Number 1 today in 1985: Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson

You can’t beat a female duet, and they didn’t come much bigger and iconic than this team-up of two of the UK’s most talented singers and actresses.

Years before Brandy & Monica had an icy ruck over their no-good unfaithful boyfriend, Elaine Paige and Barbara Dickson were passive-aggressively sparring it out with this classic track taken from the musical Chess, co-written by legendary West End supremo Tim Rice and… none other than Bjorn and Benny from Abba. Oh yes. And you can totally tell.

This wasn’t your run-of-the-mill scrap over a lover – this duet, packed with high drama, saw the ladies singing more about their own situation rather than the feckless geezer they had in common.

I Know Him So Well was one of those tracks that becomes a hit without anyone really expecting it. It entered in the lower reaches of the Top 40 before rocketing into the Top 10 and climbing to become a shock Number 1, no doubt soundtracking millions of post-New year breakups across the country.

I Know Him So Well stayed at Number 1 for four weeks, and gave the ladies their first and only chart-topper and a final Top 10.

It was Barbara’s fourth visit to the Top 40 – her first hit was Answer Me in 1976, which reached Number 9. It was only Elaine’s second Top 40; her first ever hit was Memory in 1981.

I Know Him So Well has been covered by many artists, including Idina Menzel, Whitney Houston, John Barrowman and Spice Girls Mel C and Emma Bunton, but it’s only returned to the charts twice.

Steps got to Number 5 as a double-A side with Words Are Not Enough in 2001. More recently, comedian Peter Kay, as alter ego Geraldine McQueen, teamed up with Susan Boyle for a Comic Relief version, taking the song to Number 11 in 2011.

Elaine and Barbara’s version is the big one, however – it’s sold over 928,000 copies. Will it be a million-seller one day? That’s all up to you, of course; you’re the ones who buy the songs!

So what else was going on while Elaine and Barbara reigned supreme? Let’s have a look…

2: King – Love And Pride

A debut hit and highest chart peak for Paul King and his band, who would go on to have four more Top 10 hits. The song had originally missed the Top 40 on first release in 1984, but thankfully 1985 was kinder to King and Love And Pride became the first of two top 10s for the group.

3: Foreigner – I Want To Know What Love Is

It was fourth time lucky for Foreigner – this track was their fourth Top 40 hit and their first Number 1, spending three weeks at the top in early 1985, until Elaine and Barbara chucked them off. Mariah Carey would go on to have a hit with a cover of this track, taking it to Number 19 in 2009.

4: Ashford & Simpson – Solid

The only UK Top 40 hit for legendary songwriters – and husband and wife Nickolas Ashford and Valerie Simpson. The geniuses behind classics like Diana Ross’s Ain’t No Mountain High Enough and Chaka Khan’s I’m Every Woman decided it was their time to shine, and shine they did – all the way to an eventual peak of Number 3.

5: Prince – 1999/Little Red Corvette

His Purpleness scored a chart peak of Number 2 with this double A-side (ask your mum), a feat that he wouldn’t beat until nine years later with his Number 1 The Most Beautiful Girl In The World.

6: Bruce Springsteen – Dancing In The Dark

7: Russ Abbot – Atmosphere

8: Tears For Fears – Shout

9: Strawberry Switchblade – Since Yesterday

10: Art Of Noise – Close (To The Edit)

> See full Top 40 from this week in 1985

This time last year…

It was a second week at the top for Clean Bandit FT Jess Glynne with Rather Be. See the full Top 40 for new entries from Katy B, will.i.am, Gorgon City FT MNEK and Chris Malinchak – plus an unexpected return to the Top 40 for Weather Girls’ It’s Raining Men.

> It's Raining Men re-enters Top 40