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The Personal Top Songs of 198x


While some tunes should certainly be written off as childhood sins, there are others that have stood the test of time and remain favourites to this day.

Not all of them were released as "singles" in the technical sense, nor is it necessarily the single- or album version that made the cut. Songs by South African acts are highlighted.

Personal top 10 of 1985

#TitleArtist
10 Live Is LifeOpus
9You Spin Me Round (Like A Record)Dead Or Alive
8Money For NothingDire Straits
7Sleeping BagZZ Top
6Into The GrooveMadonna
5Run To You / SomebodyBryan Adams
4One Night In BangkokMurray Head
3Voices Carry'Til Tuesday
2Axel F.Harold Faltermeyer
1The Whole Of The MoonThe Waterboys

Personal Top 20 Hits of 1986

#TitleArtist
20 Everybody Have Fun TonightWang Chung
19Rock Me AmadeusFalco
18UndergroundDavid Bowie
17The Sun Always Shines On TVA-ha
16West End Girls / Suburbia / OpportunitiesPet Shop Boys
15Silent RunningMike And The Mechanics
14ParanoimiaThe Art Of Noise & Max Headroom
13Why Can't This Be LoveVan Halen
12The Way It IsBruce Hornsby And The Range
11More Than I Can BearMatt Bianco
10Stairway To HeavenThe Far Corporation
9The Honey ThiefHipsway
8Look AwayBig Country
7Suffragette CityFrankie Goes To Hollywood
6SledgehammerPeter Gabriel
5Rage Hard (Slam Blam - The 12")Frankie Goes To Hollywood
4Lessons In LoveLevel 42
3Princes Of The UniverseQueen
2One VisionQueen
1Something About YouLevel 42

The personal top 40 singles of 1987

#TitleArtist
40 Rockestra ThemeDuane Eddy
39Full Metal Jacket (I Wanna Be Your Drill Instructor)Abigail Mead & Nigel Goulding
38SurrenderSwing Out Sister
37Ship Of FoolsWorld Party
36Let's WorkMick Jagger
35Boy In The BubblePaul Simon
34The Color Of MoneyHollywood Beyond
33Don't ArgueCabaret Voltaire
32(I Love To Listen To) BeethovenEurythmics
31BarcelonaFreddie Mercury & Montserrat Caballé
30Sheila Take A BowThe Smiths
29La Isla BonitaMadonna
28Like FlamesBerlin
27MisfitCuriosity Killed The Cat
26(A Ship Called) DignityDeacon Blue
25Mary's PrayerDanny Wilson
24ParadiseIcehouse
23World Shut Your MouthJulian Cope
22U Got The LookPrince & Sheena Easton
21One More ChancePet Shop Boys
20Call It LoveYello
19Wild HorsesGino Vanelli
18Where The Streets Have No NameU2
17Don't Need A GunBilly Idol
16Why Can't I Be YouThe Cure
15Wonderful LifeBlack
I Don't Mind At AllBourgeous Tagg
WeepingBright Blue
True ColorsCyndi Lauper
China In Your HandT'Pau
14Big TimePeter Gabriel
13Land Of ConfusionGenesis
12Swallowed By The Cracks / Welcome To The BoomtownDavid + David
11Real Wild ChildIggy Pop
10Over The Hills And Far Away / Friday On My MindGary Moore
9Thorn In My SideEurythmics
8Star Trekkin'The Firm
7We'll Be TogetherSting
6A Town Called Big NothingThe MacManus Gang
5Alone Again OrThe Damned
4Through The BarricadesSpandau Ballet
3Everybody Have Fun TonightWang Chung
2The DreamDavid Sanborn
1Pump Up The VolumeM/A/R/R/S

The personal top 16 of 1988

#TitleArtist
16 I Want Your Love / Tell That Girl To Shut UpTransvision Vamp
15Desire / Wild Wild WestU2 / The Escape Club
14Englishman In New YorkSting
13King Of The West / The Christmas SongThe Psycho Reptiles
12Crash / Way Behind MeThe Primitives
11The ColoursThe Men They Couldn't Hang
10Underneath The Radar / Glory GloryUnderworld
9Fisherman's BluesThe Waterboys
8PerfectFairground Attraction
7Reach!Martini Ranch
6KissThe Art Of Noise & Tom Jones
5Orinoco FlowEnya
4Peek-a-booSiouxsie And The Banshees
3Blue Monday '88New Order
2Dreamworld / Beds Are BurningMidnight Oil
1The RaceYello

The personal top 16 of 1989!

#TitleArtist
16 Now You're In HeavenJulian Lennon
15The Beat(en) GenerationThe The
14Fire Woman / The LookThe Cult / Roxette
13I Don't Want A Lover / One ChoiceTexas
12When Love Comes To TownU2 & B.B. King
11LullabyThe Cure
10BatdancePrince
9Paint It BlackNo Friends Of Harry
8Baby I Don't Care / The Only OneTransvision Vamp
7Pink Sunshine / SelfFuzzbox
6I Want It All / BreakthruQueen
5Belfast ChildSimple Minds
4The Price Of LoveBryan Ferry
3Something's Jumping In Your ShirtMalcolm MacLaren And The Bootzilla Orchestra
2Voices Of BabylonThe Outfield
1Was It All Worth ItQueen

Personal top songs of the eighties

#TitleArtistYear
26 Juke Box HeroForeigner1982
25The RaceYello1988
24Another One Bites The DustQueen1980
23Suffragette CityFrankie Goes To Hollywood1986
22Sleeping BagZZ Top1985
21Sunset GrillDon Henley1985
20Something About YouLevel 421986
19RelaxFrankie Goes To Hollywood1983
18Welcome To The PleasuredomeFrankie Goes To Hollywood1984
17White WeddingBilly Idol1981
16Money For NothingDire Straits1985
15CannonballSupertramp1985
14Pump Up The VolumeM/A/R/R/S1987
13Who Wants To Live ForeverQueen1986
12Message In A BottleThe Police1982
11Si Senor The Hairy GrillYello1986
10Happy Station (12")Fun Fun1984
9AbacabGenesis1982
8Blue MondayNew Order1983
7Body LanguageQueen1982
6The Whole Of The MoonThe Waterboys1985
5Hammer To FallQueen1984
4Two TribesFrankie Goes To Hollywood1984
3One VisionQueen1985
2Under PressureQueen & David Bowie1981
1Machines (or: Back To Humans)Queen1984


This page last updated: 29-11-2015