Let Me Steal This Moment From You Now

By Wm. on October 31, 2025

For my 1984 list, there were only two American acts in the top 10--I've upped it to three this go-round. Without further ado...

10. The Hooters, "And We Danced" (#21, October)
This is one that always puts me in a good mood, and that's worth a lot. I've said it before--I don't understand how "Day By Day" peaked three spots higher than "And We Danced."

9. 'Til Tuesday, "Voices Carry" (#8, July)
Liked it immediately. The iconic video didn't hurt, either.

Among all the female singer/songwriters I discovered in the 1985-1992 period, only Aimee Mann and Suzanne Vega have impressed me enough over time to keep buying their latest releases. If you'd asked me to opine in 1992 who I'd still like well into the 21st-century, I could see myself picking Vega from that group. But Mann? She grew into the best version of herself after going solo.

8. Bryan Adams, "Run to You" (#6, January)
I should really dock this one several positions for the grammatical crime of "That'd change if she ever found out about you and I," but I can't make myself do it. Effective song construction, electric buildup to the finale.

7. Lone Justice, "Sweet, Sweet Baby (I'm Falling)" (#73, August)
Maria McKee is six months younger than I am, which means she was 20 during the recording of the band's debut album. To sing like this, at that age, is a marvel.

The commenters on YT say that Katey Sagal appears as a backup singer in the video; Wikipedia claims that Annie Lennox is on the recording (color me skeptical). What can't be denied is that Little Steven has a co-write and is playing guitar.

6. Marillion, "Kayleigh" (#74, October)
Memories of hearing "Kayleigh" on AOR radio that fall have gotten mingled over time with those of the young woman I dated briefly in September and October. There's a story that I want to write about those weeks; even if I someday put that together, it's far from guaranteed it would ever show up in this space.

This is only one of these ten songs that I've seen performed live (Marillion opened for Rush on the Power Windows tour), though I've been to two Aimee Mann solo shows.

5. John Waite, "Change" (#54, April)
First stiffed as a single on Waite's solo debut Ignition, re-released following the success of "Missing You" and landing on the Vision Quest soundtrack. It truly is a mystery to me how this failed to become a big hit. If I ever assemble a list like this for 1977, you could bet that another Waite vocal, "Isn't It Time," would land in its Top 10.

4. Kate Bush, "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)" (#30, November)
I've already gushed over "RUTH" a couple of times across the years here at the blog, so I don't have much more to say. It captivated me from first listen and nothing about that has changed over these forty years.

3. Tears for Fears, "Head Over Heels" (#3, November)
One theme I see recurring here in songs at the peak of this survey is the rush of falling in love. The Hooters, Lone Justice, and my #1 song below all feature it, as does the entry here at #3. After October '85, my dating life went dormant for a number of years; apparently I was feeling the pull of hope at the time, anyway.

2. Simple Minds, "Don't You (Forget About Me)" (#1, May)
I mentioned a few posts ago that in this countdown there were six songs from the two mix tapes I had recorded down in the campus radio station studios in May '85. Two appeared in that opening salvo of the series, and three others are here, at #2, 5, and 9 (the other one was "Would I Lie to You?"). I suppose I wouldn't mind seeing The Breakfast Club again, if for no other reason than to crush on Ally Sheedy for ninety minutes.

1. a-ha, "Take on Me" (#1, October)
After landing on the same song (Talk Talk's "It's My Life") for our #1 of 1984, Mark Seaman and I get back to our normal We Just Disagree selves. Neither one's top tune for '85 appears in the other's Top 100; Mark chose Wham!'s "Everything She Wants," and, as you can tell, I've gone with that hopelessly romantic worldwide smash out of Norway. I'm sure the video plays a huge role in my fandom.

You can check out Mark's Top 85 of '85, plus honorable mentions, here. While there is plenty of intersection, seven of my top 10 don't appear on his list. (Two of the other three do land in his top 10, though.)

Even if you're scratching your head about some of my selections, I hope others brought back good memories. 1985 wasn't quite as eventful overall for me as the previous year had been, but I still carry weight around in my head from various people I hung out with and things that happened across those months. One can hope that I was slowly learning that life was okay.