80s Trivia Questions And Answers

The 1980s are often ridiculed for their bad hair and bad fashion but they were a great time to be alive. Some of the greatest music and films were made in the 80s and the world was a much simpler place. How much can you remember from that golden decade? Find out know with these 80s trivia questions and answers. You can find all the answers at the end of the quiz.

80s Trivia Questions

How many of our 80s trivia questions can you answer correctly? Good luck!

Round 1: 80s Music Trivia

The first round of our 1980s trivia quiz is all about classic 80s music:

1. Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder had a U.S. number one hit single in 1982 with which song?

2. “Against All Odds”, “One More Night”, and “Two Hearts” where all U.S. number one singles in the 1980s for which singer?

3. Which Billy Joel song, a U.S. number one in 1989, listed over 100 headline events between 1949 and 1989?

4. Which singer/songwriter proclaimed that they would be “Right Here Waiting” in 1989?

5. Gloria Estefan started her career as lead singer of which group?

6. In 1988 who told us “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”?

7. “Tommy used to work on the docks, union’s been on strike, He’s down on his luck, it’s tough, so tough” are the first lines of which 1980s smash hit song?

8. Which U.S. musician wrote the song “Manic Monday”, under the pseudonym “Christoper”, which became a smash hit for The Bangles in the 80s?

9. Which Madonna album because the first by a female artist to sell over 5 million copies in America?

10. With whom did Aretha Franklin duet on the 1987 U.S. number one single “I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)”?

11. Which Norwegian band urged us to “Take On Me” in 1985?

12. What was Whitney Houston’s first U.S. number one single?

13. Which rock guitarist provided the guitar solo for Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” in 1983?

14. Which Duran Duran song kept Bruce Springsteen’s “Dancing in the Dark” off the U.S. number one spot in 1984?

15. Which Huey Lewis and the News song does Marty McFly play in the Battle of the Bands audition in the 1985 movie “Back to the Future”?

16. Which American choreographer had a smash hit with “Mickey” in 1982?

17. Which band did Lionel Richie leave in 1982 in order to pursue a solo career?

18. Who asked us to “Hit Me with Your Best Shot” in 1980?

19. Which singer starred opposite Mel Gibson in the 1985 movie “Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome”, for which she also sang the hit song “We Don’t Need Another Hero (Thunderdome)”?

20. “Little Lies”, “Everywhere” and “Big Love” were all hit singles from which 1987 Fleetwood Mac album?

Round 1 Answers

Round 2: 80s Movie Trivia

Round 2 of our 1980s trivia questions focus on great movies from that decade:

1. In the movie “St. Elmo’s Fire”, which Brat Pack actor plays the part of Kirby “Kirbo” Keager, a law student and waiter at St. Elmo’s Bar?

2. Which 1985 comedy-drama, directed by John Hughes, follows a group of high-schoolers from different cliques who spend one Saturday afternoon in detention together?

3. In “Back to the Future”, what type of car does Doc use to build his time machine?

4. In which 1984 smash-hit movie, do Dan Aykroyd, Bill Murray and Harold Ramis play a trio of parapsychologists who start a business together?

5. Who directed the 1982 film “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial”?

6. In which 1980 film does Jack Nicholson play the part of aspiring writer and recovering alcoholic Jack Torrance who takes a job as caretaker of the Overlook Hotel?

7. Which actor played the role of Indiana Jones in the 1981 movie “Raiders of the Lost Ark”?

8. In Die Hard, off-duty police officer John Maclane gets trapped in a skyscraper on Christmas Eve in which city?

9. The 1982 science fiction classic “Blade Runner” is loosely based on a novel by which author?

10. In “The Terminator”, which actress stars as Sarah Connor?

11. Who starred as Ferris Bueller in John Hughes’ 1986 teen comedy “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”?

12. In “The Goonies”, what was the name of the pirate captain of the ship “Inferno”?

13. Who starred as “Iceman” in the 1986 movie “Top Gun”?

14. Which 1984 comedy-horror movie featured strange creatures called mogwai that should never be fed after midnight?

15. Which “Gremlins” actress also starred as Linda Barrett in the 1982 movie “Fast Times at Ridgemont High”?

16. Who played dance instructor Johnny Castle in 1987’s “Dirty Dancing”?

17. Which future “Criminal Minds” star played the role of Inigo Montoya in “The Princess Bride”?

18. In “Who Framed Roger Rabbit”, what was the name of Roger Rabbit’s wife?

19. Which 1987 movie starring Corey Haim, Corey Feldman and Keither Sutherland tells the story of two brothers who move to a new town only to discover the area is a haven for vampires?

20. Who starred as Andie Walsh in the 1986 Brat Pack movie “Pretty in Pink”?

Round 2 Answers

Round 3: 80s TV Trivia

Classic TV shows are featured in the third round of our 80s trivia questions:

1. Which 80s TV series follows the escapades of the former members of a US Army Special Forces unit who are on the run after escaping from prison, after being jailed for a crime they didn’t commit?

2. “Magnum, P.I.” was set in which U.S. state?

3. The sitcom “Frasier” was a spin-off from which 1980s TV show?

4. Which actor starred as James “Sonny” Crockett in “Miami Vice”?

5. Michael Gross and Meredith Baxter played Michael J. Fox’s parents in which 80s sitcom?

6. What was the name of Michael Knight’s car in “Knight Rider”?

7. Capt. Francis Xavier “Frank” Furillo and Joyce Davenport were characters in which American police drama?

8. What was the name of the sheriff in “The Dukes of Hazzard”?

9. Which sitcom followed the lives of two African-American Harlem boys who are taken in by rich New Yorker Phillip Drummond?

10. Who played Hollywood stuntman Colt Seavers in “The Fall Guy”?

11. Who starred as Maddie Hayes and David Addison in “Moonlighting”?

12. Which police drama featured Sharon Gless and Tyne Daly as a pair of New York detectives?

13. What was the name of the mystery writer and amateur detective played by Angela Lansbury in “Murder, She Wrote”?

14. Which critically-acclaimed sitcom, featuring 4 older women friends who shared a home in Miami, first aired on NBC in September 1985?

15. What was the name of the spin-off series from “Dallas” that centered on the lives of occupants of the cul-de-sac Seaview Circle in a fictional suburb of Los Angeles?

16. Jan-Michael Vincent starred as Stringfellow Hawke in which military action drama show?

17. Which sitcom, starring Staci Keanan, follows the lives of two single men who are awarded joint custody of a 12 year-old girl after her mother dies?

18. Which puppet TV show about interconnected societies of Muppets, including Doozers and Gorgs, was first broadcast in 1983?

19. Which animated sitcom began as a series of shorts on The Tracey Ullman Show in 1987?

20. In which comedy-drama superhero show was the main character’s name changed from Ralph Hinkley to Ralph Hanley for two episodes in 1981 after U.S. president Ronald Reagan was shot by John Hinckley, Jr.?

Round 3 Answers

Round 4: 80s Pop Culture Trivia

Our final round of 80s trivia questions and answers focuses on 1980s pop culture:

1. Which soft, sculpted dolls that were hugely popular in the 80s were originally called “The Little People”?

2. Who was the San Francisco 49ers quarterback who had the highest passer rating in the NFC five times in the 80s?

3. Who was shot dead by Mark Chapman on 8 December 1980?

4. The comedian Eddie Murphy joined the cast of which comedy sketch series in 1980?

5. Which actor took over from Roger Moore in the role of James Bond, making his first appearance in “The Living Daylights” in 1987?

6. Which Nintendo arcade game, first released in 1981, featured the first appearance of Mario?

7. In 1987, who became the first heavyweight boxer to simultaneously hold the WBA, WBC and IBF titles?

8. Which home computer, first released in 1982, is the biggest selling single computer model of all time?

9. Who was revealed to have shot J.R. Ewing in the TV soap Dallas in 1980?

10. The best-selling book of 1981 was a book explaining how to solve what puzzle?

11. In which city did the 1988 Summer Olympic Games take place?

12. Which Austrian bodybuilder became a huge action movie star in the 1980s, his breakthrough film being “Conan the Barbarian” in 1982?

13. What was the name of the evil wizard who was He-Man’s nemesis in “Masters of the Universe”?

14. In the 1980s, the Beastie Boys member Mike D started to wear a large emblem of a car manufacturer on a necklace, leading to a spate of thefts by fans from vehicles around the world. Which car manufacturer?

15. Which term, derived from the phrase “young upwardly-mobile professional”, was coined in the 80s to describe obnoxiously wealthy young city workers?

16. CD players first came onto the market in 1982. What does CD stand for?

17. Which country did the underdog U.S. men’s ice hockey team defeat in the 1980 Winter Olympics in the so-called “Miracle on Ice”?

18. What was the name of the U.S. space shuttle that broke apart during take off on January 28, 1986 killing all those on board?

19. Which Oscar-winning actress launched her first exercise video in 1982, which went on to become the highest-selling VHS of all time?

20. Which wrestling event was first staged at Madison Square Garden on March 31, 1985?

Round 4 Answers

More Trivia Questions

If you had fun with these 80s trivia questions, check out the rest of LaffGaff for lots more free trivia questions, including these: