On one of the greatest days of my young life was August 1st, 1981. MTV launched and played approximately 62 videos on this date. Fast forward 28 years and rather than videos, you’ll find shows such as My Sweet 16, The Hills, etc. Not sure what happened to good ole MTV, but let’s atleast take a few minutes and celebrate the MTV I grew up with by showing the first 28 videos.
1. Video Killed the Radio Star – The Buggles – The very first music video ever played on MTV. This song is one of the best songs of the 80’s. Who would have guessed that 28 years later, MTV Killed the Video Star.
2. You Better Run – Pat Benatar Sassy Pat Benatar lookin and sounding great!
3. She Won’t Dance With Me – Rod Stewart Rod Stewart rockin the mullet and dancing in front of the all-poked dotted room.
4. You Better You Bet – The Who Shot in black and white for artistic reasons. Not much more to say.
5. Little Suzi’s on the Up – Ph. D This guy scares me. He dances with meat then gets a rating from the judges. Not sure how that relates to Little Suzi.
6. We Don’t Talk Anymore – Cliff Richard Some funky, herky-jerky dancing in the clouds.
7. Brass in Pocket – The Pretenders Not sure what’s stranger, the beehive hair due or when Fonzi and his crew points to the menu and says “Special”
8. Time Heals – Todd Rundgren Despite the funny black suit and the funky dance, this is a pretty creative video using surreal art and creative background images.
9. Take it on the Run – REO Speedwagon (Live Version) Heard it from a friend who, heard it from a friend who… Yep, that song. Not a bad tune, but check out the hair due.
10. Rockin the Paradise – Styx I couldn’t get past this guy’s tight red pants to take this video seriously. I think he was smuggling some berries.
11. When Things Go Wrong – Robin Lane and the Chartbusters – This video was pretty boring, but I love the name… The Chartbusters.
12. History Never Repeats – Split Enz – This crazy video consists this guy singing to himself on tv, mostly while in bed. Looks like the guy from Can’t Buy Me Love.
13. Hold On Loosely – 38 Special Forgot all about 38 Special. Solid song that I think I’ve listened to on a few 8o’s soundtracks.
14. Just Between You and Me – April Wine (Live Version) I was expecting to see a female, when I saw the artist. Recognizable song though.
15. Sailing – Rod Stewart - A young Rod Stewart singing this soft love song. Uggh
16. Iron Maiden – Iron Maiden – One of the earliest hair metal bands.
17. Keep on Loving You – REO Speedwagon One of the most recognizable songs on the list. This is from their album, titled “You can Tune a Piano, but You Can’t Tune a Fish.” Hmmm
18. Message of Love – The Pretenders (Live Version) This performance was on the 1981 show, The Fridays.
19. Mr. Briefcase – Lee Ritenour Trying to figure this video out was quite difficult. Still wondering why he was laying on the table with high heels.
20. Double Life – The Cars (Live Version) I’m always up for listening to The Cars, but this video is an 80’s video if I’ve ever seen one.
21. In the Air Tonight – Phil Collins – (Live Version) One of my favorite songs! This is live, but I had to post the video of this classic song.
22. Lookin for Clues – Robert Palmer Robert Palmer dances around looking for clues that aren’t too difficult to spot. 
23. Too Late – Shoes (Live Video) What a creative name for a band. Guess The Cars and The Doors were taken.
24. Stop Draggin My Heart Around – Stevie Nix & Tom Petty A young Tom Petty singing with Stevie Nix in this masterpiece.
25. Surface Tension – Rupert Hine Perhaps the strangest video of the list. I dig the surreal art in the background though.
26. One Step Ahead – Split Enz I think they are trying to sound like the Beetles.
27. Baker Street – Gerry Rafferty Great song with some fancy saxaphone play.
28. I’m Gonna Follow You – Pat Benatar A pretty cool song by the great Pat Benatar.
Other notable song I had to mention:
47. Rapture – Blondie – I admittedly still have this song on my iPod. The dancing guy in the white suit and top hat is kinda funny.
I hope you enjoyed the listing of videos. Unfortunately you’ll have a tough time finding these videos on MTV. In fact, I was only able to find about half the videos on MTV.com. Bet we’ll find some Spencer and Heidi clips though.
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Wow! a great list, thank you for remind us all about Mtv's first 28 aired videos!
No problem, thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment.