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Stars of the British Screen

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© Norman Parkinson Archive/ Iconic Images

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Stars of the British Screen

by Norman Parkinson
cibachrome print, 11 December 1985
15 3/4 in. x 15 3/8 in. (399 mm x 391 mm)
Commissioned, 1985 in conjunction with the NPG at the time of the 'Stars of the British Screen' exhibition
Photographs Collection
NPG x126889

Artistback to top

  • Norman Parkinson (1913-1990), Photographer. Artist or producer of 244 portraits, Sitter in 13 portraits.

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Events of 1985back to top

Current affairs

55 people die in the Manchester air disaster when a British Airtours Boeing 737 bursts into flames after an aborted takeoff at Manchester International Airport.

Art and science

Bob Geldof and Midge Ure organise Live Aid, a rock concert in London and Philadelphia, to raise funds for famine relief. The biggest names in popular music, including Paul McCartney, Queen, Status Quo, The Police, Mick Jagger, David Bowie, U2, The Who, and Led Zeppelin, performed to a TV audience of 1.5 billion.
The British Antarctic Survey discovers a hole in the ozone layer above Antarctica.

International

Reformer Mikhail Gorbachev comes to power as first secretary of the Soviet Communist party. He calls for 'glasnost' (openness) in Soviet life, and pursues a policy of 'perestroika' (reconstruction).
French intelligence operatives sabotage Rainbow Warrior, the Greenpeace vessel. The ship was leading a protest against French nuclear testing in New Zealand when it was bombed and sunk, killing one of the twelve on board.

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