Classic Early MTV: Missing Persons, ABC, Yello, The Smithereens

"WALKING IN L.A."    MISSING PERSONS

Dale and Terri Bozzio met while working with Frank Zappa during the recording of Joe's Garage.    They married and formed the quirky new wave band, Missing Persons.  They were perfect for the new MTV channel.  Dale's outrageous hair, makeup and  sexy outfits made their videos unmistakeable. Dale's high pitched voice could grab a dog's attention to the TV screen!   Their biggest hits were "Destination Unknown" and "Words".  After Dale and Terri got divorced, the band went their separate ways.  Recently VH1 tried to reunite the original band lineup with little success.

"THE LOOK OF LOVE"    ABC

Martin Fry, the lead singer of ABC, has a blue-eyed soul voice and their choreographed dances made them stand out amongst the other British New Wave Invasion bands of the early 80's.   ABC's music featured a lot of synthesizers similar to the Human League.    "The Look Of Love" is from their debut CD and was actually released in four different parts.   Part One was the single we recognize most and it's pure pop magic, vintage MTV at its best.

"OH YEAH"     YELLO

It's impossible to hear this song and not think of Mr Rooney from Ferris Bueller's Day Off getting on the bus at the end of the movie.   Every time a hot girl appeared in an 80's movie clip, this was the song where the guy's jaw dropped at seeing her.  Yello were a Swiss electronic band and this video is twisted, insane, and a perfect example of the lovable low budget early MTV clips.

"BLOOD AND ROSES"  THE SMITHEREENS

I first heard this song during an episode of Miami Vice.   The Smithereens sounded like a Beatles cover band and Rolling Stone Magazine ripped into them for being unoriginal.   In a great twist, they recorded a CD called "Meet The Smithereens" in 2007 where they covered the ENTIRE "Meet The Beatles" debut album.   The band is still recording and I'm sure this song and their biggest hit "A Girl Like You" continues to get the crowd excited.