After 1984’s gargantuan greatness with the dominance of Frankie and meteoric rise of Madonna and Prince, 1985 had a lot to measure up to.  …And indeed, some have said it’s a rather more forgettable year for pop.

We’d like to disagree.  1985 brought plenty of it’s own magic to the decade.  Kate Bush’s ‘Hounds of Love’ wasn’t just her best album up to that point, but decades on, it stands as her true masterpiece.  Sting brought the year some sophisticated pop brilliance with his first solo album ‘The Dream of The Blue Turtles’ and Pet Shop Boys debut album raised the bar for synth pop.

1985 also gave the world fantastic singles from Red Box, a-ha, Lloyd Cole and Dire Straits.  Real Gone’s look at the year brings all of these, but perhaps more interestingly for the more adventurous listener, our extensive playlist digs deeply into some great album cuts.  You’ll hear Toms Petty and Waits, Johns Fogerty and Mellencamp.  There’s also various cuts from one of melodic rocks best years with tunes from White Lion, Terraplane and Joe Lamont.

Clocking up several hours’ worth of entertainment, we hope you enjoy another trip back to the decade of synths, big hair and bright colours!