My 80s In List Format

 

 

I was just having a damn good mull/sulk to myself after my conscience (which is named Roger) talked me out of buying the Judge Dredd miniatures game.

He was right of course, because let's face it, the only way to play Judge dredd is the boardgame or the RPG and to also use genuine Citadel figures, not the Johnny-Come-Lately Warlord stuff.

So, I was trying to nail down where I want to go with my gaming, beause for the last 2 years its been all contemporary historical stuff which has found it's way into the Dark Tower, and I really, really, need to touch base with the 80s.

Well that got me thinking about lists of things, but as I was also listening to some jolly good Human League tracks, I began to map my 80s as series of lists incorporating all sorts of things which got me from age 12 to here and now, making me the well balanced (yeah, yeah, back off Roger) individual I am.

So here we go (and bear in mind that most of this is Sheffield-centric)

Music:

Human League - Empire State Human 

Stiff Little Fingers - At The Edge

Soft Cell  - Tainted Love

OMD - Maid Of Orleans 

The Associates - Party Fears Two

Iron Maiden - The Number Of The Beast

Haysi Fantayzee - Sabres Of Paradise

Marillion - Script For A Jesters Tear

Marillion - Forgotten Sons

Men Without Hats - Safety Dance

Nena - 99 Red Balloons

Rush - Distant Early Warning

Rush - Middletown Dreams

Yes - Owner Of A Lonely Heart

Jethro Tull - Locomotive Breath

Big Country - Red Fox

Kate Bush - Waking The Witch

Sisters Of Mercy - Bury Me Deep

Sisters Of Mercy - Temple Of Love

New Model Army - Vengeance

 

Books:

The Mythology Of Tolkein's Middle Earth (20 years before I read Tolkein)

The Giant Under The Snow (a classic)

Ringworld 

The Call Of Cthulhu & Other Tales

The Warlock Of Firetop Mountain

Armies Of The Vietnam War 1&2

Enter The Dragon (boredom I assure you, was the reason)

Raiders Of The Lost Ark

The Brotherhood (yes, I called that 33rd degree telephone number and it was legit)

George & Julia (that was an eye opener)

 

Shops:

Schofields department store (a free jukebox, a brilliant lift for joyriding in, girls and a fine place for winding up New Romantics on a Saturday)

Knobs & Knockers (I had a thing about door furniture - really)

EXIT Books (Left wing pamphlets, badges and all the best in underground comics)

Games Workshop Sheffield (home to Armstrong & Gilbride - purveyors of top end verbal abuse, girls in short skirts and where I met a LOT of my friends in the last 40 years)

Games Workshop Manchester (chased by fucking skinheads)

Games Workshop Leeds (I dunno why, I just went there a lot to look at Tony Cottrells creations)

Redgates

Beatties

Hopkinson's Toys

Pippys (shemaghs)

Jeanery (for well, jeans)

Roulette Records (obscure early Adam & The Ants 45s)

Impulse (for stripy trousers and patchouli oil) 

Laskys 

Boots (white make-up and believe it or not the best selection of Fighting Fantasy books)

Woolworths (records and sausage sarnies)

Hagenbachs (crusty rolls and soup)

W.H Smith (ZX81 games & err, recreational publications)

Pinders Graphics (serious paints for grown ups and precocious kids)

Sheffield Space Centre

Games Of Liverpool

Athena Books (Doncaster) 

Kenyon's Toys - Firth Park 

Tabletop Games - Nottingham

Places:

Darren's house

Stanny's house

Roger's house

Simon's house

Paul's House

Our house

Sheffield Wargames Society

Sheffield Poly Roleplaying group

Sheffield University Wargames Society

Sheffield Runelords

The Octagon Centre 

Sheffield Museum

The Graves Art Gallery

The Peace Gardens (Peaceful my ass... You could get a kicking if you sat with the wrong clique)

Sheffield Town Hall foyer

Anywhere any of the GW staff went and didn't manage to shake me off

The top floor of any car park with a great view (great place to eat a chip butty on French baguette, and look at the day's purchases)

Storey's Amusements (Saturday pre-GW video gaming with Pete, Paul and Paul)

The Limit (Great for a while but narrowly avoided being knifed)

Sex 2  (ah the V.I.P pass)

The Wapentake (scene of the Hair Bear incident and still causing nightmares now and again)

The Peak District

Endcliffe Park

The Stone House  (drunk on two pints and under age - a travesty)

Silver Blades - ice rink (scene of the red sash and pink hair incident - Grounded 4 weeks)

On reflection, I can see that pre-1982 and the arrival of Games Workshop following the 1981 influx of Roleplaying in general to Sheffield, I was listening to a pretty varied musical melange (and still do), hanging around and doing 'normal' kid things... IE: Being a bloody annoyance. But, I was also in galleries and the outdoors a lot. As I found gaming, my tastes started to err towards more outre post-punk outfits, but increasingly towards my 'safe place' of Progressive Rock, via a bit of NWOBHM, until the late 80s 'Goth blip', where all reason went out of the window for a while, but during which time I did (after a destructive relationship, covered elsewhere) meet my wife and friend of over 33 years and counting. I also met the very funny and good friend who is Andy Needham, who used to send me postacrds addressed to Napoleon in the guise of Wellington, despite the fact we lived about 3 miles from each other. The this day the phrase, 'Dear piece of Corsican shite...' makes me grin.

As time passed I became less identifired by my musical tastes, but back then gaming and Prog Rock were inseperable. Gaming wise, I never had an identity as a particular type of gamer, because from the outset, I was roleplaying, and playing both historical, and fictional tabletop games. It was interesting though to see how other 'monogamers' viewed each other.

Anyway, it was an interesting little exercise, and out of it came a notion to go and buy myself some more Laserburn figures, particularly when Alternative Armies are offering 20% this month. And now I keep thinking about some Minifigs Egyptians, or Northern European Bronze Age from Wargames Foundry - but that way madness lies and with Partizan returning this October I really ought to buckle down and save some pennies.

The last of my terrain boards arrived from Last Valey on Tuesday, and my builders are well on with turning my derelict old concrete garage into a games room. The new roof is on, the raised concrete floor, membrane, insulation and floor boards are also in place. What's holding things up is the window for the side overlooking the Don Valley. I also uspect that the electrics are going to be a bit of a bastard to install.

I've got my eye on the tables I want, and have to look for industrial carpeting this weekend, both of which are not cheap, but I want my friends to be comfortable, so the cash has to be spent...

TTFN