# Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** music\ **Created:** [April 11, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nineteen-hundred-and-eighty-five/939814 "2021-04-11T19:06:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 3\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nineteen-hundred-and-eighty-five/939814/1 "2021-04-11T19:06:28Z")
What is the cool filtered sound all through “1985”? It comes in around 25-30 seconds playing A-flat and C: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/utMD5GDkLk8/maxresdefault.jpg "Nineteen Hundred And Eighty Five (Remastered 2010)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utMD5GDkLk8) ---
**Author:** ![Folly](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folly/32/3219_2.png) [@Folly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folly)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nineteen-hundred-and-eighty-five/939814/2 "2021-04-11T19:19:07Z")
Well, could be the [Mellotron](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mellotron) which Wikipedia says was an instrument used in the song. ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2021, 8:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nineteen-hundred-and-eighty-five/939814/3 "2021-04-11T20:17:39Z")
Almost undoubtedly some sort of a synth, and a Mellotron seems to be a likely suspect, especially as McCartney is an aficionado of the instrument. Here’s a fun clip of him talking about the Mellotron: [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/tTKPW92ndUA/hqdefault.jpg "Paul McCartney demonstrates the Mellotron") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTKPW92ndUA)