Afterburner

Afterburner is the ninth studio album by American blues rock band ZZ Top, released in 1985 (see 1985 in music). Afterburner was a financial success, going several times platinum and launching several hit singles. The most successful single released from this album was “Sleeping Bag”, which peaked at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks … Read more

Down for the Count

Down for the Count is the seventh studio album by American hard rock/heavy metal band Y&T, released in 1985 through A&M Records. It contains the band’s biggest hit “Summertime Girls”, which charted at #55 on the Billboard Hot 100. This song had initially appeared as the lone studio track on the band’s live album, Open … Read more

Everybody’s Crazy

Everybody’s Crazy is the fourth studio album by American recording artist Michael Bolton. The melodic hard rock/AOR album was released in 1985 by Columbia Records. The lead guitarist on the album is Bruce Kulick, later of KISS fame. The title track was a minor hit on hard rock radio stations, and was also featured in … Read more

The Wishing Chair

The Wishing Chair is the first major-label album by 10,000 Maniacs, released in 1985 by Elektra Records. Recorded in London, the album did not achieve the commercial success some of their later releases would receive, but received mostly favorable reviews and brought the band more visibility than had their previous independent releases. A live concert … Read more

Mike + The Mechanics

Mike + The Mechanics are an English pop/rock supergroup formed in 1985 as a side project of Mike Rutherford, one of the founding members of the band Genesis. The band is known for their hit singles “Silent Running (On Dangerous Ground)”, “All I Need Is a Miracle”, “Word of Mouth”, “Over My Shoulder”, and “The … Read more

Picture Book

Picture Book is the debut album by British pop group Simply Red, released in October 1985. It contains the #1 single “Holding Back the Years”, the band’s most successful single, and a cover of The Valentine Brothers’ “Money’s Too Tight (To Mention)”. Three other singles were released from the album: “Come to My Aid”, “Jericho”, … Read more

The Family

The Family is a 1985 album released on Prince’s Paisley Park Records label by the band of the same name. The album consists of eight Minneapolis sound tracks but with a funk-jazz slant. Two of the tracks are instrumentals, and three are ballads; many feature string arrangements by Clare Fischer, marking the beginning of Prince’s … Read more

She’s the Boss

She’s the Boss is the solo album debut by The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger released in 1985. When the Stones signed with CBS Records in 1983, one of the options available to them was for individual projects, and Jagger eagerly began working on She’s the Boss. Following the release of Undercover, Jagger began composing … Read more