The 1985 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 13, 1985, honoring the best music videos from May 2, 1984, to May 1, 1985. The show was hosted by Eddie Murphy at the Radio City Music Hall in New York City.
| 1985 MTV Video Music Awards | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Date | Friday, September 13, 1985 |
| Location | Radio City Music Hall, New York, New York |
| Country | United States |
| Hosted by | Eddie Murphy |
| Most awards | Don Henley (4) |
| Most nominations | David Lee Roth (8) |
| Television/radio coverage | |
| Network | MTV |
| Produced by | Don Ohlmeyer Bob Pittman Edd Griles |
| Directed by | Edd Griles |
Don Henley was the night's biggest winner, taking home four Moonmen, including Video of the Year. In fact, his video for "The Boys of Summer" was also the year's most nominated video, receiving seven nominations in total. Meanwhile, David Lee Roth turned out to be the most nominated artist that night, receiving eight nominations for two of his videos: five for "Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" and three for "California Girls." Nevertheless, Roth came out of the ceremony empty-handed that night.
Other major nominees included Lindsey Buckingham, Bryan Adams, Eurythmics, Madonna, and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers. Buckingham tied with Don Henley with seven nominations: three for "Slow Dancing" and four for "Go Insane." Right after him came six-time nominee Adams, who received five nominations for "Run to You" and one for "Heaven." Lastly, Madonna, Eurythmics, and Petty received five nominations apiece: Madonna split her nominations between "Like a Virgin" (three) and "Material Girl" (two), while Tom Petty and Eurythmics received all five nominations for "Don't Come Around Here No More" and "Would I Lie to You?," respectively.
Background
editIn June 1985, MTV announced that the 1985 Video Music Awards would be held on September 13 at Radio City Music Hall.[1] Preliminary nominees with 10 videos per category were announced in mid-July before the final set of nominees were announced at a press conference at New York's Hard Rock Cafe on August 13.[2][3] Eddie Murphy was announced as the ceremony's host in mid-July.[4]
Performances
edit| Artist(s) | Song(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|
| Eurythmics | "Would I Lie to You?" | |
| David Ruffin, Eddie Kendrick, and Hall & Oates | "Everytime You Go Away" "The Way You Do the Things You Do" "My Girl" |
[5] |
| Tears for Fears | "Shout" | |
| John Mellencamp | "Lonely Ol' Night" | |
| Pat Benatar | "7-Rooms of Gloom" | |
| Sting | "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free" | |
| Eddie Murphy | "Party All the Time" |
Presenters
edit- Sheila E. and Paul Young – presented Best Overall Performance in a Video
- Run-DMC – rapped the eligibility and voting rules for the VMAs
- Foreigner (Mick Jones and Lou Gramm) – presented Best Stage Performance in a Video
- Bryan Adams and Jim Kerr – presented Best New Artist in a Video
- The Cars (Benjamin Orr and Elliot Easton) – presented Most Experimental Video
- Martha Quinn – introduced the presentations of the professional categories
- Mark Goodman – announced the winner of Best Art Direction in a Video
- Alan Hunter – announced the winner of Best Cinematography in a Video
- Nina Blackwood – announced the winners of Best Special Effects in a Video
- J. J. Jackson – announced the winner of Best Editing in a Video
- Julian Lennon and Corey Hart – presented Best Choreography in a Video
- Morris Day – presented Best Concept Video
- John Taylor and Andy Taylor – presented Video Vanguard to Russell Mulcahy
- Chrissie Hynde – presented Video Vanguard to David Byrne
- Herbie Hancock – presented Video Vanguard to Godley & Creme
- Glenn Frey – presented Best Direction in a Video
- Joan Baez – presented the Special Recognition Award
- Don Henley – presented Best Group Video
- Aimee Mann and Stephen Pearcy – presented Viewer's Choice
- Grace Jones – presented Best Male Video
- David Lee Roth – presented Best Female Video
- Tina Turner – presented Video of the Year
Winners and nominees
editWinners are listed first and highlighted in bold.[6]
Other appearances
edit- Little Steven – accepted the Best Stage Performance award on behalf of Bruce Springsteen
- Lou Reed – appeared in a video package about the year's new artists
- Kris P. – accepted the Best Editing award on behalf of Zbigniew Rybczyński
- Dave Stewart – accepted the Best Choreography award on behalf of Elton John
- John Sayles – accepted the Best Male Video award on behalf of Bruce Springsteen
References
edit- ^ Lawson, Terry (June 15, 1985). "People Are Talking..." The Journal Herald – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "Buckingham top nominee for Video Music Awards". The Commercial Appeal. UPI. August 14, 1985 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Jackson, Robyn (July 21, 1985). "Superstars dominate MTV awards selection". Hattiesburg American. UPI – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Maksian, George (July 23, 1985). "TV Scene: Burr reviving 'Mason' for NBC". New York Daily News – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Masley, Ed (August 23, 2014). "MTV Video Music Awards: 30 memorable moments through the years". AZ Central. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
- ^ "Nominations for Second Annual Awards MTV Salutes Behind-The-Scenes Talent". Billboard. Vol. 97. New York: Nielsen Business Media, Inc. August 24, 1985. p. 34. ISSN 0006-2510. Archived from the original on October 11, 2020. Retrieved October 12, 2020.
- ^ a b Harrington, Richard (September 14, 1985). "Living Colour, Abdul turn it up at MTV awards". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 10, 2020. Retrieved October 10, 2020.
...USA for Africa won the best group video and viewer's choice awards.
- ^ "1985". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on June 9, 2000. Retrieved 12 January 2022.