MTV is closing it’s final video channels. I am shocked to hear this, I thought they closed them decades ago, when transitioning to a pathetic “reality” channel.
Not sure how huge the impact was in the UK given that it’s peak time (80s to early 90s) was mainly before the UK transitioned to huge numbers of TV channels received by satellite (or cable). I was living in Switzerland and had access to precisely 3 channels in English through my cable subscription, one of them was MTV (Europe) and I watched a lot late 80s/early 90s. It was fun to have it on in the background as a kind of radio station and then focus on any particular video I was interested in. It was here I first heard Smells Like Teen Spirit as an example and many others in that era like Smashing Pumpkins. The Unplugged shows were often pretty good too.
I remember, a few years after MTV reached the UK, going to a nightclub specifically because it would play MTV on a huge wall of video screens. Back then, that was really something.
Later, it popped up on our satellite TV package, but I preferred VH1, which I thought played better music and also had good documentaries and VJs (hello, Paul King, whose former life in, erm, King resulted in the first single I ever bought, Love and Pride).
Then MTV discovered reality TV, and that was the end of an era.
I recall reading a good book about the channel’s early years, when the emphasis was on slick British-made videos from the Durannies, Eurythmics, etc., before US bands realised that they had to really up their game if they wanted to get on TV. Those were exciting and interesting times, when budgets were ridiculously high and videos could really be an event – although the channel’s initial lack of vids by non-white acts was shocking. Now, many of the videos I see on YouTube, often from big-name acts, look like the budget was sixpence, or they consist of just the lyrics popping up on the screen (when did the “lyric video” become a thing?). I want my (mid 80s to early 90s) MTV, as somebody once said.
The US bands that were quickest to realise they had to up their game were the Hair Metal acts. Without MTV there would be no Motley Crue, Poison and Guns n’ Roses not to mention the second acts for Aerosmith and Kiss.
The Hair Metal bands knew the game was up when MTV started putting Nirvana, Soundgarden et al on heavy rotation in the early 90s.
Bowie slagged off MTV in 1983 for not playing Black artists. Good for him.
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/david-bowie-rips-into-mtv-for-not-spotlighting-black-artists-62335/
Remember being amazed by MTV while I was “doing” the States on holiday in 1985.
Like Dai, I am surprised the music channels have survived this long
I’d never watched MTV for more than a few minutes at a time on a handful of occasions in it’s ’80s-’90s heyday. Surprised it still exists, let alone that it still had music channels until now.
Therefore, don’t give a toss.
On holiday somewhere with satellite telly, I watched the MTV unplugged sets by The Cure, Nirvana and Neil Young. All were excellent.
I haven’t been near MTV for about 25 years, though.
In the 80s, when you couldn’t watch it there was a certain mythical nature about it that you just wanted to watch it.
(and when Stingo and Mark sang “I want my MTV”, it built on the desire to finally watch it)
When you were finally able to .. well, it was a bit sh*t wasn’t it.
Everyone knows the answer to the question “what was the first video shown on MTV?”
But … what was the second?
Like others I thought the station finished years ago. I did enjoy VH1 though while it lasted.
I thought MTV had died as a music channel long ago too. Actually, I think the only things I ever watched on the European version, back in the eighties were mainly talk based with interviews etc. My favourite though was Remote Control, a fairly unfair game show from the US that had cameo appearances from up and coming US comedians such as Dennis Leary. I think Channel 4 tried a UK version with Tony Wilson as host but it was a little bit too worthy.
I remember “Most Wanted” early evening with Ray Cokes (?), playing mainly indie type stuff I think. I was quite taken with Kristiane Backer too.
Ah, Ray Cokes. One of MTV’s finest. IIRC he loved music outside the mainstream and was pretty funny as well. Most of his colleagues were a bit too polished in that bland US TV presenter way, but he came across as a real live wire.
Ray was always good value. also loved to watch Marijne Van Der Vlugt
Yes, Marijne Van Der Vlugt – I own a record by Salad.
Similarly, I bought Hobo Humpin’ Slobo Babe by Whale on 12″, which featured Henrik Schyffert in the band. The album was rubbish, though.
Hobo Humpin Slobo Babe is a great song and I quite liked the album with its guest vocals from Tricky.
Salad were one of those bands I saw a lot at the time who never quite made the charts most of their singles got stuck between 40 and 50
I think Ray is still going strong on radio in Germany.
Kristiane I believe converted to Islam during a relationship with Imran Khan and now works in the art world.
I liked MTV a lot, but my absolute favourite program on it was the brilliant Daria (and to a lesser extent Beavis & Butthead). I have parts of Daria on DVD, sadly not all of it.
I feel like this thread title really missed the open goal of “MTV: Unplugged”
Ha. I don’t have your way with words.
I’m with Jack Black’s character in School of Rock, when he talked about rebellion in music: “the Man ruined that, too, with a little thing called MTV!”.
I’ve worked at MTV for the last 28 years so I was kind of surprised to read this news on the BBC – we still haven’t actually had so much as an email about it from anyone in the company (which was recently taken over by billionaire David Ellison as part of his purchase of Paramount). I was not surprised by the news itself however – those music channels have average viewer figures of between 0 and about 2,000 which is so tiny as to be almost undetectable.