The RFM party 80 and here and now tours: 1980s pop nostalgia in the French and British press

This article compares the ways in which French and British newspaper discourse has approached nostalgia - as an emotion, social experience and cultural value - in coverage of the 1980s popular music tours RFM Party 80 and Here and Now (2001-2011). Similarities in French and British approaches include an emphasis on joy, the festive, an imagined return to youth, unquestioning nostalgia, social cohesion as well as stereotypical views of 1980s popular music and fashion as kitsch. The study also reveals clear differences between national contexts. British coverage avoids taking life too seriously, but also challenges unquestioning nostalgia, and develops more complex forms. French coverage emphasises the value of emotion, social and intergenerational cohesion as well as national pride. The nostalgia tour is also associated in French coverage with the defence of popular culture, the resistance to perceived Parisian domination and the development of charity and musical creativity.