On August 1st, 1981, MTV premiered. Over the course of 24 hours, 166 unique music videos were played on MTV. Yes, there was a time when the M actually did stand for music.
The 52nd video to air on MTV was the video for Talk of the Town by The Pretenders. Unlike some of the other videos that aired on that day, the video for Talk of the Town still looks impressive. Though it’s been rumored that the song was about Ray Davies, Chrissie Hynde has said that the song was inspired by a fan who used to quietly watch the band during all of their soundchecks.
Enjoy!
The First Videos Shown on MTV:
- Video Killed the Radio Star by the Buggles
- You Better Run by Pat Benatar
- She Won’t Dance With Me by Rod Stewart
- You Better You Bet By The Who
- Little Suzi’s On The Up by PH.D
- We Don’t Talk Anymore by Cliff Richard
- Brass in Pocket by Pretenders
- Time Heals by Todd Rundgren
- Take It On The Run by REO Speedwagon
- Rockin’ in Paradise by Styx
- When Things Go Wrong by Robin Lane & The Chartbusters
- History Never Repeats by Split Enz
- Hold On Loosely by .38 Special
- Just Between You And Me by April Wine
- Sailing by Rod Stewart
- Iron Maiden by Iron Maiden
- Keep On Loving You by REO Speedwagon
- Better Than Blue by Michael Johnson
- Message of Love by The Pretenders
- Mr. Briefcase by Lee Ritenour
- Double Life by The Cars
- In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins
- Looking for Clues by Robert Palmer
- Too Late by Shoes
- Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around by Stevie Nicks and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers
- Do Ya Think I’m Sexy by Rod Stewart
- Surface Tension by Rupert Hine
- One Step Ahead by Split Enz
- Baker Street by Gerry Rafferty
- I’m Gonna Follow You by Pat Benatar
- Savannah Nights by Tom Johnston
- Lucille by Rockestra
- The Best of Times by Styx
- Vengeance by Carly Simon
- Wrathchild by Iron Maiden
- I Wanna Be a Lifeguard by Blotto
- Passion by Rod Stewart
- Oliver’s Army by Elvis Costello
- Don’t Let Me Go by REO Speedwagon
- Remote Control and Illegal by The Silencers
- Angel of the Morning by Juice Newton
- Little Sister by Rockpile with Robert Plant
- Hold On To The Night by Bootcamp
- Dreamin’ by Cliff Richard
- Is It You? by Lee Ritenour
- Tusk by Fleetwood Mac
- He Can’t Love You by Michael Stanley Band
- Tough Guys by REO Speedwagon
- Rapture by Blondie
- Don’t Let Go The Coat by The Who
- Ain’t Love A Bitch by Rod Stewart