Hymns: 1985 Memories

Although, by 1985, I’d become more traditional and conservative in my outlook, I still fondly remembered the newer choruses that I’d been introduced to in the first few years of my Christian life. In early 1985, someone asked me to speak at the Christian Union in Ashton Comprehensive school in Cork.

I don’t really remember hearing any other hymns for the first time, or at least none that I particularly fondly remember now.

So what else do I remember about 1985?

• Being very busy at college, but I was involved in the Plassey Christians Christian Union (CU) in Limerick. We were a tiny group, with only one girl, who would become my wife three years later. That year, we produced a little magazine called the Plassey Herald. As well as the usual Bible Studies and Prayer Meetings, we had a few special events, such as movies and lectures. One was on Moving Statues 😀. More on this later. We showed the Born Again film too.
• Back in Cork Baptist (where I spent the weekends up to the Autumn) We did a little bit of street outreach near Cudmore’s in Winthrop Street on Saturdays. This was pretty much where Cork Baptist did most street outreach throughout the 1980s. I remember promoting the Joni film. I think it was either shown in Cork Baptist or Riverside Hall in Bandon. Joni Eareckson Tada is an inspiring figure known for her work as an author, artist, radio host, and advocate for people with disabilities. After a diving accident at the age of 17 left her quadriplegic, she turned her challenges into opportunities to share her faith and help others.
• Again, in Cork, in April I heard Hans Kung speak at St Finbarr’s cathedral. Kung, a Catholic theologian, is famous for raising questions about key Catholic doctrines, such as papal infallibility.
• In July, we had George Verwer, founder of Operation Mobilization, speaking at Cork Baptist Church. I was quite pleased to have seen him in Westminster Chapel, London, a couple of years before. It was astonishing to have such a big name speak at my home church.
• That Summer I went on the Baptist Youth Evangelism (BYE) team in Waterford Baptist Church, and we did some outreach in Carrigaline, introducing Carrigaline Baptist Church, which was formally established in early 87.
• In July, I attended the Metropolitan Tabernacle conference, staying overnight in the Met Tab itself, as we called it. I was big into the Met Tab that year and the years following. On that holiday, I remember being roped into singing in a choir in Trafalgar square with some of my friends from London City Mission. I think RT Kendall spoke at the event. I also popped up to Wembley on the day of Live Aid and discovered that they were selling tickets at the door. So I popped in. By that time, I was sufficiently cured of worshipping pop stars, so I just enjoyed the music 😀.
• I spent my weekends in Limerick rather than Cork from the Autumn of that year and started attending Limerick Baptist Church and got involved in some of their outreach too. At that time, it was quite a small church, with very few people from Limerick. Most of the local Limerick evangelicals from a Catholic background were in the Pentecostal groups or in Mallow Street Hall. I often popped into the Maranatha Christian coffee bar in Mallow Street that year. I remember finding a whole load of old Buzz magazines there. Buzz was a popular Christian magazine at the time.

1985 was the year of the Rock Gospel show – a sort of a Christian Top of the Pops. I hated it 😀. It was presented by Alvin Stardust and Sheila Walsh. Another pop-related peculiarity that year were San Damiano by Sal Solo of Classix Nouveaux. Sal Solo was unusual in that he embraced traditional Catholicism rather than evangelicalism.

Then, you get musicians who make no claim to be Christians, but who come up with songs that do touch on Christian themes. I quite liked Shout to the Top by the Style Council, which was in the charts in late 84. Not everyone would agree with me, but I think the Holy Spirit can use all sorts of things to draw you to God. So, now and then, a song by a secular artist might inspire you more than a song by a Christian artist. Paul Weller seemed to link it to the miner’s strike, but I saw it as a prayer for someone disillusioned with life.

That when you're knocked on your back and your life's a flop
And when you're down on the bottom there's nothing else
But to shout to the top

1985 was also the year of the alleged moving statue in Ballinspittle and other Mary-related apparitions around the country. It gave the impression that Ireland was a very religious country, but most people were just amused by the whole thing. I got the impression that the Catholic clergy were embarrassed by it all.

In December I went to Northen Ireland for the first time.

I had always been curious about Northen Ireland, having grown up hearing about the troubles every day. But anyone I ever met, from either community were always warm and welcoming. I spent much more time there throughout the 1990s when I worked with Baptist Missions Ireland.

Various worship songs were published in 1985, but it sometimes took a good few years for them to find their way into Baptist churches. I was gradually getting to the stage where I was the one discouraging their use rather than promoting them😀. I tended to respect older more conservative evangelicals and despise the happy clappy trendy scene. But in recent years, I have started to like some of the older modern songs (maybe because they’re no longer trendy 😀). Anyway, here are some examples:

Finally, here’s some music, events, and films/TV shows that would have formed the background to 1985. I don’t necessarily endorse all the songs or films😀, but thinking of them takes me back to 1985.

10 Songs

• Nightshift – Commodores
• How Soon Is Now​ – The Smiths
• Every Time You Go Away​ – Paul Young
• Everybody Wants To Rule The World​ – Tears for Fears
• Black Man Ray​ – China Crisis
• The Unforgettable Fire​ – U2
• Walls Come Tumbling Down!​ – Style Council
• Slave To Love​ – Bryan Ferry
• Money For Nothing​ – Dire Straits
• Running Up That Hill – Kate Bush

10 Events

• Mikhail Gorbachev Becomes Soviet Leader
• Live Aid
• Reagan and Gorbachev Meet in Geneva
• Rainbow Warrior Sunk by French Agents
• Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Launches in U.S.
• UK Miners’ Strike Ends
• Bradford City Stadium Fire
• Heysel Stadium Disaster
• Anglo-Irish Agreement Signed
• Air India Flight 182 Disaster of Southwest Ireland

10 Films or TV Shows

• Back to the Future
• The Color Purple
• The Goonies
• A Room with a View
• Brazil
• Eat the Peach
• Eastenders
• Blind Date
• Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome
• Morons from Outer Space

10 Famous People Who Passed Away

• Matt Monro – Popular singer dubbed “The Man with the Golden Voice”
• The Singing Nun (Jeannine Deckers) – Belgian singer with UK chart success
• Orson Welles – Legendary filmmaker behind Citizen Kane
• Rock Hudson – Hollywood heartthrob and one of the first celebrities to die of AIDS
• Yul Brynner – Actor famous for The King and I and The Ten Commandments
• Ricky Nelson – Pop singer and teen idol of the 1950s
• Robert Graves – British poet and author of I, Claudius
• Laura Ashley – Fashion designer known for romantic prints and homeware
• Dermot Ryan – Roman Catholic Archbishop of Dublin
• Noel Purcell – Actor with a long career in Irish and international cinema