1985 MTV Video Music Awards

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" and "Material Girl", 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

In June 1985, MTV announced that the 1985 Video Music Awards would be held on September 13 at Radio City Music Hall. Preliminary nominees with 10 videos per category were announced in mid-July before the final set of nominees was announced at a press conference at New York's Hard Rock Cafe on August 13. Eddie Murphy was announced as the ceremony's host in mid-July.

Winners are listed first and highlighted in bold.

Nominations	Artist
8	David Lee Roth
7	Lindsey Buckingham
7	Don Henley
6	Bryan Adams
5	Eurythmics
5	Madonna
5	Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
4	USA for Africa
3	Bruce Springsteen
3	Sheila E.
3	Tina Turner
2	Art of Noise
2	Chris Isaak
2	Culture Club
2	Frankie Goes to Hollywood
2	Glenn Frey
2	Sade
2	Simple Minds

Nominations	Artist	Music Video
7	Don Henley	"The Boys of Summer"
5	Bryan Adams	"Run to You"
5	David Lee Roth	"Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody"
5	Eurythmics	"Would I Lie to You?"
5	Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers	"Don't Come Around Here No More"
4	Lindsey Buckingham	"Go Insane"
4	USA for Africa	"We Are the World"
3	David Lee Roth	"California Girls"
3	Lindsey Buckingham	"Slow Dancing"
3	Madonna	"Like a Virgin"
3	Sheila E.	"The Glamorous Life"
2	Art of Noise	"Close (to the Edit)"
2	Bruce Springsteen	"Dancing in the Dark"
2	Chris Isaak	"Dancin'"
2	Culture Club	"It's a Miracle"
2	Frankie Goes to Hollywood	"Two Tribes"
2	Glenn Frey	"Smuggler's Blues"
2	Madonna	"Material Girl"
2	Sade	"Smooth Operator"
2	Simple Minds	"Don't You (Forget About Me)"

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