1985

Rating: NNNNN

On February 14, 1985, in the spirit of Valentine?s Day, NOW runs a pic of a poet reciting verse with unders down. His hairy, limp member immediately flips out the morality squad, who place an urgent call to publisher Michael Hollett. As well, complaints at City Hall lead to a NOW ban there, overturned when councillor Joanne Campbell intervenes, saying she finds the Sun?s Sunshine Girl much more offensive. As for the poet, he claims to have read nude in the cause of birth control, as he was ?assured his image would cause thousands to reconsider the desirability of procreation.??

they said

My world view has changed very little. I’m still fairly shallow. – Randy Newman on success

I have a poster that says, ‘I wanted to go out and change the world but I couldn’t find a babysitter. ‘ – Doris Power, Toronto’s poverty maverick, on people’s ambivalence

The retractable roof is not coming together as they had hoped. No one seems to know how it can be done. – Councillor Dale Martin on the proposed Skydome

Hiphop came to be as a result of the 70s craze where the stars were people like Donna Summer and the Tramps. The kids were not impressed. Disco did not appeal to them, so they needed an alternative. – Grandmaster Flash

Once you bring images into the art world, they no longer have a life in the real world. When the dollar sign can be used as an ironic image in artists’ work, then it’s beyond capitalism. – AA Bronson of General Idea at the opening of their Miss General Idea show at the Art Gallery of Ontario

“It would be terrible to come in here and talk about my last three number ones all sounding the same better to have a number 20 and have it sound a little different.” – Robert Plant on his growth as a musician

“Film censors are like vampires, and they should be driven out like vampires. They serve no purpose, just suck blood.” – Dusan Makavejev, Serbian filmmaker

we said

“Boy George is an Andy Warhol 15-minute wonder, Madonna is a helluva lot of belly button, and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, with that third-rate Guernica on the cover, is pure provincialism trying to be arty.” – about the top of the pops

“Local politics is the stuff in the middle – the missing links between two problems, one that’s too big for you and one that is too small and unworthy. Something a little bigger than your bathroom and something more manageable than foreign policy.” – about local politics

“It’s boring – a drunkard’s dream, a rich man’s Holiday Inn on a Saturday night.” – about Sade’s Promise album, which spawned two top-20 singles and sold 4 million copies

“While the war in East Timor is certainly a major human disaster, it is also a supreme mystery: why has it gotten so little attention in the press?” – about a conflict only NOW seemed to be paying attention to

“They’re from the British whiny school of synth complainers, featuring weak, technically beefed-up vocals. But it’s still a very good album.” – about Tears for Fears’ Songs From The Big Chair

“In recent years, Mick Jagger and his pals in the Rolling Stones have made enough bad music, bad videos and bad decisions to poison a busload of careers.” – start of a review of Mick Jagger’s solo disc She’s The Boss

“It’s bad, all right, but terrible with such an earnest dedicated solemnity that it’s like having someone drop sandbags on your head every 10 minutes.” – about King David with Richard Gere

Top 10 albums

Talking Heads Little Creatures

Bryan Ferry Boys And Girls

Yoko Ono Starpeace

New Order Low-Life

Suzanne Vega Suzanne Vega

Jane Siberry Speckless Sky

Robert Plant Shaken ‘N’ Stirred

Tangerine Dream Le Parc

Al Green He Is The Light

The Cult Love

Top 10 movies

Ran

The Official Story

Dance With A Stranger

Heartbreaker

Full Moon In Paris

Jagged Edge

Sheer Madness

Wetherby

Brazil

To Live And Die In L.A.

Hell is cartoon heaven

Long before Homer choked Bart or Smithers gave Mr. Burns a sponge bath, Simpsons creator Matt Groening was taking the piss out of life, love and work with the help of some anthropomorphized rabbits and two very short, very gay lovers. His syndicated series Life In Hell first appears in our pages in 1985, its sledgehammer wit aimed squarely at our insecurities and dysfunction. “I’m very judgmental and intolerant, sarcastic and frivolous, so it’s fun to have this forum for drawing skimpy little rabbits and being able to say pretty sarcastic stuff,” Groening tells NOW.

in this year

JANUARY

We Are the World, featuring Michael Jackson, Lionel Richie, Kenny Rogers, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, is recorded to raise funds for Ethiopian famine relief.

FEBRUARY

Nelson Mandela rejects an offer of freedom from the South African government.

Canadian defence minister Robert Coates is forced to resign after he visits a German strip club while in possession of top-secret NATO documents.

Ernst Zundel is finally found guilty of publishing fake news and inciting intolerance. The conviction is overturned in 1987.

MARCH

The Friendly Giant, played by Bob Homme, completes a run on CBC that started in 1958.

Armenian terrorists take over the Turkish embassy in Ottawa. One person is killed and the rest are held hostage for four hours.

APRIL

South Africa ends its ban on interracial marriages.

Coca-Cola changes its formula and New Coke quickly becomes bad Coke.

MAY

The first Safe Cycling Week marks the beginning of an anti-auto cycling movement in Toronto.

JUNE

Sikh terrorists blow up Air India flight 182 on its way from Toronto to London, killing all 329 aboard. It will remain the deadliest airplane terror attack until 9/11.

JULY

Live Aid concerts in Philadelphia and London raise over $100 million for Ethiopian famine relief.

SEPTEMBER

The wreck of the Titanic is found off the coast of Newfoundland, paving the way for James Cameron’s annoying “I’m the king of the world” declaration.

Margaret Atwood’s The Handmaid’s Tale is released. The dystopian novel will win the Arthur C. Clarke Award.

OCTOBER

Rock Hudson dies of an AIDS-related illness, putting a famous face on the disease.

DECEMBER

Toronto film biz has its best year yet with 40 feature films bringing in some $70 million to the local economy.