Terrible videos

[klothos]

Billy Squire basically killed his career with the "Rock Me Tonight" video. I actually like a lot of his stuff, and think he put out some good albums, but he was tough to take seriously after that.

I've just seen a 'shreds' video for this. I nearly died laughing. It brings home how horrendous the strutting and posing is.

Here is the conundrum: Did Billy NOT realize what he was doing as he was filming the video?

[trurl]

He probably suspected but had someone telling him not to worry...

[JJ88]

Did people here see 'Rock Me Tonite' at the time and have the now default reaction to it?

[Progatron]

My favourite thing about the "Rock Me Tonite" video is when he tears his shirt in half, which is then shown again in a freeze frame that morphs into a shot of him putting on a new, replacement shirt.

Ahhh, the 80s.

[SteveSly]

Did people here see 'Rock Me Tonite' at the time and have the now default reaction to it?

Yea, I think the reaction was immedate for the most part. I was pretty into Squire at the time. I heard the song first and liked it, but when I saw the video I remember really having a negative reactoin to it.

[Garden Dreamer]

Love their music but this is grievous...



Rush has been guilty of some stinkers...

[Oreb]

There must be some misunderstanding...

[Klonk]

[jkelman]

Oops, did not see that post! That Georgie Dann one is just breathtakingly awful too!

And although this one is not a produced promo video, it is worth showing (I've posted it before) .... the worst version of "Comfortably Numb" you'll ever experience:

What...no blow out guitar solo at the end? I'm so disappointed!

Seriously, one of the worst things I've seen in some time. Speaking of time...I'd have thought you'd have to work hard to have time this bad.

It appears I'm mistaken. Clearly, for these guys, it comes real natural...

[GuitarGeek]

Did people here see 'Rock Me Tonite' at the time and have the now default reaction to it?

I didn't. I thought it was an alright song, and an alright video. I dug seeing him play that St Blues Bluesmaster guitar at the end.

[GuitarGeek]

I'd love to see the uncensored version someday (originally, the bit where the dictator murders the Mark Scorache's mate was a bit more graphic, but it got recut so it could be shown on MTV). I actually always thought that was a really good song. Krokus had some bad ass tunes back in the day.

[GuitarGeek]

Ain't that the truth! This one is my favourite, and it's all because of 'that moment' at 2:25 or so.

Oh dear GAWD!!!! I remember seeing that video on MTV back int he day, and that guitar solo just about made me sick. I think that was the moment where I realized that the whole "shredding" thing had gotten waaaay out of hand.

[GuitarGeek]

'Don't Cry' surely was.

I remember Paul Stanley once making a wisecrack about bands trying to "remake Raiders Of The Lost Ark in 4 minutes". I think it must have been the Don't Cry video he was talking about. I never did understand, why does the chick kill 3/4's of the band, and why is John Wetton the only one spared?!

Another silly video I remember is Big Country's In A Big Country. The original doesn't appear to be on Youtube, but it's another one of those nonsensical plot videos. This chick in a leather jacket steals a mysterious box from the band, who then try to get it back. At one point, the chick somehow manages to incapacitate the entire band. Yes, that's right a GIRL somehow beat up four guys! Then the guys go scuba diving (which we don't actually see on screen, but we do see them in wetsuits and scuba gear). Then they climb down a mountain, Stuart Adamson hugs the chick who earlier knocked him on the ass as if they're lovers or something, one of the other guys in the band finds the box, but it's too late because Stu and the girl are already scaling their way back up the cliff side (did I forget to mention the band climbs done a cliff too?). And we never did find out what was in that damn box!

[klothos]

Im surprised this one hasn't showed up yet:

[Casey]

Years ago I remember EJ doing a radio chat show after he had embarked on yet another attempt at sobriety & a young woman called up to tell him how much that song, "I'm still standing" meant to her. She confessed that she had a substance abuse problem & that song was her siren song to lead her to kick her habit. EJ was not moved by the woman's story & rather flippantly admitted that he was stoned throughout the filming. There was silence for about 10 seconds & then the woman hung up the telephone.

I lost some respect I had for him then & there.

[GuitarGeek]

Years ago I remember EJ doing a radio chat show after he had embarked on yet another attempt at sobriety & a young woman called up to tell him how much that song, "I'm still standing" meant to her. She confessed that she had a substance abuse problem & that song was her siren song to lead her to kick her habit. EJ was not moved by the woman's story & rather flippantly admitted that he was stoned throughout the filming. There was silence for about 10 seconds & then the woman hung up the telephone.

I lost some respect I had for him then & there.

Elton's apparently notorious for acting like a total snot sometimes. His...I guess husband, you would say now, made a documentary film on him in the early 90's. There's a bit where they're in the dressing room on a video shoot, and Elton's being a whiny little bitch, "Oh, I hate doing this stuff, I hate waiting around, this is so miserable".

Then there was the time I saw him on Letterman, back when the movie Life Is Beautiful came out, and some how Letterman brought the movie up, which practically everyone else was talking about how great it was. Elton's like, "I walked out 15 minutes in". Dave then sort of chuckles and asks Elton if he's just kidding, and Elton says he isn't. So this goes back and forth, like Dave's trying to get him to recant the statement, saying something like "Don't you think Roberto Beginini is funny?" and Elton's like, "No, he's basically a 10th rate Benny Hill".

I was never able to confirm this actually happened because I didn't see the broadcast, and I've never been able to find it since, but I remember back in 95 or 96, hearing online that Elton appeared on a talk show at the time. The back story here is that all throughout the late 80's and the first half of the 90's, Elton and the Grateful Dead took turns breaking the record for most career sell out shows at Madison Square Garden. So on this occasion, Elton had just again broken the record, and when it was mentioned on this particular occasion, Elton says something like, "Now that Jerry Garcia's dead, I don't have to worry about anyone taking this away from me". Like I said, I couldn't confirm it happened, but it sounds like something he'd say.

And this is the guy sober, I imagine he was probably even worse when he was still doing drugs. It's like the man has no filter on his mouth or whatever.

[BravadoNJ]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-hJFoSgXfM

Yes- Leave It

[Superfly]

I agree Manakin is HOLY! But are you prepared for the holy grail of terrible videos? Behold, the majestic work of Mark Gormley. A man with some sweet moves and a voice to match.

[trurl]

Roberto Benigni isn't funny! He's generally like being stabbed in the eye. But I never saw that film and it did win the Oscar so I'm willing to give it the benefit of the doubt.


None of that changes the fact that EJ is often a petulant little bitch of course.

[Rune Blackwings]

I need to show you cats up all over again?

TWO of them:

[Casey]

^ Was this before, during, or after Andrew Lloyd Webber?

[Big Ears]

Hot Gossip were choreographed by Arlene Phillips and appeared on Kenny Everett's TV show in the late seventies/early eighties. His original show often consisted of videos by rock bands, like Moody Blues and Thin Lizzy. It later became dominated by his sense of humour, with eighties chart music. Hot Gossip were the regular dance troupe and were very risque, by comparison with the anodyne Pan's People and their horrible successors like Ruby Flipper and Legs & Co. To my knowledge, Sarah Brightman was not involved until someone decided to release a record with the HG name, but this was before she worked with Lloyd Webber. I believe she was classically trained. Arlene Phillips was sacked as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, a few years ago, for not being young and pretty enough (irrespective of her knowledge or experience of choreography).

I enjoyed the Billy Squier material, which got some airplay in the UK from Alan Freeman and Tommy Vance, particularly his (I think) 1981 Reading Festival performance. I am not aware of 'that' video being shown here at the time.

[100423]

For something new:

[SteveSly]

I enjoyed the Billy Squier material, which got some airplay in the UK from Alan Freeman and Tommy Vance, particularly his (I think) 1981 Reading Festival performance. I am not aware of 'that' video being shown here at the time.

The video was all over MTV in the U.S. I am actually a pretty big Squire fan. I have quite a few of his albums and saw him live twice back in the day, and always put on a great live show. I thought he was a good power / pop / rock songwriter and a bit underrated as a guitarist.

[Dave (in MA)]

Things didn't get much better 12 years later: