The place for great and not-so-great nearly forgotten videos from the decade of Miami Vice, mullets, and acid wash jeans. All praise to the bands, YouTube, and the original posters of these videos.
It was 40 years ago today ... (to commandeer a phrase).
Just after midnight on August 1, 1981, the world's first 24 hour video music channel launched. At the time, only a few cable systems in New Jersey had MTV, though this quickly changed -- primarily due to consumer pressure driven by the "I Want My MTV" ad campaign:
MTV quickly became a sensation, and those of us who lived through the music revolution will never forget it. In fact, we started our little blog 10 years ago (August 2011), after being inspired by the hoopla around the 30th anniversary of MTV.
Below is the first two hours of MTV, including commercials. We hope that you dig it.
While Jim Capaldi is not a household name (even here on ERV), he was an interesting and important figure in rock, especially during the late 1960s and early 1970s.
Capaldi was born in Evesham, Worcestershire (this isn't important, but we liked it anyhow) and became involved in the lively London music scene during the 1960s. He eventually started jamming with Steve Winwood, Dave Mason, and Chris Wood and they formed the influential rock/jazz band Traffic in 1967.
One of our favorite facts about Traffic concerns the way they wrote their songs. Capaldi would write lyrics first and then Winwood would compose music that suited Capaldi's lyrics.
After Traffic broke up (for the second time in 1974), Capaldi married a Brazilian woman (Aninha Campos) and raised a family in Brazil, where he became interested in environmental and social issues (and Samba). Although Capaldi remained active in the industry, his only real solo success came from his 1983 Fierce Heart LP. That album hit #91 on the charts and generated two charting singles - "That's Love" (#28) and "Living on the Edge" (#75). In typical ERV form, we are opting for the lower charting song, primarily because we like it better. Additionally, it has a pretty far out there video with birds, motorcycles, and what appears to be some sort of Native American ceremony.
[Note that the MTV has the wrong album title on their credits - Rock Art and the X-Ray Style is a 1999 album by Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros.]
Split Enz (the NZ is a reference to New Zealand, where the band originated) formed in 1973 in Auckland. The founders - Tim Finn and Phil Judd - wanted to create an eclectic pop band; hence the name (which was originally spelled correctly).
During the 1970s, the group went through a myriad of changes, both in terms of style and personnel. The most significant change was Judd's departure; he was replaced by Tim Finn's brother Neil in 1977. During much of this period, Split Enz was a flamboyant art rock band, but they had little success outside of New Zealand and Australia.
This changed with their 1980 release, True Colours, which was something of a coming out party for Neil as a songwriter. The resulting material had a stronger pop sound, and this combined with more straight-forward visuals allowed Split Enz to ride the New Wave (see what we did there?)
True Colours became a #1 album in Australia and New Zealand, and broke into the charts in the U.S. "I Got You" also charted, though it only reached #53 on the U.S. charts. However, it was top 40 in several countries, and hit #1 in Australia and New Zealand.
While the group continued releasing records for the first half of the 1980s, there seemed to be a growing musical disconnect between Tim and Neil, and Tim Finn finally quit the group in 1984. Shortly afterwards, Neil broke up Split Enz and went on to even greater success in Crowded House. The Finn brothers did work together on Crowded House's 1991 LP, Woodface, and more recently as The Finn Brothers.
Cool trivia fact: As mentioned above, Split Enz is a no hit wonder in the U.S.; "I Got You" (#53) was their highest charting single. However, Neil Finn did have two top 40 hits with Crowded House - "Don't Dream It's Over" (#2) and "Something So Strong" (#7).
Cool trivia fact #2: "I Got You" was the 81st video played on MTV's first day; interestingly, it was the third Split Enz video played on MTV, after "History Never Repeats" and "One Step Ahead."
Casual music fans may view Poco as an answer to the trivia question: What group did The Eagles raid for their bass players? In truth, Poco was a pioneering country rock band who flirted with crossover success twice, but never quite broke through.
Poco was formed in 1968 from the ashes of Buffalo Springfield, when Richie Furay and Jim Messina started the group. Rusty Young, Randy Meisner, and George Grantham rounded out the original lineup. Although their country rock sound was considered groundbreaking, the group had only modest success for much of the 70s. The act was also probably hurt by their significant turnover; by 1978 only Rusty Young remained from the original lineup.
Poco's first potential breakout came with the release of their Legend LP in 1978. The album went gold and generated two top 40 hits - "Crazy Love" (#17) and "Heart of the Night" (#20). Sadly, the group was unable to follow up that success and saw declining record sales in the 1980s. By the mid-80s, Poco had lost its recording contract and things looked bleak.
However, Poco caught its second big break when Richard Marx went to bat for the band, and had his manager (Allen Kovac) take them on as a client. This led to a reforming of the original lineup, a new recording contract, and a new album, 1989's Legacy. Surprisingly, this album was a hit, also going gold (and also with two top 40 hits - "Call It Love" (#18) and "Nothin' to Hide" (#39)). And once again, Poco was unable to capitalize on this success, although they remained a working band through 2013 (and sporadically since then).
Cool trivia fact: "Call It Love" was directed by Michael Bay (Transformers, Pearl Harbor, Armageddon) in one of his first directing jobs.
Although he was a funk artist, Rick James lived like a rock star. Huge highs, crashing lows, drugs, and horrific personal behavior defined much of James' life. The resulting portrait is complicated, but there is little doubt that James was a major star who wrote some of the finest funk of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Rick James (given name: James Johnson) was born in Buffalo and was interested in music from a young age. In his teens, he enlisted in the U.S. Navy to avoid the draft, but he deserted in 1964 and fled to Toronto. While there, he became involved in the local music scene and became friends with Levon Helm (The Band), Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell. His band (The Mynah Birds) did well enough to sign a recording contract with Motown, but the entire thing fell apart after James was for imprisoned for desertion.
After working in the industry for years, James finally got his big break with Motown in 1978. His solo LP, Come and Get It became a huge hit, launching James' career and helping to revitalize the Motown label. However, it was his 1981 Street Songs album that became his biggest success - reaching #3 on the album charts, and providing two top 40 hits - "Give It To Me Baby" (#40) and "Superfreak" (#16).
Drug use and changing tastes caused James' success to decline during the 1980s, though he did receive a bump when MC Hammer sampled "Superfreak" in his 1990 smash "U Can't Touch This." Unfortunately, James' personal problems (i.e., drugs) prevented him from capitalizing on this. James was introduced to a younger audience again in 2004, when he was featured on a Chappelle's Show segment Charlie Murphy’s True Hollywood Stories: Rick James, which is worth watching, in our view.
"Give It To Me Baby" was the first true video that James recorded and was the first single released off Street Songs. It's a fantastic example of Rick James at the peak of his powers - nearly out of control, charismatic, and seriously captivating.
Sadly, Rick James died of a heart attack in 2004. He was 56.
"Live It Up" is an upbeat song with an interesting history from a cool, quirky band from Australia. Mental As Anything were an art rock band that formed in Sydney in 1976. The group would go on to have significant success in their home market, with three top 10 albums and twenty (!) top 40 singles. The band is also noteworthy for their odd and humorous videos.
Their 1985 release, Fundamental, proved to be Mental As Anything's biggest success. The LP peaked at #3 on the Australian album charts, while the "Live It Up" single hit #2 on the singles charts. It's easy to see why, as it's a great pop song with a fantastic hook.
The song then won the lottery as it was picked for the Crocodile Dundee film and soundtrack. Dundee became an international phenomenon; it was also the second highest grossing film in the U.S. in 1986 (slightly behind Top Gun). "Live It Up" was re-released and would go on to have significant international success, reaching #3 in the UK, for example.
While the band's success faded over time, they remained an active working band through 2019, when Greedy Smith, the last remaining original member, died unexpectedly of a heart attack.
In spite of the global success of "Live It Up," Mental As Anything never broke through in the U.S., making this an eighties rare video.
Cool trivia fact: In 2020, "Live It Up" was adopted by fans of the Glasgow, Scotland soccer team Rangers FC, who pushed in to #1 on the UK iTunes charts in December of that year.
Long time readers may recall that we have previously featured The Cult on ERV (twice), with "She Sells Sanctuary" and "Rain." Both of these videos were off the group's breakout LP, Love.
In the aftermath of Love, The Cult went back into the studio to work on their follow up album, tentatively titled Peace. However, a funny thing happened during the recording process - the band grew increasingly dissatisfied with making an album that seemed (to them) like Love, part 2. As a result, they switched producers, opting for Rick Rubin (who was primarily known as a rap producer). One suspects that the record label was likely in full blown panic mode by this point.
However, the results (which became the Electric album) were an inspired effort. Rubin stripped down The Cult's sound, which really brought out the AC/DC-like elements - anthemic, guitar-oriented songs which happened to feel right at home on rock radio. Electric would go on to reach #38 on the U.S. charts and would go platinum. While none of the singles off the LP broke the top 40, they all hit the Mainstream Rock Charts, a testament to how much they were played on the radio back in the day.
For the blog, we went with "Lil' Devil," a fun straight up rock song with a solid video and some seriously rock and roll lyrics (lizard in a bottle? cyclone kiss?) This one definitely sounds better loud.
Los Lobos were an unlikely and underrated success story in the 1980s. The group's roots date back to 1973, and they were originally named Los Lobos del Este de Los Angeles (the wolves of East Los Angeles.) The band's name came from a 1977 National Geographic article, "Where Can the Wolf Survive?" making the group perhaps the only rock act named after a story in Nat Geo.
Their music blended traditional rock with country and Tex-Mex influences, creating a unique sound that became critically acclaimed. Unfortunately, major commercial success proved to be elusive - they only had three charting singles, two of which broke the top 40 (although their cover of "La Bamba" hit #1 in 1987.)
"Will the Wolf Survive?" is a lovely piece of songwriting, and shows the sophistication of Los Lobos. Rock, country, and Latin American sounds seem to effortlessly fuse together. The lyrics use the metaphor of a wolf, trying to find his place in a modern world, to illuminate the status of immigrants. In our view it is poetic and evocative.
The single, "Will the Wolf Survive?" peaked at #78 on the singles charts, while the album How Will the Wolf Survive reached #47.
Los Lobos remains together (with most of their original members) as of this writing.
Cool trivia fact: Rolling Stone rated How Will the Wolf Survive as the 30th best album of the 1980s (and at #431 on their list of the greatest albums ever)
Many ERV readers will recognize Cutting Crew as the band behind "(I Just) Died in Your Arms," a #1 song from 1987. In typical Eighties Rare Videos form, we're not featuring that song; instead we are opting for the last of their three top 40 hits, the upbeat "One for the Mockingbird."
Cutting Crew's roots date back to The Drivers, a British band who landed a minor hit in Canada in 1982 with "Tears On Your Anorak." [For American readers, an anorak is British slang for a heavy jacket.] During The Drivers tour of Canada, the Canadian group Fast Forward was the opening act, and Nick Van Eede (the lead singer of The Drivers) and Kevin MacMichael (Fast Forward's guitarist) struck up a friendship. After The Drivers broke up, Van Eede and MacMichael formed a new band - Cutting Crew.
In 1986, Cutting Crew's debut album (Broadcast) went on to become a hit, reaching #16 on the album charts, with the aforementioned three top 40 singles. Unfortunately, the band was unable to maintain this momentum, and after two relatively unsuccessful follow up LPs, they broke up in 1993.
By the by, the video for "One for the Mockingbird" is peak MTV ... wow. It is a rapid-cut assault on your senses, with more visual effects than most sci-fi movies. Still, we have to admit that it is fun in a totally 1987 way. And as a bonus, the video includes Frosty Beedle on drums (total bonus points for a seriously cool name).
Nick Van Eede has re-formed Cutting Crew a few times through the years, without any of the other original members. Sadly, Kevin MacMichael died of lung cancer in 2002.
Here at ERV, we have a particular soft spot for the bar band. In the 1980s it seemed as though every city had a few of these groups - comprised of working musicians who generated a local following, hoping for their one big break. [The Pub Rock tag will direct readers to previously featured bands who fit the bill, with varying degrees of success.]
In Rochester, NY, Duke Jupiter was the prototypical bar band. Playing straight-ahead rock and roll, they were active on the scene from the late 1970s through the mid 1980s. And for a brief moment in 1982, it looked as if they might break through, thanks to their exposure on a new video music channel ... but sadly it was not to be.
"I'll Drink To You" was the lead single off the group's 1982 LP, Duke Jupiter I. The music video is a simple concert clip of them performing at the Tower Theater in Upper Darby, PA. The performance footage captures some of the energy of their live show (though the audience seems a bit .... sedate) and it was picked up by MTV, and put into rotation for a time. The song even charted - reaching #58, while the album reached #204.
Unfortunately, this was as close as the band came to breaking out, and in 1986 they played a farewell concert and broke up, ending a 13 year run. However, they have occasionally re-formed for reunions, though it is unclear if this will continue, as drummer Dave Corcoran died from cancer in 2018.
