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Year-end countdown · John Peel (BBC Radio 1) · December 25, 1985

John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1985

The year-end countdown (December 25, 1985) from John Peel (BBC Radio 1) ranks 50 songs, with “Never Understand” by The Jesus and Mary Chain at number one. The list features 31 different artists; The Fall has the most entries with five songs.

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Only the top 50 were played on air (16-25 December 1985); Peel additionally compiled a list running to 70 from listeners' votes, but positions 51-70 were not broadcast and are excluded here.

# Song ListsBest
1 Never Understand The Jesus and Mary Chain 1 #1
2 Just Like Honey The Jesus and Mary Chain 24 #2
3 Cruisers Creek The Fall 3 #3
4 She Sells Sanctuary The Cult 67 #4
5 Aikea-Guinea Cocteau Twins 4 #5
6 Revolution Chumbawamba 1 #6
7 Primitive Painters Felt 1 #7
8 The Boy With The Thorn In His Side The Smiths 16 #8
9 Perfect Kiss New Order 12 #9
10 Flag Day The Housemartins 1 #10
11 Ironmasters Men They Couldn't Hang 1 #11
12 You Trip Me Up The Jesus and Mary Chain 1 #12
13 Sally Maclennane The Pogues 2 #13
14 Death Of The European Three Johns 1 #14
15 Go Out And Get 'Em Boy Wedding Present 1 #15
16 Love Vigilantes New Order 38 #1
17 All That Ever Mattered Shop Assistants 1 #17
18 Subculture New Order 9 #18
19 Move Me The Woodentops 1 #19
20 A Pair Of Brown Eyes The Pogues 1 #20
21 Bring on the Dancing Horses Echo and the Bunnymen 39 #21
22 V2 That Petrol Emotion 1 #22
23 Spoilt Victorian Child The Fall 1 #23
24 Sunrise New Order 1 #24
25 I'm A Man You Don't Meet Every Day The Pogues 1 #25
26 L.A. Rain Rose of Avalanche 1 #26
27 In Between Days The Cure 72 #3
28 Hymn From A Village James 1 #28
29 The Headmaster Ritual The Smiths 12 #29
30 Motor City Age Of Chance 1 #30
31 That Joke isn't funny anymore The Smiths 2 #31
32 Meat is Murder The Smiths 2 #32
33 Gut Of The Quantifier The Fall 1 #33
34 A Hundred Words The Beloved 1 #34
35 Tupelo Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds 1 #35
36 Marian Sisters of Mercy 2 #36
37 I'm In Pittsburg And It's Raining Vibes 1 #37
38 Faron Young Prefab Sprout 1 #38
39 Couldn't Get Ahead The Fall 1 #39
40 Between The Wars Billy Bragg 2 #13
41 Well I Wonder The Smiths 3 #41
42 L.A. The Fall 1 #42
43 Some Kind Of Stranger Sisters of Mercy 1 #43
44 It Happens Primal Scream 1 #44
45 Face Up New Order 1 #45
46 Makes No Sense At All Husker Du 15 #37
47 The Wind Of Change Robert Wyatt 1 #47
48 Well Well Well The Woodentops 1 #48
49 Like One Thousand Violins One Thousand Violins 1 #49
50 All Day Long Shop Assistants 1 #50

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About this countdown

John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1985 was voted by John Peel (BBC Radio 1)’s listeners in December 25, 1985. Positions are shown exactly as the station ranked them; artist and song names have been standardized so that every entry links to that song’s complete chart history across all stations. It counts toward the Alternative & Modern Rock rankings.

Source: John Peel Wiki (Fandom), "1985 Festive Fifty".

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