We'll breakdown 1985, but you can relive all the Hot 100's number one hits year by year:
- 80s: 1980 | 1981 | 1982 | 1983 | 1984 | 1985 | 1986 | 1987 | 1988 | 1989 |
- 90s: 1990 | 1991 | 1992 | 1993 | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 |
- 00s: 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 |
The '80s phase of the British invasion continued to run its course in 1985, producing two more No. 1 hits from British duo Wham! ("Careless Whisper" and "Everything She Wants") along with chart-toppers from Tears For Fears and Dire Straits.
But American listeners sampled tracks from around the world that year—take Norwegian group a-ha and their impossibly-high vocals for the synth pop hit "Take On Me," or Scottish band Simple Minds, whose "Don't You (Forget About Me)" became a coming-of-age battle cry for teens everywhere in the iconic film The Breakfast Club. And artists from Diana Ross to Bob Dylan came together to perform "We Are The World," a song written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie, which raised millions for humanitarian aid in Africa.
All these songs snagged Billboard's No. 1 on U.S. charts, but there's more where they came from. Plug in below for a full list of the 27 songs that topped Billboard charts in 1985.
Madonna, "Like A Virgin"
Foreigner, "I Want To Know What Love Is"
Wham!, "Careless Whisper"
REO Speedwagon, "Can't Fight This Feeling"
Phil Collins, "One More Night"
USA For Africa, "We Are The World"
Madonna, "Crazy For You"
Simple Minds, "Don't You (Forget About Me)"
Wham!, "Everything She Wants"
Tears For Fears, "Everybody Wants To Rule The World"
Bryan Adams, "Heaven"
Phil Collins, "Sussudio"
Duran Duran, "A View To A Kill"
Tears For Fears, "Shout"
Huey Lewis, "The Power Of Love"
John Parr, "St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)"
Dire Straits, "Money For Nothing"
Ready For The World, "Oh Sheila"
a-ha, "Take On Me"
Whitney Houston, "Saving All My Love For You"
Stevie Wonder, "Part-Time Lover"
Jan Hammer, "Miami Vice Theme"
Starship, "We Built This City"
Phil Collins and Marilyn Martin, "Separate Lives (Theme From White Nights)"
Mr. Mister, "Broken Wings"
Lionel Richie, "Say You, Say Me (Title Song From White Nights)"