# Best #1 single of the year retrospective: 1985 **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [October 18, 2014, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711 "2014-10-18T15:52:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![koeeoaddi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/koeeoaddi/32/408_2.png) [@koeeoaddi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/koeeoaddi)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 12:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/41 "2014-10-19T00:42:04Z")
I think we all need to know which two Dopers voted for_We Built This City_. :eek::dubious:😃 ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/42 "2014-10-19T01:22:08Z")
> [@kunilou](#): > > I’ll be the old softie sentimentalist in the thread and vote for We Are the World. Heck, I’ll join you. It had a lot of star power, and it worked in a way that hadn’t yet become an oft-parodied clichĂ©. The other songs I was tempted to vote for don’t need my help. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/43 "2014-10-19T01:28:45Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > I voted for Careless Whisper by Wham, the chorus “Guilty Feet Have Got No Rhythm” is a fine lyrical example. I also love the other Wham entry “Everything She Wants” I could listen to the opening all day. I voted for George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley in 1984 with “Wake Me Up Before You Go Go”. > > They had fun catchy songs, “Last Christmas” has got to be among the best Christmas tunes of the last 30 years, or since I was born. > > George Michael is a great singer and an underrated song writer. > > It’s weird that “Careless Whisper” is credited to both George and Wham, so it became the duo’s second #1 and George’s first #1, though I consider it a Wham song and not a proper George Michael single. It appears on Wham’s album “Make It Big”. I agree - lot of respect for George Michael - I hear the craft behind the Wham! songs and we hear a distinctive voice emerge from Faith on. Great talent. ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/44 "2014-10-19T02:03:34Z")
> [@Nema98](#): > > Phil Collins Entries are alright, but from that album “No Jacket Required” he had much better, like “Take Me Home”. Okay overall, plus I had only heard the duet once. He gets a lot of unnecessary hate while Peter Gabriel is worshipped. With good reason. Peter Gabriel’s solo career consists of interesting, innovative music. Phil Collins’ solo career consists of sappy love ballads and Disney theme songs. The one exception is “In the Air Tonight,” which is a fucking great song and rightfully considered a classic. ---
**Author:** ![JKellyMap](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jkellymap/32/15880_2.png) [@JKellyMap](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKellyMap)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/45 "2014-10-19T02:22:04Z")
> [@woodstockbirdybird](#): > > “Superman” was actually a '60s song recorded by an actual band - Simple Minds, IIRC, were the first to record “(Don’t You) Forget About Me” even though they didn’t write it. My mistake – quite right. ---
**Author:** ![etv78](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d78d45/32.png) [@etv78](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/etv78)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/46 "2014-10-19T02:23:50Z")
Couldn’t vote!! I love 80s music, too many great choices! ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/47 "2014-10-19T03:37:01Z")
Simple minds, but Wham!, Dire Straits, Jan Hammer, Duran Duran, A-Ha, and Foreigner are all up there too. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 4:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/48 "2014-10-19T04:13:16Z")
That ain’t workin’. That’s the way you do it. You play the _geetar_ on the MTV. ---
**Author:** ![Abracadebra](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f04885/32.png) [@Abracadebra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abracadebra)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 4:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/49 "2014-10-19T04:25:19Z")
> [@SaharaTea](#): > > With good reason. Peter Gabriel’s solo career consists of interesting, innovative music. Phil Collins’ solo career consists of sappy love ballads and Disney theme songs. The one exception is “In the Air Tonight,” which is a fucking great song and rightfully considered a classic. “Home By The Sea” is a jam, though. ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 4:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/50 "2014-10-19T04:42:35Z")
> [@Abracadebra](#): > > “Home By The Sea” is a jam, though. Genesis has lots of good music. As does Collins on his first two albums. By the way, the aforementioned “Take Me Home”, features Peter Gabriel. (and Sting, I think) ---
**Author:** ![Dale\_Sams](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/779978/32.png) [@Dale\_Sams](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dale_Sams)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 4:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/51 "2014-10-19T04:44:43Z")
I’m surprised that Tears for Fears (Some of the most genuinely talented people on that list) are getting so little love. ---
**Author:** ![Art\_Rock](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/art_rock/32/525_2.png) [@Art\_Rock](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Art_Rock)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 9:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/52 "2014-10-19T09:50:47Z")
Careless whisper (credited to George Michael solo in the Netherlands’ charts) got my vote, ahead of Duran Duran and Dire Straits. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/53 "2014-10-19T10:00:43Z")
> [@Dale\_Sams](#): > > I’m surprised that Tears for Fears (Some of the most genuinely talented people on that list) are getting so little love. I went for “Money for Nothing” over “Shout”, but it was a close thing. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 10:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/54 "2014-10-19T10:38:44Z")
“Money for Nothing”, If not on it’s own merits, then on the strength of the “Brothers in Arms” CD. This song bears the distinction of being one of the few songs I can remember where I was when I first heard it, and precious few songs have hit me so positively on first listening. It’s a far better list than 1984, which had sent me running from the top-40 stations to the rock stations. I suppose I should be grateful for that. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 12:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/55 "2014-10-19T12:46:35Z")
I went with a-ha, although it was a tough decision. Want to shout out to Grace Slick and Starship. Seeing her work in the 60s, who would have ever guessed she could have such great commercial success in the 80s? I know she hated it, but it’s just music, get over it.🙂 I like some pretty artsy stuff, but I also like the musical equivalent of a cheeseburger. No artist should be ashamed of making good, simple fluff. Especially when for every brilliant song you wrote, you wrote three that were a rambling, drug induced mess. We’re also coming up on another band that was a cult favorite in the 70s but went on to huge commercial success in the 80s, even more than Starship: Heart. They’ve also pretty much abandoned that sound. Must suck to go to a Heart show today and only hear like three songs you know, and only because the local rock station kept on playing Barracuda in the 80s. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/56 "2014-10-19T13:23:21Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > We’re also coming up on another band that was a cult favorite in the 70s Heart had multiple platinum albums in the 70s and were ubiquitous on the radio
definitely not a cult band. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/57 "2014-10-19T13:34:08Z")
For its pure poppy goodness and encapsulation of the mid-80s sound, I had to go with a-ha and “Take On Me.” This list takes a huge nosedive in quality from 1984, but there’s a handful of contenders on here. Dire Straits, of course, Tears for Fears, too. The Simple Minds was iconic for the era, too. And Huey Lewis is perhaps a bit under-appreciated in this day and age. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/58 "2014-10-19T13:40:59Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Heart had multiple platinum albums in the 70s and were ubiquitous on the radio
definitely not a cult band. Yeah - **adaher** , where are you located? In the U.S., Heart had great 70’s success with a number of hits. The 80’s comeback phase was the add-on - now, granted it was during MTV’s hair-metal phase, so I am sure their video’s opened up a lot more visibility worldwide. But their reputation is much more established on their 70’s work, which was great. I love me some Nancy Wilson - great rhythm guitarist. ---
**Author:** ![ExTank](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/35a633/32.png) [@ExTank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ExTank)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/59 "2014-10-19T14:56:50Z")
I tunred 18 and graduated in '85. Took a road trip to Pensacola to visit my sister and BIL, and we went out to a bar one night (had to be 18 to get in, couldn’t legally drink, obviously, but I managed somehow), and the whole bar did a drunken singalong to _Money for Nothin’_ at one point. That one moment kind of defined 1985 to me. ---
**Author:** ![Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@Ellis\_Aponte\_Jr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellis_Aponte_Jr)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2014, 3:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711/60 "2014-10-19T15:02:08Z")
The guy from _American Psycho_ had good things to say about Huey Lewis of this era, also solo Phil Collins and Whitney Houston. I think he would’ve loved this playlist! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-1-single-of-the-year-retrospective-1985/701711.md?page=4)