We’re tracking musical changes through the years, by dropping in to the first year of each decade. In 1981, disco and punk had passed their use-by dates, and new wave meant different things, depending who you asked.
The music video became the main way many people got their tunes, with the launch of MTV in 1981. It played music videos 24 hours a day, pushing bands to make bigger, bolder, more imaginative promo clips. The idea had been pitched to Warner Brothers by former Monkee, Mike Nesmith, who had the idea while making a video for his 1977 hit Rio.
