the summer of

What it was like to be 15 in 2018 in Britain

To be fifteen in Britain in 2018 was to have “One Kiss” by Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa everywhere, Avengers: Infinity War on every screen, and Bodyguard on after school. That year, gas cost £1.28/L and Fortnite taking over every classroom was the new thing. Born in 2003? You turned 15 in 2018 — a teenager from 2016 to 2022, 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 2018 reel with sounda 30-second video of your year — the song, the screen, the turn.

the mixtape of 2018

One Kiss — Calvin Harris & Dua Lipa

  1. One Kiss — Calvin Harris & Dua LipaThe undisputed sound of that heatwave summer, Dua and Calvin's disco-house pulsing through every open-windowed car and park.
  2. Shotgun — George EzraGeorge Ezra's daft, sun-baked road-trip singalong, bellowed out of every festival tent and packed motorway service station.
  3. These Days — Rudimental feat. Jess Glynne, Macklemore & Dan CaplenJess Glynne and Rudimental's golden-hour glow, the one that made 'these days' feel worth clinging onto forever.
  4. God's Plan — DrakeDrake counting his blessings, streamed to death, soundtracking every group chat and every pretend-carefree summer selfie.
  5. Solo — Clean Bandit feat. Demi LovatoClean Bandit and Demi Lovato's post-breakup strut, the empowerment banger you played driving away with the windows down.

▶ Play your 2018 reel

why this one mattered

Eight weeks at number one through a scorching heatwave summer — this was the World Cup, the sunburn, the last bell of term all at once. Calvin's nineties-house throb and Dua's cool vocal became the sound of a summer that felt, for once, like England was actually good.

the year-end #1 was the UK's best-selling single of 2018.

the movies you are watching in 2018

  • Avengers: Infinity War
  • Black Panther
  • Bohemian Rhapsody
  • Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again
  • A Star Is Born

the tv shows you are binging in 2018

  • Bodyguard
  • Love Island
  • Killing Eve
  • Peaky Blinders
  • The Great British Bake Off

the games you are playing in 2018

  • Fortnite Battle Royale
  • FIFA 19
  • Red Dead Redemption 2
  • Super Smash Bros. Ultimate
  • Spider-Man (PS4)
  • God of War

what things cost in 2018

What things cost in 2018
a pint of lager£3.79
a cinema ticket£7.22
a litre of petrol£1.28
a gallon of gas£1.28/L
minimum wage£7.83/hr
a first-class stamp£0.67
the average income£29,600

trending this year

Fortnite Battle Royale
AI-generated illustration
Fortnite Battle Royale
GDPR
AI-generated illustration
GDPR
The Floss dance
Photo by LittleT889 (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Floss_(dance).gif · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Floss dance
Deliveroo & Uber Eats boom
Photo by shopblocks (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:UBER_Eats_Delivery_Cyclist_Riding_Through_a_Busy_Oxford_Road_in_Manchester.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Deliveroo & Uber Eats boom
Black Panther
Government & Heritage Library, State Library of NC, via Flickr/Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0
Black Panther

the gadgets you just got

iPhone XS / XR
Photo by Cullen Steber (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:IPhone_XS.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
iPhone XS / XR
Amazon Echo Dot
Photo by Smart Home Perfected (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Alexa_Amazon_Echo_Dot_3rd_Gen_Smart_Speaker_-_Sandstone_Fabric_(Creative_Commons)_(51048461088).jpg · CC BY 2.0
Amazon Echo Dot
Nintendo Labo
Photo by Tinh tế Photo (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Nintendo_Labo_construction.jpeg · CC0
Nintendo Labo
Instant Pot
Photo by Ajay Suresh from New York, NY, USA (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Instant_Pot_(49907000991).jpg · CC BY 2.0
Instant Pot
Oculus Go
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Oculus_Go_-_2.jpg · CC0
Oculus Go

what everyone is snacking on

Greggs Sausage Roll
Photo by Rerrj at English Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Greggs_sausage_rolls.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Greggs Sausage Roll
Cadbury Dairy Milk
Photo by NINXIVI (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Cadbury_Dairy_Milk_-Mini_Bar-_(3951105262).jpg · CC BY 2.0
Cadbury Dairy Milk
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
Walkers Max
AI-generated illustration
Walkers Max
Colin the Caterpillar
Photo by Ben Sutherland (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Colin_the_caterpillar_cake.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Colin the Caterpillar

what everyone is drinking

Coca-Cola
AI-generated illustration
Coca-Cola
Aperol Spritz
Wikimedia Commons, source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Aperol_Spritz_-_July_2024_-_Sarah_Stierch.jpg · CC0
Aperol Spritz
Monster Energy
Bxxiaolin, edited by Pittigrilli, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Can_of_Monster_Energy_drink_sold_in_China_(0.33_l),_on_white_background.jpg · CC BY-SA 4.0
Monster Energy
Pimm's
Photo by whitneyinchicago (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pimm%27s_Cup.jpg · CC BY 2.0
Pimm's
Fanta
AI-generated illustration
Fanta

what made the news in 2018

  • England reach the World Cup semi-finals in Russia, sparking 'Football's Coming Home' fever
  • Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle
  • The Novichok poisoning of Sergei and Yulia Skripal in Salisbury
  • A record heatwave bakes Britain through the summer
England reach the World Cup semi-finals; the nation sings 'It's coming home'
Photo by Кирилл Венедиктов (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:England_team_Russia_2018.jpg · CC BY-SA 3.0
England reach the World Cup semi-finals; the nation sings 'It's coming home'
Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle
Photo by Londisland (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Prince_Harry_and_Meghan%E2%80%99s_carriage_procession_through_streets_of_Windsor_01.jpg · CC BY 3.0
Prince Harry marries Meghan Markle at Windsor Castle
The Novichok poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury
Photo by Peter Curbishley (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Police_forensics_tent_at_The_Maltings,_Salisbury.jpg · CC BY 2.0
The Novichok poisoning of the Skripals in Salisbury
A record-breaking heatwave bakes Britain all summer
Photo by Gwydion M. Williams (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Heat_wave_2018_07_280001_(41929391560).jpg · CC BY 2.0
A record-breaking heatwave bakes Britain all summer
The Thai cave rescue grips the world as 12 boys and their coach are saved
Photo by U.S. Air Force Capt. Jessica Tait (Wikimedia Commons), source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:4547292_Cave_rescue_divers_prepare_dive_equipment_at_Tham_Luang_cave.jpg · Public domain
The Thai cave rescue grips the world as 12 boys and their coach are saved

what everyone is saying

  • "It's coming home"the World Cup summer's inescapable chant
  • "Big yikes"an exaggerated cringe reaction
  • "Peng"London slang for very attractive
  • "Do you love me? Only partly"the God's Plan lyric quoted everywhere
  • "Yeet"an exclamation of excitement or a throw

the summer of 2018.

you can't wait to be older.

…and then it cools. Play the reel to feel where 2018 goes.

Turn 2018 into a 30-second reel →

▶ Play your 2018 reel with sound