Romeo Void - Never Say Never

Romeo Void was one of the more unlikely bands to have a hit song, and they actually had two, as 1984's "A Girl in Trouble (Is a Temporary Thing)" rose to #35 on the charts.

Their first hit, "Never Say Never," was actually released twice -- first on the 1982 Never Say Never EP and then on the Benefactor album of the same year.  It does not appear to have been released as a single, but the video was placed into heavy rotation on MTV, and was even used in some early promos for the station, if memory serves.

As for the band, Romeo Void was formed at San Francisco Art Institute in 1979.  While they had obvious punk and new wave influences, there is also an art rock feel to many of their songs.  Lead singer Deborah Iyall (Cowlitz Native American, if you were wondering about the last name) penned unusually poetic and dark lyrics that did not follow typical (simple) rock song structure.

The video reflects the artistic and dark punk vibe of the band.  Shot in black and white, it has a film noir-ish intro that is captivating, even if it is hard to tell what it has to do with the band or the song.  It is easy to see why the folks at MTV liked it, however -- it looked like nothing else on the station at the time.