I.R.S. Records releases the debut album by the British group Fine Young Cannibals, led by singer/actor Roland Gift. The single “Johnny Come Home” is featured, as well as a cover of Elvis’ “Suspicious Minds.” 
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The 21st episode of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories airs on NBC. Cindy Morgan (Tron, Caddyshack) and James Avery (Fresh Prince of Bel-Air) guest star in an episode directed by Irvin Kershner (The Empire Strikes Back).
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Reprise Records releases Street Life: 20 Great Hits, a compilation album of highlights from the careers of Roxy Music and solo work by its lead singer, Bryan Ferry. (more…)
The 16th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Jeremy Bulloch (The Empire Strikes Back, Chocky) guest stars.
A major accident at the #4 reactor of the Soviet Union’s Chernobyl nuclear power facility, near the border of Ukraine and Belarus, causes a significant release of radioactive material into the air. Much of the material has immediate consequences for the nearby city of Pripyat, but the effects are felt both elsewhere in the Soviet Union and in Europe. Worse still, the Soviet government tries to cover up the incident, until the mounting evidence of a major incident forces them to admit, two days after the fact, that a core meltdown occurred and that the resulting release of radioactive material has international reach and consequences. Some emergency workers die of massive radiation exposure, and an increase is seen in other illnesses, including cancer, in exposed human populations nearby. Over 100,000 people are evacuated from nearby areas. Premature deaths and genetic mutations are observed in nearby wildlife for years after the incident. The costs of mitigation and containment of the toxic reactor site will become a major factor in the collapse of the Soviet Union a few years later. The exclusion zone established around the facility may be a safe place for humans to live again for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of years.
The 17th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Cyril Cusack and David Rappaport (Time Bandits, The Wizard) guest star.
Art Of Noise, now signed to Chrysalis Records, releases its second album, In Visible Silence. Band members Anne Dudley, J.J. Jeczalik and Gary Langan, having split with founding members Paul Morley and Trevor Horn, continue the group’s sample-heavy sound with a more popular direction, including collaborations with Duane Eddy (on a well-known cover of his 1959 TV theme “Peter Gunn”) and, bizarrely but appropriately, Max Headroom (a.k.a. actor Matt Frewer). The popular instrumental “Legs” also comes from this album. (more…)
The 18th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Jeremy Bulloch (The Empire Strikes Back, Chocky) guest stars.
NOAA’s GOES-G Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite is launched from Cape Canaveral, intended to replace the failed GOES-5 satellite in a geosynchronous orbit over Earth’s western hemisphere. But an electrical fault destroys GOES-G’s Delta booster in flight, and the rocket explodes 71 seconds into its flight. This is NASA’s first attempt to launch a rocket since the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster earlier in 1986, raising new questions about the space agency’s reliability and safety record.
The 22nd episode of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories airs on NBC. John Lithgow (2010: The Year We Make Contact, Buckaroo Banzai, Harry And The Hendersons) guest stars.
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The 19th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Brendan Price (Target) guest stars.
The 23rd episode of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories airs on NBC. Leo Penn guest stars.
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Australian-based Crowded House – formed by ex-Split Enz members Neil Finn and Paul Hester, with new bassist Nick Seymour – releases its self-titled first album worldwide. Early attempts to push the album internationally fall flat, until the single “Don’t Dream It’s Over” climbs the American radio charts, landing at #2 for a single week thanks to relentless promotion and small-venue touring. (more…)
The 16th episode of James D. Parriott’s lighthearted sci-fi series, Misfits Of Science, airs on NBC, starring Dean Paul Martin, Kevin Peter Hall, and Courteney Cox. Joe Dorsey (Brainstorm, WarGames) and Meg Wyllie (Star Trek) guest star in the final episode of the already-cancelled series.
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The 20th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Richard O’Brien (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) guest stars.
Peter Gabriel releases the solo album The 21st episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Matt Frewer (Max Headroom, Eureka, Orphan Black) guest stars.
Robert Holmes, considered by many fans to be the definitive script editor and most influential writer of classic Doctor Who, dies at the age of 60. He was responsible for the Sontarans, the Autons, The Master, The Ark In Space, Pyramids Of Mars, and Caves Of Androzani; his scripts for the popular BBC space opera Blake’s 7 were also considered among that show’s best installments. He also bestowed the name Gallifrey upon the planet of the Time Lords and virtually created the entire Time Lord mythology in the acclaimed and controversial 1976 installment The Deadly Assassin. His untimely death cuts short his work on the final installments of The Trial Of A Time Lord and throws the scripting and production of those final two episodes into chaos. 
The 24th episode of Steven Spielberg’s anthology series Amazing Stories airs on NBC. Andrew McCarthy (St. Elmo’s Fire, Pretty In Pink, Mannequin) and Ian Wolfe guest star in the first season finale.
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The 22nd episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Bryan Marshall (The Long Good Friday, The Spy Who Loved Me) guest stars.
Hollywood Records releases the Queen album A Kind Of Magic. With no release of the movie’s score in the works, this album – featuring “Who Wants To Live Forever” and “Princes Of The Universe” – is the de facto soundtrack of the movie Highlander. (more…)
Mute Records releases the 13th Genesis album, Invisible Touch, featuring the single “Land Of Confusion”. (more…)
The 23rd episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Patricia Hodge (Holding The Fort, Miranda) and Paul Geoffrey (Excalibur) guest star.
The 24th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Ian Ogilvy (Return Of The Saint, Generations) guest stars.
The 25th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Richard O’Brien (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and James Coombes (Howards’ Way, Dinosapien) guest star.
Threshold Records releases the Moody Blues album The Other Side Of Life, featuring the single “Your Wildest Dreams”. (more…)
The 26th episode of Richard Carpenter’s fanciful retelling of the Robin Hood legend, Robin Of Sherwood, airs on ITV, starring Jason Connery, Mark Ryan, Judi Trott, and Nickolas Grace. Richard O’Brien (The Rocky Horror Picture Show) and James Coombes (Howards’ Way, Dinosapien) guest star in the final episode of the series. A fourth season had been planned and partially written, but Goldcrest Films International, one of the production partners, has experienced a downturn in its financial fortunes, forcing it to withdraw. The cash-strapped HTV (Harlech Television) network producing the show is left with no choice but the cancel the series after losing Goldcrest’s critical financial support.
Nintendo releases the Donkey Kong 3 cartridge for the Nintendo Entertainment System, based on the company’s own 1983 arcade game. (more…)
Midway Games releases the arcade game Rampage in America, a game allowing up to three players to go on a guilt-free giant-monster destruction spree; numerous sequels follow on various home platforms in later years.
Virgin Records releases the second album by former Split Enz lead singer Tim Finn, Big Canoe. With contributions from fellow ex-Enz bandmate Phil Judd, the album is elaborately produced, but fails to make a splash (at roughly the same time that Finn’s younger brother, Neil, is climbing the charts with Crowded House). (more…)
Scitron Digital releases the album Konami Game Music Volume 1, featuring sound and music recorded from the company’s early arcade hits. (more…)
IRS Records releases R.E.M.‘s fourth album, Lifes Rich Pageant, featuring the single “Fall On Me”. (more…)
The seventh episode of The Max Headroom Show premieres, starring Matt Frewer. (This is the music video/talk show series, not the American-made drama series featuring the same character.) Michael Caine guest stars. This is the first episode of the show’s second season. (more…)
The eighth episode of The Max Headroom Show airs, starring Matt Frewer. (This is the music video/talk show series, not the American-made drama series featuring the same character.) Vidal Sassoon guest stars. (more…)
The ninth episode of The Max Headroom Show airs, starring Matt Frewer. (This is the music video/talk show series, not the American-made drama series featuring the same character.) Oliver Green guest stars. (more…)