15 Strange 80s Music Videos on MTV

Thanks to MTV, we got to see a ton of music videos back then. From Prince to Michael Jackson to the Go-Gos, they had some crazy hair, clothing, and makeup to match their music. But even for the 80s, did you ever think that maybe they took it just a little too far? At the end of the day, the artists all made millions, but here are some videos you may recognize that might make you wonder, how and why did I ever get into this?

Here are some of the most strangest and yet iconic 80s music videos on MTV.

1. Take on Me by a-ha

In “Take on Me”, we definitely understand the cute guy in the fast car picking up the girl, but where on earth did they come up with the idea of the hand coming out of the comic to invite her in? Even she looked a bit surprised! Nevertheless, she was an adventurous one and took his hand and became a toon herself. Then with the combination of realistic and animated characters, called rotoscoping, it almost looks like a dream.

Although the video does get enticing when the authorities try to catch the runaway couple. To help her escape, he tears a hole in the paper where she steps out and find the comic in the trash. Laying it out flat to find him, she starts to cry before he hurls himself out, trying to shatter the two-dimensional barrier keeping them apart.

2. Physical by Olivia Newton John

There are a lot of work out music videos out there, but nothing quite like “Physical”. The glowing Olivia Newton John blends in with the neon theme, but the classy tone of her voice makes you question the strange theme of the music video. It also shows some male attraction at the end, something that was especially off to see back in the day

3. Rock Me Tonight by Billy Squier

Billy’s surely got some weird dance moves in his “Rock Me Tonight” video. What was he doing with his arms in the beginning, pretending to jump rope? It’s also got a strange setting being in his “bedroom” with nobody else in the room with him, especially when it sounds like he’s talking to a significant other, “Take me in your arms, rock me tonight.” Who was he talking to?

This might have been one of the reasons the music video was a disaster, despite the song being a major success. The video also led to a decline in his concert tickets as he accused the director, Kenny Ortega, of deceiving him and altering his original concept. While the resilient director denied it, Squier blamed this video for the declining popularity of his music.

4. I Ran (So Far Away) by A Flock of Seagulls

Mike Score has a great voice, but the big fluffy blonde hair and red top in the “I Ran (So Far Away)” video reminded us a bit of McDonalds. And the red girls in plastic dresses with red rectangles on their eyes, we never thought we’d ever meet a girl like them either.

It’s understandable you’d run pretty far when seeing some makeup and hair like that. Although the guitarists Paul Reynolds and Frank Maudsley had a great duet which helped to make them reach some top 10 lists in Australia, United States and New Zealand.

5. Down Under by Men at Work

It’s not crazy to say the song “Down Under” is what makes us all think of the Land Down Under. But can Australians really agree that this is what it’s like to live there? You might be surprised, but a lot of the context does come from Australia.

• “Vegemite sandwich” is a popular snack in Australia
• “Fried-out” means overheated
• “Kombi” refers to the Volkswagen Type 2 combination van
• “Head full of zombie” is a type of marijuana
• “Chunder” from “where beer does flow and men chunder” means to vomit

So as strange as it is, the music video is related to Australian: the majority of the country is desert, they do drink a lot of beer and they are no stranger to thunderstorms throughout the year.

6. Who Can It Be Now? by Men at Work

You have to admit, the added saxophone in “Who Can It Be Now?” is very catchy. Although when first watching the video, it seemed like Colin (lead singer) must not like visitors. Was he trying to hide from someone? Or just anti-social?

The actual story behind the song was that when the lead vocalist Colin Hay and his girlfriend lived in an apartment in St Kilda, Victoria, they lived close to drug dealers. So when anyone knocked on his door, they would confuse him for the drug dealers, scaring him to open it for anyone. The song was also made before his music took off. He said that anyone who did knock on his door either wanted something he didn’t have or didn’t want to give them. Great inspiration for a song!

8. When Doves Cry by Prince

Despite Prince’s very odd sense of fashion, trends, music…and just about everything else, he was one of the most iconic singers of his time. And while the music video was definitely random at first sight, with him in a bathtub in a purple room with pigeons, you have to admit it was catchy. When putting this music video on TV, there was a lot of controversy among the network executives, due to its explicit sexual nature.

But if they had a problem with this, MTV would have missed out on a lot of money. What may also come as no surprise is that Prince also played all the instruments on “When Doves Cry”, although it had no bass line, something unusual for an 80s’ dance song. Prince also made this song after being asked by director Albert Magnoli to match it with the theme of a specific scene in a film featuring two parents fighting and a love affair.

9. Cum on Feel the Noize by Quiet Riot

Believe it or not, this song was actually first produced by the lead vocalist, Noddy Holder, and bassist Jim Lea of Slade in 1973 as a non-album single. Quiet Riot then made their own version (this one) in 1983 which was sold over a million copies in the United States and hit No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100. This also helped their album Metal Health become a No. 1 hit.

Originally, the lead vocalist of Quiet Riot, Kevin DuBrow, was focused on not covering the song because he wanted to have written every song in the album. He wasn’t even a fan of Slade, so they tried to cover the song as horribly as possible so the label would refuse to release it. Obviously, they failed at failing.

10. We’re Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister

Would you agree this video just about covered the majority of the teenager rebellion during the 80s? In fact, much of the crazy 80s fashion trends heavily influenced young adults as they wanted to mimic their rock and pop star icons. This song in particular was written by Dee Snider, who was influenced by the band Slade and Christmas classic song “O Come, All Ye Faithful”.

After selling over 500,000 copies of the single, Snider said he was happy that long after he’s gone, “any time that the team is down by two, or somebody had a bad day at the office, they’re gonna stand up and sing We’re Not Gonna Take It,” as an anthem of the teen rebellion.

11. Walk Like an Egyptian by The Bangles

When watching this video for the first time, the only thought going through our heads was how did they come up with that! But it gave them a nomination for Best Group Video at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards. The backstory was that the songwriter, Liam Sternberg, was inspired by the dancing poses depicted in ancient Egyptian beliefs.

“Walk Like an Egyptian” was actually first offered to Toni Basil, who turned it down, followed by Lene Lovich, who recorded the first version of the song but went unreleased so she could focus on raising her family. It was finally picked up by David Kahne from Peer Southern Publishing, the producer of the Bangles’ Different Light album. Interesting fact: the whistling came from a machine, not from any of the band members.

12. You Can Call Me Al by Paul Simon

This video isn’t crazy, it’s just odd. Not many men sang videos in pink rooms while sitting down, but “You Can Call Me Al” was one of Simon’s biggest solo hits, reaching the top five in seven countries. Despite its success, the lyrics are about an individual who was seemingly facing a midlife crisis, inspired by Simon’s experience with culture during his trip in South Africa.

The original music video of this song was from a live performance of the song when he hosted a monologue of Saturday Night Live. This video was made as a replacement with Chevy Chase, an alum of Saturday Night Live, lip syncing the backend of the song and brining in various instruments.

13.  Girls Just Want to Have Fun by Cyndi Lauper

Did you know the song “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” was Cyndi Lauper’s first major single as a solo artist? Despite it originally being written and recorded in 1979 by Robert Hazard, Cyndi really turned it into a big hit as this video also won a Grammy, making her known as a feminist anthem.

This song was also a worldwide hit during 1983 and 84 and still remains one of her signature songs today. The backstory of the song and video is that the girl (played by Cyndi) simply wanted to have the same experiences as men. Fun fact: Cyndi’s dancing partner in the video was also her attorney!

14. Smooth Criminal by Michael Jackson

Written and composed by Michael Jackson in 1987, “Smooth Criminal” was about a woman who was attacked in her apartment by a “smooth criminal.” The famous line “Annie, are you OK?” was inspired by Resusci Anne, a dummy used in CPR training. The music video was dedicated to the Fred Astaire musical comedy The Band Wagon, where Michael and his dancers performed the “anti-gravity lean” that was made possible using a harness and cables. The song also made No. 7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

15. White Wedding (Pt 1) by Billy Idol

Despite “White Wedding (Pt 1)” being one of his most recognizable songs, this wasn’t Billy Idol’s biggest hit (“Mony Mony” was #1 on Billboard). But Billy really had his audience hooked with this song and video, especially with his smooth, subtle tone in the beginning, then building into a raging, energetic chorus. This video of him attending a goth wedding was his best known, with his bride played by Perri Lister, his girlfriend at the time.

She was also one of the dancers in the black leather slapping her butt at the beginning. Despite its quick appearances, there was also a lot of controversy over the Nazi salutes to the people made by the crowd. The director, David Mallet explained he was just “playing with the power of crowd imagery”, but he didn’t realize how it looked until after he filmed it when the extras reach toward the bride.

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