5 Excellent Albums Released 40 Years Ago This Month in October 1985

Our time machine settles this time in October 1985. What was happening in music? Well, if these five albums released that month give any indication, it was an excellent time for young bands from outside the US looking to make their mark. Many of these albums produced big hit singles. We can happily say that they all hold up well in their entirety. Not bad at all, considering it’s been 40 years to the month since these albums had their initial release in October 1985.

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‘Listen Like Thieves’ by INXS

Up to the release of this wonderful album, INXS was still more of a localized sensation. The hit single “What You Need”, which producer Chris Thomas demanded of the band when the album was just about finished, changed all that. Those audiences drawn to Listen Like Thieves by that song found a band hitting an accessible peak. The grooves never relent. Meanwhile, Michael Hutchence delivers carpe diem messages on indelible songs like the title track, “Shine Like It Does”, and “Same Direction”.

‘Mike + The Mechanics” by Mike + The Mechanics

Mike Rutherford wanted to try something separate from Genesis. But he didn’t envision himself as a lead singer. He went out and grabbed two ringers to handle the job in Paul Carrack (from Ace and Squeeze) and Paul Young (from Sad Café). Together, they put together a collection of songs that touch many of the same bases that Rutherford’s day-job band liked to cover. There’s some art-rock dystopia (“Silent Running”), peppy pop (“All I Need Is A Miracle”), and sorrowful slow stuff (“Taken In”), all of it expertly handled.

‘Once Upon A Time’ by Simple Minds

Not long before these Scots began making this record, they released the single “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” to put them on the map in the US. (They were already six albums into their career.) Producer Jimmy Iovine knew what worked on the American market, foregrounding the ringing guitars and Jim Kerr’s bellowing vocals. The band delivered a set that showed how easily they could take personal concerns and turn them into anthems. “Alive And Kicking” and “Sanctify Yourself” serve as two prime examples.

‘How To Be A… Zillionaire!’ by ABC

The sophomore slump hit this band hard when the 1983 album Beauty Stab forgot just about everything that was great about their 1982 classic debut, The Lexicon Of Love. When they made this third album, ABC was pretty much down to the duo of lead singer Martin Fry and synth player Mark White. Hit single “Be Near Me” recaptured the desperate romanticism of Lexicon. The rest of this record displays fearless ambition. There are bold production touches dotting pop gems like “(How To Be A) Millionaire” and “Fear Of The World”.

‘Picture Book’ by Simply Red

Considering the vocal chops of lead singer Mick Hucknall, it made perfect sense that this sextet would veer towards R&B-flavored music. The cover choices are sharp and expertly rendered. The band shows off its chops on “Money’s Too Tight (To Mention)”, originally by The Valentine Brothers, while they slow down Talking Heads’ “Heaven” to great effect. Hucknall proved he could write a great torch song as well with “Holding Back The Years”. His bruised vocals on the track lifted Simply Red to the top of the charts all over the world.

Photo by Robert Mort