The 11th music video to play on MTV on August 1st, 1980, the network’s first broadcast day, was When Things Go Wrong by Robin Lane and the Chartbusters.
This song and video are may not be as well-known as some of the other videos that aired that day but, in many ways, the video for When Things Go Wrong does predict what would become the standard MTV music video. As opposed to the performance clips that most bands of the era used as music videos, this video tells a story, complete with horses, ships at sea, and gothic cliffsides that look like something out of Wuthering Heights. This is the type of narrative video that would largely replace the stodgy performance clips of the past.
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
Through the Shattered Lens 