On August 1st, 1980, MTV premiered. On that day, they played over 160 unique music videos, which is certainly a contrast to today when they play none. The 19th video that MTV played was the video for The Pretenders’s Message of Love. While the video may ultimately be a performance clip, it still captures the unique aesthetic and sense of humor that won and continues to win The Pretenders a legion of loyal fans.

Enjoy!

The First Videos Shown on MTV:

1. Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles
2. You Better Run by Pat Benatar
3. She Won’t Dance With Me by Rod Stewart
4. You Better You Bet By The Who
5. Little Suzi’s On The Up by PH.D
6. We Don’t Talk Anymore by Cliff Richard
7. Brass in Pocket by Pretenders
8. Time Heals by Todd Rundgren
9. Take It On The Run by REO Speedwagon
10. Rockin’ in Paradise by Styx
11. When Things Go Wrong by Robin Lane & The Chartbusters
12. History Never Repeats by Split Enz
13. Hold On Loosely by .38 Special
14. Just Between You And Me by April Wine
15. Sailing by Rod Stewart
16. Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden
17. Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon
18. Better Than Blue by Michael Johnson