For the record: Events that shaped our lives in 1988

KYLIE Minogue and INXS ruled the airwaves and “bum bags” were in fashion. But they’re not the only reason 1988 was a year for the record books.

IT was the year a World Expo came to Australia. Kylie Minogue and INXS ruled the airwaves and Hollywood actor Meryl Streep brought Lindy Chamberlain’s story to the big screen.

Now, 30 years on, an extract from Steve Woods’ new book provides a definitive collection of local pop culture.

Step back in time and remember the key events and soundtrack of 1988.

HOW AUSTRALIA CELEBRATED THE BICENTENARY IN 1988

ADS YOU’D NEVER GET AWAY WITH NOW

IN PICTURES: MELBOURNE THROUGH THE AGES

Kay Cottee was the first woman to sail solo non-stop around the world. Picture: News Corp

EVENTS 

■ Australia’s $2 coin went into circulation.

■ “Bum bags” became a travel fashion item.

■ The National Tennis Centre opened at Melbourne’s Flinders Park in time for the Australian Open. The first event at the centre was a series of AC/DC concerts (January 11).

■ Kay Cottee, the first woman to sail non-stop and solo around the world, was named Australian of the Year (January 26).

■ Australia celebrated its bicentenary. Prince Charles and Princess Diana joined more than 1.5 million people around Sydney Harbour to watch the re-enactment of the First Fleet landing (January 26).

■ Prince Charles narrowly escaped death in an avalanche on the Swiss Alps. A close friend was only a few metres away and was killed instantly. The prince helped dig his body out (March 10).

■ TV newsreader Jo Pearson was Moomba Monarch (March 14).

The World Expo in 1988.

Fifi the clown at the Expo.

■ Brisbane’s World Expo attracted more than 100,000 people on its first day. More than a million visitors toured the 40ha site over a six-month period.

■ The Queen opened the new $1.5 billion Parliament House in Canberra (May 9).

■ A massive explosion killed more than 150 workers on a North Sea oil rig. It was described by survivors as “like an atomic bomb going off” (July 6).

■ Major Australian highways were blocked by about 1500 trucks protesting high fuel taxes and registration costs (July 15).

■ In Ramstein, West Germany, an Italian aerobatic jet collided mid-air with two other jets, killing 70 people (August 28).

■ After eight years, Lindy and Michael Chamberlain were acquitted of all charges arising from the disappearance of their baby daughter, Azaria, at Uluru in 1980 (September 15).

■ The space shuttle Discovery was successfully launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, 32 months after the Challenger exploded after take-off (September 29).

■ Police constables Steven Tynan and Damian Eyre were ambushed and shot dead in Walsh St, South Yarra (October 12).

■ George Bush was elected the 41st US president (November 8).

■ A Pan Am jumbo jet bound for New York crashed into the Scottish village of Lockerbie, killing 270 people after a bomb hidden in a tape recorder exploded (December 21).

 

AZARIA CHAMBERLAIN’S DEATH IS OUR NATIONAL SHAME

KYLIE MINOGUE’S 50 BEST SONGS

Hawthorn players, including Norm Smith Medallist Gary Ayres (centre), celebrate their VFL flag.

SPORT 

VFL GRAND FINAL

Hawthorn 22.20 (152) def Melbourne 6.20 (56), Melbourne’s first Grand Final in 24 years

NORM SMITH MEDALLIST

Gary Ayres, Hawthorn (for the second time)

WOODEN SPOON

St Kilda

BROWNLOW MEDAL

Gerard Healy, Sydney (20 votes)

MELBOURNE CUP

Empire Rose

AUSTRALIAN OPEN TENNIS

Men’s singles: Mats Wilander def Pat Cash

Women’s singles: Steffi Graf def Chris Evert

OTHER EVENTS

■ Jeff Fenech won the WBC featherweight boxing title, defeating Victor Callejas (March 7).

■ At the Seoul Olympics, Australia won three gold, six silver and five bronze medals. Canadian Ben Johnson won the 100m sprint in a world record 9.79 sec. But after he tested positive for anabolic steroid use, he was disqualified and stripped of his medal. Johnson was later banned from athletics for life. Australian modern pentathlete Alex Watson was sent home because he tested positive to excessive caffeine intake (September 9), but was later cleared.

■ The Australian Formula One Grand Prix was won by Alain Prost, McLaren-Honda.

 

Mary-Anne Fahey as Kylie Mole on The Comedy Company

ENTERTAINMENT 

RADIO & TV

■ TV station ATV10 launched The Comedy Company with Uncle Arthur, Con the Fruiterer and Kylie Mole. It ran for three years.

■ ATV10 kicked off Roseanne.

■ HSV7 ended Romper Room after 25 years.

■ Graham Kennedy returned to GTV9 to host late-night news program Graham Kennedy’s News Show.

■ On HSV7, Home & Away debuted as a 90-minute telemovie.

■ Radio station 3DB became 3TT. The first song played was The Doobie Brothers’ Listen to the Music.

GOLD LOGIE

■ Kylie Minogue (Neighbours)

Paul Hogan as Crocodile Dundee in 1988.

MOVIES

■ Crocodile Dundee II

■ Evil Angels (starring Meryl Streep as Lindy Chamberlain)

■ Big

■ A Fish Called Wanda

■ Cocktail

■ U2: Rattle and Hum

■ Scrooged

■ Beetlejuice

■ Three Men and A Baby

■ Young Einstein

■ Who Framed Roger Rabbit

Meryl Streep brought Lindy Chamberlain’s story to the big screen.

ARIA AWARDS

■ Best Male Artist: John Farnham

■ Best Female Artist: Jenny Morris

■ Best Group: Crowded House

■ Album of the Year: Man Of Colours, Icehouse

■ Single of the Year: Beds Are Burning, Midnight Oil

■ Best New Talent: Weddings Parties Anything

■ Hall of Fame: AC/DC, Vanda & Young, Dame Joan Sutherland, Slim Dusty, Colonel Joye and Johnny O’Keefe

BIGGEST-SELLING SINGLE

(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life, Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes

Kylie Minogue had Australia’s biggestselling single in 1988.

INXS had 1988’s biggest-selling album with Kick. Picture: Bob Barker

BIGGEST-SELLING AUSTRALIAN SINGLE

I Should Be So Lucky, Kylie Minogue

BIGGEST-SELLING ALBUM

Kick, INXS

HIGHS & LOWS

■ Musician Ike Turner was sentenced to one year in jail for transporting and possessing cocaine.

■ Elton John sold his costumes and memorabilia at a Sotheby’s auction in London for $8.2 million.

■ Pink Floyd’s The Dark Side of the Moon album failed to make the US album chart for the first time in 725 weeks (three weeks short of 14 years) on April 30. Pink Floyd toured Australia with tickets costing $42.

■ Mick Jagger toured a solo show across Australia, with Joe Satriani on lead guitar. Tickets were $38.30. James Brown, Guns N’ Roses, Sting, Bros, James Reyne, David Lee Roth, Foreigner, James Taylor, AC/DC, and John Cougar Mellencamp also toured.

■ Jimmy Barnes and half-brother John Swan became Australian citizens (October 19).

■ Bobby McFerrin’s Don’t Worry, Be Happy was Record of the Year at the Grammys and George Michael’s Faith Album of the Year.

 

John Farnham’s Age of Reason was a 1988 hit.

For the Record: Australian Pop Culture, 1964-2017, by Steve Woods.

SOUNDTRACK OF 1988 

■ Beach Boys, Kokomo

■ Belinda Carlisle, Heaven is a Place on Earth

■ Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes, ( I’ve Had) The Time of My Life

■ Bobby McFerrin, Don’t Worry, Be Happy!

■ Cheap Trick, The Flame

■ The Church, Under the Milky Way

■ Crowded House, Better Be Home Soon

■ Daryl Braithwaite, As the Days Go By

■ Elton John, I Don’t Wanna Go on With You Like That

■ Eric Carmen, Hungry Eyes

■ Guns N’ Roses, Sweet Child O’ Mine

■ INXS, Never Tear Us Apart

■ Jimmy Barnes, Driving Wheels

■ John Cougar Mellencamp, Check It Out

■ John Farnham, Age of Reason

■ Kylie Minogue, I Should Be So Lucky

■ Melissa Etheridge, Bring Me Some Water

■ Robert Palmer, Simply Irresistible

■ Terence Trent D’Arby, Sign Your Name

■ The Traveling Wilburys, Handle With Care

■ U2, Desire

 

THE BOOK

— This is an edited extract from For the Record: Australian Pop Culture, 1964-2017, by Steve Woods, RRP $49.95. Buy at selected bookshops or order at fortherecordbook.com.au.