Game-Boy-Color-FL.jpg · Public domain
Game Boy Color
MiniDisc Walkman
Photo by Evan-Amos (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Sony-MZ-N707-MD-Walkman.jpg · Public domain
MiniDisc Walkman

what everyone is snacking on

Cadbury Time Out
Pom-Bear
AI-generated illustration
Pom-Bear
Space Raiders
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Space_Raiders_snacks.jpg · CC0
Space Raiders
Wagon Wheels
Photo by Sealman at English Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wagon_Wheel.JPG · CC BY-SA 3.0
Wagon Wheels
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

Sunny Delight
WKD
AI-generated illustration
WKD
Tango
AI-generated illustration
Tango
Panda Pops
AI-generated illustration
Panda Pops
Um Bongo
AI-generated illustration
Um Bongo

what made the news in 1998

  • The Good Friday Agreement brings hope of peace to Northern Ireland
  • The Omagh bombing kills 29, the worst atrocity of the Troubles
  • England crash out of France 98 after Beckham's red card and a shootout defeat to Argentina
  • Google is founded and the online era quietly begins
Good Friday Agreement signed in Northern Ireland
Photo by Albert Bridge (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Parliament_Buildings,_Stormont,_Belfast_(1)_-_geograph.org.uk_-_443345.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Good Friday Agreement signed in Northern Ireland
Omagh bomb kills 29 in worst Troubles atrocity
Photo by Kenneth Allen (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Omagh_Bomb_Memorial_-_geograph.org.uk_-_911350.jpg · CC BY-SA 2.0
Omagh bomb kills 29 in worst Troubles atrocity
Beckham sent off as England lose to Argentina on penalties
Photo by ger1axg (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:David_Beckham.jpg · Public domain
Beckham sent off as England lose to Argentina on penalties
Bill Clinton impeachment scandal grips the world
Photo by Bob McNeely, The White House (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bill_Clinton.jpg · Public domain
Bill Clinton impeachment scandal grips the world
Cher's 'Believe' pioneers Auto-Tune and tops the year
Photo by M Abancourt (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cher_singing.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
Cher's 'Believe' pioneers Auto-Tune and tops the year

what everyone is saying

  • "Vindaloo!"The Fat Les France 98 terrace chant sung everywhere
  • "Do you believe in life after love?"Cher's 'Believe' hook that everyone bellowed
  • "Booyakasha"Ali G's catchphrase entering the slang
  • "Peace in Ireland"The hope of the Good Friday Agreement
  • "Safe"Slang for cool, good or a friendly goodbye

the summer of 1998.

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

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 1998 goes.

Turn 1998 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 1998 reel with sound