Elton John — “In Neon”

Entered Top 40:  January 12, 1985
3 weeks 
Peaked at: 38

Oh great, another Elton John/Bernie Taupin song about faded/unrealized celebrity aspirations. “In Neon” was the third US single from 1984’s Breaking Hearts LP, after the huge “Sad Songs (Say So Much)” (#5) and “Who Wears These Shoes?” (#16). This feels like replacement-level “Candle in the Wind.” But I think Elton and Bernie missed an opportunity here. After licensing “Sad Songs” to Sasson Jeans (not a parody ad; a thing that actually happened), they could have licensed “In Neon” to The Gap or Merry-Go-Round to market the dayglo sweatshirts and spandex fads of the mid-’80s.

This was Elton’s last single from Breaking Hearts, but his big splash at the end of 1985 was his #1 single with Dionne Warwick, “That’s What Friends Are For.” But we’ll also run into Elton John one more time in the Bottom Five.