30 Years of Fame!
It’s hard to believe that “Fame” has been a part of our lives for 30 years now! Who would have thought in 1982 that a television show, that actually when I first watched I knew very little about, would become such an important part of my life? I’d not seen or heard of the original movie so it was really only the promo the BBC kept showing that intrigued me and of course how instantly catchy the theme song was. Again it hadn’t really been a hit in the U.K. when it was first released in 1980 so again it was totally new to me but after a few listens to it in that TV promo, I knew I’d be tuning in to see that first episode. Which left me on such a high that I was hooked straight away and have been ever since?
For me the key seems to be that the show inspired us in so many ways. On a basic level it inspired many to follow their own dreams of becoming performers. Many who thought they weren’t good enough or special enough watched and started to believe in themselves, thinking “I can do this too”. Leroy made it cool particularly for boys to want to be dancers.
However, that inspiration runs so much deeper than just inspiring people to be performers. I’ve lost count of the number of people, who like me, have said for various reasons that they felt lost at that time in lives. Particularly it seems people who were struggling with sexuality, bullying, disability, loneliness (this list is not exhaustive) latched on to the show, its characters and its cast and there was for the first time some hope.
For the first time, well at least it seemed that way to me, we had fully believable three dimensional characters and it didn’t matter what their gender was, or their sexuality, or their race, age, colour, culture, faith, or physical appearance, “Fame” taught us everyone is equally important.
Just seeing such a diverse cast of people working hard to create something special both on screen and off. Where everyone was given equal opportunity to grow and shine gave hope to “misfits” like me that we too can dream of finding our own place in this World and actually be happy too. That underneath everything we are all the same and we all have that need to feel special, whether it be as a performer or as a human being. That regardless of what anyone else said or did we had just as much right to our dreams as other people did.
For many of us these were important life lessons, throw in the singing, dancing and feel good stories and it’s not hard to see why “Fame” struck a chord with so many of us and why we’ve been so loyal to the show even after all these years.
I still get that thrill of excitement when I find something new connected to the show and the cast that I’ve never seen or heard before. Whether it is a picture or an interview or some performance, I feel the same as I did as a teenager when I found “Fame” related things then too. That was my inspiration for creating “Kids From Fame Media” to share some of these things with everyone else and make them easily available to the diehard fans that keep the memory of the show alive even though it actually went off the air 25 years ago.
We should all take a moment on Sunday 17th to remember what we all love about the show and how it has impacted on our lives. I also hope as many of you as possible will join me in re-watching that first episode on Sunday, either online or on DVD, as a way of remembering and paying tribute to the show we love.
I’d like to thank the cast, crew, writers, producers, dancers, songwriters and executives for making a wonderful show that they can all be proud of, knowing it really touched the hearts of a generation and continues to touch and inspire people today, 30 years later.
I also like to thank you the fans, without us the show would have been forgotten a long time ago. Your emails and messages continue to inspire me to keep this site going, for all to enjoy.
I raise my glass and salute you all, Happy 30th Anniversary, Fame!
We hope you “Live Forever”,
Love Mark.
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