1985

A fine selection of tunes are turning 40 - as am I.

It is February, 2025. Which means that February, 1985, was exactly forty years ago. That might sound like an unremarkable bit of arithmetic. But it is remarkable to me. Because I was born on this day in February, 1985. Making me forty now, too.

I take note of ‘1985’ whenever I come across it. Probably from a lifetime of paperwork and personal identification with that year printed on it. When I see it pop up elsewhere, it catches my attention. Which isn’t that often - except when it comes to music. When I find an album or single I love an inordinate amount, and look it up, I often find it came out in 1985. As did I.

I of course have no conscious memories from the year I was born. And the list of favourite tunes I’ve accumulated from that year aren’t all in the same vein - they span and bend the genres of popular music. So it isn’t that I’m nostalgic for that time, or fetishising one particular musical aesthetic. So why so many favourites from that year? I can only conclude that 1985 was a banging year for music. And I am delighted to be of the same vintage.

I suppose a lot of folks are. It’s become rare for me to interact with another 85-er. Not by design. It’s just been a long time since I was in school, inhabiting age-segregated spaces. If any of you are fellow 85 babies, hello! Let us raise a toast - to being decidedly middle-aged! Well done for making this far; I’m sure we all remember peers who did not. May the coming years be many, and treat us kindly. Though they sure look set to get weird.

Others of you will be old enough to actually remember 1985. I’m sure you remember plenty of lousy music from that time. I’m not for one minute arguing that all music that year was brilliant. Just an inordinate amount. What sticks with you? Perhaps you can recall, for example, where you were when you first heard Meat Is Murder (which dropped the same week I did)?

I have been working on a list of my favourite 1985 music for a while, and this birthday seemed like a good occasion to finally make a playlist from it. Some of these songs I have loved since I was tiny (Talking Heads). Some since I was a teen (Kate Bush). And some I’ve only become acquainted with in the last year (Sparks). I hope you will enjoy them all. Please share with any friends you think might enjoy a burst of energy on this wintery day. I know I will.

see and hear the full set here

and here