麻豆约拍

MTV made British new wave artists hugely popular in the USA - Duran Duran, A Flock of Seagulls, Thomas Dolby, Culture Club and Adam Ant got extraordinary exposure - but it was also a golden age for music video production in the UK. Adam Buxton delves into the archive to uncover how in those early years, directors were often given free reign to take risks and experiment.

Adam speaks to music video directors Tim Pope, Steve Barron and John Scarlett Davis who began their careers making promos for post punk and new wave bands. Gale Sparrow was one of MTV's first hires and in charge of sourcing music videos for MTV's launch. In America, they didn't have any music video directors, it was mostly concert footage shot by roadies or clips for international audiences, so she turned to British labels to fill the schedule who understood the power of the image. A year later, when the network was in financial trouble, it was predominantly British rock stars who agreed to star in the now legendary I Want My MTV campaign.

Adam also hears from Emily Caston, Professor of Screen Industries at the University of West London, who leads the Arts & Humanities Research Council project 'Fifty Years of British Music Video 1964-2014: Assessing Innovation, Industry, Influence and Impact.' And Will Fowler, curator of artists' moving image at the BFI National Archive, who researched and created the touring exhibition "This is Now, Film and Video After Punk" which explores how the early 80s British underground film and video art scene played a suprisingly influential role in the MTV music video revolution.

Photo Credit: Matt Crockett