RPM was a Canadian magazine that published the best-performing singles of Canada from 1964 to 2000. Thirty-two songs peaked at number one this year, starting with "Do They Know It's Christmas?" by Band Aid and ending with "Say You, Say Me" by Lionel Richie. Not counting the number-one single from the magazine's first issue, "Do They Know It's Christmas?" was the first song to debut at number one on the RPM Singles Chart. Excluding the musical acts composing Band Aid, Northern Lights, and USA for Africa, 19 different artists reached the top spot for the first time in 1985.
This year, three artists earned more than one chart-topping single: Phil Collins, Madonna, and Tears for Fears. The three Canadian acts that peaked atop the chart in 1985 were supergroup Northern Lights, Corey Hart, and Platinum Blonde. Hart's single "Never Surrender" spent four weeks at number one and was the best-selling hit of the year. Foreigner, Tears for Fears, John Parr, and supergroup USA for Africa each topped the magazine's chart for three issues with their singles. Phil Collins spent the most weeks at number one, five, with "Easy Lover", "One More Night", and "Separate Lives".
† Indicates best-performing single of 1985 |
"Tears in Heaven" is a song by English guitarist, singer, and songwriter Eric Clapton and Will Jennings, written about the death of Clapton's four-year-old son, Conor. It appeared on the 1991 Rush film soundtrack. In January 1992, Clapton performed the song in front of an audience at Bray Studios, Berkshire, England for MTV Unplugged, with the recording appearing on his Unplugged album.
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a song by English pop rock band Tears for Fears from their second studio album Songs from the Big Chair (1985). It was written by Roland Orzabal, Ian Stanley, and Chris Hughes and produced by Hughes. It was released on 22 March 1985 by Phonogram, Mercury, and Vertigo Records as the third single from the album. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" is a new wave and synth-pop song with lyrics that detail the desire humans have for control and power and centre on themes of corruption.
"Slide" is a song by American alternative rock group Goo Goo Dolls. It was released as the first single from their sixth studio album, Dizzy Up the Girl, in September 1998. According to lead guitarist John Rzeznik, the song is about a Catholic girl who becomes pregnant and discusses with her boyfriend how they should react to it. Musically, the track is a jangle pop and alternative rock song.
"My Father's Eyes" is a song written and performed by Eric Clapton and produced by Clapton and Simon Climie. It was released as a single in 1998 and was featured on the album Pilgrim. The song reached the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart, peaking at number 16, which remains his last top-40 hit in said country as of 2023. It also spent five weeks at number two on the Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary chart. It became a top-five hit in Canada, where it peaked at number two, and reached the top 20 in Austria, Iceland, and Norway. In 1999, it won a Grammy Award for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance.
"Dim All the Lights" is a song by American recording artist Donna Summer released as the third single from her 1979 album Bad Girls. It debuted at number 70 on August 25, 1979, and peaked that year at number two on November 10 and November 17 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was blocked from becoming the third number one hit from the album first by "Heartache Tonight" by the Eagles for one week, then by "Still" by Commodores the next week. Produced by her longtime collaborator Giorgio Moroder with Pete Bellotte, the track combines Summer's trademark disco beats with a more soulful pop sound. It was the third Hot 100 top-two single from the album and her sixth consecutive Hot 100 top-five single.
The discography of UB40, a British reggae band, consists of 20 studio albums, 19 compilation albums, six live albums, four remix albums, 64 singles and a number of appearances with other artists.
The following is a detailed discography of all singles released by American singer-songwriter Willie Nelson. A total of 25 Nelson singles have reached number one on music charts in the US.
The singles discography of English singer Cliff Richard consists in excess of 200 singles, of which 159 singles have been released in the UK in varying vinyl, CD, cassette and digital formats. Listed alongside the UK singles in the discography below are a further 20 singles which were released in other territories, as well as 22 singles which were sung in German and only released in German-speaking countries.