Popular Nostalgia

The Peace Sign was really popular in the 90′s in fashion, art and politics. Swampy was cool for stopping roadworks and he had dreadlocks and lived in a tree. Tie-dyed clothing was also cool. Waistcoats and Take That went hand in hand with having a peace sign on your T-shirt, around your neck or on [...]

Mighty Max was an off-shoot of the Polly Pocket toy line and was aimed at boys. The plastic playsets are now worth a fortune to collectors as some of the pieces are so rare. The “Doom Heads” amongst other toys, sparked a trend for including a playset inside the head of a character. An animated [...]

Polly Pocket was pure nineties. The only thing I remember about them was the adverts, even though I had a toy myself. There was a little box which opened up to reveal Polly and her little house. You could take the game anywhere with you and buy bits to add to it. There’s a new [...]

Crop tops were a fashion accessory of the early nineties and went hand in hand with lime green shirts, jelly shoes and shag bands. There was something on the news about a girl getting a kidney infection because her crop top didn’t keep her warm enough. Dads made comments about needing woolly jumpers and Julia [...]

Snow White was the first full length animated feature to be produced by Walt Disney, and the first American animated feature film in movie history. If you’re in any doubt about how a woman should behave, check out the Disney 1930′s idea of female etiquette. It’s brilliant. Move like a ballerina and clean as though [...]

He doesn’t talk, he loves his teddy and lives alone, but Mr Bean is a force to be reckoned with. Broadcast from 1990 – 1996, the TV shows were immensely popular with Rowan Atkinson playing a childlike, slightly alien man. Everyday tasks turn into disaster – from shopping to decorating. The character was a massive [...]

The old love story between Curly and Laurey is set in frontier America with farmers and cowboys aplenty. There are frequent songs as the film follows the musical faithfully and catered to audiences used to the format. The songs were released on LP in several volumes and have since become rare collectors’ items. The title [...]

The 1984 “A Christmas Carol” was a television movie adaptation of Charles Dickens’ 1843 novella. Directed by Clive Donner, staring George C. Scott as Ebenezer Scrooge. Filmed on location in Shrewsbury, England. Originally aired on December 17, 1984. Scott was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or a Special [...]

The McCallister family are late for their holiday and rush to the airport. Big Sis counts the family wrongly and they leave behind eight-year-old Kevin who is still sleeping. The night before, Kevin had an argument with his older brother and wished his family would just go away. He thinks it has come true when [...]

“Jingle Bell Rock” was first released in 1957 and was played in the “Rockabilly” style rather than Rock and Roll. Bobby Helms released several recordings of the track and it was covered by Bill Haley & His Comet. Some of you may remember the Muppets version played by “Electric Mayhem” – the Muppets’ band with [...]

The CBS executives hated this feature when they saw it because it had readings from the Bible, jazz and children’s voices, but it was a hit. Linus recites a reading from the Gospel of Luke (whilst carrying his blanket) under a spotlight and we all know what we forgot over the last two weeks: Charlie [...]

A Muppet Family Christmas is a 1987 Christmas television special starring Jim Henson’s Muppets. Fozzie Bear’s mother thinks she has it all worked out for Christmas. She is going to California for the holidays and is renting out her home to the quiet and unassuming Doc. Until Fozzie comes home bringing all of his Muppet [...]

Vaughn Wilton Monroe was born October 7, 1911 and showed an early talent for the trumpet. He wanted to be an opera singer, but the Depression made that ambition impractical. Instead, he sang with several bands, among them Austin Wylie (who later worked for Artie Shaw), Larry Funk (for which he made his recording debut), [...]

Released in December 1994, this song reached number 1 in several countries although it lost out to East 17′s “Stay Another Day” in the UK. It sold eight million copies and was belted out by many a hen-night up and down the land. In December 2006 “All I Want for Christmas Is You” became the [...]

Johnny Mathis had to choose between becoming an Olympic athlete and starting his recording career after both opportunities came along at once. He stuck with the latter and became a record breaking success, nicknamed the “velvet voice”, yet his athletic records still remain at San Francisco State University. This track has to be the cheesiest [...]