It’s 102.9 MGK’s Thursday Countdown! This week we take a look at the top 10 rock albums from September 28, 1985.

That same month, Pete Rose tied Ty Cobb’s all time hit record with 4,191, only to break the record three days later. On TV we were watching, Murder, She Wrote, Family Ties, and Cheers. In the movie theaters, it was Back To The Future, Beverly Hills Cop and Rambo. In addition, the Titanic was found after an exhaustive search, and “Super Mario Brothers” debuted!

I was definitely having a ball in 1985. I was doing afternoons at a station not many people were listening to, WZGO (Z-106). Even though our ratings were not the greatest, we had a killer on air staff. One of them was Chris Trane, their night guy, and he and I would become instant friends.

We ended up sharing an apartment on City Avenue at a place then known as Executive House. It was brand new, and we got a high floor unit (17!) so we could see the Philly skyline right from our apartment. It was only 15 minutes from the station, too, which made for a great commute! Man, the parties we would throw in that apartment. It was a wonder we fit everyone in there at times. For a few months, the unit across from us was vacant, so we’d sometimes expand the parties into there! Luckily, in the year and a half we lived tat The Executive House, we only got one letter from management about “engaging in conduct in violation of your lease.” Yikes. Good times.

In the world of music, September of 1985 had a little bit of everything, from Madonna, Prince and Bruce Springsteen, to Tina Turner and Bryan Adams. The rock albums were amazing, as you’ll see below on MGK’s Thursday top 10 countdown of the top 10 Rock Albums from September 28, 1985.

• 10. Little Creatures - Talking Heads

  You can credit Baptist minister and folk artist Howard Finster for creating the cover for the #10 rock album. He designed Little Creatures for Talking Heads, and it became the band’s best selling album. It’s #10 this week.

• 9. Scarecrow - John Mellencamp

  To properly prepare for his eighth studio album, John Mellencamp started each session by running throuh dozens of old 60s classics with his band. It definitely worked, because Scarecrow went all the way to #2. On its way there, it was #9 on September 28, 1985.

• 8. Theater Of Pain - Motley Crue

  Following up their breakthrough album Shout At The Devil, Motley Crue returned with producer Tom Werman for Theater Of Pain, another multi million seller for them, and the #8 rock album on this week’s Thursday Top 10 Countdown.

• 7. Heart - Heart

  Heart’s transformation to a much more mass appeal sound with their songs paid off huge dividends. Their self titled album hit #1 and gave them their first #1 single, this beautiful track called “These Dreams.” Heart was #7 on September 28, 1985.

• 6. Reckless - Bryan Adams

  Of all the albums by Candian artists released since the 60s, it took this album for an artist to get their first Canadian million seller. It was Reckless, the landmark release by Bryan Adams, which is #6 on this week’x countdown.

• 5. No Jacket Required - Phil Collins

  What does “Sussudio” mean? Absolutely nothing, according to Phil Collins. He totally made up the word, and it became the title of a song off of his album, No Jacket Required, the #5 rock album on September 28, 1985.

• 4. Born In The U.S.A. - Bruce Springsteen

  Not even Bruce Springsteen could have predicted the success of his seventh album Born In The U.S.A.” Since its release, it’s gone on to sell more than 17 million copies in the U.S. alone. 15 months after it came out, it was still in the top 5, at #4 on MGK’s Thursday Top 10 Countdown this week.

• 3. Songs From The Big Chair - Tears For Fears

  Roland Orzabel And Curt Smith were in a band called Graduate, who had modest success in the UK in the late 70s. They left the group to form their own band they called Tears For Fears, the name based on Arthur Janov’s Primal Therapy. Their second album was their most successful and, after peaking at the top spot, Songs From The Big Chair drops to #3 on September 28, 1985.

• 2. The Dream Of The Blue Turtles - Sting

  After the demise of The Police, Sting went to work with a set of seasoned musicians for his solo debut, The Dream Of the Blue Turtles. It gave him his first solo hit, peaking here at #2 this week on the Thursday Top 10 Countdown.

• 1. Brothers In Arms - Dire Straits

  Topping our chart this week is the fifth studio album by a truly unique band. It was one of rock’s early full digital albums and, when CDs first started being sold en masse, the pressing plants couldn’t keep up with the demand for this album! It spent 14 weeks at #1 in the U.K., 9 weeks in the U.S., and was the first CD to sell a million copies! #1 on September 28, 1985 was Brothers In Arms by Dire Straits!

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