The time was the Eighties, the place was The City of London, which acted as the focal point, and sometimes the catalyst, for everything that was happening at that time, and for many it was the defining decade of that century.

To understand the Eighties, one must first appreciate that the post war years austerity carried on into the mid 1950’s, and although this eventually gave way to the swinging sixties, it was during this time National Service was introduced, in 1948 and only ending in 1963, but more importantly, there were still plenty of conflicts going on to warrant it.

The price for the Sixties, was what was to come in the 70’s, which eventually culminated in the “Winter of Discontent” of 1978/1979, after the country had been held to ransom by the National Union of Miners, which had forced the 3-day week on almost everyone, just to conserve electricity.

These were tough times indeed, strikes, shortages and discontent were rife, but it was always a lot more than just this, as underlying it all was the them and us, the upstairs/downstairs of the British mentality, that had been forged over the previous centuries.

Into this maelstrom Maggie Thatcher was swept to power in May 1979, and embarked on a very un-British series of radical reforms, and, not that anybody knew it at the time, would also radically reform the British psyche.

The most pressing of which was economic, with inflation running at 10% and growth negligible, she did away with Keynesian policy and embraced Monetarism.

This forced interest rates up to 17% and made the Pound catapult up on the foreign exchange markets.

So much so, that by the end of the Eighties, Britain would become a net importer of goods for the first time ever in its history, a real sea-change for the “work-horse of the world”.

It is probably very difficult for anyone born this century to believe it is possible to have interest rates of 17%, let alone what that actually means.

The equivalent would be something like applying credit card rates of interest to your mortgage, so the effect was not just dramatic it was also seriously significant.

In 1979 unemployment was touching 1.5m, which was already a huge increase on the average of just 300,000 in the 60’s.

So, the Eighties were born into a world of economic chaos, a titanic but uniquely British class battle, that had unprecedented, and still growing, levels of unemployment, interest rates and exchange rates.

This came with a naturally high level of dissatisfaction, and riots were not uncommon, and, in fact, many picket lines actually resembled a riot.

Also, radical reform, although ultimately proving correct and successful, at that time had a great many detractors, and the Conservative party at one stage were the lowest ever rated governing party in a mid-term poll.

Therefore, and this may come as bit of a surprise, that from 1979 onwards the All-Share index hardly ever took a step backwards.

The more common benchmark today, the FTSE-100, was still a few years away from conception, so this was the yardstick by which the economy was measured.

And, in fact, what held true then still holds true today, that a countries benchmark index (the All-Share) was a direct reflection on the expectations of that country’s economy, and therefore, potential future economic wellbeing.

The All-Share index in 1979 stood at 300-points, and by 1982/1983 it had reached 500-points, an almost 70% increase.

Therefore, to put this in perspective, it is worth pointing out that 70% in just 3 years is the equivalent of taking the FTSE 100 at the end of 2016, when it was 7142.83, and seeing it grow to 12142.81 by end 2019.

Considering it ended 2018 at 6728.13 it still has a lot to do, and economically the circumstances couldn’t be more different, albeit 40 years apart.

And, into the middle of all this, was thrown the Falklands War, in 1982.

A very blatant attempt to take advantage of all the malcontent, disruption and perceived political weakness at home, that backfired magnificently, as it not only united the nation but empowered a feeling of self-belief and perseverance that swept the Conservatives to a second term in office.

The turbulent economic times were far from over, but that very same year saw unemployment peak at over 3m, or 12.5% of the workforce, and although interest rates were a continual rollercoaster, by being empowered to carry on what they had started, which by now many could see it was beginning to work, the All-Share continued its meteoric rise, hitting 1250-points before the infamous crash of 1987.

Of course, no mention of the Eighties, would be complete without mentioning the music, and the soundtrack of this decade was rich, varied, ground-breaking and almost every hit has stood the test of time.

Far too many to mention them all, but at the start we had Abba’s Super Trouper, Blondie’s The Tide is High and Dexy’s Midnight Runners Geno to set the mood.

But Adam and the Ants with Prince Charming and Stand and Deliver were just around the corner, Ultavox’s Vienna, Soft Cell’s Tainted Love and with Michael Jackson the beats just kept coming.

By 1982 it was the turn of the power ballads with Irene Cara’s Fame, Dexy’s Come on Eileen and Survivor’s Eye of the Tiger, followed later by Bonnie Tyler’s Total Eclipse of the Heart, Jennifer Rush’s The Power of Love and Foreigner’s I Want to Know What Love Is.

We embraced Billy Joel (Uptown Girl), Madonna (Papa Don’t Preach), Diana Ross (Chain Reaction) and Kylie Minogue (I Should Be So Lucky).

The hits just never stopped as it was the era of The Jam, Culture Club, UB 40, David Bowie, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, George Michael as well as Wham, just to name a few.

However, perhaps the defining moment of the decade was Band Aid, and those familiar with those who performed, will notice that the likes of Queen and Phil Collins are missing from those mentioned above, as the competition for top slot was so fierce that the overall strength and depth of the music means that just the hits alone do not do justice to how great it was.

But, if you thought it was just the economic reforms and music that were radical and terraforming, then the inventions of the 80’s took it all to another level.

It started off with the Walk Man, which not only brought us portable music but, and rather neatly, introduced the industrial behemoth Japan to everyone.

Followed very closely by IBM’s 5150, the first ever Personal Computer.

However, within a few years Windows was a thing, Microsoft was incorporated and Apple launched the Macintosh, which introduced the “mouse” to the world.

We saw the invention of CD’s, for music and data, that meant the CD Player was possible, and which consigned both the “floppy” and cassettes to the bottom drawer.

MTV was first aired, and so the music video became much more of a thing, in fact, an industry in itself.

In 1983 not only was the Camcorder released but also the first ever Cell Phone.

This was also the decade that saw cigarettes become bad for you, and coincidence or not, in 1982 there was the first ever heart transplant.

And, very importantly, Alec Jeffreys discovered DNA Testing, now universally feared by criminals but beloved by many a cop show.

Back in 1981 the Space Shuttle Columbia flew for the first time, and later on we were introduced to the DeLorean, which in a way also flew.

The Berlin Wall came down, the Game Boy and Prozac hit the shelves, along with other such life changing inventions such as the Digital Answering Machine and Electronic Typewriter, although understandably these last two may not seem so ground-breaking, but they certainly were if you had lived prior to their existence.

All in all, it truly was a most remarkable decade, and not only was it a painful break from the past it was also the blueprint for the future, which is perhaps why so many of the things mentioned above are as applicable and recognisable today as they were back then.

And, so it is into this decade that “Bang, Wallop, Crash” is set, concentrating specifically on 1986 and 1987, and hopefully understanding the background to this story this will greatly enhance your enjoyment of it.

If the Eighties defined the next 30 years, then 1986 and 1987 defined the 80’s.