Remember when MTV actually played music videos? Those early days of the ’80s were a wild frontier where artists could get away with the most wonderfully bizarre concepts imaginable. We’d sit transfixed by our television sets, watching these mini-movies that often had absolutely nothing to do with the songs themselves, yet somehow captured the perfect spirit of the era. Looking back, these videos were gloriously nonsensical masterpieces that defined a generation’s visual language.
1. “Come On Eileen” by Dexys Midnight Runners (1982)
This video threw us straight into what looked like a Depression-era fever dream, complete with overalls, dungarees, and more fiddles than you could shake a stick at. Kevin Rowland and his band bounced around like they’d consumed way too much coffee, mixing Celtic folk dancing with pure manic energy that somehow made perfect sense at the time. The whole thing felt like stumbling into someone’s barn dance after getting lost in the countryside.
The band members looked like they’d raided a thrift store from three different decades, creating a visual chaos that perfectly matched the song’s infectious energy. Young couples danced with abandon while the camera work made everything feel slightly dizzy and dream-like. Nobody questioned why a song about a girl named Eileen required so much agricultural imagery—we just went with it and loved every minute.
2. “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell (1981)
Marc Almond strutted through what appeared to be a nightclub designed by someone who’d never actually been to a nightclub, complete with dramatic lighting that belonged more in a Gothic horror film than a dance venue. The video featured mysterious figures lurking in shadows, theatrical poses that would make Shakespeare proud, and enough leather to outfit a motorcycle gang. Everything was draped in an atmosphere so thick with drama you could cut it with a knife.
The whole production felt like watching a soap opera performed by aliens who’d studied human behavior through old movie magazines. Almond’s theatrical expressions and the band’s serious demeanor created this wonderfully overblown atmosphere that somehow made the song even more irresistible. We didn’t need to understand why everyone looked so tortured—we just knew it felt incredibly cool and slightly dangerous.
3. “Mickey” by Toni Basil (1982)
A former Las Vegas showgirl dressed as a cheerleader, complete with pom-poms and a school spirit that could power a small city, bounced around a gymnasium that looked like it had been decorated by someone colorblind. Toni Basil brought an energy level that suggested she’d been practicing these routines since the Eisenhower administration, mixing professional choreography with the kind of enthusiasm usually reserved for winning lottery tickets. The whole thing felt like stepping into the world’s most caffeinated pep rally.
The video’s aesthetic borrowed heavily from classic Americana, but filtered through such an intensely upbeat lens that it became something entirely new and slightly surreal. Background dancers appeared and disappeared like cheerleading ghosts, while Basil herself maintained a smile so persistent it became almost hypnotic. Nobody questioned whether a song called “Mickey” really needed this much school spirit—we were too busy trying to learn the dance moves.
4. “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles (1979/Early MTV)
This video served as MTV’s very first offering, and it looked like it was filmed inside a computer from the distant future—or at least what 1979 thought the distant future might look like. Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn surrounded themselves with enough synthesizers and futuristic gadgets to make NASA jealous, while strange visual effects made everything look like it was happening inside a television set that had achieved consciousness. The whole production felt like watching someone’s fever dream about the year 2001.
The band members appeared to be conducting some sort of electronic séance, complete with dramatic gestures toward machines that blinked and hummed with mysterious purpose. Young children appeared in space-age outfits, looking like they’d been recruited for some sort of intergalactic talent show. The video perfectly captured that early ’80s fascination with technology while simultaneously making us slightly nervous about our robot overlords.
5. “Whip It” by Devo (1980)
Five men dressed in matching red jumpsuits and flowerpot hats acted out what appeared to be a public service announcement from an alternate universe where efficiency was the highest form of art. The band members moved with robotic precision through a series of mundane tasks, treating everything from whipping cream to cracking whips with the same mechanical intensity. Their synchronized movements made them look like they’d been programmed by the same computer that designed assembly lines.
The video’s sterile, industrial aesthetic made even the simplest actions feel like part of some larger scientific experiment. Band members maintained expressions of concentrated seriousness while performing activities that ranged from practical to completely absurd. The whole thing felt like watching a training film for employees of a company that manufactured both kitchenware and leather goods, and somehow that made perfect sense.
6. “Love is a Battlefield” by Pat Benatar (1983)
Pat Benatar transformed from sweet small-town girl to tough city dweller in what appeared to be the world’s most dramatic makeover montage, complete with enough hairspray and leather to supply a small rebellion. The video told a story about independence and self-discovery that unfolded like a compressed Broadway musical, with dance sequences that belonged more on a stage than in real life. Every scene dripped with the kind of theatrical intensity that made ordinary situations feel like life-or-death struggles.
The transformation scenes played out with all the subtlety of a sledgehammer, but somehow that over-the-top approach made everything more emotionally resonant rather than ridiculous. Background dancers appeared like they’d been summoned from the most fashionable corners of the underground, creating elaborate choreography that turned city streets into impromptu performance spaces. The whole production felt like watching someone’s empowerment fantasy brought to vivid, slightly surreal life.
7. “Hungry Like the Wolf” by Duran Duran (1982)
Simon Le Bon wandered through what appeared to be a tropical adventure film directed by someone who’d watched too many Indiana Jones movies while listening to new wave music. The video featured mysterious marketplace vendors, dramatic chase sequences, and enough exotic atmosphere to supply several tourism commercials. Everything felt like stepping into a fever dream about international espionage mixed with a fashion shoot.
The band members appeared throughout the video like well-dressed phantoms, materializing in various tropical locations with the kind of casual sophistication that suggested they vacationed in places the rest of us couldn’t pronounce. Mysterious women appeared and disappeared like mirages, while the whole production maintained an air of adventure that made everyday life seem terribly mundane by comparison. Nobody questioned why a song about hunger required so much international travel—we just enjoyed the exotic vacation.
8. “Take On Me” by a-ha (1985)
This Norwegian trio created what might be the most technically ambitious music video ever attempted, combining live action with pencil-sketch animation in a way that made reality feel negotiable. The story followed a young woman who literally stepped into a comic book world, where everything moved with the fluid grace of hand-drawn dreams. The animation technique created a visual experience so unique that it felt like discovering a new form of entertainment.
The band members existed simultaneously in both the real world and the sketched dimension, moving between realities with the ease of characters who’d never heard of the laws of physics. Action sequences unfolded with the kinetic energy of the best comic books, while romantic scenes played out with a tenderness that transcended the medium’s technical limitations. The whole production felt like watching someone crack the code that separated imagination from reality.
9. “Der Kommissar” by After the Fire (1982)
This cover of a Falco song transported viewers into what looked like a spy thriller filmed in a European city that existed only in Cold War fever dreams. The video featured shadowy figures, mysterious meetings, and enough trench coats to outfit a convention of private detectives. Everything was draped in an atmosphere of international intrigue that made suburban life feel embarrassingly tame.
The band performed against backdrops that suggested they were either secret agents or the most musically inclined fugitives in history. Surveillance themes ran throughout the video, creating a paranoid atmosphere that somehow made a catchy pop song feel like a political statement. The whole production tapped into early ’80s anxieties about privacy and authority while making us feel like we were part of some sophisticated European art film.
10. “Don’t You (Forget About Me)” by Simple Minds (1985)
The Scottish band performed in what appeared to be an empty warehouse that had been transformed into the most dramatically lit concert venue in history, complete with fog machines working overtime and enough atmospheric lighting to supply a small theater district. Jim Kerr moved through the space like he was conducting an invisible orchestra, while the rest of the band created a wall of sound that seemed to make the building itself pulse with energy. The whole setup felt like stumbling into a secret concert that was being broadcast from another dimension.
The video’s industrial aesthetic perfectly captured that mid-’80s fascination with large, empty spaces filled with expensive equipment and mysterious purposes. Band members appeared and disappeared through clouds of stage fog, creating a dreamlike quality that made the performance feel more like a visitation than a traditional concert. The combination of intimate performance and grand staging created something that felt both personal and epic, like watching your favorite band play a private show in a cathedral made of steel and light.
11. “She Blinded Me With Science” by Thomas Dolby (1982)
Thomas Dolby created what appeared to be a documentary about the world’s most musically inclined mad scientist, complete with a laboratory that looked like it had been designed by someone who’d read too many comic books about electricity. The video featured genuine scientific equipment mixed with theatrical props, creating an atmosphere where actual research seemed to blend seamlessly with musical performance. Everything felt like watching a university professor who’d discovered that chemistry was actually just another form of rhythm.
The production included appearances by actual scientists and academics, lending an air of educational authority to what was essentially an elaborate music video about the excitement of discovery. Laboratory experiments unfolded alongside musical performances, suggesting that scientific method and artistic creation were really just different approaches to the same fundamental curiosity. The whole thing felt like the kind of educational programming we wished they’d shown us in school—informative, entertaining, and just weird enough to hold our attention.
12. “Owner of a Lonely Heart” by Yes (1983)
This progressive rock masterpiece featured visual effects that looked like they’d been created by artists who’d figured out how to make mathematics visible, complete with geometric patterns that pulsed and shifted in time with the music. The video combined performance footage with abstract imagery that seemed to exist in a dimension where algebra had learned to dance. Everything moved with a precision that suggested the universe itself was keeping time.
Band members appeared to be performing inside some sort of cosmic equation, surrounded by shapes and patterns that transformed constantly but somehow maintained perfect harmony with the song’s complex rhythms. The visual effects created a sense of movement through space and time that made a simple music video feel like a journey through higher dimensions. The whole production captured that uniquely ’80s belief that technology and artistry could combine to create experiences that transcended ordinary reality.
These videos represented a magical moment in popular culture when artists had access to new technology but hadn’t yet figured out the rules for using it. The result was a collection of visual experiments that prioritized imagination over logic, creating mini-masterpieces that were often gloriously inexplicable but always emotionally resonant. They remind us of a time when strangeness was celebrated rather than explained away, when the goal was to create wonder rather than make perfect sense. In our current age of focus-grouped entertainment and algorithm-driven content, these wonderfully weird videos feel like messages from a more adventurous time, when being different was the whole point.
This story Music Videos from the Early ’80s That Made No Sense—But Felt Like Magic was first published on Takes Me Back.
