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Here`s 5 Things About 1985 You Should Know




1. RMS Titanic Wreck Found

RMS Titanic was a British passenger liner captained by Edward Smith
that famously sank on its maiden voyage in the early hours of 15th
April 1912. The liner had set sail on Wednesday ,  10th April 2012 from
Southampton heading for New York carrying 2224 passengers and crew.

Many of the passengers included some of the wealthiest people in the
world. Over 1500 passengers lost their lives when the liner hit an 
iceberg off Newfoundland.

It was not until 1st September 1985 that a joint American-French 
expedition lead by Robert Ballard managed to locate the wreck 370
miles south east of Mistaken Point , Newfoundland. The discovery
proved that the liner had in fact split in two shortly after sinking.


2. Live Aid Concert

The date 13th July 1985 will be remembered as the day Bob Geldof
and Midge Ure organised a dual-venue pop concert to raise funds to
help millions of starving people in Africa. Some of the worlds greatest
bands and singers of the age famously came together at Wembley
Stadium in London and John F Kennedy Stadium in New York. The 
events were televised to a global audience estimated at 1.9 billion people.
The shows were broadcast across 150 countries of the world.

Earlier , following a BBC news report by Michael Buerk in October 1984
describing the plight of millions of Ethiopians starving to death , Geldof
and Ure wrote a charity single "Do They Know Its Christmas" in an
attempt to raise much needed funds to help feed the starving. 

The song became an instant hit and reached number one in the UK 
charts where it stayed over christmas and for a total of 5 weeks running.
It was the success of the single that laid the path for the Live Aid events.


3. Sinclair C5 

On 10th January 1985 Sir Clive Sinclair , the millionaire businessman
who had made his fortune on the back of a range of home computers , 
released his latest invention - a one-seater battery operated electric
vehicle known as the Sinclair C5.

Despite the glitzy launch , the C5 never lived up to the inventor`s 
expectations and received poor press coverage from the British Media
right from the outset. The vehicle had a top speed of just 15mph and
the battery was found to run down far too quickly. Safety on British
roads was another issue that was raised and it was found to be 
impractical in bad weather.

Some 14000 Sinclair C5s were manufactured in Merthyr Tydfil , South
Wales but with only 5000 being sold at a retail price of £399 production
and the inventor`s dream ended in August 1985


4. Back To The Future


Back To The Future , the American comic science fiction film was released
on 3rd July 1985. The movie , directed by Robert Zemeckis and produced
by Steven Spielberg quickly became the most successful movie of the year
grossing over $380 million worldwide and receiving critical acclaim.

The original choice for the main role of Marty McFly was Michael J Fox 
however he was busy filming his TV series Family Ties and the shows
producers would not release him to star in the film. As a result , Eric Stoltz
was cast in  role , but following the start of filming it became clear to both
Stoltz and the producers that he had been mis-cast. This led to a second
approach to Fox and eventually agreement was reached with him and
the Family Ties producers whereby he would film the TV series in the 
mornings and afternoons and then work on the movie set in the evenings.

The huge success of the film following release resulted in the Back To 
The Future franchise with sequels Back To The Future II and II released
in 1989 and 1990.


5. Eastenders

Eastenders , the British soap opera , created by Julia Smith and Tony Holland
made uts debut on 19th February 1985 when the first ever episode was 
broadcast on the BBC. The programme  - which attracted 17 million viewers -
features the lives of the people who reside and work in the fictional borough
of Walford in the East End of London and in particular the residents of Albert
Square and the surrounding streets. 

The show centres around the families of the neighbourhood namely , the Fowler ,
Beale , Watts , Mitchell and Brannings. Episodes are usually filmed at the BBC
Elstree Studios in Borehamwood but occasionally scenes are filmed on 
location.

Eastenders today is one of the highest rated TV programmes and regularly 
appears near the top of the weekly BARB ratings.



Back soon with more fascinating year snippets from Herbys Gifts

1. Earhart

American aviation pioneer Amelia Earhart became the first person to fly solo from
Honolulu in Hawaii to Oakland in California. The date was January 11th and it was
reported that during the final hours of this trans-oceanic flight she became so relaxed
that she listened to a broadcast of the Metropolitan Opera.


2. Mutiny On The Bounty

Frank Lloyd directs the American 1935 drama , Mutiny On The Bounty starring
Charles Laughton (William Bligh) and Clark Gable (Fletcher Christian). The film
was based on the book by Charles Nordhoff and James Hall and the movie became
a massive hit of the year. The book retells the story of the mutiny lead by Fletcher
Christian against his captain Bligh during the two year voyage over the Pacific
Ocean in HMS Bounty following its departure from England in 1787.


3. King George V Silver Jubilee

King George V of England , second son of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark 
celebrates his 25th Silver Jubilee. George became heir following his elder
brother Albert`s early death after contracting pneumonia and succeeded to the throne
after his father`s death in 1910. In 1917 with anti-German feeling running high following
the First World War he changed his family name from Saxe-Coburg-Gotha to Windsor
and relinquished all German titles and family connections.

George V grew in popularity during the 1st World War making several visits to the
front line to visit British troops and by his 25th year he was widely loved by the British
population. The celebrations were celebrated by issuing thousands of Silver Jubilee
Medals. George V died in 1936 of pleurisy.


4. Paperback Books

British book publisher , Penguin Books revolutionised the book industry by printing
high quality paperback books. The first of such books issued was a book named
Ariel by Andre Maurois. Today millions of books are published in this format.


Fabulous gift ideas for people born in 1935 packed with more interesting facts about
this year can be found here:

http://herbysgifts.com/search?q=1935&type=product