To celebrate the re-release of one of the 80s most loved cartoons, THE CARE BEARS MOVIE, we are excited to have two copies of the special 2-Disc Limited Collector’s Edition Mediabook to give away!

High above, where the clouds and the stars live, the Care Bears watch over the good on earth. One day, they witness the sorcerer’s apprentice Nicholas accidentally freeing an evil spirit who puts a curse on him. With the boy’s aid, the ghost plots to turn people’s love into hate. The Care Bears team up with their friends from the Emotional Forest and orphans Kim and Jason to break the spell. Because to save the world, you need a good portion of love…

Featuring songs by Carole King and John Sebastian, this exciting journey into another world is sure to delight young and old. This special release features a Mediabook with the film in Full HD, available on Blu-ray and DVD, as well as a special 24-page booklet, so you’ll be sure to want to get your hands on it.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning a copy is to repost ANY of our Social Media posts.  They are all linked below, and the more you share the more entries you get into the draw.

Links to all the posts:

Twitter / X – https://x.com/80sNostalgia/

Threads – https://www.threads.net/@80snostalgia/

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/80snostalgia/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/p/80snostalgia

If you share all 4 posts you get 4 entries into the draw.

THE CARE BEARS MOVIE’s 2-Disc Limited Collector’s Edition Mediabook is available now – order your copy by clicking here!

T&C’s

Terms & Conditions
• No cash alternative to the prizes will be offered.
• The prizes are not transferable.
• Prizes are subject to availability, and we reserve the right to substitute any prize with another of equivalent value without giving notice.
• UK residents only
• Competition closes December 31 2023

You’re putting on a big Manchester United charity event at Hotel Football in Manchester.  Tell me about the background to this and can you share what will be happening on the night?

I’m raising money for the NHS Salford Royal Hospital, because I had a really bad car accident last year and I had quite bad injuries including some life changing ones.  When I worked out how much I have had spent on me, it was probably around 150K.  I’m really in debt to them and so I have organized the Manchester United Legends Dinner and Charity Auction.

There will be a Q&A with a few well known players – I’ve got three football players from the Class of 92, Sammy Mcllroy who’s the last Busby babe and who played with George Best, who is an absolute gentleman and who is someone I know really well, along with Keith Gillespie and Ben Thornley who played with Beckham and Gary Neville.

There is also a three course dinner. Rowetta from the Happy Mondays has also agreed to do the event, which I’m really grateful for, and Ian Etto, who’s a good friend of mine, who recently supported Noel Gallagher.

How do you even start planning an event like this?

I work for the Manchester United Foundation which raises money for underprivileged children in Manchester, so I do know some former players.  That’s really helped because going through their agents you just can’t get in touch with the players. So, obviously, knowing former players who know all players, that really helps! And Manchester United have been amazing to me. They’ve given me loads of nice prizes, including a first team shirt signed by all the players and by the manager from the Foundation. So I’m lucky there, but it is stressful though!

It’s an event for 250 people and it’s already stressing me out! There are so many promoters in Manchester that put on events for thousands of people, and mine is a tiny event for 250 people and I’m already really like…. Aaaargh, it’s crazy!

Have you got like a goal amount you’re looking to raise?

I’d like to raise £10,000 pounds. I’ve got some amazing prizes for the live auction – Ricky Hatton gloves, which he’s personally given me, I’ve got a beautiful signed frame from him from one of his first fights in 2005 at the Manchester Evening News Arena. I’ve got Anthony Corolla gloves, I’ve got RHS Salford prizes, United box seats, and I’ve got a City shirt as well.

I know the event is called a Man United Legends event, but City have given me a full signed men’s shirt which I’m going to get framed and illuminated. You know what these things are like, it’s very difficult to get something signed with all the team on, if you write to any of the foundations for City or Manchester you’ll just get an item with one signature on it, not all of them because, as you can imagine, it’s really difficult to get everyone together.  And the manager also won’t sign the same thing as the players, it’s just usually not done, but the United shirt has been signed by the manager and it comes with a certificate of authenticity from Richard Arnold, the chief executive. So I’m very, very lucky.

Why specifically are you raising money for Salford Royal Hospital?

I had a really bad car accident in April 2022, in Manchester in Tameside, and I came out with very bad injuries.  I had three major operations and I was in the major trauma unit at Salford Royal for two months. It took four surgeons to put me back together. I don’t know if you’ve ever seen one of these but I had a big metal cage, like an external frame, to hold my bone in place. And I’ve got a plate in my hip now for the rest of my life. So I’m very lucky.

I’ve invited all of the surgeons, the doctors and the nurses who worked on me. I’ve given them free tickets to the event to come and celebrate how amazing they are. We owe them. I would have had to come out of hospital and sell my house if I was anywhere else.  The nurses on the ward when I was there did twelve hour shifts, seven till seven, six days a week. I don’t do seven till seven, I do nine to five and that’s draining, and I’m not caring for people who are sick and shouting at them all the time! So we owe so much to them.

Salford Royal have just built a new helipad over, I think it was about three, four months ago, that’s cost millions of pounds, but if anyone now has a very serious car accident in the northwest, or any sort of bad trauma, they’ll be flown over to Salford Royal. I’ve asked the money specifically to go to that department, the Orthopedic department. So, yeah, hopefully I’ll raise a lot of money.

What are the dates that your event is on and how can we get tickets?

It’s Friday the 15th September, and it’s at Gary Neville’s Hotel Football. It’s a beautiful stadium suite overlooking Old Trafford, literally directly opposite. Tickets are on Eventbrite and they’re £60, but for that you get a three course dinner, all the Q and A’s, all the auctions and loads of nice entertainment. If you go to Eventbrite, just type in Manchester United Legends and you’ll find a red banner with a yellow red devil. And my name as the organizer is Amy Parkinson.

If anyone is looking to attend it’s quite an easy place to get to. It’s almost central Manchester with great transport links. Do you know if there will be any options for parking?

The public transport access links are amazing.  I’m also hiring a car park opposite Hotel Football for the event, so there’s plenty of parking at Old Trafford all for free.  It isn’t always free parking, but for my charity event I’ve got to have free parking!

The Manchester United Legends Dinner & Charity Auction is on Friday 15th September.  Tickets are available here:

https://www.eventbrite.com/

Hollywood is coming to Blackpool for a special Back to the Future FanFest Day on Saturday 25th February 2023 at the Wintergardens, Blackpool.

After a successful event in 2022, three best friends and super fans of the trilogy that make up the FutureFan Fest team are returning for a one day event to celebrate their love of the film trilogy promising even more vehicles, sets and screen used props. Plus the returning REAL life sized ‘Time Travel Train’ from Back to the Future 3! It is the only replica in the world.

The fanfest which is being held at the Wintergardens, Blackpool on the Saturday 25 February (10-5pm) promises a really exciting day with over 22 iconic sets from the trilogy, vehicles from the movie and set used props on display. Come down and bring the family.

Last year the super fans introduced the world’s first full-sized replica of the Time Travel Train. This year, you will actually be able to stand in the cab area of this Iconic steam train. You will have the opportunity to have a professional picture taken in the iconic flying DMC DeLorean and have your picture taken on a hoverboard in the classic hoverboard chase scene and even stand in Mr Strickland’s porch as well as experience over 20 set builds!

This event is every back to the future fans and movie lovers dream which has landed in Blackpool for one day only. Our live stage show hosted by The Apprentice’s Adam Corbally who will be screening an Interview with Claudia Wells, who played the original Jennifer Parker in the first Back To The Future. Plus a cast member will be in attendance as a special guest from Back To The Future The Musical which is an Olivier Award-winning stage musical Back to the Future the Musical which is currently on tour in London and New York.

The legendary Bill Tanner played by Aidan Culter who starred in the Manchester/London production of the musical will be one of our special guests sharing his stories and having photographs with fans.

Our amazing cosplay competition was a big hit last year with fans and is returning this year with money can’t buy prizes and the Back to the Future quiz too

A percentage of the tickets sales will go to the Michael J Fox Foundation which is a charity dedicated to finding a cure for Parkinson’s disease.

For extra special fans who want to continue the night after the event, we have also struck a deal with the regent cinema Blackpool who have agreed a special screening of Back to The Future movie in the night of the event to encourage people to make a weekend of their trip to Blackpool and watch again on the big screen since its release 35 years ago.

Take an electrifying trip back in time in Blackpool with us next Saturday!

Be quick its selling out fast

Tickets: https://www.eventim.co.uk

Over the last few years I’ve really wanted to find a good reference book which shows off the techy things I adored while growing up.   Nostalgia Nerds Gargets, Gizmos and Gimmicks absolutely does this for me.  It’s a book which, as the name suggests, showcases some of the gorgeous gadgets from history.  It covers so many electronic items ranging from the Teasmade from 1938 right up to the Oculus Quest 2 from 2021, a huge span of 80s years.  It is by no means a definitive list of every gadget over this time, and it isn’t claiming to be, but a book which talks about the items most commonly remembered.

My favourite parts of this book are, quite obviously, the 70s and 80s gadgets and gizmos.  Remember the Tomytronic 3D games, the ones you had to hold up to your eyes like binoculars?  And the Casio C-80 Calculator watch?  If you didn’t own one of these yourself then no doubt you would have known someone who did. And remember the Tomy Dingbot? He was a small bump-and-go robot released by Tomy with an almost Johnny 5 look to his face. My wife still proudly tells people she still owns hers AND his map accessory. These toys and many more are included and discussed.

If you want to reminisce about extraordinary gadgets, gizmos and gimmicks, or even find out more about some tech you may have missed, you do need to buy this book.

Gadgets, Gizmos and Gimmicks on Amazon.co.uk
Follow Nostalgia Nerd on Twitter

17th August will see four generations of gamers come together for the first ever Nerdcon at Arcade Club, Bury, Europe’s biggest arcade.

Brought together and driven by Motivational Speaker, Entrepreneur and former C4 Gamemaster and Sky Games World co-commentator and reviewer Brad Burton and his business partner and streamer Paul “Middle Aged Gamer” Spicer they head up the event, which will include panels and speakers prominent from within the gaming industry, as well as over 300 arcade machines, 50 pinball machines and a multitude of retro games.

“This will be the greatest day of 1982, in 2022,” says Brad Burton, organiser of Nerdcon. “Gamers today are notoriously introverted but in the arcade era, the beginning of the digital age, these darkened places were where the cool kids congregated. 40 years on, what’s happened to those cool kids? We’re about to find out at Nerdcon.”

Throughout the day there will be various sessions, including Nerd networking sessions, to allow people to rapidly meet other likeminded people, along with a full stage set up where audience members can get involved with scheduled and interactive BIG debates to once and for all answer the big questions, such as Star Wars or StarTrek. Amiga or ST.  C64 or Speccy.  (it’s a press release only gamers would understand!)

Confirmed Speakers at Nerdcon include Gary Bracey, former VP of development at Ocean, veteran games journalist Paul ‘Chicken’ McNally and Brad Burton himself on his time as a TV games reviewer.

Nerdcon is a truly unique format and will be a full day packed with gaming & geeking fun and opportunity. A family friendly event, it’s aimed at appealing to gamers of all age range and runs from 9am to 9pm on Wednesday 17th August at The Arcade Club on Cork Street in Bury.

Day passes start from £25, £10 for online only, and all can be purchased direct from www.Nerdcon.co.uk.

With only 400 tickets remaining, booking early guarantees you a spot and also has benefits, for each week till the event, all confirmed attendees get a raffle ticket. The earlier you book, the more raffle tickets you’ll receive on the day, meaning more chances to win all manner of prizes in the raffle, with one lucky attendee all set to take home and win the star prize of a brand new PS5.

Michael Rooker – Michael is very well known for his portrayal of Yondu in Guardians of the Galaxy, but years before this he was the star of 80s film Henry – Portrait of a Serial Killer. This is a film I remember seeing many times in our local video rental shop when I was young. The cover was quite menacing and when I watched the film many years later I understood why my Dad wouldn’t let me rent it on VHS!

The T-Birds and Pink Ladies from Grease! Barry Pearl, Michael Tucci and Kelly Ward from the T-Birds will all be at Liverpool Comiccon this weekend, along with the Pink Ladies – Didi Conn, Jamie Donnolley and Dinah Manoff. If you are a fan of Grease, this weekend os th eperfect opportunity to meet some of the genuine stars of the film.

Flight of the Navigator – Joey Cramer will also be appearing both days. Joey was the Navigator himself in the epic 80s Sci-Fi film.

Robocop – Peter Weller, Robocop himself, will also be in Liverpool this weekend. Peter has been a guest at a couple of UK Comiccons, so you mustn’t miss the chance to meet him and get his autograph.

Cobra Kai – Many of the cast of Cobra Kai will be also be attending. Although Cobra Kai is a modern series of Netflix it focuses on the lives of Daniel LaRusso and Johnny Lawrence, the stars of the original 80s Karate Kid film, and so it’s heart is well and truly in the 80s. Coming to Liverpool will be Martin Kove, Peyton List, Vanessa Rubio, Joe Seo and Jacob Bertrand.

All in all there are around 50 guests coming to Liverpool next weekend including the stars of non-80s shows like The Vampire Diaries, The Originals, Glee and Oliver! Click the image above to see the full guest list.

Fancy coming along? It’s at Exhibition Centre Liverpool, King’s Dock, Port of Liverpool, 16 Monarchs Quay, Liverpool L3 4FP, UK

All the details can be found on https://www.comicconventionliverpool.co.uk/

A funny and nostalgic deep dive into the dark and disturbing pop culture of the 70s and 80s

Did you spend your childhood being traumatised by Worzel Gummidge, Hartley Hare, Children of the Stones and the Spirit of Dark and Lonely Water? Were you terrified of the Usborne Book of Ghosts in your school library, given nightmares by Horror Top Trumps and Game of Jaws, and then handed a Dalek’s Death Ray lolly to calm you down?

The children who grew up in the 1970s and 1980s were placed in the unenviable position of being scared by virtually everything. In this show, Liverpool writers Stephen Brotherstone and Dave Lawrence – the men behind the superb Scarred For Life books – will be giving a hilarious talk about the TV, films, music, comics, board games, books, adverts and crisps (no, really) that blighted all of our childhoods. All accompanied by a slide show of some of their most potent childhood fears! There’ll be explicit talk about the giant spiders from Doctor Who, discussion of the bloodthirsty ending to Blake’s 7, a rummage through the gruesome Public Information Films that haunted all our nightmares… and even a Top 10 Chart Countdown of the best British hit singles to be inspired by the prospect of impending nuclear armageddon.

And, afterwards, there’ll be a Q&A and discussion – so feel free to chip in with your own memories of retro childhood trauma!

Stephen and Dave’s incredible book Scarred For Life Volume One: The 1970s was published in 2017, with Volume Two: Television in the 1980s following in 2020. Both have become huge hits. They are, essentially, gigantic compendiums of everything that terrified a generation of British kids during these extraordinary decades… from appallingly graphic kids’ TV to violent comics (and Monster Fun), post-apocalyptic cinema, shocking sitcoms and a boom in paranormal news coverage! This, lest we forget, was the era when respectable BBC1 news programmes would run regular features on poltergeists, UFOs and the Loch Ness Monster. Not to mention Nationwide’s epoch-defining coverage of the ‘Hexham Heads’ and their accompanying werewolf…

So come and join us for the ultimate celebration of vintage terror! You are – of course – at liberty to watch from behind your fingers, although sadly we’re unable to provide a sofa to hide behind. And the evening will be hosted by Fortean Times writer Bob Fischer, who spent the entirety of 1978 convinced that his family dog had rabies after glimpsing an appallingly irresponsible poster next to the headmaster’s office door in his primary school reception.

REVIEWS FOR THE SCARRED FOR LIFE BOOKS:

“A charming look back at a time when pop culture was used to scare the living daylights out of every child and adult across the land” – Louder Than War

“It might just stop the nightmares” – We Are Cult

“Such an engaging and fascinating read” – Horrified Magazine

“Their enthusiastic expertise for the subject is enlightening and infectious” – Fortean Times

Mike Hutchinson is running Future Fanfest along with two of his friends who are also massive Back to The Future Fans, Ian Robinson a professional prop builder from Harrogate, and Adam Corbally an Entrepreneur who was a finalist on the BBC1 T.V. show The Apprentice, together they are setting up a day-long event where fans of Back to the Future can meet up.

At the event, held at Blackpool’s Winter Gardens on Saturday, January 29, 2022, they will show off replica items they have made from the iconic films.

There will be cosplay, photo opportunities as well as Zoom-style questions and answers sessions with some of the cast and crew from the films.

A percentage of the ticket sales will go to Team Fox, the grassroots community fundraising program of The Michael J Fox Foundation.

The event will be open at 10.04 am, which is a reference to the movies when, during the Hill Valley Thunderstorm, a bolt of lightning strikes the Clock Tower at precisely 10.04pm.

It will be hosted by Adam Corbally, a motivational speaker who reached the final of season 8 of BBC One’s The Apprentice, Adam said “It has been great fun working with two of the best guys on celebrating the best movies ever made, we have put our hearts and souls into the day to put on a great show for the fans, it’s been hard work, a bit like a massive Apprentice task but it will all be worth it when the fans see what finished show looks like!

Mr Hutchinson said: “This is the first time we have done this.

“It’s a big thing, it will be the first time we have introduced the time travel train to Back to the Future lovers.

It is a social fanfest of Back to the Future lovers to share their story and love of the films.

“I thought I would set up a fanfest from fans to fans. It is purely Back to the Future. It will see fans of the film getting together.”

With showtime this Saturday and the event almost sold out this is going to be an amazing event!

Go to backtothe1980s.co.uk for more information and to book Future Fanfest tickets.

Or, you can book here – https://www.wintergardensblackpool.co.uk/whats-on/future-fanfest

See you all….. In the future!

TICKETS: Click Here

Say goodbye to BLUE January!

We promise to be something very special indeed from the best two decades!

All your favourites from the ’80s and ’90s are reuniting for a true showdown of the decades, taking to the stage in a battle of the bops to discover who takes the old-school crown. There’s no need for Doctor Who’s Tardis, the Terminator’s dystopian technology or Doc’s plutonium-powered DeLorean, this festival will transport you back in time as soon as the first note echoes from the speakers.

This musical throwback boasts a lineup of chart-topping bands and singers including Five, Chesney Hawkes, 911, Vengaboys and Samantha Fox. As you watch them belt out their most popular numbers on stage you’ll have flashbacks to those good old days: clipping on your Walkman and rolling up your leg warmers for a Footloose-style dance in the lounge, or slipping out the lyrics booklet of your Spice Girl’s CD so you can perfectly memorise the verses (in between devouring a Woolworth’s pick ‘n’ mix).

The vibrant journey down memory lane doesn’t stop there, as the festival also has a variety of vendors selling retro garms and goods. Also, if you want to truly make it a day to remember, there’ll be meet and greets with the stars, so make sure to swing by your childhood room beforehand and grab that old poster for signing.

The epic event is set to light up Bowlers Exhibition Centre in Manchester on January 29, with meet and greet opportunities, live performances and retro merchandise.

If you want to be the first to get your hands on tickets, you can grab yours now HERE and make sure you’re part of the crowd that will determine which decade comes out on top. In the meantime, why don’t you dust off that mixtape lying at the back of your car’s glove box and listen to some ’80s and ’90s pop classics?

THIS WILL SELL OUT SO HURRY – TICKETS: Here

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Tickets: HERE

The musical Rock of Ages is currently showing at The Opera House Manchester and tells the story of two people falling in love – Drew (Luke Walsh) and Sherrie (Rhiannon Chesterman). Drew works at a nightclub called The Bourbon Room where he cleans and practises song writing. One night he meets Sherrie and asks Dennis, the owner of The Bourbon Room, if she can work there.

The Bourbon Room owner Dennis (Ross Dawes), is struggling to keep his club from from being demolished but takes on Sherrie as a host, where she and Drew start to fall for each other.

A love rival arrives on the scene and comes between Drew and Sherrie, in the form of loathsome ladies-man Stacee Jaxx. In the performance we went to watch the love rival character of Stacee Jaxx was played by Kevin Clifton off of Strictly on the telly.

The other main character, and by far the most enjoyable one in my opinion, was Lonny (Joe Gash) who played the parts of Bourbon Room employee and The Narrator brilliantly. Lonny delivered the perfect mix of one liners, clever quips and perfectly improvised comments. His character is meant to be over the top and flamboyant and Lonny achieves this perfectly.

There are quite a few laugh-out-loud moments in Rock of Ages, the most memorable of which for me was where Lonny and Dennis perform an acrobatic cartwheel scene. It needs to be seen to be understood why this is so good, but the aftermath of it was something genuinely hysterical and lead to a nice moment or two of improvisation.

Another funny touch was that all the transport used in Rock of Ages is a miniature version, so when Drew and Cherrie are heading out for a picnic the bike they are both sat on is child-sized. It certainly made the audience laugh a lot!

All the scenes are played out through the medium of 80s rock songs performed by a live band, so if you have ANY appreciation for 80s rock then this is the musical for you. Renditions of We Built This City and Here I Go Again went down a storm with the crowd, whereas ballads More Than Words and Every Rose Has It’s Thorn were sang beautifully.

Overall the evening was great, with the cast definitely finding their confidence more in the second half. There were certainly some giggles in the first half along with a few perfectly performed songs, but the second half was a lot stronger both in comedy and in musical performance.

Rock Of Ages is at the Opera House Manchester until Saturday 9th October.

Get tickets – https://www.rockofagesmusical.co.uk/tour/

Opera House Manchester
Twitter – https://twitter.com/PalaceAndOpera
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/PalaceandOpera/

Rock Of Ages Links:
Website – https://www.rockofagesmusical.co.uk/tour/
Twitter – https://twitter.com/rockofagesuk
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/rockofagesthemusical/

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