The 1980s, often called "the Eighties," was the decade that began on January 1, 1980 and ended on December 31, 1989 and was the ninth decade of the 20th century.
The time period saw social, economic and general change as wealth and production migrated to newly industrializing economies. As economic liberalization increased in the developed world, multiple multinational corporations associated with the manufacturing industry relocated into Thailand, Malaysia, Mexico, South Korea, Taiwan, China, and new market economies in Eastern Europe following the collapse of communism in eastern Europe. Japan and West Germany are the most notable developed countries that continued to enjoy rapid economic growth during the decade whilst other developed nations, particularly the United States and United Kingdom re-adopted laissez-faire economic policies.
Developing countries across the world faced economic and social difficulties as they suffered from multiple debt crises in the 1980s, requiring many of these countries to apply for financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Ethiopia witnessed widespread famine in the mid-1980s, resulting in the country having to depend on foreign aid to provide food to its population and worldwide efforts to address and raise money to help Ethiopians, such as the famous Live Aid concert in 1985.
Major civil discontent and violence occurred in the Middle East, including the Iran-Iraq War, the ongoing Soviet-Afghan War, the 1982 Lebanon War, the Bombing of Libya in 1986, and the First Intifada in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.
In the eastern world, hostility to authoritarianism and the failing command economies of communist states resulted in a wave of reformist policies by communist regimes such as the policies of perestroika and glasnost in the Soviet Union, along with the overthrows and attempted overthrows of a number of communist regimes, such as in Poland, Hungary, the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989 in China, the Czechoslovak "Velvet Revolution", and the overthrow of the Nicolae Ceauşescu regime in Romania and other communist Warsaw Pact states in Central and Eastern Europe. It came to be called the late 1980s' "purple passage of the autumn of nations". By 1989, with the disintegration of the Warsaw Pact, the Soviet Union announced the abandonment of political hostility toward the western world and, thus, the Cold War ended. These changes continued to be felt in the 1990s and into the 21st century.
=================
ANOS 80: Os anos 80 são conhecidos como a década da música eletrônica. Nesta época, o New Wave e o Synthpop se tornam os gêneros musicais mais vendáveis e populares, assim como toda a estrutura da Dance Music. Surge a MTV e o hip hop; advento da música eletrônica nas pistas de dança e as primeiras raves. Foi nos anos 80 que surgiu a vertente da música que mais deu origem à variantes, a House music. Inspirada em experimentações sobre batidos dos anos 70, principalmente a disco music, teve como principais representante: Bomb the bass, S'express, gino latino, coldcut entre outros mais.
No Brasil foi lançado o primeiro Rock in Rio (1985). As rádios apostam nos sucessos musicais desta década, editoras lançam coletâneas, e DJs abrem mão dos sucessos atuais para se especializar em "festas dos anos 80" (como é o caso de DJ Mind (Zé Luis), entre outros). Consolidavam-se o estilo musical da MPB, ou música popular brasileira (surgido na segunda metade da década de 60), e as bandas de música pop e de rock and roll, como Legião Urbana, Ultraje a rigor, Engenheiros do Hawaii, Titãs, RPM, Claudio Zoli (com a banda Brylho e Solo). A MPB consagrou a presença das vozes femininas na música brasileira; entre os fenômenos individuais destacam-se Elba Ramalho, Simone (a maior vendedora de discos desta década, só perdendo para Roberto Carlos), Marina Lima, Maria Bethânia, Zizi Possi, Fafá de Belém, Elis Regina Gal Costa, Rita Lee, Rosana e Joanna. Dentre as vozes masculinas, Caetano Veloso, Chico Buarque, Milton Nascimento, Tom Jobim e Gilberto Gil.
Dentre os artistas internacionais mais carismáticos, destacam-se Michael Jackson, com o álbum Thriller, o mais vendido da história, e que também inventou o videoclipe moderno; a contraparte feminina, Madonna e Cyndi Lauper, um dos principais ícones fashion de todos os tempos; Tina Turner voltou ao mundo da música lançando um novo álbum, Private Dancer, mega sucesso que a consagrou como rainha do pop, além de apresentações eletrizantes ao redor do mundo. Outros cantores que se destacam nessa década são Kylie Minogue, Janet Jackson, Boy George, Lionel Richie, David Bowie, Whitney Houston, Paula Abdul, Prince, Billy Idol, Bruce Springsteen, Laura Branigan, entre outros.
Fonte: http://pt.wikipedia.org/wik...