The 1980s in Spain must have been a bit like the late 1970s in the UK, judging by this excellent exhibition at the Centro Municipal de Exposiciones de Elche. It’s not in the Contemporary Art Museum (MACE) no matter what the press reports may say! Until 22 April 2018, you can go along and see what I mean!
As a teenager in the 80s I just caught the end of the punk movement and so the memories evoked by this collection were not so vivid for me. The transformation into New Romantics was classic 80s though and that really brought my childhood memories flooding back. It was a trip back to my childhood, although the bands and the music were in a different language.
The display has been put together on three floors. There is an interesting video where people are interviewed about their personal memories of the 80s in Spain. Most were members of bands and it was quite funny to see their “then and now” photos! It’s only in Spanish though, and it is an hour long, but it was quite easy to dip in and out of it while seeing the rest of the collection.
The photography and the posters are iconic. If you lived through this period of time, I can guarantee it will have you reaching for Youtube to find your favourite old classics. You might even want to try finding some of those 1980s Spanish bands. I looked up Aerolíneas Federales, simply because I like the name, and found this cover of “Video Killed the Radio Star”. Isn’t the Internet wonderful?!!!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PkM9Et9UwI
