Events making the headlines in 1986 included the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the Space Shuttle Challenger breaking apart 73 seconds after liftoff, Halley’s Comet appearing in the night sky, and the start of the mad cow disease outbreak in the UK.
On television viewers were tuning into the first episodes of ‘Lovejoy’, ‘Every Second Counts’ and ‘The Singing Detective’, while at the cinema ‘Crocodile’, ‘Top Gun’, ‘Rocky IV’ and ‘Aliens’ saw film fans queue around the block.
In the music charts The Communards had the best-selling single of the year with ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’, followed by ‘Every Loser Wins’ by Nick Berry, Boris Gardiner’s ‘I Want To Wake Up With You’, ‘Living Doll’ by The Young Ones and Ciff Richard, and Diana Ross’s ‘Chain Reaction’.
And there was plenty going on in Edinburgh, including that year’s Commonwealth Games and plenty of celebrity visits.
Here are 27 pictures to take you back to Scotland’s Capital in 1986.
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1. Under water
People walk around the large puddles on the pavement in Princes Street after flooding hit the city during heavy rain in July 1986. Photo: George Smith
2. Star of the future
British TV and film actor Timothy Spall with his wife Shane and children Pascale and Rafe in Edinburgh in August 1986. Photo: Joe Steele
3. Opening ceremony
Hundreds of primary school children taking part in the opening ceremony of the Edinburgh Commonwealth Games 1986, held at Meadowbank stadium. Photo: Albert Jordan
4. The band plays on
The Tongan police band, wearing the traditional lava lava skirts, entertains staff and patients at the City Hospital in Edinburgh in July 1986. Photo: Joe Steele