At the end of 2025, I took a look back at the 1985 KROQ countdown forty years later — a year when New Wave ruled, Aqua Net was basically a controlled substance, and Richard Blade was the closest thing Los Angeles had to a spiritual advisor. Now I’m turning my attention to the KROQ 1984 Countdown to revisit the oddities, the hits, and the “wait… they played that?” moments.

1984 was a huge year in LA. We had the Summer Olympics – pin-trading was all the rage. We had the Lakers vs the Celtics in a classic 7 game NBA finals. And of course, we had New Wave music on KROQ. The little station in Pasadena was definitely a big player in L.A. radio in 1984. KROQ wasn’t just a station — it was a lifestyle brand before lifestyle brands existed. If you were a teenager in Southern California, you were either listening to KROQ… or you were wrong.

Inside the KROQ 1984 Countdown: What Defined the Year

Peak New Wave, Peak KROQ

The KROQ 1984 Countdown was dominated by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, who landed two of the top six songs — not surprising for a year when “Relax” was basically the unofficial soundtrack of every mall, arcade, and slightly questionable after‑school hangout. It was also peak Thompson Twins, with five songs in the counting, back when every band seemed to require at least one member whose sole job was “percussion and vibes.”

1984 also featured nearly all of KROQ’s core artists: Depeche Mode, The Smiths, INXS, Pet Shop Boys, OMD, and Billy Idol all showed up. It was one of those rare years when the station’s identity and the year’s biggest alternative acts were perfectly aligned — like a Rubik’s Cube that finally clicked into place.

If you were listening to KROQ in 1984, you were getting a masterclass in alternative music right as it hit its peak.

The Original Year‑End Countdown (Accept No Substitutes)

Before Spotify Wrapped, before Apple Music Replay, before algorithms decided your personality based on your listening habits, we had this: listeners jamming the request line, begging Freddy Snakeskin to play their favorite song, and influencing the countdown one frantic phone call at a time.

Hearing Richard Blade or Jed the Fish announce the rankings felt like getting insider intel from the coolest older sibling you never had.

This Is Not the KROQ You’re Looking For

Although 1984 didn’t have as many odd artists as 1985 (Phil Collins, Mick Jagger, Elton John among others), Purple Rain had a massive impact on the KROQ 1984 Countdown. Prince basically kicked down the door of every radio format that year — Top 40, R&B, rock, adult contemporary, even the hair‑metal stations beloved by the sportos, motorheads, and metal‑heads of 1984. But even with his dominance, some of these placements still feel like the programming equivalent of the Airplane! autopilot: someone inflated the list and hoped no one would notice.

Here are the artists I have zero recollection of KROQ playing regularly — the ones that made me do a double‑take, rewind the tape, and wonder if I’d accidentally switched over to KIIS‑FM.

5 — Prince & The Revolution — “Erotic City” Great song, wrong station — and we’ll get into this one more below.

39 — Prince & The Revolution — “When Doves Cry” One of the biggest songs of the decade, but again — not exactly ROQ of the 80s. This is the musical equivalent of wearing a Members Only jacket to a punk show.

50 — Prince & The Revolution — “Let’s Go Crazy” A masterpiece, but still not a KROQ staple. This one feels like the station was hedging its bets in case Prince personally called to complain.

58 — The Time — “Jungle Love” I’ll give “Jungle Love” this much: it’s catchy, it’s fun, and it was everywhere after Purple Rain. But Morris Day himself always struck me as a bit of a pompous ass — all swagger, no subtlety. The Time were the definition of a one‑hit wonder in my book, and while the song was fine, it definitely wasn’t KROQ. This was another KIIS‑FM crossover that somehow wandered into the countdown like it took a wrong turn at Minneapolis.

70 — Hall & Oates — “Out of Touch” Hall & Oates on KROQ is like seeing your high school principal at a Depeche Mode concert. Technically allowed, but deeply confusing. And this is coming from someone who literally had the Private Eyes album on 8‑track — I wasn’t anti–Hall & Oates, I was just aware they didn’t belong anywhere near the ROQ of the 80s. Whoever voted for this one was, appropriately enough, a little out of touch with what KROQ actually played. As for KROQ embracing Hall & Oates as part of their format? To quote the band themselves: no can do.

65 — Cyndi Lauper — “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” A perfect pop song, but KROQ playing this regularly? No chance. This was MTV’s entire personality for six months, but it wasn’t a KROQ thing.

81 — Cyndi Lauper — “She Bop” Another track that got a reputation for being “naughty,” but again — not a KROQ core artist. This feels like someone at the station was trying to sneak in their personal favorites.

I’ll Be Back… But These Artists Never Were

The KROQ 1984 Countdown also included several artists that I have absolutely no recollection of — not from KROQ, not from MTV, not from 1st Wave, not from any mixtape anyone ever made. These are the songs that feel like they were slipped into the ballot box by someone’s cousin who worked at Licorice Pizza.

13 — Scott Goddard — “Cowpunk” Huh? I’ve never heard of this guy or this song. Did he work at the station or something? This track is not even remotely familiar to me. And “Cowpunk” as a genre sounds like someone tried to mash up Urban Cowboy with the Sex Pistols and hoped no one would notice the whiplash. It’s such a bizarre combination that I’m convinced it was invented during a late‑night programming meeting when someone said, “What if we put a ten‑gallon hat on Johnny Rotten?”

94 — Dragon — “Rain” A band named Dragon should be unforgettable. This song is not. If someone told me this was a lost track from a Miami Vice nightclub scene, I’d believe them.

105 — Boy Waiting — “Girl Waiting” I don’t know who Boy Waiting is, but based on the title, I assume he’s still waiting. This is the kind of song that feels like it only exists because someone needed to fill slot #105.

Wake Me Up Before You Go‑Go… Too High on This List

Like the 1985 countdown, the KROQ 1984 Countdown contained some headscratchers, and once again we had a local band somehow land in the Top 10 for a song that I don’t recall being that popular. These tracks were at least twenty spots above where they belonged, and in some cases, they don’t belong anywhere near the top half of the list.

4 — Bronski Beat — “Why” Why, I ask myself, is this song rated so high? I cannot stand this song; Jimmy Somerville’s falsetto is just way too much for me. It’s the one song played regularly on 1st Wave that I will switch off every single time. And here’s the thing: Jimmy Somerville is Scottish, and I have deep Scottish roots — I want to like this. I should like this. But every time that high‑pitched wail kicks in, my DNA politely taps me on the shoulder and says, “Aye lad… no.” This is a channel‑changer of the highest order for me. Number four? Really. SMH, why?

5 — Prince & The Revolution — “Erotic City” This track landed way too high on the KROQ 1984 Countdown, and it wasn’t because it was a KROQ staple — it was because the song sounded provocative. Prince and Sheila E.’s vocals were famously misheard as containing the F-word, which gave the track a kind of taboo reputation among teenagers. It wasn’t one of Prince’s great songs; it was more of a novelty track that rode its perceived naughtiness rather than its actual quality.

7 — The Vandals — “Lady Killer” Similar to Felony having the #2 song in 1985, this is another local band that over‑performed compared to the song’s actual popularity. I at least remember this one, but it definitely belonged in the bottom half of the countdown — and it didn’t even make the list on San Diego’s 91X. Local bands getting home‑field advantage on KROQ was basically an 80s tradition, like movie soundtracks that somehow all featured Kenny Loggins whether you asked for him or not.

13 — Scott Goddard — “Cowpunk” How the heck was this the #13 song over “Master and Servant” by Depeche Mode or “Dazzle” by Siouxsie. It must have been late arriving mail in ballots.

15 — Eurythmics — “Sexcrime (Nineteen Eighty‑Four)” Another song that was overrated because it had a provocative title. Not Annie and Dave’s best work, and I’m not sure I’ve heard this song since 1984. And yes, I get that it’s based on Orwell’s 1984, but even the Ministry of Truth couldn’t spin this ranking into anything but pure Newspeak.

18 — The Untouchables — “What’s Gone Wrong” I’m not sure if I recognize this song or if it’s just so generically “meh” that I think I do. Some of the songs ranked behind it include “Original Sin” by INXS, “How Soon Is Now?” by The Smiths, and “It’s My Life” by Talk Talk.” This was a big miss in my book — a Circle‑K‑level paradox where a forgettable track somehow leapfrogged three genre‑defining classics.

35 — Thompson Twins — “Passion Planet” Thompson Twins had five songs in the KROQ 1984 Countdown, yet this B‑side was ranked ahead of all but one of them. Not a bad song, but I have zero recollection of it. 1984 was peak Thompson Twins saturation — they were everywhere except, apparently, in my memory of this particular track.

52 — Sparks — “Pretending to Be Drunk” I know some Sparks songs — this isn’t one of them. They have a cult following and are huge in Europe, but this track is just okay. They also came in at #71 with “Pulling Rabbits Out of a Hat,” which is also too high. Sparks are usually delightfully weird, but this feels like one of those songs even Ron Mael would stare through you about if you asked him to play it live.

55 — Shriekback — “Hand on My Heart” This song is so obscure it’s not even on my streaming service (YouTube Music). I found it elsewhere and still have no recollection of it. This track finished ahead of stone‑cold classics like “Everything Counts” and “Get the Balance Right” by Depeche Mode, “Head Over Heels” by The Go‑Go’s, and “Go!” by Tones on Tail. Ranking this above those songs is the kind of decision that makes Depeche Mode fans start sharpening their black eyeliner pencils.

60 — Lou Reed — “I Love You, Suzanne” This is not Lou Reed’s one good song. In fact, outside of Walk on the Wild Side — which is merely okay — I’ve never really understood the cult of Lou Reed. This track didn’t help. If this song were released today most people would label it AI slop.

66 — Julie Brown — “The Homecoming Queen’s Got a Gun” I used to love the video for this song, but this novelty track doesn’t belong anywhere near this high. The whole thing plays like an MV3 or Video One fever dream — the kind of wonderfully chaotic clip Richard Blade would toss to with a grin after introducing some obscure New Wave band. Julie Brown’s breathless delivery and the immortal line, “Johnny? Who’s Johnny?” were peak mid‑80s weirdness, but ranking it this high feels like someone confused Dr. Demento with Richard Blade.

73 — Ultravox — “White China” Of all the Ultravox songs — “Reap the Wild Wind,” “Dancing with Tears in My Eyes,” “Vienna,” for example — this is the only one to ever appear on a KROQ countdown. The ONLY one. Which boggles the mind. Not a bad song, but pretty obscure compared to several tracks ranked after it. This feels like one of those lost‑vault hits from 1st Wave that only shows up at 2:30 a.m. when the DJ has gone out for a smoke break.

The Temple of Doom… for Great Songs

If the countdown had a blind spot in 1984, it was big enough to drive a DeLorean through. Some of the omissions here are so glaring they feel like someone dropped the ballot box on the way to Pasadena — or Pa‑SAW‑de‑NAH, if you were Jed the Fish.

Here are several songs that KROQ somehow skipped — some landed on the 91X countdown, others were solid U.K. hits, and a few were mainstream singles from bands KROQ had no problem playing in earlier years and who are now 1st Wave regulars.

Echo & the Bunnymen — “Seven Seas” This song was #4 on 91X’s year‑end list but didn’t make the KROQ 1984 Countdown. From the classic album Ocean Rain, it may have been overshadowed by “The Killing Moon,” the greatest song ever written. I just saw Echo & the Bunnymen live for the first time recently.

Scritti Politti — “Wood Beez” This catchy track was #12 on the 91X 1984 countdown and was also a Top 10 single in the U.K. Scritti Politti might have been too British for KROQ in 1984 — all glossy production, sharp edges, and Green Gartside sounding like he recorded the vocals inside a chrome-plated spaceship.

Depeche Mode — “Blasphemous Rumors” I don’t want to start any blasphemous rumors, but it’s true — this song never made a KROQ countdown. That’s as surprising as the thunderstorm that hit Pasadena during Depeche Mode’s Concert for the Masses. KROQ skipping a Depeche Mode song feels borderline heretical. DM fans treat every track like scripture.

Howard Jones — “I’d Like to Get to Know You Well” Obviously, someone is to blame that KROQ listeners did not get to know this song well. My guess…the program director. Maybe Howard Jones was just too wholesome for KROQ. The man played keytar with the sincerity of someone who genuinely wanted to get to know you well — which might have been too emotionally well-adjusted for the ROQ of the 80s.

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — “Talking Loud and Clear” Hello, can you hear me? This song reached #11 in the U.K. and was popular throughout Europe, yet it was nowhere to be found on the KROQ 1984 Countdown. OMD usually had a home on KROQ, so this omission is strange. Maybe the song was too polite, too gentle, too… British.

The Cure — “The Caterpillar” What — KROQ missed a Robert Smith song? This one made it to #14 on the U.K. charts. KROQ missing a Cure song is like MTV forgetting to play “Take On Me.” Robert Smith’s hair alone should’ve guaranteed this a spot.

The Fixx — “Are We Ourselves?” Despite reaching the Top 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and hitting #1 on the Mainstream Rock chart for two weeks, this song never appeared on a KROQ countdown. This song was everywhere in 1984 — MTV, radio, malls, roller rinks — everywhere except KROQ, apparently. Too mainstream for KROQ? Too weird for Top 40? The Fixx lived in that strange in‑between space.

The Cars — “You Might Think” With a great quirky video that got a ton of airplay on Richard Blade’s video show and a legendary band that made the KROQ countdown eleven times between 1980–1982, you might think this song made the KROQ 1984 Countdown. But you would be wrong. The CGI-heavy video was groundbreaking at the time — Ric Ocasek floating around like a New Wave Max Headroom fever dream. Hard to believe KROQ ignored it.

The Cars — “Hello Again” This music video was directed by Andy Warhol, who also makes a cameo. Despite being the most New Wave‑sounding song on the album — and maybe the most New Wave‑sounding song of 1984 — it didn’t make the KROQ 1984 Countdown. Andy Warhol directing a Cars video is peak 80s. This song practically was New Wave.

If 1984 taught us anything, it’s that KROQ listeners were unpredictable — and occasionally just wrong. But that’s part of the charm. A perfect countdown wouldn’t feel like KROQ.

📼 Rewinding 1984 on the ROQ

1984 wasn’t just another year on the KROQ countdown — it was a year full of surprises, snubs, and left‑field picks that still make you tilt your head decades later. From Prince invading every corner of the airwaves to deep cuts sneaking into the rankings like they knew someone at the station, the year proved that KROQ listeners were as unpredictable as an Atari joystick that only worked when you held it at a very specific angle. And we’re just getting started. In the next installment, I’ll dig into the facts, themes, and trivia that shaped 1984 — the cultural currents, the radio quirks, and the moments that defined the ROQ of the 80s. The reshuffle will come later, once the foundation is set.