1982- The Floodgates are Truly Open
To be honest, I was a little nervous about the year 1982 and expected a bit a turbulence during the ride through it. The reason for this was that I spent eight months out of the year overseas with the marines. From the middle of January to the very end of June, I made my second deployment to the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean. Then in the October, I went to Okinawa for the remainder of the year and the first three months of the following one. In fact, October 9, 1982 never existed for me as I was flying across the International Date Line. Because I was overseas so much, the year was fairly barren for me musically and I worried that I might not have enough albums to visit during the year. But, I will persevere and thanks to Youtube, I can listen to albums from that year that I never got the chance to listen to back then.
Iron Maiden
With the benefit of hindsight, I can say that in 1982, the new wave of British heavy metal (NWOBHM) had its claws firmly gripped on the industry. I saw this to be true when I was in Toulon, France in the May. Previously, I had heard of Iron Maiden but it wasn’t until I heard a song, I can’t remember which one, on a juke box in a bar there that I finally got my ears blown away by them. Of course, there were great metal delights served up by the likes of Judas Priest and Motorhead as well as many other rock and metal acts. It seems my journey through what turns out to be an important year that almost passed me by and I am going to put right something I got wrong in the said year. See, I never listened to Van Halen’s “Diver Down” album because a couple of marine buddies bought it while we were in France and said that the album sucked. Again, curse me for simply taking their word. I will listen to this album during the course of my trip through 1982 and give you my own thoughts on it.
Van Halen
As I go down the road of metal history, I realise that while I may have missed out on quite a bit of music history on account of military service, the year itself was a phenomenal one for metal. Thanks to NWOBHM and others, the floodgates opened and metal began to flood the world.
Next post: The Police- Ghost in the Machine
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80smetalman's Blog 
November 21, 2014 at 12:00 am
> in the October, I went to Okinawa for the remainder of the year and the first three months of the following one
Were you in Okinawa, Japan for six months?
How did you like it? Did you try Okinawan cuisine?
Visit Tokyo?
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November 21, 2014 at 2:08 pm
I was never on Okinawa for more than 6 weeks at one time while I was deployed there. I did spend two weeks and then another seven weeks a few months later near Mt Fujiyama so I did get to Tokyo. Rather expensive and it did seem rather unfriendly towards US servicemen. I did try Okinawan cuisine. What I liked about restaurants in Japan and Okinawa is how they have the dishes on display in the window and you go in and choose one. I did go to South Korea as well in November and that was cool too. Mike, I will bear you in mind when I get to reviewing “Diver Down.”
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November 21, 2014 at 11:55 pm
>two weeks and then another seven weeks a few months later near Mt Fujiyama so I did get to Tokyo.
Mt. Fuji? It can be seen from parts of Tokyo (where skyscrapers don’t get in the way), but it’s not actually in Tokyo.
Did you climb Mt Fuji?
>Rather expensive and it did seem rather unfriendly towards US servicemen.
Some parts of Tokyo are expensive…but, many things are the same price, or even cheaper, than in America.
Gasoline, though, is quite expensive in Japan!
Did you find Tokyo unfriendly? Most visitors to Japan are impressed by Japanese おもてなし (hospitality)…even in big cities.
> I did try Okinawan cuisine.
Pork is very popular in Okinawa. They have a “unique” vegetable called a “goya”. I like it…but it takes getting used to!
>What I liked about restaurants in Japan and Okinawa is how they have the dishes on display in the window and you go in and choose one.
Yes, those are convenient!
> I did go to South Korea as well in November and that was cool too.
Korean culture is quite different from Japan’s. (Actually, Okinawa’s is quite different from mainland Japan’s too!) Which did you prefer?
Spicy food is popular in Korea. I like Korea cuisine too!
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November 24, 2014 at 8:58 pm
I got to the base of Mt Fuji but never climbed it. I didn’t see it from Tokyo but I thought seeing it from Numazu which was a 45 minute train ride away was just as spectacular. As for my Tokyo experiences, I think that all American servicemen are painted with the same brush. We all want to get drunk, start fights and take liberties with the women. Now that I am a little older, I can see their point. I was told the best way around this is to go out on your own, have a few quiet drinks and keep to yourself. Eventually, they will see that you are not a typical US serviceman. I don’t think I tried goya but I can’t be sure, did eat lots of yakisoba though. As a young 21 year old marine, the thing I loved about Korea was the fact that the hardest thing about gaining the company of a female was telling the other three ladies you had made a choice.
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November 25, 2014 at 1:41 am
Yakisoba is delicious. It’s a Japanese dish…not from Okinawa, though.
Maybe you’ve tried Okinawa’s “Orion Beer”. It’s good!
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November 21, 2014 at 12:37 am
Like my friend Tokyo5, I wanted to know more about Okinawa as well! What was it like? Were you able to see much, being stationed there?
Diver Down does not suck. It’s not Fair Warning, but it does not suck. Looking forward to the reviews.
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