random retro-spective
John Major, the new PM
As Margaret Thatcher leaves Downing Street, John Major takes over. November 1990
the retro hour: 2005
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
The Labour Party won the General Election, making Tony Blair the Prime Minister for a historic third term.
George W Bush was sworn in for his second term as President of the USA.
A teenage gunman at Red Lake High School in Minnesota went on the rampage killing seven pupils, his grandfather and himself.
Jamie Oliver campaigned to get Turkey Twizzlers taken off school menus.
Londoners in Trafalgar Square celebrated as the announcement was made that London will host the 2012 Olympic Games… only for tragedy to strike the next day… four terrorist explosions on July 7th killed 52 people and injured 700.
A massive fire broke out after explosions at a fuel depot in Hemel Hempstead. A huge black cloud floated across the south of England for days afterwards.
on the chart
Busted split after Charlie Simpson left the group to concentrate on his own band Fightstar.
Elvis Presley had the one-thousandth number one on the UK chart.
Franz Ferdinand won gongs at the Brit Awards and NME Awards.
Kylie Minogue announced that she had breast cancer and had to cancel the Australian leg of her tour.
Madonna stormed the charts with her single Hung Up - with five weeks at the top of the download chart, and two weeks at number one in both the single and album charts.
on the tv and at the cinema
Doctor Who returned to our screens although Christopher Eccleston decided to quit as the Doctor after just one series.. the man chosen to be the 10th Doctor was David Tennant.
The final Star Wars film, Revenge of the Sith, was released around the world.
sports achievements and milestones
England won back the Ashes from Australia after a fascinating series.
Arsenal won the FA Cup after the final went to penalties for the first time. Liverpool meanwhile won the Champions League (also on penalties).
Ellen MacArthur smashed the record for sailing single-handedly around the world, beating the previous record by 33 hours.
Roger Federer celebrated winning Wimbledon for the third time in a row, with Venus Williams taking the women's title.
US businessman Malcolm Glazer bought 75.7% of Manchester United's shares.
Soccer legend George Best died, aged 59.
and finally
The famous Hollywood sign in the hills was given its first lick of paint for 10 years.
The long-awaited Nintendo DS finally hit the shelves… and you could get your hands on the new Xbox 360 for the first time (if you’d pre-ordered it!).