Let’s take a trip back to 1985, when — at times — the music video an artist released for their song was actually more important than the song itself. Madonna, the top international superstar of 1985, would start to release her most memorable videos in 1986, while Michael Jackson took the year off. However, there were plenty of other artists who released groundbreaking videos that year. Let’s take a look at the five best from 1985:
5. Phil Collins, “Don’t Lose My Number”
“Don’t Lose My Number” was the third single off of the megahit album No Jacket Required. It reached No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100. Phil Collins spent a lot of time on his videos, and “Don’t Lose My Number” is no exception.
“Don’t Lose My Number” sees Collins trying to come up with an idea to make his latest video. As you can see, some of his ideas are downright laughable. However, all of this creates one of the most enjoyable music videos of the 1980s.
4. ‘Til Tuesday, “Voices Carry”
The band ‘Til Tuesday might be a one-hit wonder, but that one hit during the summer of 1985, “Voices Carry,” was an outstanding one. Taken from the album of the same name, ‘Til Tuesday’s summer hit reached No. 8 on Billboard’s Hot 100.
One could not escape this song’s mesmerizing video, named as one of the 100 greatest videos of all-time by RockOnTheNet, during the summer of 1985. “Voices Carry” had a feminist message before having feminist messages in videos was considered cool. In the video, Mann deals with a jealous lover who tries to humiliate her. In the end, she turns the tables on him and starts singing “Voices Carry” at a theater and could care less about the reaction from the rest of the patrons.
3. Tears for Fears, “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
1985 was a huge year for Tears for Fears, who scored two No. 1 singles — “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” and “Shout.” Their video for the former was in heavy rotation on MTV throughout the summer of ‘85, and it is one of the best summertime videos ever released.
There aren’t any special tricks, animations, or other groundbreaking effects. Instead, the video chronicles a road trip from Las Vegas to Los Angeles and represents pure Americana as it was in 1985. We see an adorable boy pretending to be a cowboy, people gathered in pay phone booths at a truck stop, two men showing off killer dance moves (for 1985) at a gas station, and kids riding dirt bikes. This video proves that at times, artists were able to do so much with so little.
2. David Lee Roth, “California Girls”
David Lee Roth was MTV’s greatest clown (in a good way) during 1985, and his remake of the Beach Boys hit “California Girls” became a hit song (No. 3 on Billboard). However, it was the music video, which was named the 11th most sexy video of the 1980s by the Tampa Bay Times, that had people laughing so hard as to spit up their drinks through their nostrils.
In this classic music video, Roth leads a bus full of human nerd characters to a beach with some of the most beautiful girls ever seen. If released today, some would accuse the video of objectifying women since they appear as nothing but human ornaments. However, in 1985, the video was just considered pure fun and escapist humor.
1. A-Ha, “Take on Me”
A-Ha is another one hit wonder, but their video for “Take on Me,” which was a No. 1 single during the fall of 1985, is considered historic. “Take on Me” introduced a love story that was half illustration, half real life. The mixture could have been a disaster, but it ended up mesmerizing audiences and won several awards.
According to Entertainment Weekly, the video, directed by Steve Barron (who directed “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson), took several months to make. Illustrator Mike Patterson created more than 3,000 sketches for the final clip.