REMEMBER: DECEMBER 1980

The Yamaha RD350LC is born: This legendary machine first rolled off the production lines in June 1980, and many people regard it as the machine that was responsible for the re-birth of the two-stroke motor. This Race Developed liquid-cooled machine managed to establish a truly global fan base up until production ceased in 1995, and good examples are now considered very collectable.

John Lennon Assassinated: At the age of forty, the former Beatles m:ember had gained worldwide fame as a solo artist as well as for his political activism and pacifism. Mark David Chapman shot him dead as he returned from Record Plant Studio with his wife Yoko Ono in the archway of the famous Dakota building, where he lived in New York City, on Monday 8th December 1980. He was pronounced dead on arrival at the Roosevelt Hospital. Minutes after the local news stations reported Lennon’s death to the world, large crowds began to gather at Roosevelt Hospital and in front of the Dakota building. The album he released shortly before his death was named Double Fantasy, which is the national flower of Bermuda.

The Top 5 singles in Great Britain: 1: Abba, Super Trouper; 2: St Winifred’s School Choir, There’s No One Quite Like Grandma; 3: Jona Lewie, Stop The Cavalry; 4: Madness, Embarrassment; 5: The Boomtown Rats, Banana Republic.

The Top 5 singles in USA: 1: Neil Diamond, Love On The Rocks; 2: Barbra Streisand, Guilty; 3: Kenny Rogers, Lady; 4: John Lennon, (Just Like) Starting Over; 5: Queen, Another One Bites The Dust.

Best Selling Car 1980: The Ford Escort – Introduced in 1969 the Escort had been a slow seller in the showrooms at first, but in 1980 it was the one to have. Total sales of the car were 1,607,999, with the XR and RS models the most sought after. The eighties witnessed two generations of the Ford Escort. The front-wheel drive Mk3 version was introduced in 1980 followed by its facelifted replacement, the Mk4 in 1986. The ‘hot ‘model to own though was the RS1600i.