1 – Madonna had Three Number One Singles

It can easily be forgotten just how big Madonna was in the 80s,  and 1985 is a great example of why she is called “The Queen of Pop”. It is not an understatement to say she dominated 1985. She was everywhere. Her videos were on high rotation, girls were copying her looks and the offended couldn’t stop talking about her. Then there was the music. It is no small feat that Madonna had three number one singles in 1985. The year began with “Like a Virgin” at the top. Then in the middle of the year, Madonna’s work with soundtracks saw her fly high. “Into the Groove” / “Angel” was number one, only to be replaced “Crazy For You” in July. Not many artists in history have replaced themselves at one; the Queen of Pop has. These weren’t her only songs out that year; “Material Girl” hit four, “Dress You Up” was five and “Gambler” reached ten. So many releases, all stone-cold classics. The young pop divas only wish they could have her hits and her success.

2 – The Power of Love

1985 was definitely the year for songs called, “The Power of Love”. There were three out that year that were all amazing. First, there was Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s beautiful ballad. It came out for Christmas in 1984, but its chart run was mostly in 1985, reaching four here and one in the UK. The haunting ballad was a perfect showcase for Holly Johnson’s exquisite voice. Jennifer Rush’s, “The Power of Love” was another song originally released in 1984, but it was 1985 that embraced it and made it a rightful hit. This power ballad is so good that the later cover by Celine Dion became her first mega hit. The song was also Jennifer’s biggest hit, with it going to one in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK and many other places. Surprisingly, it bombed in the US. Our final, “The Power of Love” is one to get you moving and singing along. From the blockbuster film, “Back to the Future”, the Huey Lewis and the News track rightfully hit one in Australia, Canada, Japan and the US. Huey Lewis had so many great songs, but it's not a stretch to say that this was his best song.

3 – INXS began dominating in the US



Since 1980, INXS have been one of the biggest bands ever in Australia. Their only Aussie number one came in 1984 with “Original Sin”, which is a crime to INXS. Seriously, what were we thinking? From 1985 they became one of the biggest bands in the US as well. The Aussie legendary band had some minor hits in the US previously, “The One Thing”, hitting 30 in 1982. But in 1985, when they released the “Listen Like Thieves” album, things turned around and they became household names in the US. The album hit eleven in the US and “What You Need”, hit five. This was the start of an amazing chart run for the Aussie supergroup in the world’s biggest music market. They had many more top tens and even hit one with, “Need You Tonight”. By 1987, INXS were having more success in the US than at home in Australia. And that started in 1985.

4 – Stock, Aitken and Waterman had Their First Number One



When you think of 80s pop music, you can’t not think about uber producers, Stock, Aitken and Waterman. They created some of the biggest songs of the 80s. They wrote and produced tracks like, “Never Gonna Give You Up”, “I Should Be So Lucky” and “Respectable”, and were also excellent producers, proving that with their work on Bananarama’s, “Venus”. While they had some success earlier with tracks by people like Divine and Hazel Dean, it was their production of Dead Alive’s, “You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)”, which saw the three gentlemen have their first worldwide number one. The track is still incredible and was something very fresh for 1985. They took Hi-NRG and made it mainstream. The sound became synonymous with Stock, Aitken and Waterman and made them powerhouses in the industry with the ability to create stars.

5 – Live Aid

Generosity was at an all time high in 1985. 1984 saw the release of Band Aid’s, “Do They Know It’s Christmas”, and in 1985 the Americans decided they needed their own anthem to help Africa, with the release of the super successful, “We Are the World” by USA for Africa. Then came Live Aid. On July 13, the world watched as the world’s biggest musicians played two concerts, one in London and one in Philadelphia. The line up was the stuff of legends, with over 60 acts performing. Acts such as Queen, Madonna, U2, Elton John, Run DMC, George Michael, David Bowie and Phil Collins, who managed to perform at both concerts. The event reportedly raised $127 million. Impressive stuff, and when you watch back the footage of the event you can see why it was so loved.

6 – Brothers in Arms is Released



You would be hard pressed to find a music fan in 1985 who didn’t own Dire Strait’s massive album, “Brothers In Arms”. Clearly many people bought it, because it has sold over 30 million copies worldwide. In the UK it was number one for fourteen weeks and in the US, it had nine weeks in the top spot. But this seems paltry when compared to its chart run here in Australia. Our country saw the album hit number one for a mammoth 34 weeks. Wow. The album also spawned many massive singles, including, “So Far Away”, “Walk of Life” and the iconic, “Money For Nothing”, which became a music video sensation on high rotation on the then new MTV. They loved the section where Sting featured and sang the lines, “I Want My MTV”. You don’t get many bigger albums than this.

7 – A-HA’s Music Video for “Take On Me”

When you think of the best music videos of the 80s, one of the first to spring to mind is no doubt, A-Ha’s, “Take On Me”. The song from the Norwegian synth-pop band is already incredible and then the music video takes it into legendary status. The video combined pencil-sketch animation and live action called rotoscoping. The video is iconic and is close to hitting 1.3 billion views on YouTube. It is still as big today. Credited for bringing the song to the world, it proved to record companies that music videos were just as important as the song itself. And this one is right up there with “Thriller” and “Sledgehammer” as the best from the 80s.

8 – Kate Bush’s Genius “Hounds of Love” Album



Kate Bush is a musical revolutionary. Over her extensive and long career, she has made some truly incredible music, but her 1985 masterpiece, “Hounds of Love” stands out as possibly her greatest triumph. In the music industry it is considered as one of the best albums of all time. One of the most incredible parts of the album is that it is all her. All the tracks, except for the choir part in one song, are all exclusively written by Bush. The singles are brilliant, “Hounds of Love” and “Cloudbusting” are brilliant, but the lead single, “Running Up that Hill (Deal With God), is a stroke of genius. A perfect pop song with an incredible music video. Then to show her beautiful eccentricity, the B side is a conceptual suite about a woman drifting alone in the sea at night. Crazy? You bet. Amazing? You know it.

Why did 1985 rock for you? let us know in the comments below!