SEPT. 14
1984
MADONNA PERFORMS AT THE FIRST VMAs
Dolled up in a white-lace bustier, a ''Boy Toy'' belt, and a flouncy tutu,
Madonna performed ''Like a Virgin'' at the first MTV Video Music Awards
looking like the world's naughtiest bride. Rolling around on the stage,
she delivered come-hither looks straight into the camera — sometimes the
wrong camera — while humping her discarded veil, and flashing her panties
and garters. It was a jaw-dropping routine and the beginning of a
beautiful friendship between MTV and the Material Girl.
SUMMER
1985
MTV GETS ''MONEY FOR NOTHING''
In 1985, the video for Dire Straits' ''Money for Nothing'' was
bleeding-edge computer animation, right alongside Super Mario Bros. and
Max Headroom. Fueled by heavy MTV airplay — and a high-pitched cameo from
Sting that incorporated the ''I want my MTV'' slogan — the satiric
rock-boogie cut mocked and celebrated the music channel, and became the
British band's biggest hit ever. When MTV Europe launched on Aug. 1,
1987, ''Money'' was the first video played. How meta.
MARCH 10
1986
THE CLOCK STARTS FOR 120 MINUTES
Debbie Gibson didn't have full custody of MTV's airwaves in the '80s:
For two hours on Sunday nights, artists like Kate Bush, the Cure, and
XTC got their due. Hosted by Dave Kendall, the Robert Smith-coiffed Brit
who rarely went without his motorcycle jacket, 120 Minutes was the
music-video version of college radio (and a likely precursor to the
network's indie-centric spin-off, MTV2). When the show was canceled 17
years later, Kendall bid alterna-fans goodbye with Siouxsie and the
Banshees' ''Kiss Them for Me.''
APRIL 18
1987
HEADBANGERS BALL ROCKS ITS FIRST FACE
Some bands were just too heavy for daytime MTV, and the Ball became a
Saturday-night haven for rockers dying for a fist-pumping good time. A
revolving collection of unthreatening hosts (e.g., the majorly
big-haired Adam Curry) spoon-fed the rage to suburban metal virgins and
salvaged countless interviews with amusingly incoherent band members. It
was a three-hour tour of the dark side that propelled groups like
Metallica into the mainstream.
AUG. 6
1988
YO! MTV RAPS BRINGS HIP-HOP TO THE BURBS
Before it was commonplace for Kanye West videos to run alongside Gwen
Stefani clips, MTV dipped its toes into the hip-hop pool with a two-hour
weekend block of rap videos. Created by the late filmmaker Ted Demme
(Blow) and Peter Dougherty, Yo! MTV Raps featured in-studio interviews
(by hosts like Fab Five Freddy, Doctor Dre, and Ed Lover) and
performances by everyone from MC Hammer to N.W.A. Due to growing demand,
the show later expanded to six days a week before finally wrapping in
1995.
MARCH 2
1989
''LIKE A PRAYER'' SPARKS A FIRESTORM
In ''Like a Prayer,'' Madonna promises she'll take us ''there'' — and
apparently ''there'' meant a world of controversy. Burning crosses and
making out with an African-American saint were just two of the images
that irked both sensitive viewers and PepsiCo; the video cost Madonna
her endorsement deal with the soda giant. This was just the beginning of
Madge's long history of troublesome clips, including 1990's sexual
free-for-all ''Justify My Love,'' which was banned on MTV. In 2001, the
violent, robbery-themed ''What It Feels Like for a Girl,'' directed by her
husband, Guy Ritchie, aired only once. ''We definitely go back and
forth,'' says MTV exec Van Toffler of the network's relationship with
Madonna. ''She's a passionate artist, not just for her music but for her
visuals. She's not afraid to take risks and reinvent herself, and that's
the same mantra that's driven MTV for the last 25 years.'' As long as
those ''risks'' don't involve crime sprees or orgies.
