Songs of 1985 That Should Have Been Bigger Hits

[DaveWollenberg]

I remember' Yo, little brother', from when it got airplay on WJPC, in Chicago.

[upfrontbear74]

I think, Love In A Vacuum by Til Tuesday should have been huge here in the UK and the US, I was gobsmacked for find out it didn't even make the US hot 100.

[TEverettReynolds]

+1 for Robin George - sux when your label goes bankrupt and can't promote your talent...

+2 Bruce Cockburn - If I Had a Rocket Launcher, some son-of-a-b1tch would die....great line...

+3 King - Love and Pride!

[TEverettReynolds]

+1 for Robin George - sux when your label goes bankrupt and can't promote your talent...

[joseito989]

Do you remember this band or group from France: "Century" their biggest hit was "Lover Why" ????

For me Lover why by Century is one of the songs "that should have been, a bigger hit"

I do remember back in 1985... It was a great hit all over the world but US... :)

[BerlinFan82]

Kayleigh is a great song, Imagination and Love and Pride were good also. Owned all three cassettes at one time.

[IETCHX69]

Playin' pokerstars and diggin' tunes

[nccvball]

@IETCHX69

Nothing like poker and classic tunes.

[pedro3dynamite]

hey thanks for uploading these songs and info. i'm a chart/trivia buff!!! it's true that some songs shoulda been bigger hits. i gotta admit, i never even heard most of these!

[The096757]

except for the afro politics 1985 was a great year for music.

[lurch321]

I remember seeing the video for Yo Little Brother on Friday Night Videos (NBC).

[rawn4203]

"voices carry" (if we are talking american top 40) by Til Tuesday should have been a much bigger hit -should have been #1 for at least 2 weeks.

[perpetual61]

The Payolas had another Hit with " Eyes of a Stranger " which was later used in the movie Valley Girls.

[12Racer99]

Marillion with Fish - one of the greatest bands ever - The whole band rocked, great videos too. I miss Fish.

[TheViralSBK]

However, Kayleigh, Imagination and Love and Pride were big hits in Italy

[heluvatoughsucka]

The Bruce Cockburn one got a fair bit of radio/video play in Canada.

[howardtheman]

Curtie And The Boombox,They look like a female rap group from the mid 80's.

[The096757]

i like that dutch girl group. king was good too, last song is pre hip hop trash.

[Tune4you]

'You're the only love - Payolas' oh..my memories. Goodness.

[drzeus99]

King's "Love And Pride" is one of the best New Wave songs EVER. Period. Insane catchy beat that one can't help but like. Very similar (as far as killer catchy beats go) to Q-Feel's song "Orbital BeBop (Dancing In Heaven)" Check it out on youtube if you're unfamiliar with it.

[The096757]

@drzeus99

kings had a good xmas song made in 1982 too.

[kc768]

That sucks when artists are about to release their albums, and their labels went bust. Frustrating.

[Lennon4life1968]

AMEN@Sun City not getting enough props (then and now). That song was by far the most powerful of all the songs written to support a cause.

[nccvball]

@Lennon4life1968

It barely received airplay back in 1985 and has not been mentioned at all when there was talk about the 25th anniversary of "USA for Africa".

[12Racer99]

@Lennon4life1968 Have you heard the Specials Free Nelson Mandela? That one really was powerful too.

[nccvball]

@12Racer99

I did hear that one a lot when that came out. There was a video channel called Odyssey that was played on a local broadcast channel. They would play this song quite a bit.

[MillBelater]

...because it sounded like a cheap imitation of the "To live and die in LA soundtrack"(sun city)

[themachman19691]

what a novel idea,brilliant.sort of weird as im in the uk and sort of strange to hear tracks like kayleigh never made it big in america.thanks for posting.be nice to see other years.

[nccvball]

@themachman19691

Marillion has a small but loyal following in the States. I am glad to hear they are still continuing to perform and record in the UK.

[whitesoxgeorge]

@nccvball Marillion is not MARILLION without Fish.

[whitesoxgeorge]

@nccvball Marillion is not MARILLION without Fish.

[whitesoxgeorge]

@nccvball Marillion is not MARILLION without Fish.

[JMein13074]

Any chance of a video for 1987?

[nccvball]

@JMein13074

Yes, 1987 will be coming soon. 1970 and 1986 are almost ready for release.

[JMein13074]

@nccvball

how close is the list to being done, cause if it isn't yet, may I suggest

camouflage - the great commandment

[anch0rman13]

ive got curtie and the boombox on a white lable 12" single never knew who sang it untill youtube came along

[yemieko]

btw what happened to 1982? and does it stop at 1986?

[nccvball]

@yemieko

I did not notice until your comment that the 1982 video has been pulled down worldwide. Depending on the changes in wind direction, these have been live, only US, worldwide, deleted, or available worldwide except Germany. It appears that 1977 and 1982 have been removed worldwide.

Right now, the videos run from 1971 to 1986. 1970 and 1987 should be posted shortly.

[nccvball]

@yemieko

Keep checking. I am attempting to re-release videos with the offending songs muted.

[FIGHTSEEN]

Black Kisses rocked the clubs for a hot minute. Classified as hi-nrg...sort of the roots of techno.

[PM1970]

Imagination by Belouis Some got into the UK Top 20 at the beginning of 1986 - such a fantastic, funky tune! Absolutely love it!!

[nccvball]

@PM1970

"Some People" was his other hit. It is pretty good too but I like "Imagination" better. Search Google for the uncut music video of Imagination.

[elc1960]

Robin George's album was on Bronz records (which also had on its roster Uriah Heep and Motorhead). They folded about a year after that album came out. Hit Parader magazine gave it a good review. Someone told me it was re-issued on CD recently, but I don't have any concrete info on that.

[nccvball]

@elc1960

Yes, I believe it was just released in the UK on Angel Air records.

[elc1960]

@nccvball Thanks! Like you, I had that album on vinyl. Probably won't buy it on CD, but nice to know it's there anyway.

[xeuropn]

Great compilation, bringing back my favorite music year of all time-1985. Living in Germany during the decade allowed me to enjoy hearing many of these songs either on German music shows, or across the airways.

[nccvball]

@xeuropn

That's pretty cool. It also gave you exposure to some American artists that do not receive airplay in the US.

[dadoctah]

Weird coincidence: woke up this morning to "If I Had a Rocket Launcher" being played on Radio Free Phoenix.

[600keith]

'love & pride' by king was all over the radio here....so was marillion's 'kayleigh' but its 'yo little brother' that a friend and i remember so fondly. we LOVED it!!! still do, an 80's classic! too bad it did'nt dent the top 40.

[nccvball]

I remember Nolan Thomas "performing" his hit song on the CBS Morning Show back in 1985. I never realized was not just lip synching his own voice, it was someone else altogether. I never heard of 'Kayleigh' until I started putting this song together. They still perform as group in the UK.

[ynnhojhairam]

Love & Pride Is Considered A Big Hit.. In Clubs Still Played Where I Go And known By Alot of people..

[nccvball]

@ynnhojhairam

You were the first person to tell me about "Love and Pride" still playing in clubs but I have received a few more e-mail from people telling me the same. I have not been in a club in longgggg time but I have not heard that song on US or satellite radio in 25 years,