Sunday, April 27 2008, 07:30 BST

By Alex Fletcher, Entertainment Reporter

Keith Chegwin has spoken out about a survey claiming that the '80s was the worst decade of the 20th century.

He argued that the decade created plenty of musical talent and said he was proud of the unusual clothing fashions that dominated the era.

Chegwin told DS: "People have been knocking the '80s - what's going on, how can they do that?

"In this survey, people said they couldn't stand things like the fashions, the hairstyles and the mullets. TV shows like Dallas, Rainbow, and Timmy Mallet, but in my recollections the '80s were fantastic.

"We produced such great bands like Ultravox and Duran Duran. Then there was the clothes; on Cheggers Plays Pop I couldn't wait to put on my flares and gold jacket and say 'wahey!'."

When asked about the most popular decade, the '60s, he commented: "I don't mind the free love, but the rest of it you can keep."

The veteran TV presenter also defended Timmy Mallet, who was voted one of the most embarrassing things in the decade.

"I thought he was bloody brilliant," said Chegwin. "I thought he was very inventive with his mallet and his silly games.

"I heard on the grapevine that he was left to his own devices on the show and I think he did really well. People enjoyed it and loved it, and even now he still packs out the discos, so good luck to the bloke."

The survey was commissioned by UKTV Gold to promote the When We Were Funniest? series.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a94600/keith-chegwin-defends-80s-pop-culture.html

Can't say, I wasn't alive during the 80s. :grady:

Oh please, the 70's were terrible!

Ever see the Brady Bunch Variety Hour?

That show represents everything that was wrong with that decade.

;)

IMHO The 80s wasnt the worst decade but it does seem like it was the beginning of the end

Oh, please, if the teens and the forties had two world wars, how can the eighties be worst?

As regards popular entertainment and fashion -- oh. Who cares?

Popular surveys. Ugh.

Anyway, mass nostalgia is most profitable when it runs about twenty years behind the times, so the eighties will soon be remarketed as the nineties.

i was born in the 80s and whilst i understand that a lot of people have slated it, it wasn't as bad as others have made out. it had some of the best pop music around, sitcoms and cartoon shows; hell it beats the crap on todays screens.

i personally loved the 80s, even though the vast majority of people in the UK don't. fair enough there was a lot of crap around at the time, but its no where near as worse as things are today

Oh please, the 70's were terrible!

Ever see the Brady Bunch Variety Hour?

That show represents everything that was wrong with that decade.

;)

i've heard of them and saw the movie and frankly i cannot stand them at all

Oh, please, if the teens and the forties had two world wars, how can the eighties be worst?

As regards popular entertainment and fashion -- oh. Who cares?

Popular surveys. Ugh.

Anyway, mass nostalgia is most profitable when it runs about twenty years behind the times, so the eighties will soon be remarketed as the nineties.

i agree. this is why the vast majority of public based surveys on things like popular culture are bull, and besides, their opinions don't mean jack to me

the early 1900's seemed really bad, like from the 1900s to the 1940s...with World War I, the depression, and World War II, it just seemed like a depressing time to live in.

the early 1900's seemed really bad, like from the 1900s to the 1940s...with World War I, the depression, and World War II, it just seemed like a depressing time to live in.

Except, by all accounts, the 1920's -- at least in the New World. :)

the early 1900's seemed really bad, like from the 1900s to the 1940s...with World War I, the depression, and World War II, it just seemed like a depressing time to live in.

if you compare life back then with life as it is today, then you could say that with 00s, we have things like the internet, email, cell phones things you couldn't buy in the early 1900s, nor live without

I've only lived 8 months in the 80's but from what I've heard and seen about it in pictures and tv and music...the only thing bad about it was those damn sweaters and the hairstyles...and hell that carried into the 90's too because I still had to experience it then. I don't think that makes a decade the worse ever. :lol:

I've only lived 8 months in the 80's but from what I've heard and seen about it in pictures and tv and music...the only thing bad about it was those damn sweaters and the hairstyles and hell that carried into the 90's too because I still had to experience it then. I don't think that makes a decade the worse ever. :lol:

I grew up in the eighties. Hated the prevailing politics all the way, still do, but as regards the pop stuff, that's what I am.... Still have a mullet, kind of. :)

I grew up in the eighties. Hated the prevailing politics all the way, still do, but as regards the pop stuff, that's what I am.... Still have a mullet, kind of. :)

the political aspect of the 80s peed me off also. as well as high unemployment, some of the fashion- likewise those massive shoulder pads hello?!- and some of the nastiest haircuts that existed. but otherwise, the 80s was a great decade for everything else, the films, music, etc. if it wasn't for its popular culture, then the 80s would've sucked

the political aspect of the 80s peed me off also. as well as high unemployment, some of the fashion- likewise those massive shoulder pads hello?!- and some of the nastiest haircuts that existed. but otherwise, the 80s was a great decade for everything else, the films, music, etc. if it wasn't for its popular culture, then the 80s would've sucked

That is so true. I loved all the popular culture stuff in the 80's heck it's my favorite decade for Music, tv and movies. But if it wasn't for that like you said the 80's would've sucked

the 80's were great, even though i only lived the last six months. epic decade for metal.

A decade that gave us ALF and The Cosby Show can't be all bad.

The 80's actually seemed pretty cool. I only was alive for a few months during that decade and I obviously remember none of it, but if we're going by the worst decade...I think like Joe said, from the sounds of it the 1930's and 1940's seemed like rough times.

I love the 80's; the tv shows; the movies & the music. :wave:

I've only lived 8 months in the 80's but from what I've heard and seen about it in pictures and tv and music...the only thing bad about it was those damn sweaters and the hairstyles...and hell that carried into the 90's too because I still had to experience it then. I don't think that makes a decade the worse ever. :lol:


Same here. I was only alive 3 years, one month so I don't think i'm too qualified to say. All I know is, looking at my baby pictures with a ponytail on the top of my head, with neon green tights make me wonder what the hell people were thinking back then.

A decade that gave us ALF and The Cosby Show can't be all bad.

not to mention cool cartoons such as alvin and the chipmunks, thundercats, bravestarr, muppet babies to name

seems like that going by your responses, people in the US seem to love the 80s more, compared to those in britain. perhaps where i am from, people are too negative about the 80s. they just see it as a bad period for various reasons, although they do seem to knock its pop culture

seems like that going by your responses, people in the US seem to love the 80s more, compared to those in britain. perhaps where i am from, people are too negative about the 80s. they just see it as a bad period for various reasons, although they do seem to knock its pop culture

I know we're not supposed to get too political here, but could politics have a lot to do with it?

In the UK, the eighties are the Thatcher decade, right? But with Labour having been in power for 10 years already, despite all the controversies, does that old stretch of in-your-face social darwinism still seem horrible, perhaps?

In Canada, for example, the period 80-84 -- Trudeau's last term -- is as far left as we have ever been. Although it was a time of grave economic problems, those five years gave us our present constitution, the final confirmation of universal medical care, and, as far as some of the more "nationalistic" Canadians are concerned, the last period when we were not in danger of assimilation from our southern neighbor. And then the government changed, and the right had its decade in power, and began an abandonment of the old welfare state and mixed economy that's been going on ever since. So whatever the world-view, a Canadian would find something positive in the eighties overall.

I said above that in terms of pop culture I'm totally defined by the eighties. Of course: I was 11 in 1980 and 21 in 1990. But my sharpest memory of that decade -- unfortunately it's not pleasant -- is the flare-up of the Cold War around 1983. I found out later that the tensions got so high that both sides were preparing for all-out war at one point, the level of alert was briefly almost as high as during the Cuban Missile crisis -- and though we weren't really told anything at the time, you could feel the heavy doom hanging over. Utterly scary for a 14-year-old. :(

I know we're not supposed to get too political here, but could politics have a lot to do with it?

In the UK, the eighties are the Thatcher decade, right? But with Labour having been in power for 10 years already, despite all the controversies, does that old stretch of in-your-face social darwinism still seem horrible, perhaps?

In Canada, for example, the period 80-84 -- Trudeau's last term -- is as far left as we have ever been. Although it was a time of grave economic problems, those five years gave us our present constitution, the final confirmation of universal medical care, and, as far as some of the more "nationalistic" Canadians are concerned, the last period when we were not in danger of assimilation from our southern neighbor. And then the government changed, and the right had its decade in power, and began an abandonment of the old welfare state and mixed economy that's been going on ever since. So whatever the world-view, a Canadian would find something positive in the eighties overall.

I said above that in terms of pop culture I'm totally defined by the eighties. Of course: I was 11 in 1980 and 21 in 1990. But my sharpest memory of that decade -- unfortunately it's not pleasant -- is the flare-up of the Cold War around 1983. I found out later that the tensions got so high that both sides were preparing for all-out war at one point, the level of alert was briefly almost as high as during the Cuban Missile crisis -- and though we weren't really told anything at the time, you could feel the heavy doom hanging over. Utterly scary for a 14-year-old. :(

there were some awful memories from the 80s, the least said the better. thatcherism was definitely one of them and the whole 'greed is good' motto echoed by michael douglas's character in the movie, wall street, typified the materialistic side of the 80s that people loathed. i clearly forgot about canada, thanks for mentioning it. but of course you are referred to as 'north americans' by default aren't you?

I know we're not supposed to get too political here, but could politics have a lot to do with it?

In the UK, the eighties are the Thatcher decade, right? But with Labour having been in power for 10 years already, despite all the controversies, does that old stretch of in-your-face social darwinism still seem horrible, perhaps?....

:(

vtunie, yes most definitely politics had something to do with the british people's perception of the 80s. it was a time where a lot of them saw it as a period where people couldn't give a **** about anyone else. thus implying the whole 'me, me, me' culture, which many of them despised. not also that, thatcher also closed down many of the mines in england and so thousands of workers were made unemployed and were out of work.

however, the thing was because i was so young at the time, alas i was born on february 3rd 1981, there were a lot of things going on between 81' and say 87', which were so terrible in the UK and yet i wasn't aware of the seriousness of the problem until i was 15. at 15 i reflected back on what happened and read accounts of the crap people had to endure in the 80s amd understood why it was such a bad period for them, on a personal and social level- more so than culturally and hailing the 80s for the music, fashion etc

but of course you are referred to as 'north americans' by default aren't you?
Are we? Funny you should say that, since I am -- barely -- old enough to remember the days when Canadian passports bore the inscription "A Canadian citizen is a British subject". :)

tv show The A- Team, UK pop producers Stock, Aitken and Waterman, 80s songstress Debbie Gibson, madonna and a nike ad fea. michael jordan and spike lee

Personally I liked the 80's, some great music, tv shows & movies came out of that decade.

Personally I liked the 80's, some great music, tv shows & movies came out of that decade.

they are some of the reasons why the 80s was so fab. in terms of mass entertainment and popular culture, you cannot go wrong and plus, it was and still is miles better than what we have got today. it was and is in many ways a fun and exciting time to grow up in and those tv shows, films, cartoons reflected that

I was born in 1983 so I wouldn't know much about the 80s anyway except from the Back to the Future movies and Everybody Hates Chris

The 80's wasn't all that bad....
I think as far as fashion and hairstyles go, the 60's were absolutely horrible! The cartoons, some of the TV shows were pretty weird back then, too. And was pretty depressing as far as politics and events of that era as well.
But alot of the music from the 60's was awesome!

The decade that gave us AIDS, a bad economy, and the foundation for two major wars. Yeah, I'll say it was a pretty bad decade. I'm the only good thing that came out of it. ;)