They are the 1980s and 1990s crazes that you thought were thought long forgotten – from BMX bikes and headbands to retro games consoles.

But those moments, which for some are a flashback to childhood, are making a comeback, leading one cycle manufacturer to name 2019 as the year of nostalgia.

Cassettes, once consigned to the bargain bin of musical history, are selling in numbers not seen in years – up 125 per cent in 2018 on the previous 12 months. More than 50,000 cassette albums were bought in the UK, the highest volume in 15 years.

And in the US, for the first time since the 1980s, the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is predicting more people will buy vinyl records than CDs this year.

Some believe the latest wave of 80s nostalgia can be credited to the success of Netflix’s Stranger Things. 

And a new study by Raleigh of the highest average internet searches per month reveals that the 80s-themed show topped their popularity chart with a 
near five-fold increase in the last 12 months. 

It features a group of pre-teen children in the 80s who have to deal with supernatural forces in their town. 

“Mom” jeans, the high-waisted women’s jeans that were originally fashionable in the late 1980s and early 1990s, also appear to be making a comeback, with the survey finding there was a 267% surge in online searches in the year.

And retro consoles such as Game Boy are highly sought after, with the research finding there was a 175% annual rise in searches.

When it comes to bands, the rock band Metallica, which formed in 1981 and are still going strong, topped the listlot with an 82% increase in searches over a year.   

“2019 has reached the peak of nostalgic revival with search volume for items from the 80s and 90s at a high,” said Tabitha Morrell, brand manager of Raleigh.

She said people are keen to “look back on what they loved the most as kids, and encourage the generation of today to share the same experience they enjoyed in their youth”.

Ms Morrell added: “What’s interesting is it’s clear that once our nostalgic favourites become available again, people jump at the chance to buy or view and experience these items to relive the best of their younger years today.”

The cycle firm, famed for the 70s Chopper, is hoping to cash in on our hunger for the past by bringing back their 80s BMX bike, the Super Tuff Burner.   

It has been released 35 years after it first launched in 1983.

Former Radio 1 poster boy DJ Gary Davies is even making a comeback thanks to the 80s revival.

After a decade he was fired in the BBC’s 1993 purge of “uncool” and ageing DJs – aged 35.

Last year he returned to the broadcaster to present Radio 2’s Sounds of the 80s and has been standing in for Ken Bruce on the morning show, which attracts a record 8.5 million listeners.

In November, he will join his friend Mark Goodyear for another nostalgia-fest, hosting the Now That’s What I Call the 80s! Live tour.

In June last year more than 30,000 flocked to Dalkeith Country Park at the weekend for the retro 80s music festival Let’s Rock Scotland, which was staged for the first time and featured Billy Ocean, Marc Almond, ABC and Nick Heyward.

One observer said it was like “wandering into a school reunion disco where fancy dress was compulsory”.

And while some festivals have come and gone, Let’s Rock Scotland is set to return for a third year in 2020 with a Who’s Who of UK 80s pop. The event will feature with headliner Adam Ant joined by Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, Howard Jones, Nik Kershaw, Go West and China Crisis.

Even big brands are going all 80s in their marketing.

During the summer Pizza Hut became the latest major brand to unveil a throwback when it re-released its classic “Red Roof” logo, first developed by Lippincott in the late 1960s.

MoneySupermarket.com also produced two adverts using the characters of Skeletor and He-Man .

According to a 2014 study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, brands that can successfully harness nostalgia may be in for significant rewards.

The study found that when consumers feel nostalgic, they are willing to both pay more for a product and part with a larger percentage of their money overall.

“Nostalgia can serve as a signal of having attained ample social connectedness [which] can shift people’s motivations such that prioritising and keeping control over money becomes less pressing,” wrote the study’s authors, Jannine Lasaleta, Constantine Sedikides and Kathleen Vohs. “Nostalgia may be so commonly used in marketing because it encourages consumers to part with their money.”