Best of 1987 - Top 50 Singles

This fall we will continue with our 30 year anniversary of 1987 with the selection of Best single releases. As mentioned, an interesting year which was still sort of a crossover year in which some music styles from the first half of the decade started to transform into new genres raising new musical opportunities and opening stages for new kids. The European market was mostly dominated by SAW releases while in the USA it was mostly Madonna, Whitney Houston, U2 who were holding top positions on the charts for several weeks.

Along the commercial level, creativity was also in bloom in all varieties of sounds from Jangle Pop all the way to new trends in electronic music.

Time has come to reveal the Top 40 singles of 1987, thirty years after as submitted by friends and readers of Burning Flame.

01. New Oder- True Faith

02. The Cure- Just Like Heaven

03. Pet Shop Boys- It’s a Sin

04. Depeche Mode- Never Let Me Down Again

05. Prince- Sign O’ the Times

06. The Jesus and Mary Chain – April Skies

07. Siouxsie & The Banshees - The Passenger   

08. Depeche Mode- Strange Love

09. Black- Everything is Coming Up Roses          

10. U2 - With or Without You

11. The House of Love- Shine On

12. Pink Floyd- Learning to Fly

13. The Pogues- Fairytale of New York

14. M/A/R/R/S- Pump Up the Volume

15. Suzanne Vega – Luka

16. INXS- Need You Tonight

17. The Smiths - Stop Me If You Think You've Heard This One Before

18. Madonna - La Isla Bonita

19. Pet Shop Boys & Dusty Springfield ‎- What Have I Done to Deserve This?  

20. Sinead O’ Connor- Troy 

Best of 1984 - Top 50 Singles List

The growing popularity of Michael Jackson which started in 1983 also set foot in 1984 especially after the video for "Thriller" was released. Even though the content of the video was controversial at that time, it was also groundbreaking and it revolutionized the music industry and the world of pop by breaking down the racial barriers and transforming the music video into a work of art.

Even at the other end of the Atlantic the 1983 started with a small scandal which involved Frankie Goes To Hollywood who got banned by BBC for almost a year due to the explicit lyrics in the and provocative video for their biggest hit "Relax". Despite this fact, the band managed  to have major success around the world with their debut album "Welcome to the Pleasuredome". This was also the first big success for ZTT Records and three times platinum in the UK. Towards the end of the year the Frankie Goes to Hollywood ban was slowly lifted and "Relax" was the ultimate anthem of 1984 introducing the Frankie Says Relax trend. 

With the growing popularity of MTV, in 1984 the first MTV Music Awards were given away at the  Radio City Music Hall in New York. Among the winners were Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Herbie Hancock. Madonna has not been up for awards, but manged to make prominence and shake the pop world with her performance at the VMA's. 

Just ahead of Christmas when 1984 was in the fade out, a group of musicians headed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure got together for a good cause forming Band Aid. This was a group of musicians who recorded a song to raise awareness and funds for the Ethiopian famine in 1983–1985. It included more than 40 musicians and it sold over two million copies around the globe and raised more than $24 million. 

 Towards the end of the year New Gold Dream which could easily be translated as the golden era of new Wave slowly began to vanish and became clear that the new musical term was Pop.

 The following Top 50 represents the result of the 'Best of 1984 - The Album list' from 2014 together with our in-house votes.

 

Updated: 08/2020

01. Bronski Beat- Small Town Boy 

02. Echo & The Bunnymen- The Killing Moon 

03. Talk Talk- It’s My Life 

04. Prince- When Doves Cry 

05. Billy Idol- Eyes Without a Face 

06. Cyndi Lauper- Time After Time  

07. Leonard Cohen- Dance Me to the End of Love  

08. Dead or Alive- You Spin Me Around 

09. Duran Duran- New Moon on Monday 

10. Alphaville - Big in Japan 

11. A-ha- Take on Me

12. Prince and the Revolution- Purple Rain

13. Madonna - Borderline

14. Pet Shop Boys- West End Girls '84

15. Gary Numan- Berserker

16. Siouxsie and The Banshees- Dazzle

17. Eurythmics- Here Comes the Rain Again 

18. Frankie Goes To Hollywood- Two Tribes

19. The Smiths- What Difference Does it Make  

20. The Style Council- Shout to the Top

Best of 1984- The Album List

The growing popularity of Michael Jackson which started in 1983 also set foot in 1984 especially after the video for "Thriller" was released. Even though the content of the video was controversial at that time, it was also groundbreaking and it revolutionized the music industry and the world of pop by breaking down the racial barriers and transforming the music video into a work of art.

Even at the other end of the Atlantic the 1983 started with a small scandal which involved Frankie Goes To Hollywood who got banned by BBC for almost a year due to the explicit lyrics in the and provocative video for their biggest hit "Relax". Despite this fact, the band managed to have major success around the world with their debut album Welcome to the Pleasuredome. This was also the first big success for ZTT Records and three times platinum in the UK. Towards the end of the year the Frankie Goes to Hollywood ban was slowly lifted and "Relax" was the ultimate anthem of 1984 introducing the Frankie Says Relax trend. 

With the growing popularity of MTV, in 1984 the first MTV Music Awards were given away at the  Radio City Music Hall in New York. Among the winners were Michael Jackson, Cyndi Lauper, David Bowie, Herbie Hancock. Madonna was not up for awards, but manged to make prominence and shake the pop world with her performance at the VMA's. 

Just ahead of Christmas when 1984 was in the fade out, a group of musicians headed by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure got together for a good cause forming Band Aid. This was a group of musicians who recorded a song to raise awareness and funds for the Ethiopian famine in 1983–1985. It included more than 40 musicians and it sold over two million copies around the globe and raised more than $24 million. 

Towards the end of the year New Gold Dream which could easily be translated as the golden era of new Wave slowly began to vanish and became clear that the new musical term was Pop.