Here we are. Highlights of May 1986 include Joe Johnson, Snooker Legend ™, as the lad from Bradford took on and defeated Steve Davis in the World Championships at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield. At the start of the championships, Johnson was a 150-1 outsider.
Of course, there’s further eighties nostalgia, interspersed with personal and cultural reflections. From my struggle with contact lenses on a sunny day and the receipt of a sixth form admission letter, anticipating the ease of meeting its requirements.
The narrative weaves through the final days of school, highlighting my, ahem, academic endeavour in languages and science, and personal interests such as TV shows like Auf Wiedersehen, Pet. Yes, it was still going ?
In addition to the snooker, other significant sports events, including the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final, Liverpool’s football achievements are remembered (some more vividly than others) alongside my anticipation of the 1986 World Cup.
I also touch on teenage social life, personal ambitions, and the quintessential 1980s music scene, culminating in a portrayal of the bittersweet moments of growing up, academic pressures, and the joys and challenges of teenage life.
Thursday 1 May 1986
A “lovely day today – very sunny all day.”
Not perhaps the best of days for me as I wore contacts and due to being a teenager, their cleaning and general all-round care left something to be desired. So sunny days caused me to squint and generally pull some spectacular gurns.
I received a letter from Sixth Form telling me that I had a place in September and setting out their entrance requirements. Just the five ‘O’ Levels – well within my capabilities. It was a mate’s birthday tomorrow and although I report that a couple of other chums had “something ready” I don’t recall that anything did happen.
Friday 2 May 1986
“One week to go,” I noted.
Looking back from now as I write this, it’s hard to understand just how momentous it actually was, this leaving school lark. At the time, getting up and trundling off to school was an activity that I had done for around eleven years out of my sixteen. That’s a big chunk I think that you’ll agree.
Anyway, that’s enough of that kind of thing. Today we did some German (talking not writing) work today. I reckoned it was harder than French – “can see a better French mark than German” – didn’t happen, I got a B for German and a C for French. “Chemistry was as usual very boring – Teacher is crap.” Oh my, aren’t you the pithy one?!
In the evening, Auf Wiedersehen, Pet continued to be “brilliant.” That’s “bloody marvellous”, “just magic” and “grate” over the past few weeks. Wow – I could be Clement and La Frenais’ tame reviewer…
Saturday 3 May 1986
This was a very big day for sport.
In the Rugby League Challenge Cup Final from Wembley, Castleford defeated Hull KR by fifteen points to fourteen in a closely contested match.
Across London in the Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Kenneth Mathieson Dalglish scored the only goal of the game as Liverpool won their sixteenth First Division title. In an echo of Wednesday night’s entry, this was “Brill. Ace. Magic.”
In his first season as player-manager, Dalglish himself had set his team up for the classic ‘Double’ of League and FA Cup in the same season. The FA Cup Final was a week away.
In Division Two, Shrewsbury Town beat Middlesbrough 2-1 – a result that saw Boro go down to the Third Division and Shrewsbury stay up. They managed to maintain their place in the Second Division until 1988-89 when they completed a West Midlands relegation trio with Birmingham and Walsall. Try saying that without your teeth in…
Sunday 4 May 1986
Now don’t let this shock you, but way back in the 1980s, I was a mad snooker fan. Huge.
It was just the best thing to spend an entire afternoon watching the chaps knocking their balls around on their green baize covered slabs of slate. If you could then persuade your mum to let you have your tea in front of the telly, even better. And then of course you had the evening session to watch. Great stuff!
But then Stephen Hendry came along and really put me off…
But, back to the matter in hand. Today saw the start of the Embassy World Championship Final. No, it wasn’t played in an Embassy, they were the sponsors – a major cigarette brand. Something that snooker had in common with many other sports at the time. The Championships were played at the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield.
After today’s frames, Joe Johnson and Steve ‘Interesting’ Davis were locked together at eight frames each. This was quite an effort from Johnson, the unknown lad from Bradford, as Steve Davis was the big thing in snooker at the time.
Tomorrow being the first May Bank Holiday, the final would be played out to a finish. Doing my bit for Johnson, I wrote “Come on Joe, beat Davis – earn yourself a bit of extra cash.” Never mind the kudos of being World Champion.
Amidst all the excitement re Football League Championships and Rugby League Challenge Cup Finals, not to mention the snooker, I recorded that I had “done no h/wk this weekend.”
Monday 5 May 1986
Bank Holiday.
Just a quick note for today…
Joe Johnson won the World Snooker Championship by eighteen frames to twelve. His prize – £70,000, but much more than that, he was now snooker immortal. As I noted, “he buried Davis, absolutely thrashed him.”
Oh, yes, just the four days left at school now…
Tuesday 6 May 1986
Back to school today, for what it’s worth, after the extended weekend.
Our usual, harridan of a Chemistry teacher wasn’t there today so consequently the lesson “was even more of a doss (sic).”
In technology news, Theo broke Joel’s calculator. Now, considering that at one stage we’d been having calculator wars – who can get the machine with the most scientific functions, or built in constants, e.g., Planck’s Constant (6.626068 × 10-34 m2 kg/s), which is used to calculate the sizes of quanta in quantum mechanics – this was quite a faux pas.
The fact that such calculators were not terribly useful for your average ‘O’ Level Physics student, never mind Chemistry student, was lost on us boys (as always!). I finished up with a Casio fx570 – not bad, but not the winner either…
I also had an(other) argument with Arthur. I described it as “brill” and that’s probably because I won.
“3 days to go…”
Wednesday 7 May 1986
“English Aural exam AM 9:45 and 10:45.”
Can’t remember exactly what it was about – although “[the] blasted tape was distorted to crap,” and “[It was a] shock to see 1986 on [the] front of [the] paper.”
I guess that this was a reference to all the past papers that we had seen recently. Those had been just for practice; this was for real.
I also made a resolution to revise on those mornings when I wasn’t at school, as it was “too hard to revise at night – I forget it.” Whether my reference was to forgetting to do the revision… or forgetting what I had revised is another matter!
Thursday 8 May 1986
My penultimate day in compulsory education! (See, it was worth it because I know that penultimate means last but one. Ha!)
By the sound of things, my quitting school wasn’t total though, as I noted that I now had to go in for Geography as well as Chemistry and Physics. We played cricket for school this evening, against one of the town schools. We won the game, and I reported that they werex “crap.”
And, in other news, I sent off for the Radio Times FIFA World Cup wall chart. Living. On. The. Edge.
Friday 9 May 1986
Here’s the full entry for today…
“Last day at [school]. Finished! No more [school]. Yes, it’s true, we have finished regular school… Revision must now become more concentrated – only 3 weeks till they start properly.”
So, the most momentous occasion in my life to date passes and I can barely remember a single thing about it. There was no writing on each other’s shirts, and nobody set off the fire alarm. No sir, these things did not happen.
Saturday 10 May 1986
So that was it then? Eleven years of compulsory formal education over.
What’s next, some revision for those impending ‘O’ Levels? Nah! That can wait, today is the day of the FA Cup Final. And it’s a Merseyside Derby, the first ever in the FA Cup Final.
The two best teams in the league were facing up in the final showdown. Liverpool crowned Champions just a week earlier were trying to become only the fourth team to win the League and FA Cup double, following on from Preston North End (1888), Spurs (1961) and Arsenal (1971). Everton, on the other hand, were trying to ensure that their season which promised so much didn’t end trophyless.
In the first half, Gary Lineker gave Everton the lead with a trademark cool finish after Grobbelaar had partly blocked his first effort. However, as they had done on so many occasions recently, Liverpool were to find that extra gear in the second half to step up and win the game 3-1.
Ian Rush bagged a brace whilst Craig Johnstone became the first Australian to score in an FA Cup final. So that was it, Liverpool did become only the fourth team ever to win the prestigious League and FA Cup ‘Double’.
This was back in the day when both ITV and BBC would start their Cup Final coverage at something like three a.m. in the morning in a bid to capture the larger share of viewers. Each year they would attempt to outdo each other in terms of who can get a camera inside the manager’s teapot at breakfast in the team’s hotel or whatever.
And did we watch it on ITV? Did we bollocks!
Sunday 11 May 1986
Oh dear. Back in the old routine… you mean you don’t remember? Let me quote you, “What a boring day.”
Anyway, enough of this nonsense already. I also committed to paper one of those age-old studenty things. Yep, you guessed it, I was preparing to sacrifice some exams for others that I either thought would be easier, or more use to me if I passed them. And, no, I never did learn.
So, I had decided to revise hard for Maths, Physics and Geography. I only needed five ‘O’ Levels to get into Sixth Form, and as I already had English Literature in the bag and reckoned that the Language component didn’t need any revision, that was me sorted.
I did still plan to revise for German, French and Chemistry, but “not as intensively as the others.”
Monday 12 May 1986
My first official day of freedom. Taken up with… erm, going to school?!
I went in for some Geography, map reading practice. And yes, before you ask, there were some girls in the class – I don’t know how they got on in the exam, but suffice to say, it’s a good job there was no folding or re-folding of the map involved… (that’s enough, Ed.)
I did some German [speaking] revision too and that was about it. Oh, and a note on the sure and certain promise of some fun tomorrow – Chemistry.
Tuesday 13 May 1986
I must have been in a very philosophical mood today.
I start with my usual complaint, “boring,” but then ask if life is so short, why are so days so boring… not an unreasonable question to ask, one supposes. However, this was missing the point, as I did so often as a teenager. That is, the only reason that it’s so “boring” is because I must’ve made it so.
What was I choosing to do? Wait for a good television programme, or for one of my friends to suggest something ‘interesting’ to do as often as not. As the old BBC TV programme went, Why Don’t You… – this should have applied to my life in general, not just the odd half an hour on a wet morning in the school holidays. Pah!
Anyway, enough of this philosophising, what did I do today…? Well, it was off to school for some Chemistry revision (I thought I’d finished school?) In quite a departure, I resolved not to go again! Hey hey, some taking control at last? Don’t count on it.
Tomorrow promised a full day of Physics revision.
Wednesday 14 May 1986
As promised yesterday, today was a day chock full of Physics-y goodness. With a side serving of Geography thrown in for good measure. And more use of the “b-” word. Tut tut.
Thursday 15 May 1986
Another exam today. This time, German Reading at 12:15 p.m. It was “no sweat.” Getting into the swing of things; getting the hang of this methinks…
However, in other news, the rest of the day was “totally and utterly boring…”
Friday 16 May 1986
Another exam, another German exam to be accurate.
This is the one that could sound like a sex romp in the Black Forest. So, I’ll say, German [speaking] at 3:15 p.m. OK? You get the point.
I had no more of these [speaking] exams to do, for at least two years as I noted. Although in actual fact for ever, as I took neither French or German to ‘A’ Level.
We played football in the evening, in the [playing] field. It was a great game – my team won 20-18. Somehow, I managed to conclude that we “thrashed the balls of (sic) ’em.”
Saturday 17 May 1986
The usual post-football season blues settled on me today.
However, hope was at hand this year, as it was a World Cup year and Mexico 86 was to prove memorable in the extreme… more later (from 31 May to 29 Jun to be precise).
Today was a grey day, with rain. A real pity after yesterday’s brilliant sunshine. I did some Chemistry revision and listened to a tape by The Alarm. As I remember, the accusation went that they were a bit of a poor man’s U2, but I loved ’em.
I also made a confession that I still fancied this girl. Just between you and me Dear Diary! (It never did come to anything – maybe because I never asked her out at any stage, or in any shape or form… or maybe not.)
Sunday 18 May 1986
The weather was much better today – this is what we want!
As far as revising FOR MY O LEVELS went, I did absolutely nothing today. Just went out to play football. In the way of us young men, we kicked lumps out of each other – there is no record of the score, but I did note that “I’m black and blue.”
Monday 19 May 1986
My/our new record player came today.
I say my/our new record player because as was the way of these things, it was possibly a joint purchase with my brother. I was quite big into records; you know, I probably bought a couple of singles every month.
My brother on the other hand spent his cash on looking flash… but he was quite happy to play my records, so I thought that at least he should put towards the record player. I can’t remember whether he did though…
Otherwise, it was a nice day, and I didn’t go to school. I did, however, do some Physics and Chemistry revision, play some football, and generally live the life of the young dandy. I did do some forward planning – noting that I would revise Geography tomorrow, and somehow still managed to find some time to be… “bored!”
Tuesday 20 May 1986
There was supposed to be a game of cricket today for SportAid. But it rained. In Birmingham. (Well, what did they expect…?!)
At home, we enjoyed some fine weather – and not a million miles from Birmingham either. Tsk tsk, the vagaries of the British weather. I must have done some revision, although I don’t make it clear in my diary.
Tomorrow, I noted, I had to go to school for an English exam in the a.m., followed by some Physics revision in the p.m.
Wednesday 21 May 1986
So, another day, another exam.
English in the morning to be precise, and, what’s more, it was “pretty easy”. After a game of football at lunchtime, which our side lost about 20-6, we settled down to a session of Physics revision.
Thursday 22 May 1986
A “pretty crap day. Boring – no one to play football with.”
I noted my intention to go into town tomorrow, and I stayed up until half an hour to eleven making Chemistry revision notes. Hard to believe, huh?
Friday 23 May 1986
“Today was nearly nice – at least it didn’t rain.”
As I had promised myself yesterday, I went to town. I bought myself the Mr Mister album on vinyl, Welcome To The Real World. It contained such rare delights as Kyrie and Broken Dreams.
I also made further reference to my dream girl – you know the one that I couldn’t bring myself to ask out or anything like…
Any younger readers may be interested to learn that back in the olden days (even before CDs), you had a choice between vinyl (a plastic thing, usually in black, with a groove in it, known as a ‘record’) or tape (a small plastic thing, with a moving piece of tape wound on two spools that you put in your tape player.)
In general, I didn’t have that much luck with LPs on vinyl I have to say. It scratched far too easily for me, so I preferred to buy tapes. But we’d just invested in a record player, so I thought, ‘What the heck?’
Saturday 24 May 1986
Today was a lovely spring/summer day.
England were beaten in the cricket by India. I think that it must have been a one-dayer. I didn’t note where it was played.
However, by the magic of the internet, I can reveal that The Oval was the venue for this first ODI in the Texaco Trophy. India hammered England by 9 wickets, surpassing England’s total with forty-six balls to spare. That’s seven-and-a-bit overs in a fifty-five overs match. After Kris Srikkanth had been caught behind off the first ball of their reply, Sunil Gavaskar and Mohammad Azharuddin scored an unbeaten 163 partnership.
In other sports news, I boldly predicted that France would win the World Cup in Mexico and that Brazil would be runners-up. England, I gloomily wrote, “nowhere.”
For what happened in actual fact, have a look at my entries for Sunday 22 June and Sunday 29 June.
Sunday 25 May 1986
As they continued their warmup for the World Cup, England had played Canada the previous evening.
My recollection is that England were poor but won the game 1-0. The big news was, however, that England’s rapier thrust had been blunted as Gary Lineker sprained his wrist. Would he or wouldn’t he be fit for the important action that was due to start in only a week or so?
Today was also the day of SportAid. You were supposed to do the run, at one of the designated places if you could, or on your own if you couldn’t. It was a spin-off from Live Aid and Bob Geldof was predictably voluble about the cause. However, I didn’t run, citing the fact that I was unfit! What, a sixteen-year-old lad, who does a good two miles on his bike every day, not fit? Pah! Too bloody lazy more like.
Monday 26 May 1986
Bank Holiday.
Today was predictably, “boring.”
England defeated India in the second one-day international – “no joke, they really did!” In the match, played at Old Trafford, David Gower’s knock of eighty-one anchored his side’s response to a decent Indian total of 254 for 6. India won the two-match series despite the match score of 1-1 due to their faster scoring rate over the two matches.
There was a documentary on TV about Kenny Dalglish that I watched, and that was about it.
No record of any revision – why should I devote my Bank Holiday to such a mundane task?
Tuesday 27 May 1986
I went into school today.
More Physics – apparently, we hadn’t quite finished all the work that it was possible to be examined on! Silly Mr Crawley, he must’ve known that all we wanted to do was to finish school, not still be coming in weeks after the original end date… Tsk and indeed tsk.
More football in the playing field this evening too. What a fun life! (If only I was sixteen again, I know I’d do things differently… as if!)
Wednesday 28 May 1986
A “coldish” day today. And “it also rained quite a bit.”
In our own World Cup warm-up, we played football.
We (probably Dad and I) went out this evening, to the Royal Oak, for a drink (non-alcoholic of course, I was only sixteen) and returned home with a Chinese takeaway. Thus started my long association with (not) drinking and takeaway food!
No note of revision, but I must surely have done some. Surely? My first exam, proper, was only five days away, next Monday.
Thursday 29 May 1986
Today I had one of those potentially history changing moments.
Yes, I spilt my tea on my desk. As tea does when you spill it, it went absolutely everywhere. My diary was on my desk, and I very nearly lost it.
There were only three days to go now until Mexico 86, and I couldn’t wait. My thoughts turned again to my dream girl, “Bloody Hell, I fancy Hayley – sexiest thing this side of the nude on the wall.” The nude was actually a scantily clad young lady, one of those Athena posters that so characterise the eighties. She had one thing in common with Hayley and one difference.
The difference was that she was a poster, whilst Hayley was real flesh and blood. Their commonality? Well, there was no chance for me with either! This was brought home to me on 18 October when I saw Hayley out with her boyfriend. I scribbled something not terribly nice about her in my diary on today’s page – a classic example of wallowing in self-pity at which I was particularly adept. It’s so bloody self-defeating because it’s not as if I’d ever asked her out.
Friday 30 May 1986
I don’t recall why exactly, but today was a funny day. Dad and I finished building a bunker in the back garden (for coal you dimwit, there was no war going on at the time!)
I also took the dog for a walk and noted that the World Cup was going to start tomorrow. “31 days of pure football,” I wrote, although looking back now, it was only twenty-nine.
I went to bed at ten to one, having watched a programme about the summer of 1966. Apparently, something happened that year that hasn’t happened again since…
Saturday 31 May 1986
And we’re off. Italy and Bulgaria got the World Cup underway with a 1-1 draw at the Estadio Cuauhtémoc in Puebla.
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No doubt Motty was getting over-excited at the thought of all of those Bulgarian players, whose names ended in ‘-ov’ (that’s all of them).
In other news, and this is quite some other news, I had my hair permed (at the back only – you know the style, Mullets R Us). Mum did it for me and she did a pretty good job. However, it was to be sorely tested on the Monday following (2 June), and by the end of September, it had found its way onto the barber shop floor… quite right too!