"Our House" is from the album The Rise & Fall (1982), Madness's fourth album. The track was written by Chris Foreman and Cathal Smyth (Chas Smash), inspired by the house and family routine where Cathal grew up in North London, a typical working-class residence full of noise, siblings and everyday life.
With an addictive ska/pop groove, it became one of the band's biggest international hits: it reached #5 on the UK Singles Chart and was their only top 10 hit in the US (#7 on the Billboard Hot 100). The song also helped popularize the ska revival of the 80s.
Caribbean Queen (No More Love on the Run) is from the album Suddenly (1984), the album that marked Billy Ocean's great return to the international pop scene after years of ups and downs.
The track was co-composed by Billy Ocean and producer Keith Diamond. Released as a single in the United States in August 1984 (in the United Kingdom it had come out months earlier as "European Queen," without success), the song became the first #1 of his career on the Billboard Hot 100, where it spent two consecutive weeks at the top in November 1984. He also reached #1 on the Dance Club Songs chart and earned Billy Ocean the Grammy for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance in 1985. He was the first British artist to win in that category.
"Ordinary World" is the second song in a trilogy written by Simon Le Bon about mourning the death of his childhood great friend David Miles. It is the second track on the album "Duran Duran", commonly referred to as The Wedding Album.
The performance of "Running up that Hill" on Top of the Pops was one of Kate Bush's rare appearances on British TV at the time. The song rose straight to the Top 3 in the UK charts thanks to this performance.
Everything Counts is from the album Construction Time Again (1983), the album in which Depeche Mode dropped the light synth-pop of the early years and immersed itself in a more experimental and industrial sound, with samples of everyday objects (hammering, metal, construction sounds).
Produced by Daniel Miller and Gareth Jones, the track was recorded in London and mixed in Berlin (at Hansa Studios), marking the beginning of the band's darkest and most ambitious phase.
Released as the first single from the album, it was one of their biggest hits so far: it reached #6 on the UK Singles Chart.
In April 2026 "Mr. Brightside" became the first song in history to reach exactly 500 weeks on the UK Singles Chart. Before that, in 2024, Mr. Brightside had already received the Guinness World Record for being the single by a band/group with the most accumulated weeks on the British chart. And the craziest thing: The track never reached #1.
Zombie was written by Dolores O'Riordan inspired by the IRA attack in Warrington (England, 1993).
Released as the lead single from the album No Need to Argue (1994), it became The Cranberries' biggest hit: #1 in Australia, France, Belgium, Denmark and several other countries, #14 in the UK and #1 in the US alternative charts.
Ghostbusters (official theme of the 1984 film) was composed by Ray Parker Jr. in just two days. The production needed an urgent theme and called for something fun, lively and about Ghostbusters.
It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks in August/September 1984, sold over 1 million copies in the US alone and earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Song.
Huey Lewis sued Ray for plagiarism (saying it was too similar to "I Want a New Drug"), the case was settled out of court.
Noel Gallagher wrote and recorded the lead vocals for "Don't Look Back In Anger" (Liam refused to sing, finding the song "too much of the Beatles" and "too soft," so he only entered backing vocals). The iconic piano riff was created by Noel at Rockfield Studios in Wales as a direct tribute to John Lennon.
Released as the fifth single from the album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, it reached #1 on the UK Singles Chart and spent 20 weeks on the chart.
"Forever Young" is the title track of the eponymous debut album by Alphaville (1984), a German synth-pop band from West Berlin. Initially the band wanted to record an upbeat and danceable version, but producer Andreas Budde told them to simplify everything: they took almost all the instruments, left only Marian Gold's vocals and minimalist synth pads.
It was the third single, peaking at #65 on the Billboard Hot 100 (with re-entry in 1988), but was very successful in Europe (Top 3 in Sweden) and became the biggest classic of their career, with over 1 billion streams and gaining an epic orchestral version of Marian Gold for the 40th anniversary of music.
"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" was released on no Aerosmith studio album, and was recorded especially for the soundtrack of the film Armageddon (1998). Composer Diane Warren created the ballad with Steven Tyler's daughter, Liv Tyler, as the protagonist alongside Bruce Willis.
It was the first (and to date only) #1 of their career on the Billboard Hot 100, spending four weeks at the top in September/October 1998, an incredible feat after nearly 30 years of career. The track has sold over 5 million copies in the US alone.
"Don't You (Forget About Me) " by Simple Minds was written especially by Keith Forsey (the same of hits such as the Flashdance theme) and Steve Schiff for the soundtrack of the classic The Breakfast Club (1985).
The Scottish band refused to record the track because it was not their composition and Jim Kerr did not like some parts of the lyrics. Before them, the song was offered to Bryan Ferry (Roxy Music) and Billy Idol, who also did not accept it.
In the end, Kerr's wife at the time, Chrissie Hynde (The Pretenders), convinced the band to accept, the track is not on any Simple Minds studio album, only on the film's score. It became the biggest hit of their career in the US: #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for a week in May 1985 (the band's only #1 there).
Easy Lover was recorded for the solo album of Philip Bailey (Earth, Wind & Fire member), Phil Collins played drums, produced and sang as well. It became one of the biggest hits of the 80s and the two became great friends.