The database currently contains 4349 historical events.
- Holly Blake Arnstein, a member of the girl group Dream, was born in Tarzana, California.
- Madonna scored her first UK No. 1 hit with “Into the Groove.”
- “Freeway of Love” by Aretha Franklin was at No. 1 on the U.S. R&B chart.
- Dire Straits were at No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart with “Brothers in Arms.”
- The Cars reissued “Drive” following its prominent use during the televised Live Aid broadcast.
- Bruce Springsteen began the fourth leg of his Born in the USA world tour with a performance at Robert F. Kennedy Stadium in Washington, D.C.
- Eighteen-year-old Sinéad O'Connor signed a contract with Ensign Records. Her debut album, “The Lion and the Cobra,” was released two years later.
- NBC premiered the variety television show “Motown Revue”, created in the wake of the success of the television special “Motown 25”. It was cancelled after five weeks.
- Bryan Adams reached No. 1 on the US Albums Chart with his album “Reckless.” The album sold more than 12 million copies worldwide, and all six singles reached the Top 20 of the Billboard Hot 100.
- Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. The song also became famous for its groundbreaking music video and the participation of Sting, who sings the opening falsetto and backing vocals and is credited as a co-writer alongside Mark Knopfler.
- Simon Le Bon of Duran Duran was trapped with five other crew members during a yacht race after their boat “Drum” capsized. Le Bon remained trapped beneath the hull for approximately twenty minutes before he and the other crew members were rescued. After the keel was repaired, the boat continued in the Whitbread Round the World Yacht Race 1985/86, finishing third.
- Jarell Damonte Houston, known as J-Boog and a member of B2K, was born in Compton, California.
- Simon Le Bon's boat capsized during a race off the English coast. The Royal Navy rescued him after he spent 40 minutes trapped in an underwater air pocket.
- Jimmy Stokley died at the age of 41 from complications related to hepatitis. He was the singer of Exile, whose 1978 hit “Kiss You All Over” reached No. 1.
- Sting began his first solo tour with a concert in San Diego. The tour supported the album The Dream of the Blue Turtles.
- Whitney Houston released the single “Saving All My Love for You” in the US.
- He outbid Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono at auction and acquired ATV Music Publishing for $47.5 million, a company controlling the rights to The Beatles' catalog. The catalog contained the rights to more than 4,000 songs, approximately 250 of which were Beatles compositions. Three years after their collaboration on “The Girl Is Mine”, Paul McCartney recommended that Jackson invest in music publishing rights. McCartney had previously negotiated with Yoko Ono, who withdrew from the deal for “astrological” reasons. The investment proved highly profitable but permanently damaged the friendship between Jackson and McCartney.
- They released the album Sacred Heart.
- American rapper Airmiess Joseph Asghedom, known as Nipsey Hussle, was born.
- Red Hot Chili Peppers released their second studio album, Freaky Styley, produced by George Clinton. Guitarist Hillel Slovak also returned to the band.
- On the US album chart, Bryan Adams' Reckless led Songs from the Big Chair by Tears for Fears and Phil Collins' No Jacket Required. Sting and Bruce Springsteen were also in the Top 5.
- The song “Shout” by Tears for Fears remained at No. 1 on the US singles chart for a third week.
- American musician and songwriter Michael Shuman, also known as Mikey Shoes, was born in Los Angeles, California. He became known as the bassist of Queens of the Stone Age, joining the band in 2007. He also sings and plays guitar and other instruments in Mini Mansions and previously performed with Wires on Fire and Jubilee.
- Rick Nelson and Fats Domino filmed the PBS television special “Rockin' With Rick And Fats”, recorded live at Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Nelson first performed with his longtime backing group The Jordanaires and sang several of his hits, while in the second part Fats Domino performed several of his classic songs. The finale was their joint duet “I'm Walkin'”, which both singers had taken to No. 4 on the U.S. chart in 1957. For Nelson, it was his final television appearance before his death in a plane crash on December 31, 1985, at the age of 45.
- Aerosmith began their Done With Mirrors tour, announcing the return of the band's original lineup to the world.
- Huey Lewis & The News reached number one on the US singles chart for the first time with the song “The Power Of Love”. They were followed by Tears For Fears with “Shout”, Corey Hart with “Never Surrender”, John Parr with “St. Elmo's Fire (Man In Motion)” and Aretha Franklin with “Freeway Of Love”.
- Grateful Dead performed at Boreal Ski Resort on Donner's Summit in California.
- Huey Lewis and the News began a two-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. singles chart with „The Power of Love“, their first U.S. No. 1 single. The song was written for the film „Back to the Future“ and also topped the charts in Australia, Canada and Japan.
- Tears for Fears returned to No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 with their second studio album „Songs from the Big Chair“. The album also reached No. 1 in Canada, Germany and the Netherlands.
- R&B singer and songwriter Diana “Wynter” Gordon was born in New York City. In 2011 she had the worldwide hit “Dirty Talk” and worked as a songwriter or backing vocalist on songs by other artists.
- Jock Mahoney, an actor and jazz musician, died at the age of 70.
- Dire Straits' album "Brothers In Arms" began a nine-week run at No. 1 on the U.S. albums chart. The album also reached No. 1 in 25 other countries and sold more than 20 million copies worldwide.
- Serial killer Richard Ramirez was captured in Los Angeles and later convicted of 13 murders. At one crime scene, he left behind an AC/DC cap. The media nicknamed him the "Night Stalker" and speculated that AC/DC's song "Night Prowler" had inspired him to kill. This claim was never confirmed and unfairly linked the band to the killer, which terrified the group.