Our 1980s series continues with 1983, the year when pop hit the stratosphere, ruling the world's Walkmans with some of the biggest tunes - and stellar albums - ever recorded. It was a year of arrivals. Forty years on, we pay tribute to the twelve-month period that welcomed the likes of Madonna, Wham!, Bananarama, REM, Tears For Fears, Paul Young and Cyndi Lauper to the world via a golden run of game-changing debut albums. Add yet more seminal long-players from Talking Heads, David Bowie, Eurythmics, Culture Club, Yazoo and more, and here was a period when pop music truly was unstoppable. Elsewhere, we trace The Police's year as they were busy becoming 'the biggest band in the world' thanks to their fifth, centrepiece LP, Synchronicity, and the mammoth world tour that followed. Also that year, Uber-producer Trevor Horn's mighty ZTT record label started up, as did the now-world famous NOW compilations - both explored in this issue. To add to that, there's exclusive interviews from some of the stars of 1983, including Stephen Morris and Gillian Gilbert from New Order, Heaven 17's Martin Ware, Kajagoogoo's Nick Beggs and Thompson Twins' Tom Bailey, plus we examine the stunning sleeve art that delighted our eyes over the year. Lastly, we curate our ultimate 1983 playlist.