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KROQ Top 106.7 Countdowns by Year
80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10
Top 300 Songs of the 90s 500 Most Requested of All-Time (Memorial Day 2006) KROQ's Labor Day 90's 500 (2007) KROQ Memorial 500 (Memorial Day 2008)

Countdown commentary

The KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1985

Ranking

Artist Name

Song Title

Album Title

 Click for sample

1.

Depeche Mode

Shake the Disease

Catching Up With Depeche Mode

 Shake the Disease

2.

Felony

Vigilante

-

 -

3.

Pet Shop Boys

Opportunities

Please

 Opportunities (Let's Make Lots of Money)

4.

The Cure

In Between Days

The Head on the Door

 In Between Days

5.

Tears for Fears

Shout

Songs From The Big Chair

 Shout

6.

Dead or Alive

You Spin Me Round (Like a Record)

Youthquake

 You Spin Me 'Round (Like a Record)

7.

A-ha

Take On Me

-

 -

8.

INXS

This Time

Listen Like Thieves

 This Time

9.

Tears for Fears

Everybody Wants to Rule the World

Songs From The Big Chair

 Everybody Wants to Rule the World

10.

Oingo Boingo

Dead Man's Party

Dead Man's Party

 Dead Man's Party

11.

Simple Minds

Alive and Kicking

Once Upon A Time

 Alive and Kicking

12.

New Order

The Perfect Kiss

Low-Life

 The Perfect Kiss

13.

Adam Ant

Vive Le Rock

Vive Le Rock

 Adam Ant - Adam Ant: Super Hits - Vive Le Rock

14.

Simple Minds

Don't You Forget About Me

-

Simple Minds - Glittering Prize 81/92 - Don't You (Forget About Me)

15.

Big Audio Dynamite

The Bottom Line

This Is Big Audio Dynamite

 The Bottom Line

16.

King

Love and Pride

-

 -

17.

OMD

So In Love

Crush

 -

18.

Time Zone

World Destruction

-

 -

19.

Depeche Mode

Flexible

Catching Up With Depeche Mode

 Shake the Disease

20.

Sting

If You Love Somebody Set Them Free

The Dream Of The Blue Turtles

 If You Love Somebody Set Them Free

21.

Tears for Fears

Head Over Heels

Songs From The Big Chair

 Head Over Heels / Broken

22.

Mick Jagger & David Bowie

Dancing in the Streets

-

 -

23.

Jane Weidlin

Blue Kiss

-

 -

24.

Murray Head

One Night in Bangkok

-

 -

25.

Mick Jagger

Just Another Night

-

 -

26.

Midnight Oil

Kosciusko

Red Sails In The Sunset

 Midnight Oil - Red Sails In the Sunset - Kosciusko

27.

Phil Collins

Sussudio

-

 -

28.

Philip Oakey & Giorgio Moroder

Good Bye Bad Times

-

 -

29.

Talking Heads

Stay Up Late

Little Creatures

 Stay Up Late

30.

John Polumbo

Blowing Up Detroit

-

 -

31.

Artists United Against Apartheid

Sun City

-

 -

32.

Scritti Politti

The Perfect Way

-

 -

33.

ABC

Be Near Me

How to Be A...Zillionaire!

 ABC - How to Be a Zillionaire - Be near Me

34.

Echo & the Bunnymen

Bring on the Dancing Horses

Songs to Learn & Sing

 Echo And The Bunnymen - Songs to Learn and Sing - Bring On the Dancing Horses

35.

UB40/Chrissie Hynde

I Got You Babe

-

 -

36.

Arcadia

Election Day

-

 -

37.

Kate Bush

Running Up That Hill

-

 -

38.

Duran Duran

A View to a Kill

-

 -

39.

Oingo Boingo

Weird Science

Dead Man's Party

 Weird Science

40.

Depeche Mode

It's Called a Heart

Catching Up With Depeche Mode

 It's Called a Heart

41.

Talking Heads

Road to Nowhere

Little Creatures

 Road to Nowhere

42.

Power Station

Some Like it Hot

-

 -

43.

Dead or Alive

My Heart Goes Bang

Youthquake

 My Heart Goes Bang (Get Me to the Doctor)

44.

The Cure

Close to Me

The Head on the Door

 Close to Me

45.

New Order

Sub-Culture

Low-Life

 Subculture

46.

Danse Society

Say it Again

-

 -

47.

Oingo Boingo

Just Another Day

Dead Man's Party

 Just Another Day

48.

OMD

Secret

-

 -

49.

Thompson Twins

King for a Day

Here's To Future Days

 King for a Day

50.

Falco

Vienna Calling

-

 -

51.

Brian Ferry

Slave to Love

-

 -

52.

King

Won't You Hold My Hand Now

-

 -

53.

INXS

What You Need

Listen Like Thieves

 What You Need

54.

Shriekback

Nemesis

-

 -

55.

ABC

Vanity Kills

How to Be A...Zillionaire!

 ABC - How to Be a Zillionaire - Vanity Kills

56.

The Alarm

Strength

Strength

 The Alarm - Strength 1985-1986 - Strength

57.

Power Station

Communication

-

 -

58.

Thompson Twins

Lay Your Hands on Me

Here's To Future Days

 Lay Your Hands on Me

59.

Dead or Alive

Lover Come Back to Me

Youthquake

 Lover Come Back (To Me)

60.

Wang Chung

Fire in the Twilight

-

 -

61.

Eurythmics

Would I Lie to You?

Be Yourself Tonight

 -

62.

Howard Jones

Things Can Only Get Better

Dream Into Action

 Things Can Only Get Better

63.

A-ha

The Sun Always Shines on TV

-

 -

64.

The Armory Show

Castles in Spain

-

 -

65.

The Cult

She Sells Sanctuary

Love

 The Cult - Love - She Sells Sanctuary

66.

Power Station

Bang a Gong

-

 -

67.

Simple Minds

Sanctify Yourself

Once Upon A Time

 Sanctify Yourself

68.

Pete Townshend

Face the Face

-

 -

69.

Thompson Twins

Don't Mess With Doctor Dream

Here's To Future Days

 Don't Mess With Doctor Dream

70.

Gino Vanelli

Black Cars

-

 -

71.

X

Burning House of Love

Ain't Love Grand

 -

72.

ABC

How to be a Millionaire

How to Be A...Zillionaire!

 ABC - How to Be a Zillionaire - How to Be a Millionaire

73.

Fine Young Cannibals

Johnny Come Home

Fine Young Cannibals

 -

74.

U2

A Sort of Homecoming

The Unforgettable Fire

 A Sort of Homecoming

75.

The Cars

Tonight She Comes

-

 The Cars - The Cars: Complete Greatest Hits - Tonight She Comes

76.

Danny Elfman

Gratitude

-

 -

77.

David Bowie

Loving the Alien

Tonight

 -

78.

Howard Jones

Life in One Day

Dream Into Action

 Life in One Day

79.

General Public

Never You Done That

All The Rage

General Public - Never You Done That - Single - Never You Done That

80.

Nena Hagen

Universal Radio

-

 -

81.

Dream Academy

Love Parade

-

 -

82.

The Firm

Radioactive

-

 -

83.

Go West

Eye to Eye

-

 -

84.

Graham Parker

Break Them Down

-

 -

85.

Baltimora

Tarzan Boy

-

 -

86.

Cheech Marin

Born in East LA

-

 -

87.

Prince

Raspberry Beret

Around The World In A Day

 -

88.

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions

Perfect Skin

-

 -

89.

Katrina and the Waves

Walking on Sunshine

-

 -

90.

Dead or Alive

In Too Deep

Youthquake

 In Too Deep

91.

Prince

America

Around The World In A Day

 -

92.

Sting

Love is the Seventh Wave

The Dream Of The Blue Turtles

 Love Is the Seventh Wave

93.

Living Daylights

Colleen

-

 -

94.

Boomtown Rats

Dave

In The Long Grass

 -

95.

Eurythmics

I Love You Like a Ball and Chain

Be Yourself Tonight

 -

96.

Siouxsie and the Banshees

Cities in Dust

Tinderbox

 Siouxsie and The Banshees - The Best of Siouxsie and The Banshees - Cities in Dust

97.

Mr. Mister

Broken Wings

-

 -

98.

Squeeze

Hits of the Year

Cosi Fan Tutti Frutti

 -

99.

Phil Collins

Don't Lose My Number

-

 -

100.

Flash in the Pan

Midnight Man

-

 -

101.

Nick Heyward

Warning Sign

-

 -

102.

David Bowie

This is not America

-

 -

103.

Paul Hardcastle

19

-

 -

104.

Elton John

An Act of War

-

 -

105.

Lone Justice

East of Eden

-

 -

106.

Living Daylights

Kat Box Beach

-

 -

106.7.

Video Kids

Woodpeckers in Space

-

 -

Commentary

bulletProbably the highest-charting one hit wonder on the list--Felony's Vigilante came out of left field and hit #2 here, and they were pretty much never heard from again.  The only other song I'd heard from them was the Fanatic, a pretty corny song from 2 years earlier.  Vigilante sounds like an ode to Death Wish, and it's hard to tell if they are being serious or tongue-in-cheek.
bulletI think this is the original Opportunities (#3) and not the re-recorded version.
bulletThis was the year Tears for Fears absolutely exploded with Songs from the Big Chair.  I think Shout and Everybody... split the votes and prevented them from getting a #1.
bulletKROQ overplayed A-ha's Take on Me (#7) so much that I came to hate it.  It had an awesome video though.
bulletIt was during the summer of 1985 that I first heard the band Fishbone, now one of my all-time favorites, when KROQ played Party at Ground Zero and Modern Industry (which I didn't realized were from the same band until later).  But no Fishbone songs made this list, although I've heard Party... on the Flashback Lunch a few times.