Early MTV Promo Spots

I found this a while ago. It's a montage of early MTV promo spots (we're talking early 1980s here, when MTV meant Music Television).

[@seatspud]

Man, the dancing stereo speakers take me back.

[@_johneddy]

Those were great MTV years. It's changed so much. You're right, it was music television back then. Thanks for sharing!

[@diags_1109]

wish I was alive then, if I ever make a time-machine im living in 60-80s

[@ZidaneDaMan10]

man, i always wanted to spend my teen years in the 80s. it looked like so much fun....

[@StormsongK]

@IWP2 I'm 39 and I grew up with this stuff. I always knew I was in the middle of something fantastic. I never realized it wouldn't last. Thank you for appreciating true art and real music.

[@katydid26]

I was so addicted to MTV back then! It was one great video after another.... with songs you rarely heard on the radio. Why, oh why, did they change their format? Today, it's HORRIBLE, and has been for a number of years.

[@valorik]

I remember being 8 and 9 years old spending Saturday afternoons watching MTV. Oh happy days!

[@wingnutter69]

These were the days! I am now 40 and remember the times when parents didn't have to worry about where their kids were because they were sitting in the living room watching MTV! That is what I did before and after school back then.

[@glueforall]

This is so cool...good memories...this little bit shows how the ads went from just using the same artists (Cougar, Townshend, Benatar, Hall & Oates, Idol, etc) saying "I WANT MY MTV!" to the more creative artsy ads....such as the 'production line' MTV and the MTV Club sandwich ones, etc....cool

[@ringbolt9]

excellent! remember in school it was all about " hey did you see the video for ....?" and then you'd sit by the tv for hours hoping to see it. and when thriller came out ? the would tease it like " we will be showing thriller sometime this hour" ah the days.

[@veelalynne]

I was about the same age as the girl in the buggles video when my parents let me stay up late to watch the premier of MTV...back when people had those little boxes on their TV. It's weird to think that the Buggles girl would be in her thirties now!!

[@boyrick84]

THE 1982 TO 1989 WAS THE BEST TIMES FOR M . T. V. REAL MUSIC REAL ARTIST WORTH WATCHING!!!!!!

[@22julip]

it is simple enough when mtv started it was a new thing and there was not a lot of videos out so they had to show a lot of far out groups and it was great thing to watch but of course as it got more popular the corporate fat cats took notice and within a few years it started going down hill....long live altered images madness flock of sea gulls wall of voodoo hair cut 100 Romeo void the members the call ect ect ect. I MISS MY MTV!!!!!!!!!

[@duececaboose]

as a general rule i don't like to be nostalgic, but seeing this really makes me miss the "original" mtv. and it also makes me feel really old.

[@HGbunny]

This, more so than probably any other vid I've ever seen on the Tube, makes me feel my mortality. Sniffle.

[@Leonnard187]

It's Steppin' Out by Joe Jackson.

[@phillygrl69]

This is when MTV was MTV.....the best was then....now? Well.....it sux...but I for one am so happy to have been part of the MTV generation!

[@bigmaxy07]

What great days these were. There's no fucking "M" in it any more.

[@RetroJenny]

I want my mtv BACK!

[@penpusher]

Actually the problem with MTV was semi related to the sponsors. See, every commercial network needs a logbook to traffic the ads. This is why commercial breaks are sort of the same on all broadcast and cable channels. The ads happen at a known time. With music videos as the format, that standard was broken. And that's why MTV started moving away from videos and started programming "regular" shows.

[@LouiePlaysDrums]

This was back when MTV was really MTV. Now, it's just crap-TV.

[@glueforall]

@IWP2 ...in my dreams she's Betty Boop though...sounds like her!

[@Spykakos88]

what is the song that starts at 1:16 ?

[@auhfstation]

joe jackson- steppin’ out

[@hilarioph]

In the Philippines we have MTV PINOY and MTV live HD

[@svetaswan]

Very interesting. I figured the change had a lot to do w/ advertisers/business revenue - but I thought it may have had to do w/ advertisers' knowledge of viewer habits. I thought advertisers were less willing to pay the big bucks to a channel whose viewers may tune in to watch a 5-minute video, then turn to another channel. With music videos as the primary content- viewers weren't "guaranteed" to stick around for 30-minute or 1-hour blocks, severely jeopardizing the value/effectiveness of ads.

[@karenhensley8955]

I want My MTV NOW!

[@musicforthepeople4701]

God, I was like 20 yrs old. What happened?

[@HGbunny]

It was. Really.

[@svetaswan]

The original VJs didn't all leave at one time, did they? I thought they left gradually, one-by-one - as the years went by. I don't quite remember when the last one left.

[@UNKNOWN-du5fc]

First, it was Nina and J.J. Then, it was Martha, then finally, Alan and Mark

[@WarpxD]

Now i doesn't want anymore

[@msully]

proper mtv links to music shows. Ray coakes & Pat sharpe run ronnie run anyone?????

[@PatrickHayes_webdevelopment]

I gave up mtv decades ago. It was good once, in the 80's. But now its just a continual soundbyte, a cheap commercial 24 hours a day. I'll stick to new music by word of mouth from now on.

[@Spykakos88]

9nx a lot man!

[@IWP2]

@ZidaneDaMan10 You're definently not the only one. I'd sure as hell take new wave, synthpop, and glam rock over all this shitty screamo and rap music ANYTIME, and I'm only 20.

[@HarryvelasquesVelasques]

Que le paso a mtv soy el unico comentario en español

[@IWP2]

@Paulosoy Imagine Cyndi Lauper appearing every 30 seconds blowing my you know what. Best dream ever! jajaja!!

[@Khultan]

@pazzensutra Really LOL

[@stereomann83]

they should make a new channel on cable called classic mtv and it can be just like the old one. they had a good channel called vh1 classic but now it's all dumb shows and movies they don't even play music on there anymore

[@boyrick84]

@boyrick84 m t.v. is not music chanel anymore.!!! its stupid stuff.

[@KOSMICKEN09]

That isn't really true. i read a lot of rock mags and discover a lot of great new bands. it just seems that way cause the music biz is so screwed up these days. look for a band named rival sons they rock...peace and love

[@spindlebrooche]

Its all real worlds fault.

[@X7393]

MTV?..Its all reality crap where is the 24 hour Music Network?..It died in 2000... =(

[@Gerkinstock]

Yeah, but you probably would have said the same thing 30 years ago if you were the age you are now. Youth culture always looks like crap to 40 year olds.