1985

Top Selling Singles

1. Jennifer Rush – The Power of Love
2. Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson – I Know Him So Well
3. Madonna – Into the Groove
4. Paul Hardcastle – 19
5. Sister Sledge – Frankie
6. David Bowie and Mick Jagger – Dancing in the Street
7. Phyllis Nelson – Move Closer
8. Feargal Sharkey – A Good Heart
9. a-ha – Take On Me
10. King – Love and Pride

Christmas No.1: MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE – SHAKIN’ STEVENS

Top Selling Albums

1. Dire Straits – Brothers in Arms
2. Phil Collins – No Jacket Required
3. Madonna – Like a Virgin
4. Bruce Springsteen – Born in the U.S.A.
5. Tears for Fears – Songs from the Big Chair
6. Various Artists – Now 6
7. Various Artists – Now The Christmas Album
8. Various Artists – Now 5
9. Various Artists – Hits 2
10. Paul Young – The Secret of Association

At the Box Office

1. Back to the Future
2. A View to a Kill
3. Police Academy 2: Their First Assignment
4. Rambo: First Blood Part II
5. Santa Claus: The Movie
6. Beverly Hills Cop
7. Passage to India
8. Mad Max Beyond the Thunderdome
9. Amadeus
10. Witness

Cost of Living

Average house price	£43,000
Average salary
Average car price	Ford Sierra 1.3 £5,788
Petrol	£2.00 Gallon (50p/litre)
Pint of beer	77p
Packet of 20 Cigarettes	£1.15
Pint of milk	23p

In the News

• Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)
• The first mobile phone network in the UK was launched by Vodafone.
• British Telecom announces it is going to phase out its iconic red telephone boxes.
• A debate in the House of Lords is televised for the first time
• Eastenders makes its debut
• The year-long miners strike comes to an end
• 56 people are killed in the Bradford City stadium fire.
• It was also the Heysel Stadium disaster at the European Cup final in Brussels, 39 football fans die and hundreds are injured.
• Mohammed Al Fayed buys the London-based department store company Harrods.
• London’s Dorchester Hotel is bought by the Sultan of Brunei.
• The fourteenth James Bond film – A View to a Kill – is released, marking the seventh and final appearance by Roger Moore
• Jeremy Bamber is arrested on suspicion of murdering his adoptive parents, sister and two nephews in the White House Farm murders.
• A debate in the House of Lords is televised for the first time
• A riot in Brixton erupts after an accidental shooting of a woman by police and PC Keith Blakelock is fatally stabbed during the Broadwater Farm Riot
• The first UK heart-lung transplant is carried out at the Harefield Hospital in Middlesex.
• The wreck of the Titanic is located
• The first Clowns Convention was held in Bognor Regis, organised by the late Hal Brooks, otherwise known as Kerby Drill, along with Trevor Pharo, or Bingo the Clown, as he was better known
• Bournemouth became the first town in the UK to install street CCTV.
• The Greenpeace ship Rainbow Warrior was sunk by French secret service agents in New Zealand.
• Southampton Zoo (situated on Southampton Common) closed its doors for the last time.
• The Space Shuttle Atlantis made its maiden flight.
• Microsoft released Windows 1.0

On the Telly

• Brookside
• Miami Vice
• Dogtanian and the Three Muskehounds
• Howards Way
• Telly Addicts (Noel Edmonds)
• Dempsey and Makepeace
• C.A.T.S. Eyes (Spin off of The Gentle Touch)
• The Secret Diary of Adrian Mole
• Blind Date
• The Cosby Show
• Juliet Bravo and Bob’s Full House were essential Saturday night TV.
• Wogan had his regular chat show on weeknights on BBC1.
• Bill Beaumont and Emlyn Hughes were the captains on A Question of Sport.

In Music

• The Dire Straits album Brothers in Arms is released; it becomes the first compact disc to sell over 1,000,000 copies
• Live Aid pop concerts in London and Philadelphia raise over £50,000,000 for famine relief in Ethiopia – Status Quo was the first act on stage in London. Phil Collins appeared at both gigs on the same day.

Top Selling Christmas Toys

• Teddy Ruxpin – £57.99
• Pillow People – £8.99
• Trivial Pursuit – £8.99
• Care Bear Desk – £18.43
• Wuzzles – £11.06 (plush toys was based on a Disney cartoon series that first aired in 1985.)

Gadgets

• The Sinclair C5, designed by the British inventor Clive Sinclair is launched. It cost £399
• Car Phones
• Radio Pagers
• Sony Discman
• Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)
• Laserdisc
• Commodore Amiga 1000

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