1985 MTV Video Music Awards

1985 MTV Video Music Awards
Date Friday, September 13, 1985
Location Radio City Music Hall, New York City, New York
Host Eddie Murphy
Television/Radio coverage
Network MTV
< 1984 MTV Video Music Awards 1986 >

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.

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.

Nominations

Winners are in bold text.

Video of the Year

Don Henley — "The Boys of Summer"

Best Male Video

Bruce Springsteen — "I'm on Fire"

Best Female Video

Tina Turner — "What's Love Got to Do with It"

Best Group Video

USA for Africa — "We Are the World"

Best New Artist in a Video

'Til Tuesday — "Voices Carry"

Best Concept Video

Glenn Frey — "Smuggler's Blues"

Most Experimental Video

Art of Noise — "Close (To the Edit)"

Best Stage Performance in a Video

Bruce Springsteen — "Dancing in the Dark"

Best Overall Performance in a Video

Philip Bailey and Phil Collins — "Easy Lover"

Best Direction in a Video

Don Henley — "The Boys of Summer" (Director: Jean-Baptiste Mondino)

Best Choreography in a Video

Elton John — "Sad Songs (Say So Much)" (Choreographer: David Atkins)

Best Special Effects in a Video

Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers — "Don't Come Around Here No More" (Special Effects: Tony Mitchell, Kathy Dougherty and Peter Cohen)

Best Art Direction in a Video

Don Henley — "The Boys of Summer" (Art Director: Bryan Jones)

Best Editing in a Video

Art of Noise — "Close (to the Edit)" (Editor: Zbigniew Rybczyński)

Best Cinematography in a Video

Don Henley — "The Boys of Summer" (Director of Photography: Pascal Lebègue)

Viewer's Choice

USA for Africa — "We Are the World"

Video Vanguard Award

David Byrne
Russell Mulcahy
Godley & Creme

Special Recognition Award

Bob Geldof

Performances

Appearances

External links

References