What do you remember from 1988?

You may have heard that 2018 is a special year at Partners HQ, as it officially marks 30 years since our business was launched in 1988! We’ve got plenty in store to help us celebrate our special landmark, including donating 30 free hours of our time and expertise to York Mind and sponsoring the Prosecco bar at the York Charity Beer Festival @YorkBeerFest (1-3 June) - join us for both events if you can!

In the meantime, we couldn’t resist donning our leg warmers and shoulder pads for a trip down memory lane to 1988 to relive some of the year’s biggest events. 

Take a look and see what you remember...

1. The Liberal Democrats are formed as a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP).
2. Celine Dion wins the Eurovision Song Contest for Switzerland with the song ‘Ne partez pas sans moi’.
3. Pop superstar Rihanna is born in Barbados.
4. Top films include Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Big, Beetlejuice and Die Hard.
5. Cher wins an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in Moonlight.
6. Cliff Richard takes Christmas #1 with Mistletoe and Wine.
7. Other chart hits include Doctorin’ the Tardis by The Timelords, Especially for You by Kylie and Jason.
8. On a related note, 20 million UK viewers tune into Scott and Charlene’s fairy-tale wedding in Neighbours.
9. Margaret Thatcher becomes the longest-serving UK prime minister of the century.
10. Comic Relief is launched by Rowan Atkinson, raising £15m for charity in its first year.
11. £1 notes cease to be legal tender.
12. GCSEs replace O-Levels.
13. Paul ‘Gazza’ Gascoigne leaves Newcastle United for Tottenham Hotspur.
14. New licensing laws allow pubs to stay open all day in England and Wales.
15. Health Minister Edwina Currie provokes outrage by stating that most of Britain's egg production is infected with the salmonella bacteria.
16. Hello! Magazine is launched in the UK.
17. Space comedy Red Dwarf debuts on BBC2.
18. Shooting begins on Bond film ‘License to Kill’
19. The bestselling toy at Christmas is the iconic Ghostbusters’ proton pack.
20. Sega Mega Drive is launched in Japan.
21. Mike Tyson TKOs Larry Holmes in four for the heavyweight boxing title.
22. The Education Reform Act of 1988 establishes a National Curriculum for England, Wales and Northern Ireland. 
23. The Pulitzer prize awarded to Toni Morrison for her novel ‘Beloved’.
24. The 15^th Winter Olympic Games is held in Calgary, the first time in Olympic history that alpine events are held on artificial snow.
25. Phantom of the Opera opens at the Majestic Theatre on Broadway and runs for 4,000+ performances.
26. The last episode of Crossroads is broadcast on British TV.
27. Children’s cartoon character Count Duckula, voiced by Sir David Jason, makes his debut on ITV.
28. George H. W. Bush defeats Michal Dukakis to take over from Ronald Reagan as President of the United States.
29. Partners’ Senior PR Exec Leanne is born in County Durham.
30. Partners PR starts life in York!