1985

Acts Formed

A Tribe Called
Quest

Queensbridge, New York, USA
Hip Hop

Boogie Down
Productions

The Bronx, New York, USA
Hip Hop

DJ Jazzy Jeff &
The Fresh Prince

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Hip Hop

Erasure

London, England
Synth-Pop

Guns N' Roses

Los Angeles, California, USA
Hard Rock

Jane's Addiction

Los Angeles, California, USA
Hard Rock

L7

Los Angeles, California, USA
Punk

Public Enemy

Hempstead, New York, USA
Hip Hop

Radiohead

Abingdon, England
Indie Rock

White Zombie

New York, New York, USA
Heavy Metal

Yo La Tengo

Hoboken, New Jersey, USA
Indie Rock

January 1st

Launch of the music channel VH1.

January

The launch of Metal Edge magazine.

January 11th

The Rock in Rio music festival attracts 1.5 million people.

February 26th - Grammy Awards

Album of the Year: Lionel Richie - Can't Slow Down

Song of the Year: Tina Turner - What's Love Got To Do With It

March 11th

Sisters of Mercy - First and Last and Always is released.

March 27th

Stevie Wonder's music is banned in South Africa after he won an Oscar and dedicated it to Nelson Mandela.

May 13th

Brothers in Arms by Dire Straits becomes the first album to sell more copies on CD than vinyl.

August 5th

The Pogues - Rum, Sodomy & the Lash is released.

September 6th

Michael Jackson buys the publishing rights to The Beatles back catalogue for $47m.

September 16th

Kate Bush - Hounds of Love is released.

The Waterboys - This Is the Sea is released.

September 19th

Hearing in the US Senate about the possible censorship of rock music.

September 30th

Tom Waits - Rain Dogs is released.

December 23rd

A fan of Judas Priest kills himself after listening to the band's heavy metal music, further fueling concerns about the genre.