Song · ABC
“Be Near Me” by ABC
From the album How to Be a… Zillionaire! (1985)
“Be Near Me” by ABC appears on 16 radio countdowns from 7 stations between 1985 and 2025. It was first released in 1985 on the album How to Be a… Zillionaire!. Its best result is #18 on the 91X Top 91 Songs of 1985. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #20 alternative song of 1985, #2,161 alternative song of all time and #169 of the '80s.
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Video from YouTube (ABCVEVO). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube
In April 1985 ABC pulled "Be Near Me" off How to Be a… Zillionaire!, their third album, as its second single. Martin Fry and Mark White wrote and produced it together, Fry singing lead and White handling the arrangement, with Bradley Lang on bass, and it's glossy, bouncing dance-pop in F major, all cartoon brightness and a pulse clocked at 125 beats per minute.
Britain was lukewarm: it stopped at No. 26, though that made it the lone UK top-40 single the album produced. America was warmer, pushing it to No. 9 on the Billboard Hot 100 and to the top of the dance club chart for two weeks. Peter Care's video matched the sound, the four members in loud colors bashing oversized, toy-like instruments on a blank white set while the camera swoops and rolls around them.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 33 | KROQ Los Angeles, CA | KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985 | 107 |
| 1985 | 18 | 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana | 91X Top 91 Songs of 1985 | 91 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| – | 88 | WLIR / WDRE | WLIR Top 200 Songs of the 1980s | 200 |
| 1988 | 363 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1988) | 496 |
| 1989 | 162 | 91X | 91X Top 191 Songs of the 1980s (1989) | 191 |
| 1989 | 174 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1989) | 495 |
| 1992 | 275 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1992) | 500 |
| 1994 | 416 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1994) | 497 |
| 1995 | 460 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1995) | 500 |
| 1996 | 279 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1996) | 500 |
| 1998 | 364 | KROQ | KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 1998) | 488 |
| 1999 | 970 | Q101 | Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 1017 |
| 2002 | 107 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) | 2002 |
| 2003 | 520 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2021 | 658 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '80s | 909 |
| 2025 | 496 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 800 Mood Booster Songs | 800 |
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