Stevie G: MTV era gone but not forgotten
Michael Jackson, second left, performs with 'N Sync during the 2001 MTV Video Music Awards at New York's Metropolitan Opera House. Left to right, Justin Timberlake, Jackson, Joshua "JC" Chasez, and Chris Kirkpatrick. (AP Photo/Beth A. Keiser)
For most of us music fans, MTV had been off the radar since the switch to more of a reality-based TV format, but even in the early 2000s, MTV were still running events in Cork, and they were a strong brand in the ’80s and ’90s.
As a young boy, one of my first musical memories was the release of by Michael Jackson. Though I wasn’t to know it at the time, videos for , and itself helped break down the colour barrier on MTV, which had launched in the early ’80s with a predominantly white pop and rock soundtrack.
Artists such as Rick James, whose huge was refused airtime, argued that racial discrimination was at play, though MTV claimed it was because he was accompanied by scantily clad girls in the video. It never seemed to prevent many of the hair metal acts from getting airplay, but soon artists such as Michael Jackson and Prince were in heavy rotation. Ironically, became the basis for MC Hammer’s huge MTV hit a decade on.
Michael Jackson and Prince were two artists who defined not only the ’80s but musical history, and their videos remain iconic to this day. The premiere of the video was a huge event, and many of us can remember being kids when the full length 10 minute plus film was first broadcast.
MTV spawned an Irish knock-off called MT-USA presented by the very capable Vincent Hanley, and this was a huge show here. Ireland, emerging out of a fairly dull post independence era socially and culturally, was becoming a much more colourful place, and largely we embraced the MTV era. Pop radio was only a few years old too and pirates were flourishing; it’s hard to imagine but Ireland only had one radio station until the late ’70s.
It’s no surprise that despite often being a fairly middle of the road vehicle for pop music, great artists such as Madonna, MJ, Prince, Janet, Duran Duran and others made a huge impact in this era. But the best was yet to come for many of us.
As a teenager Yo! MTV Raps made a huge impact on my music tastes at the turn of the ’90s, and suddenly my friends and I were able to watch A Tribe Called Quest, NWA, Public Enemy, Mary J Blige and De La Soul. When I was first going to Henrys I met like-minded youngsters who also liked this music, and we all used to hang out in the back bar listening to DJs such as Donkeyman play this music.
MTV Dance was also big at the time and many ravers of a certain age will remember Downtown Julie Brown and Club MTV, a kind of “Soul Train” for the house generation.
Music television as a whole was popular in the ’90s and I remember being back in gaffs with videos on in the background until the early hours. MTV wasn’t always available in Ireland but music videos remained popular, and soon it helped build new stars, when the jiggy era brought high budget videos and stars like Missy Elliot, 50 Cent, TLC and Eminem.
I personally tuned out soon after, and the reality TV era never interested me personally. MTV moving away from music was also a reflection of the times, and the late 2000s brought a newer uncertainty to the music industry, with the decline of physical sales and illegal downloading becoming commonplace. The industry was on its knees and arguably has never recovered fully, only belatedly reacting to the threat of Napster and others. Now it’s all about streaming but it’s probably the artists who have suffered most, though music videos and visuals are still made for YouTube and other social media.
I had some great times welcoming a few MTV Lick parties to Cork at the Savoy, during MTV’s last peak, and DJs such as Trevor Nelson were huge here. MTV has long since ceased to be of significance to me and others but, historically, many of us will remember the era of your youth fondly. MTV certainly played its part!
