From “Video Killed The Radio Star” to Michael Jackson’s iconic “Thriller” music video, the 80s saw video take center stage. Especially when it came to pop culture defining moments. Some videos from this era were so major, you can’t help but associate their artists with them. Without further ado, here are a few of the 80s’ best music videos.
‘Til Tuesday
‘Til Tuesday lead singer Aimee Mann wrote this song about a friend of hers. He was with someone who didn’t want people to find out that they were together. When it came to making the music video, however, the song became about a girl in a band who was with a guy who wanted to water her down.
“I didn’t write it as a feminist anthem, but when it came time to make the video, that idea was in the air,” she told Conan O’Brien on his podcast. “It was very heavy-handed.”
Olivia Newton-John
The “Physical” music video finds Olivia Newton-John in a sweat headband, surrounded by a series of innocent gym goers. Fun fact: Newton-John knew that people would automatically associate “Physical” with, well, the physical side of things, so she decided to take a more tasteful approach when it came to crafting the music video. Her good girl image remained relatively intact, and she got to wear the 80s workout fit of our dreams. Wins all around!
A-ha
Okay, I’d be a little naive if I said that “Take On Me” didn’t stand on its own as a song, even without the music video that made it huge. However, it is kind of interesting that the song was released twice before making it big. When it was put out a third time in 1985, it was accompanied by a partially animated music video shot by director Steve Barron, and it shot to the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in October of that year.
Peter Gabriel
You might know “Sledgehammer” by Peter Gabriel, and if you do, you have to watch this music video. It won nine MTV Video Music Awards at the 1987 ceremony and is still one of the most impressive videos from that time. Each frame was filmed separately, with some shots taking several hours to film.
Photo by: Gary Gershoff/Getty Images
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