Living in a world of smart phones, Snapchat and The Kardashians it’s hard to remember a simpler time. Around the 8ball office we have a ton of nostalgia for our childhoods, unforgettable decades before tablets, when children used to play outside, do as they were told and eat a tonne of rubbish yet somehow stay healthy! So to honour this, each month we will dust off the videos, put on our leg warmers and turn up the boom box so we can give you that little piece of nostalgia you crave on your morning commute. First up in our Throwback series is our 90s throwback!
Don’t look back in anger! The 90s was a decade where anything went, the top songs of the decade featured everything from Girl Power to Brit Pop to… well Mr Blobby. People wore what they wanted, children played with some of the greatest toys of all time and watched television that challenged yet entertained them and they were outside come rain or shine actually socialising while being social not social media-ing while on social.
So here it is, our 90s throwback featuring the 90 most nostalgic images you’ll ever see.
1. This was what and who we woke up to every weekday morning.
2. We were probably sat on one of these…
3. These were banned from schools up and down the country… we still don’t know why?!
4. These cost 10p…
5. This was how we wanted to do the weekly shop at Asda…
6. This was the height of fashion!
7. Girls couldn’t decide if they wanted to be Blossom, Buttercup or Bubbles
8. Gross out animation was something we hadn’t seen before…
9. This was the scariest moment of the 90s…
10. …wait no, this was the scariest moment…
11. … nope wrong again!
12. Ross and Rachel were ultimate relationship goals for all of the romantics out there.
13. If this got hot it was time to panic…
14. Rainbow Wordart was revolutionary!
15. It wasn’t summer until the corner shop had stocked up on Freeze Pops.
16. Girl Power took over the world!
17. Before the panda sunk his claws into the branding, WWF Raw was War!
18a. Kane wore a mask and The Undertaker could not be killed
18b. The Rock was the Jebroni smacking, people’s elbow dropping, eyebrow raising people’s champ!
19. We almost went blind trying to find the secret image in Magic Eye Pictures.
20. We really, really thought that football was coming home…
21. Game Over meant starting all over again…
22. Lets be honest, these guys were arseholes!
23. “Contender ready! Gladiator ready!”
24. This was the only squad we wanted to be a member of…
25. Everybody wanted to be Tommy or Kimberley… no one ever wanted to be Billy…
26. This is what Cherry Coke should look like.
27. We all had a teacher that we wanted to do this to…
28. This was the coolest guy on TV…
29. …scrap that!
30. Raleigh made the best bikes!
31. We used to actually like the chat show hosts (Jeremy Kyle we’re looking at you!)
32. Now albums were available on CD and tape!
33. We never realised how addictive coin collecting could be…
34. Forget Game of Thrones, this was the real battle of the north vs the south!
35. Batteries never lasted quite as long as we wanted them to…
36. This was the greatest duo on TV…
37. …scrap that!
38. Having a Charizard card made you not just wealthy but playground wealthy!
39. This was the teatime of kings!
40. You broke plenty of vases trying to get “around the world”.
41. Speaking of round…
42. Grunge was born…
43. and so was Britpop!
44. This was the only way to be contacted outside of your house…
45. This was the only way to learn…
46. Coordinated boy bands were the only type of boy bands!
47. Girls had to best toys…
48. … no seriously, they really did!
49. Although making your own bugs had its advantages…
50. Nobody knew what an Ant & Dec was…
51. Eric Cantona was a part time footballer and karate expert.
52. Friday night TV was the best!
53. Reading this was the only way to learn all of the lyrics to all of your favourite songs…
54. We just couldn’t cope with the way they ended this show…
55. We all rushed home to watch Saved by the Bell
56. 10p packets of crisps ruled the school tuck shops!
57. This was the future…
58. … till this guy came around!
59. This was always your go-to design when using Paint on PC.
60. You were always tempted to unpop other people’s Adidas Poppers.
61. You couldn’t believe the things that you could see with a View-Master!
62. You wouldn’t wish this feeling on your worst enemy…
63. You couldn’t get enough of Reboot!
64. Super Nintendo + Super Mario = 90s childhood!
65. Extreme Sour Warheads were the biggest challenge!
66. The one hit wonders were the catchiest!
67. This little guy was your best friend…
68. Disney did their best work in the 90s.
69. Your walls were covered in posters…
70. We all wanted the Jamaican bobsled team to win, even if we did know the outcome…
71. This was the ultimate showdown…
72. These guys needed a job in music video commentary…
73. All the girls at the disco wore butterfly clips and had glitter in their hair…
74. …they were usually seen dancing along to this
…or this.
75. All of the cool kids had a pair of these and you had to have one too!
76. Global Hypercolor T Shirts were the future!
77. You knew every word to The Fresh Prince intro (and still do.)
78. Everyone cried when Robbie left Take That…
79. You spent hours doing grinds and ollies on Tony Hawk Pro Skater.
80. Panda Pops were the best drink at school!
81. All the girls wanted to be Cher Horowitz…
82. You knew that Windows 95 was something special…
83. … something pretty special!
84. You followed the advice of TLC – you never went chasing waterfalls and stuck to the rivers and the lakes that you were used to…
85. If you saw this outside your classroom, you knew that it was going to be a good day…
86. You spent hours playing Doom on PC…
87. Captain Planet!
88. This was the greatest friendship of all time…
89. …after you and your Tamagotchi of course!
90. This pretty much sums up your entire childhood and is the ultimate 90s throwback.
So there it is, our 90s throwback: 90 of most nostalgic images you will ever lay eyes on. If you can think of any that we have missed off our list then let us know in the comments below or hit us up on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #8ball90s.
The decade that gave us Brit-Pop, the Spice Girls and the proud wearer of our new Manufactured in the Nineties t-shirt from 8Ball. Featuring a distressed style print with the caption ‘This new Manufactured In The Nineties men’s t-shirt features a distressed effect two colour print with the caption ‘Manufactured in the Nineties, All Genuine Original Parts, Only Minor Cosmetic Repairs Required’. A true 90s throwback!