There was something awesome about the end credit song in an 80s movie. Think of all your favourite movies from that decade — Ghostbusters, Beverly Hills Cop, An Officer And A Gentleman — all end with songs that are almost as indelible as the movies they accompany. Nowadays, the form has died away (the last intentional example I can think of was the glorious throwback by Huey Lewis at the end of Pineapple Express). This article is a mixtape of the era — the good, the bad and the ugly. You’ll love some, hate others, and probably think of a dozen that should be in here. But that’s what comment sections are for.

The BusBoys: (The Boys Are) Back In Town (48 Hrs, 1982)

A boisterous, big band finish to Eddie Murphy’s feature film debut, this track is ridiculously difficult to track down. What makes it more infuriating is that someone thought it was good enough to include in both the film’s sequel and Murphy’s Delirious TV special the following year.

Dan Hill: It’s A Long Road (First Blood, 1982)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=48SfB4KbJZM

A tad gentle in comparison to most of the themes on this list, but arguably more memorable most of the themes which succeeded it. Taking the melody from Jerry Goldsmith’s haunting score, the song has a strong backbone that prevents the lyrics from sounding too mawkish. A fine, understated curtain closer to John Rambo’s first film. Best bit: The final chorus is terrific, and, intentionally or not, seems to tease a sequel. Best bit: ‘Coming on like a MegaForce!’

Survivor: Eye Of The Tiger (Rocky III, 1982)

The gold standard, which every action and sports-related movie of the decade would follow. One of the unwritten criteria of this feature is if the end title song makes you want to break a sweat, then it works. Eye Of The Tiger is definitely that song. Best bit: Dendendendendenden! Bam! Bam! Bam! Bam!

Patti Labelle: Stir It Up (Beverly Hills Cop, 1984)

A decent closer, but not nearly as memorable as Glen Frey’s The Heat Is On, or Harold Faltermeyer’s Axel F. Patti Labelle is great, but there is something off about the song that does not quite work apart from the movie. Best bit: Honestly, the opening – mostly because of how it syncs with the final freeze frame. Best bit: The first mention of the song title. Combined with that stabbing guitar, it makes you want to pump your fist and gun it to 88.

Duran Duran: A View To A Kill (A View To A Kill, 1985)

Before the series’ brief fascination with end credit songs (the undisputed champ of these being KD Lang’s Surrender from Tomorrow Never Dies), Roger Moore’s final hurrah/last gasp ends the way it began — with Simon Le Bon dancing into the fire. A shortened version of the title song runs over the closing credits. In either cut A View To A Kill remains one of the most iconic action themes of the era.

The Power Station : Someday, Somehow, Someone’s Gotta Pay (Commando, 1985)

I love this song so much. I don’t know if it’s good, I don’t know if it’s bad. But it so perfect for the end of this movie. As I stated previously, the only thing that would make it more awesome is if Robert Palmer had not dropped out of the supergroup earlier that year. Best bit: This is a bit more contextual but the bit at the end of the movie, where Ah-nuld says “No chance” and the music immediately kicks in. Just perfection. Best bit: “Hearts on fire! Strong de-sire! Rages deep with in!”

Atlantic Starr : Armed And Dangerous (Armed And Dangerous, 1986)

The only reason I know this movie exists is because of this song. I’m a fan of Atlantic Starr (and their inability to hold on to a female vocalist), but regardless of that, this song is great. I still haven’t seen the movie, but I’ve listened to this song hundreds of times.

The Coupe De Villes: Big Trouble In Little China (Big Trouble In Little China, 1986)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvYEdmW47gQ

It’s not every 80s movie that can boast the writer-director and Michael Myers on lead vocals, but then again Big Trouble In Little China is not just another movie. Simultaneously bombastic enough for the decade in which it was made, while managing to encapsulate the unique charms of the movie it accompanies, this title song is an underrated gem. It is worth it just for the music video alone, in which John Carpenter and his mates get to play rock stars while scenes from the film play around them. Best bit: “You can feel the wind is risin’, baby, now the truth is near…” Best bit: Stallone had a real thing for rock songs with prominent rhythm sections, and while it is nowhere near as good as Eye Of The Tiger, this number has a pretty solid one.

Cheap Trick: Mighty Wings (Top Gun, 1986)

For years I thought Kenny Loggins’ Danger Zone top’d and tail’d this one. What a cheap trick. And then I realised it was actually performed by Cheap Trick. This song makes me sad. It’s so, so 80s, and it just makes me feel sad for Cheap Trick — they had such a terrific sound, and to have it so subordinate to the trends of the mid-80s is depressing. Turns out they really wanted us to want them.

Stephanie Mills: Bit By Bit (Fletch, 1986)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4ASrFQeUEE

A song so ear-catching it popped up again in 2010’s Cop Out. It’s a fun song, and while it is vaguely reminiscent of Patti Labelle’s contribution to Beverly Hills Cop, this one always had more replay value. Maybe it’s catchier, or more of a dance number, but there’s a bouncy optimism to the tune which makes it stand out. It’s like a day at the beach distilled into a musical number. It also perfectly matches the blissfully confident temperament of the title character. Best bit: For some reason, the way Mills sings “Toniiiiiiight” always stands out to me. Best bit: “You never bend, you never break/You seem to know just what it takes/You’re a fighter!”

John Parr: Restless Heart (The Running Man, 1987)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYe2ayJyyEU

Oh boy, can someone get the Power Station on the phone? The Running Man seems like a odd candidate for a power ballad, but hey, it’s the 80s. God knows what John Parr was thinking — the romance between Ah-nuld and Maria Concita Alonzo is so arbitrary I always forget they get together at the end.

Stan Bush: Fight To Survive (Bloodsport, 1988)

The aural equivalent to a spinning kick to the face, Fight To Survive is an underrated example of what made the end credit song so great. Full disclosure: I wrote half this feature with this blasting in the background. The lyrics are absolutely insane, and that’s half the reasons why it is great. The other half is Stan Bush’s delivery. Following Transformers: The Movie, he knows his way around a big 80s anthem, and he delivers a great one for JCVD’s debut. Best bit: “Ku-mi-te! Ku-mi-te! Ku-mi-te!” It makes me want to go to the gym right now. Best bit: “Anything you’ve ever dreamed of/I’m willing to be…” How much better would that date scene have been if Michael Keaton had started singing this to Kim Basinger? Considering how ‘nuts’ he gets later on, it would not be outside the realm of possibility.

John Joyce: No Holds Barred (No Holds Barred, 1989)

I got put onto this movie by the How Did This Get Made? podcast, and after the surreal awesomeness of the movie, this song felt like a hidden treat. Like the movie it concludes, this song is trying so hard to be as air-punchingly(?) memorable as the other songs on this list, and it just doesn’t quite get there. Once again, like the movie, instead of mediocrity, it comes right around again to become memorable for completely different reasons. Got any favourites? Or songs so bad they are permanently stuck in your brain? Chuck them in the comments below! Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here.