Year-end consensus · All Rock Formats · four countdowns combined

The best rock songs of 1985

Q: What was the top rock song of 1985?

Combining 4 year-end radio countdowns, the top rock song of 1985 is "Alive and Kicking" by Simple Minds, which appeared on 3 of the lists.

Four radio stations and charts published year-end countdowns for 1985: KROQ, 91X, John Peel (BBC Radio 1) and Studio Brussel. Combining every list, the top rock song of 1985 is “Alive and Kicking” by Simple Minds, which appeared on three of the four countdowns and was voted number one by one of them. Four different songs were voted number one somewhere: “Shake the Disease” by Depeche Mode, “Don't You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds, “Never Understand” by Jesus & Mary Chain and “Alive & Kicking” by Simple Minds. New Order was the year’s most-charted artist, with six different songs placing 10 times across the countdowns.

4countdowns

218songs charted

4different #1s

Top 100 songs of 1985

All 218 songs →

Ranked by combined points across every 1985 year-end countdown in this format. How it works.

#	Song	Strength	Lists	Best	#1s
1	Alive and Kicking Simple Minds	286	3	#1	1
2	In Between Days The Cure	266	4	#4	–
3	Take On Me a-ha	220	3	#7	–
4	Road to Nowhere Talking Heads	208	3	#2	–
5	Shake the Disease Depeche Mode	191	2	#1	1
6	The Perfect Kiss New Order	189	2	#2	–
7	Shout Tears for Fears	189	2	#5	–
8	Don't You (Forget About Me) Simple Minds	188	2	#1	1
9	This Time INXS	182	2	#8	–
10	You Spin Me Round (Like a Record) Dead or Alive	180	2	#6	–
11	Dead Man's Party Oingo Boingo	172	2	#10	–
12	Everybody Wants to Rule the World Tears for Fears	168	2	#9	–
13	Sun City Artists United Against Apartheid	167	3	#6	–
14	Dancing in the Streets Mick Jagger & David Bowie	167	2	#5	–
15	Head Over Heels Tears for Fears	165	2	#16	–
16	Running Up That Hill Kate Bush	163	2	#4	–
17	Subculture New Order	161	3	#18	–
18	Stay Up Late Talking Heads	160	2	#14	–
19	Bring on the Dancing Horses Echo and the Bunnymen	156	3	#21	–
20	Be Near Me ABC	151	2	#18	–
21	Love Vigilantes New Order	145	2	#16	–
22	The Bottom Line Big Audio Dynamite	141	2	#15	–
23	World Destruction Time Zone	136	2	#18	–
24	She Sells Sanctuary The Cult	134	2	#4	–
25	So In Love Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	132	2	#17	–
26	If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free Sting	132	2	#20	–
27	Just Another Day Oingo Boingo	128	2	#27	–
28	Weird Science Oingo Boingo	128	2	#34	–
29	Strength The Alarm	128	2	#20	–
30	Lay Your Hands on Me Thompson Twins	124	2	#22	–
31	Close to Me The Cure	123	2	#12	–
32	Slave to Love Bryan Ferry	121	2	#30	–
33	Broken Wings Mr. Mister	113	3	#22	–
34	Russians Sting	110	2	#10	–
35	Never Understand The Jesus and Mary Chain	100	1	#1	1
36	The Boy With The Thorn In His Side The Smiths	99	2	#8	–
37	Vigilante Felony	99	1	#2	–
38	Opportunities Pet Shop Boys	98	1	#3	–
39	Just Like Honey The Jesus and Mary Chain	98	1	#2	–
40	Things Can Only Get Better Howard Jones	98	2	#42	–
41	How Soon is Now? The Smiths	98	1	#3	–
42	Cruisers Creek The Fall	96	1	#3	–
43	Burning House of Love X	95	2	#37	–
44	A Night Like This The Cure	95	1	#6	–
45	Money for Nothing Dire Straits	93	1	#7	–
46	Nikita Elton John	93	1	#3	–
47	Aikea-Guinea Cocteau Twins	92	1	#5	–
48	Last Time Forever Squeeze	90	1	#10	–
49	Slave to the Rhythm Grace Jones	90	1	#4	–
50	Revolution Chumbawamba	90	1	#6	–
51	Viva La Rock Adam Ant	89	1	#13	–
52	Primitive Painters Felt	88	1	#7	–
53	Bad U2	87	1	#13	–
54	Castles in Spain The Armoury Show	86	2	#51	–
55	Love and Pride King	86	1	#16	–
56	Nemesis Shriekback	86	2	#54	–
57	Perfect Kiss New Order	84	1	#9	–
58	Flexible Depeche Mode	83	1	#19	–
59	This is England The Clash	82	1	#17	–
60	Flag Day The Housemartins	82	1	#10	–
61	Love is the 7th Wave Sting	82	2	#31	–
62	A Good Heart Feargal Sharkey	80	1	#7	–
63	Ironmasters Men They Couldn't Hang	80	1	#11	–
64	Blue Kiss Jane Weidlin	79	1	#23	–
65	One Night in Bangkok Murray Head	79	1	#24	–
66	And She Was Talking Heads	78	1	#21	–
67	You Trip Me Up The Jesus and Mary Chain	78	1	#12	–
68	Just Another Night Mick Jagger	78	1	#25	–
69	Marlene on the Wall Suzanne Vega	77	1	#8	–
70	Kosciusko Midnight Oil	77	1	#26	–
71	Sally Maclennane The Pogues	76	1	#13	–
72	Would I Lie To You? Eurythmics	76	2	#61	–
73	Sussudio Phil Collins	76	1	#27	–
74	Good Bye Bad Times Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder	75	1	#28	–
75	Death Of The European Three Johns	74	1	#14	–
76	Fortress Around Your Heart Sting	74	1	#25	–
77	Brand New Friend Lloyd Cole	73	1	#9	–
78	Blowing Up Detroit John Palumbo	73	1	#30	–
79	Go Out And Get 'Em Boy Wedding Present	72	1	#15	–
80	The Perfect Way Scritti Politti	71	1	#32	–
81	Voices Carry Til Tuesday	70	1	#28	–
82	A Sort of Homecoming U2	70	2	#57	–
83	I Got You Babe UB40	69	1	#29	–
84	Life in One Day Howard Jones	69	2	#55	–
85	I Got You Babe UB40/Chrissie Hynde	68	1	#35	–
86	Tonight She Comes The Cars	68	2	#58	–
87	All That Ever Mattered Shop Assistants	68	1	#17	–
88	Election Day Arcadia	67	1	#36	–
89	Hits of the Year Squeeze	66	2	#40	–
90	Roll Over Thompson Twins	66	1	#32	–
91	A View to a Kill Duran Duran	65	1	#38	–
92	Can't Get There From Here R.E.M.	65	1	#33	–
93	Move Me The Woodentops	64	1	#19	–
94	It's Called a Heart Depeche Mode	64	1	#40	–
95	All You Zombies The Hooters	63	1	#35	–
96	A Pair Of Brown Eyes The Pogues	62	1	#20	–
97	Some Like It Hot Power Station	62	1	#42	–
98	Master and Servant Depeche Mode	62	1	#36	–
99	My Heart Goes Bang Dead or Alive	61	1	#43	–
100	What You Need INXS	60	2	#53	–

Every station’s number one of 1985

Station	Number one song	Countdown
KROQ	Shake the Disease Depeche Mode	KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985
91X	Don't You (Forget About Me) Simple Minds	91X Top 91 Songs of 1985
John Peel (BBC Radio 1)	Never Understand Jesus & Mary Chain	John Peel's Festive Fifty of 1985
Studio Brussel	Alive & Kicking Simple Minds	Studio Brussel De Eindafrekening 1985

All 1985 countdowns in this ranking

About the 1985 ranking

Radio stations count down their listeners’ favorite songs at the end of every year. Each station’s list reflects its own audience, so a song that ruled Los Angeles could miss the top ten in Chicago. To find the songs that defined 1985 everywhere, RockLists gives every appearance percentile-based points (a number one earns 100, the last position earns close to zero) and adds them up across all four qualifying countdowns. This ranking combines every rock format on the site. Read the full methodology.