If you have never taped the ’Top 40’ off the radio, sworn with frustration when having to rewind video tapes before returning them to the shop or raced to the newsagent’s with a misplaced sense of excitement as the latest edition of ‘Look In’, ’Smash Hits’ or ’Shoot’ hit the shelves, then ask yourself, honestly: ‘Have you ever really lived?’
The ’80s and ’90s were the decades that fashion forgot, with big hair and even bigger shoulder pads paraded with pride, when the first ‘mobile’ phones were anything but and turning on the telly didn’t exactly leave you spoilt for choice. If you wanted to watch Sky and have access to the cloud you stepped outside and looked up.
Yet for all its simplicity – and perhaps because of it – we often fondly look back and would give anything to travel there, even for just one day, to relive and reminisce on an era sadly past.
So what if you could go back? Would you?
In the absence of a souped-up time-travelling DeLorean, that’s just not possible.
But Lurgan comedian Sean Hegarty is about to bring us the next best thing… if Marty McFly can go back to the future, no better man than Sean to take us back to the past!
The home-grown king of the witty one-liner and the man behind the hugely-popular Meet the Parents Podcast is treading entirely new territory.
But, as he prepares to open his new ‘Rewind’ retro room in Lurgan, a nod lovingly directed to those aforementioned decades, he admits he has been building something truly special and “very close to my heart”.
The new 80s/90s nostalgia room is located within the ‘I Had That’ vintage toy shop in Unit 5 of the High Street Arcade, with an official held on Friday.
Intrigued and curious to say the least, Armagh I caught up with Sean – who is married to fellow comedian and actress Diona Doherty – to see what lies in store and how it all came about…
“I think some people call it a mid-life crisis,” he says, before elaborating as only he can. “No, honestly, I’ve been collecting physical media for about three years now and it’s become a real passion of mine. They say one man’s trash is another man’s treasure and it’s very much the case in this instance.
“When I was growing up, you’d be lucky if your pocket money stretched to a six month old cassette single in the broken shopping basket on the floor under the full-price chart CDs in Woolworths. Now, I’m walking into a charity shop like I’m Tony Montana and leaving feeling like I’ve robbed the place, spending £2.80 in the process with a boot full of VHS, CDs and DVDs that no-one seems to want anymore.
“I’ve accumulated so much over time that I had to do something with it all. I’d dreamed – for the past six months – of running my own video rental shop but, let’s be honest, it’s 2026, and most VHS tapes in your attic have more mould on them than the walls in Brownlow Leisure Centre! So this idea was the next best thing.”
For Sean, he had a very clear vision in his head of what he wanted to achieve. As with his stage act, he has so much material to hand, his delivery has been faultless and his timing – given it’s something completely new and unique – just impeccable.
“If you grew up in the 80s/90s like me, imagine being transported back into your old bedroom,” says Sean. “Seeing all your retro posters, playing your favourite computer games or toys and flicking through magazines while listening to an album that meant so much to you growing up. That’s where I come in.
“The room I’ve re-created absolutely pulls on the nostalgic heart-strings of people around my age. It’s hardcore dopamine, straight into your aging grey veins! Forget a pat on the back for opening a nostalgia room, I should be winning some kind of Nobel Prize for time travel!”
Just like Mr Benn appearing, as if my magic, through the shopkeeper’s changing room to a world of fresh adventure, Sean’s portal to the past affords similar opportunity. For every piece will strike a chord – some you may recognise and remember, some you may not, but for all who step inside, a veritable treasure trove of memories and magic awaits…
“From listening to a cassette Walkman to watching Masters of the Universe how it was meant to be seen, in its original form on VHS – on a real-life VCR… there really is no end to what’s to be experienced in my retro room,” says Sean.
“I have a Neighbours annual with Scott and Charlene on the cover, about 20 WWF live events on video, Friends taped off the TV when it first aired on Channel 4 at 9pm on a Friday night in 1995, complete with all the old ads, including trailers for the Big Breakfast. And so, so, so much more.
“You can play draughts or play with a Ghostbusters gun, do a Sooty and Sweep jigsaw, feed the Tamagotchi, play Sonic on the Sega Mega Drive, Duck Hunt on the Nintendo, listen to the Spice Girls’ debut album or flick through a Match magazine with Gazza on the cover…I believe I have something here for absolutely everybody.
“It is as interactive as you want it to be. Everything in the room has been personally placed there by myself and is there for your entertainment and enjoyment.
“It’s all there to be used and I’d be very disappointed if you didn’t flick through my huge collection of football cards and stickers from the mid-90s or read my Thundercats annual. I want people to feel like they’re back in their old bedroom.
“You can touch and play with anything you want. All I ask is you be really respectful, as it’s all borderline museum worthy.”
That’s not much to ask, considering, but Sean jokes (at least we think – hope? – he is joking): “Feel free to steal the Manchester United video though. It took every morsel of my being to purchase that, with the customer solely in mind. That is how much effort I have put into this experience. As a die-hard Liverpool supporter, that should be commended!”
Among the vast collection, it would be remiss not to ask, what rates as his personal favourites?
He doesn’t tie himself up in knots in taking time to answer, as all things wrestling is what clearly makes Sean tick!
“Growing up, I couldn’t even afford to watch wrestling, so I definitely high-fived eight-year-old me when I purchased my huge job-lot of vintage WWF events from someone on Vinted,” he responds. “I’ve got some classic early Summerslam events, some Royal Rumbles and Wrestlemanias.
“Aside from that, I could just sit on the bed and look at the posters all day. I have that many; from Sister, Sister to Wayne’s World, Alex Mack to a framed picture of the Matthews family from Boy Meets World. I love it all. In fact, I might close down before I’ve even opened and just move in!”
It really has been a labour of love but, now just days away from opening, it really has been worth it.
And for Sean, he certainly knows his target audience and is convinced they will appreciate and enjoy living the experience as much as he has in pulling it all together.
“It’s been a slog but a very enjoyable slog at that,” he adds. “I’ve accumulated it all over time. It’s been carefully hand selected and very well thought out. I’ve done a lot of dwelling. Some of it, I’ve even had since childhood, other bits, I’ve had to lie to my wife that it cost less than a quarter of what I paid on eBay!
“It’s aimed at anyone from mid-30s to probably 50s. But I also think that parents would really enjoy bringing their son or daughter to show them what life was like for them growing up. I think just being in the space that I’ve created will bring back a lot of beautiful memories for people.
“I think it’d be cool for a group of 20-something friends looking to try something different. For the price of a takeaway, they could experience an hour or two of how things were before Netflix and Spotify came along.
“It was just a simpler time. If you were lucky enough to afford a trip to your pirate video store – your da’s mate’s side-alley with four copies of Superman 2 taped off the TV and a bootleg Jurassic Park recorded in the cinema – then you’d take that tape home and cherish it. You’d watch it five times before bringing it back and it meant so much.
“Nowadays, we have second screen syndrome. We struggle to pick one film from 10,000 titles and, even then, we switch off after 10 minutes and only glimpse up from our phones if there’s a possibility of seeing a half naked woman!
“We’re spoilt for choice nowadays, so to be able to put on an original movie on VHS, sit back and watch it through a 4:3 ratio CRT TV, complete with trailers, is glorious.
“The cut off for the interior is New Year’s Eve 1999 into 2000, so anything after midnight, I’m sorry, but there’s no room at the inn. Anything before that is fine though.”
The new nostalgia room is sure to be a hit and, for Sean, for whom it is miles away from the proverbial ‘day job’, the reaction to date – and support too – have been nothing short of “amazing”.
“I have my own little cult following on TikTok who seem to live for my videos. I post everything, from seeing what’s on old VHS tapes from the bin-bag full in my attic, to seeing what I can find with a tight £5 budget in a charity shop,” says Sean. “I’ve done a lot of research going into this and feel like this is the right project to be focusing on. I’d kick myself if another 10 years passed and I regretted giving it a go.
“A comedian can only be so busy. We get quite a bit of downtime, mainly during the day as most gigs are at night. So, outside of raising my kids and watching Loose Women, I need a hobby.
“There’s a huge movement online at present of people embracing nostalgia and recreating their own movie rooms and retro man-caves and I’m just taking it one step further.
“Hats off to the two gentlemen, Neil and Gary, in the vintage toy shop, for letting a mad-man like me bring an idea to life. They’ve been great and, if my customers can spare a few minutes before or after their booking to have a nosy round the toy shop, that’d be great.
“I’m really proud to be bringing this to Lurgan. I’m also proud that when I leave the premises I’m home five minutes later! It’s really great to be able to bring something so unique to my own people. It’s where I grew up, so why would I neglect that part of my childhood by bringing it somewhere that doesn’t mean as much to me? So, you better visit, or I’ll start telling everyone I’m from Portadown!”
While the official launch is due to take place next Friday, the nostalgia room will not officially open until the middle of the following week.
For now, finishing touches are underway ahead of the launch and the countdown well and truly on…
“My room is connected to the vintage toy shop, inside the High Street Arcade, so there isn’t gonna be much room for Julian Simmons to do star jumps in a mankini! I’ve opted for the wonderful Ghostbusters NI, who’ll be coming down in their full regalia for photo opportunities,” explains Sean.
“Other than that, it’ll be myself awkwardly addressing the 12-strong crowd, handing out a few nostalgic sweets and encouraging a five-year-old to take the XXL Sean Hegarty Rewinds T-shirt I accidentally ordered online.
“Launch day will be for anyone who wants – especially Manchester United fans with a thirst for stealing one VHS tape! – to come down and have a quick look around the room, with a discount code to book for a later date. Then a few family and social media friends will be coming down throughout the day to test it out before opening officially from Wednesday, August 26.
“Booking is very much essential and the only way you’ll get in. The space is limited to four people max, but you could also just book it for yourself, or for a date night, or bring a friend or sibling. It’s charged by the hour, so you and/or your party will be the only ones there during your experience.”
Opening hours are the same as the I Had That vintage toy shop, Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm, but anyone interested can email via the website seanhegartyrewinds.co.uk if they would like to book another time and, as Seans says, “we can see what we can do”.
There is a special introductory price of only £20 per hour, regardless if you book for one, two, three or four people, with different rates depending on how long you want your experience to last, anywhere up to six hours. All info, dates and times, FAQs, T&Cs etc, etc, etc, are also available on the website.
