The sixth music video to air on MTV on August 1st, 1981 was Cliff Richard’s We Don’t Talk Anymore.

The seventh was Brass in Pocket, by the Pretenders.  Up to that date, Brass in Pocket was the band’s biggest hit and the video — which featured a narrative theme with Chrissie Hynde as a waitress — also represented the future of direction of music videos.  Today, it can be surprising to see how many of the first music videos were simple performance clips.  In the days before MTV, videos were viewed as a novelty as opposed to a necessity.  Due to the popularity of MTV, future music videos would have more in common with Brass in Pocket and Video Killed The Radio Star, designed to generate buzz as well as to show off the music.

When the song was first recorded, Hynde hated it and said that listening to her voice made her cringe.  The song was released over her objections and went on to become one of the Pretenders’s first and biggest hits.  For the record, Hynde says that her feelings on the song have since mellowed and she enjoys it now because “it’s served me well.”

Enjoy!