1986

In 1986 the Challenger shuttle broke apart 73 seconds after launch, and Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was shot dead on his way home from the cinema. Halley's Comet swung back past the Sun, Ferdinand Marcos was ousted in the Philippines, and Mikhail Gorbachev put glasnost and perestroika on the agenda in Moscow.

Thrash metal had a very good year, and it did most of its damage in the autumn. Metallica's Master of Puppets arrived in March, reached number 29 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 72 weeks with barely any radio play. Megadeth followed with Peace Sells… but Who's Buying? in September, and Slayer's Reign in Blood landed in October. Kerrang! called it the heaviest album of all time, and it reached number 47 in the UK. Iron Maiden went in a different direction with Somewhere in Time, while Ozzy Osbourne put out The Ultimate Sin, Motörhead released Orgasmatron and Queensrÿche offered Rage for Order. Sepultura's Morbid Visions showed where the extremes were heading, and Metal Hammer published its first issue. Queen played their last concert with Freddie Mercury and John Deacon at Knebworth in August.

The year had its share of grief. Phil Lynott, formerly of Thin Lizzy, died on 4 January aged 36. On 27 September a tour bus crash in Sweden killed Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton, aged 24, and Jason Newsted of Flotsam and Jetsam was hired after auditions. Venom lost guitarist Jeff "Mantas" Dunn, who left for a solo career.