the retro hour: 1990
We've been through the archive and compiled everything we think you need to know about the year. To make it easier for you to find what you're looking for, everything is organised into categories.
the top stories
FW de Klerk, the South African President, ended apartheid leaving the
way clear to release Nelson Mandella after 27 years in jail
The poll tax was being evaded by one in five and 73% of voters were against
it
Margaret Thatcher resigned as leader of the Conservative Party, John Major
was the new Prime Minister on November 27th
Under the Channel, the last inch of chalk separating France from England
was removed
Inflation reached 10.9% and the mortgate rate was on the increase it was
now at 15.4%
The Government announced plans to join the European Exchange Rate Mechanism,
to the surprise of the City.
The Duchess of York gave birth to a daughter, to be called Eugenie Victoria
Petrol prices rose in August to £2.29 a gallon but then fell by
9.6 pence in October
Benazir Bhutto was sacked as Pakistan's Prime Minister
Del Shannon, Greta Gabo, Sir Leonard Hutton, Sammy Davis Jnr and American
composer Aaron Copeland died
on the chart
It emerged that Milli Vanilli hadn't sung on their records
Elton John announced that all royalties from his future record sales would
go to AIDS charities
Annie Lennox won the Brit Award for Best Female, Phil Collins was awarded
Best Male. The Best Newcomer was Lisa Stansfield.
The Three Tenors concert took place in Rome
Michael Jackson was honoured by CBS in America as the top selling act
of the 1980s
Sinead O'Connor won the Best Video Award at the MTV awards
on the tv and at the cinema
The younger generation was being entertained by the Teenage Mutant Hero
Turtles
The Simpsons made their debut (they began life as a short cartoon on either
side of the commercial break in the Tracey Ullman Show in America)
One Foot In The Grave, Twin Peaks and The Trials of Life made their debuts
Top programmes of 1990 were Coronation Street, EastEnders, Neighbours,
Only Fools And Horses and It'll Be Alright On The Night
The Oscar for Best Picture went to Driving
Miss Daisy
Macaulay Culkin was Home Alone and Johnny Depp starred in Edward Scissorhands
Jeff Goldblum and Genna Davis filed for divorce
The must-see films of the year were Ghost, Pretty Woman, Look Who's Talking,
Honey I Shrunk The Kids, When Harry Met Sally and Dick Tracy
sports achievements and milestones
West Germany won the World Cup after beating Argentina on penalties in
Rome. England finished fourth after losing 2-1 to Italy
Liverpool won the First Division title, Manchester United lifted the FA
Cup
Mr Frisk finished first in the Grand National in record time
Scotland beat England 13-7 at Murrayfield to win rugby union's Grand Slam
At Wimbledon there was success for Stefan Edberg and a record ninth title
for Martina Navratilova, who beat Zina Garrison
Lester Pigott returned to the saddle after serving a prison sentence for
tax evasion. Meanwhile at Aintree, Mr Frisk won the Grand National.
Formula 1: Ayrton Senna was crowned World Champion
and finally
A record heatwave brought temperatures of 37.1C (98.8F) to London
Florentine authorities decreed that all horses should wear underwear
Fast Eddie beat the yo-yo world record with 21,663 loops in three hours
An omelette-making record was broken in Atlanta when 427 omelettes were
made in 30 minutes
The phrase yuppie flu was used for the first time - a dismissive term
for chronic fatigue syndrome
McDonalds opened their first outlet in Moscow
The Independent on Sunday and European newspapers were launched