This week in 1985
1 Move Closer Phyllis Nelson
2 We Are The World USA For Africa
3 Everybody Wants To Rule The World Tears For Fears 4 19 Paul Hardcastle
5 I Feel Love (Medley) Bronski Beat and Marc Almond 6 One More Night Phil Collins
7 Don’t You Forget About Me Simple Minds
8 The Unforgettable Fire U2
9 Clouds Across The Moon Rah Band
10 Could It Be I’m Falling In Love David Grant and Jaki
Graham
The ballad ‘Move
Closer’ marked a departure from her usual dance and disco recordings for
American singer/ songwriter Phyllis
Nelson…and it was not an instant hit.
The song failed to chart either side of the Atlantic when released in the spring of 1984, but a re-release in February 1985 saw a steady but slow climb to the top of the charts in the UK, on the back of sustained radio play. While ‘Move Closer’ did not chart in Nelson’s native US, it was the seventh biggest selling single of 1985 in the UK. Phyllis Nelson did not register another hit. She died in 1998 aged 47, from breast cancer, but ‘Move Closer’ ensured her place in pop history as the first black woman to top the UK charts with her own composition.