In 1985, a song could reach millions of people through two powerful channels: Top 40 radio and MTV. The music video channel was only four years old, yet it already decided which artists became household names.
Movie studios noticed, too, and started packing soundtracks with songs built to climb the charts. Cassette tapes were outselling vinyl records, and the Walkman let teens carry their favorite hits everywhere from the school bus to the mall.
The Billboard Hot 100 was the scoreboard everyone watched. Landing at No. 1 meant a song had won over radio programmers, record buyers, and video fans all at once.
Some of these chart-toppers became wedding staples and movie classics. Others faded quietly, leaving only a chorus that pops up when you least expect it.
A hit can last one week at the top and forty years in your head. The list ahead covers British duos, Canadian rockers, a Norwegian trio, a James Bond theme, and a charity record featuring dozens of stars.
Along the way, you will learn who wrote these songs, how long they ruled the chart, and the odd stories behind them. Keep score as you read and see how many you can still hum.
1. Like a Virgin by Madonna
Few singers have ever started a year already holding the top spot, but Madonna pulled it off. Her single reached No. 1 in December 1984 and stayed there through January 1985, finishing a six-week run.
Songwriters Billy Steinberg and Tom Kelly wrote the track, and producer Nile Rodgers gave it a bouncy, danceable sound. It served as the title song of her second album, released on November 12, 1984.
Her performance at the very first MTV Video Music Awards in September 1984 had already caused a stir. She appeared in a wedding dress on top of a giant cake, and people talked about it for months.
That buzz helped push the single to the top. It also turned Madonna from a promising dance-pop newcomer into one of the most famous performers on the planet.
Fun fact: the music video was filmed partly in Venice, Italy.
2. I Want to Know What Love Is by Foreigner
A gospel choir from New Jersey helped a hard rock band score its biggest hit. Foreigner was known for loud arena anthems like Hot Blooded, so this slow, searching ballad surprised plenty of fans.
Guitarist Mick Jones wrote the song, and Lou Gramm sang lead. The New Jersey Mass Choir added the soaring backing vocals that give the final minutes their lift.
The single hit No. 1 in February 1985 and held the spot for two weeks. It remains Foreigner’s only American chart-topper, even though the band had many other big hits.
You could find it on the album Agent Provocateur, released in late 1984. The song also reached No. 1 in the United Kingdom.
It became a regular at proms and radio dedication shows. Years later, it still turns up in movies and TV shows whenever a scene needs a big, heartfelt moment.
3. Careless Whisper by Wham! Featuring George Michael
George Michael was just 17 years old when he came up with the melody for this song while riding a bus. He and Wham! partner Andrew Ridgeley finished writing it together years later.
The famous saxophone line came from Michael himself. Many people can name the song after hearing only those first few notes.
In the United States, the single was credited to Wham! featuring George Michael. In the United Kingdom and other countries, it was released under Michael’s name alone, which hinted at his solo plans.
It reached No. 1 in February 1985 and stayed for three weeks. Billboard later named it the top song of the entire year.
The lyrics tell of regret after breaking someone’s trust. That serious mood was a big change from the bubbly fun of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go, and it showed Michael could handle grown-up ballads.
4. Can’t Fight This Feeling by REO Speedwagon
Kevin Cronin worked on this song for nearly ten years before he felt ready to share it. The REO Speedwagon singer started writing it in the 1970s and kept tinkering with the words.
The story is a familiar one for many listeners. It describes falling for a close friend and struggling to admit it.
Released on the album Wheels Are Turnin’ in 1984, the single reached No. 1 in March 1985. It held the top spot for three weeks.
This was the band’s second chart-topper. Their first, Keep On Loving You, had led the Hot 100 back in 1981, so the new hit proved the group still had staying power.
The music video follows a boy growing up through different decades. Meanwhile, the slow piano opening made the song a reliable pick for school dances, and it still shows up on classic rock stations today.
5. One More Night by Phil Collins
Phil Collins had a busy 1985, and this quiet ballad kicked off his winning streak. It reached No. 1 on March 30 and stayed for two weeks.
The song came from his third solo album, No Jacket Required. That album went on to win the Grammy Award for Album of the Year.
Collins built the track around a simple drum machine pattern and soft keyboards. The lyrics describe someone hoping for just one more chance to fix a relationship.
Adult contemporary stations played it constantly. It also topped that format’s chart, which made it a favorite of parents as well as teens.
Here is a detail many people forget. While scoring solo hits, Collins was still the drummer and lead singer of Genesis, and he also played at both Live Aid concerts that July, flying across the Atlantic on the Concorde to do it.
6. We Are the World by USA for Africa
On the night of January 28, 1985, more than 40 famous singers walked into a Los Angeles studio after the American Music Awards. A sign on the door reportedly asked them to check their egos at the door.
Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote the song to raise money for famine relief in Ethiopia. Quincy Jones produced it.
The lineup was remarkable. Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Paul Simon, Cyndi Lauper, and Ray Charles all took turns at the microphone.
The single reached No. 1 in April and stayed for four weeks. It sold millions of copies and raised tens of millions of dollars for aid.
It also won Grammy Awards for Song and Record of the Year. A documentary about that famous all-night session, The Greatest Night in Pop, was released in 2024.
7. Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds
Simple Minds almost said no to the biggest hit of their career. The Scottish band preferred to record their own material, and they turned the song down at first.
Producer Keith Forsey and guitarist Steve Schiff wrote it for The Breakfast Club, the John Hughes film about five students stuck in Saturday detention. Billy Idol and Bryan Ferry reportedly passed on it before Simple Minds agreed.
The decision paid off. The single reached No. 1 in May 1985 and gave the group its only American chart-topper.
Its spot in the movie made it famous. As John Bender crosses the football field and raises his fist, the chorus kicks in for one of the best-known endings in teen film history.
Singer Jim Kerr added the memorable la-la-la section near the end. Today, the song remains a go-to choice for anything about the 1980s.
8. Everybody Wants to Rule the World by Tears for Fears
It is a catchy summer tune with a surprisingly serious message. The lyrics deal with power, greed, and the urge to control others, yet the shuffling beat makes people want to drive with the windows down.
Tears for Fears, the British duo of Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith, wrote it with keyboardist Ian Stanley. Orzabal reportedly finished it almost as an afterthought near the end of recording.
It appeared on Songs from the Big Chair, released in February 1985. The single reached No. 1 on June 8 and held the spot for two weeks.
Its music video shows Smith driving a classic convertible through California and Arizona. MTV played it often, which helped American audiences discover the band.
The song also shows up in films and video games regularly. Singer Lorde recorded a darker cover version in 2013, introducing it to younger listeners.
9. Heaven by Bryan Adams
Before it became a slow-dance classic, this song started life on the soundtrack of a little-known 1983 movie called A Night in Heaven. Hardly anyone noticed it there.
Bryan Adams and his writing partner Jim Vallance gave it a second chance by adding it to the album Reckless in 1984. That album turned into a giant seller with six hit singles.
In June 1985, the ballad gave the Canadian rocker his first No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It stayed for two weeks.
Adams’ raspy voice carried the gentle verses and big chorus. Couples soon chose it for weddings and anniversaries.
Fun fact: Adams was only 25 when the song reached the top. He would later hit No. 1 again with longer-running hits like the 1991 power ballad from the Robin Hood movie.
10. Sussudio by Phil Collins
What exactly is a Sussudio? Nobody knows, including the man who sang it.
Phil Collins was jamming with a drum machine when the nonsense word came out of his mouth. He tried to replace it with real lyrics but decided the made-up word worked best, so he kept it and built the song around a girl’s name.
Bright horns and a quick dance beat made it a big change from One More Night, his earlier ballad. The single reached No. 1 on July 6, 1985, and stayed there for one week.
It was the second chart-topper from No Jacket Required. The video, filmed in a London club, got heavy play on MTV.
The song later earned a strange new fame. It appears in the novel American Psycho, and comedians still joke about trying to sing along with a word that does not exist.
11. A View to a Kill by Duran Duran
No James Bond theme had ever reached No. 1 in America until Duran Duran came along. Their song for the 1985 Bond film did it in July and held the top for two weeks.
The story behind it is amusing. Bassist John Taylor reportedly walked up to producer Cubby Broccoli at a party and asked when someone decent would finally do a Bond theme.
The band then wrote the song with longtime Bond composer John Barry. It mixed their sleek new wave style with big orchestral strings.
The movie was Roger Moore’s final outing as Agent 007. Its music video placed the band around the Eiffel Tower, a key location in the film.
The record still holds a special place in Bond history. Even later hits by Adele and Billie Eilish did not top the Hot 100, so this remains the only Bond theme to reach No. 1 there.
12. Everytime You Go Away by Paul Young
Some songs need a second singer to find their audience. Daryl Hall wrote this one, and Hall and Oates first recorded it on their 1980 album Voices, but it was never released as a single.
British singer Paul Young picked it up five years later. His version added an electric sitar sound and a slow build that grows bigger with each chorus.
It appeared on his album The Secret of Association. The single reached No. 1 on July 27, 1985, and stayed for one week.
That made it Young’s biggest hit in the United States. Back home in Britain, he was already a star thanks to songs like Wherever I Lay My Hat.
The lyrics describe the sadness of watching someone leave again and again. Young, who also sang on the original Band Aid charity single, gave it a smooth, soulful touch that won over American radio.
13. Shout by Tears for Fears
Two No. 1 hits from one album in one summer is a rare achievement, and Tears for Fears managed it. Shout followed Everybody Wants to Rule the World to the top.
It reached No. 1 on August 3, 1985, and stayed there for three weeks. Both singles came from Songs from the Big Chair, which also became a No. 1 album.
Roland Orzabal and Ian Stanley wrote it. The lyrics encourage people to let out their frustrations instead of keeping them bottled up, an idea connected to a type of therapy the band had read about.
The chorus is short and simple. That made it easy for stadium crowds to chant along.
The video was filmed on the cliffs of Durdle Door in Dorset, England. With pounding drums and layered keyboards, the track showed how bold studio recording had become by the mid-1980s.
14. The Power of Love by Huey Lewis and the News
Huey Lewis almost turned down the job. When the makers of Back to the Future asked for a song, he worried he could not write a tune called Back to the Future.
Director Robert Zemeckis told him the title did not matter. The band delivered The Power of Love instead.
Lewis even makes a quick cameo in the film. He plays the teacher who rejects Marty McFly’s band at an audition, telling them they are just too darn loud.
The single reached No. 1 in August 1985 and stayed for two weeks. It was the band’s first Hot 100 chart-topper.
Back to the Future became the highest-earning movie of 1985 at the box office. The song rode along with it and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song, making the band a staple of the decade.
15. Take On Me by a-ha
The first version of this song flopped. a-ha, a pop trio from Norway, released it in 1984, and it barely sold.
Warner Bros. gave it another try with a new recording and a bold idea for a video. Director Steve Barron combined live action with pencil-sketch animation, a method called rotoscoping.
The animators traced thousands of frames by hand. In the story, a young woman is pulled into a comic book world by a sketched hero.
MTV played it nonstop. The single reached No. 1 in October 1985, and the video won six awards at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards.
Singer Morten Harket’s leap to a very high note in the chorus is still a karaoke challenge. The video has passed two billion views on YouTube, so a new generation keeps finding the band that once could not get a hit.
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