Insane concepts, crazy special effects, hilarious choreography, costumes galore—the music videos of the ’80s had it all! See how many you remember with this trip through the golden age of MTV.
These space vixens were featured in the first video to be aired on MTV. What’s the video?
“Video Killed the Radio Star”
“And I Ran”
“Cars”
“Whip It”
“Video Killed the Radio Star”
The Age of Plastic
The Buggles
1979 (debuted on MTV August 1, 1981)
What heavy metal band torments this dad in their 1984 video?
AC/DC
Twisted Sister
Poison
Ratt
“We’re Not Gonna Take It”
Stay Hungry
Twisted Sister
1984
What girl group had Khadaffi walking like an Egyptian?
The Go-Gos
Bananarama
Mary Jane Girls
The Bangles
“Walk Like an Egyptian”
Different Light
The Bangles
1986
“We can dance, we can dance. Everybody look at your hands.” What dance are they doing?
She-bop
Safety Dance
Running Man
Cabbage Patch
“Safety Dance”
Rhythm of Youth
Men Without Hats
1982
Waldo’s got it bad. What’s the video?
“Round and Round”
“Smokin’ in the Boy’s Room”
“Hot for Teacher”
“Welcome to the Jungle”
“Hot for Teacher”
1984
Van Halen
1984
What rocker plays the Mad Hatter in his 1985 video, featuring a bizarre take on Alice in Wonderland?
Tom Petty
Alice Cooper
David Johanssen
Will Smith
“Don’t Come Around Here No More”
Southern Accents
Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
1985
This Duran Duran video has the boys chasing after models covered in paint. What’s the video?
“Hungry Like the Wolf”
“Girls on Film”
“Rio”
“Save a Prayer”
“Rio”
Rio
Duran Duran
1982
These two computer-generated workers complain about rockers “banging on the bongos like a chimpanzee” in what video?
“I Want My MTV”
“Ant Music”
“Party All the Time”
“Money for Nothing”
“Money for Nothing”
Brothers in Arms
Dire Straits
1985
What video has this mom yelling, “You’re only sixteen, you don’t have a rep yet!”?
“Parents Just Don’t Understand”
“You Ain’t Heard Nothin’ Yet”
“School Daze”
“Girls Ain’t Nothing But Trouble”
“Parents Just Don’t Understand”
He’s the DJ, I’m the Rapper
DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince
1988
Pat Benatar as a dancing prostitute, fighting off her pimp with a shimmy. What’s the video?
“Heartache to Heartache”
“We Belong”
“Love is a Battlefield”
“Hell is for Children”
“Love is a Battlefield”
Live from Earth
Pat Benatar
1983
This video holds the record for the most MTV Music Video Awards for a single video (7), and has been dubbed the number 1 animated video of all time. What is it?
“Sledgehammer”
“Big Time”
“Road to Nowhere”
“And She Was”
“Sledgehammer”
So
Peter Gabriel
1986
A typical music-video love story: Girls meets boy in a comic book. Girl loses boy in a comic book. Boy breaks out of the comic book. What’s the video?
“Since You’ve Been Gone”
“Another World”
“Inside Out”
“Take on Me”
“Take on Me”
Hunting High and Low
A-Ha
1985
What Go-Gos video had the girls pulling duty as a retro water-skiing act?
“Beatnik Beach”
“Vacation”
“Our Lips Are Sealed”
“Get Up and Go”
“Vacation”
Vacation
The Go-Gos
1982
Pretty fancy special effects for such an early music video—but when the song only has two lines, you’ve got to jazz it up somehow. Who’s the super new-wave singer here?
Adam Ant
Gary Numan
Thomas Dolby
Howard Jones
“Cars”
The Pleasure Principle
Gary Numan
1980
Ric Ocasek, lead singer of The Cars, shows up in this video as lipstick, the creature from the black lagoon, a jackhammer operator, and a fly. What’s the video?
“Hello Again”
“Drive”
“Magic”
“You Might Think”
“You Might Think”
Heartbeat City
The Cars
1984
Milton Berle’s nephew was the manager for this glam metal band, which explains his appearance (in drag, no less) in this 1984 video. What is it?
“Round and Round”
“Talk Dirty to Me”
“Hell on Wheels”
“The Final Countdown”
“Round and Round”
Out of the Cellar
Ratt
1984
A collection of videos of the ’80s would be nothing without a nod to “Weird Al” Yankovic. What iconic video is he parodying here?
“Like a Virgin”
“Money for Nothing”
“Achy Breaky Heart”
“Girls Just Want to Have Fun”
“Like a Virgin”
“Like a Surgeon”
Dare to Be Stupid
“Weird Al” Yankovic
1985
Not only does Yankovic parody Madonna’s choreography in “Like a Virgin,” “Lucky Star,” and “Burning Up,” he uses a Madonna lookalike as his nurse in the operating room.