‘It was our rock'n'roll’ - How the ZX Spectrum became a 1980s icon
The ZX Spectrum was a 1980s icon which played a starring role in the revolution that brought computers into the UK’s homes for the first time.
The 8-bit computer arrived in 1982 with its distinctive rainbow stripe, rubber keys and the high-pitched electronic screech as games loaded.
More than five million were sold, giving people the chance to dabble in computer programming and play games like Manic Miner and Jet Set Willy.
The device was manufactured in Dundee, where The Speccy - as it was affectionately known - helped inspire a generation of games designers.
It followed the hugely successful, if more technically-limited, ZX81, which had been many people's first encounter with home computing.
The ZX Spectrum's games were downloaded via a cassette player and displayed on a TV screen - and they were in colour, unlike its monochrome predecessor.
"If you go back a few years to the 1970s, you've got a time where home computers didn't exist," said Anthony Caulfield, co-director of the new documentary.
