CONTROVERSIAL 1989 VIDEO TOPS MTV 25TH ANNIVERSARY POLL
MICHAEL JACKSON AND MADONNA DOMINATE TOP TEN
Madonna has cemented her reputation as the trailblazing pop icon of her generation by topping a poll of MTV viewers to find the most groundbreaking music videos of all time.
The poll, which appears in ‘The Top 100 Videos That Broke The Rules’ to be broadcast on MTV on 1st August to mark the channel’s 25th anniversary, names the superstar’s hugely controversial ‘Like A Prayer’ as the most taboo-busting and pioneering music video ever made. Featuring burning crosses, statues crying blood and Madonna seducing a black Jesus, the video even brought condemnation from the Vatican for its use of religious imagery.
Altogether, Madonna appears an overwhelming three times in the top five, with her videos for ‘Ray of Light’ and ‘Vogue’ claiming the fourth and fifth places respectively. ‘Ray of Light’ ushered in new filming techniques such as varispeed - which until that point had rarely been used in music videos - while ‘Vogue’ brought a dance craze from the underground gay clubbing scene straight into mainstream culture. Britney Spears’ hit 1999 debut single ‘Baby One More Time’ - which shot the former child star to global superstardom thanks to her eye-catching saucy schoolgirl antics - takes second place in the poll.
Michael Jackson is the other artist alongside Madonna to dominate the top ten. His legendary video for ‘Thriller’, directed by Hollywood Director John Landis and featuring Jackson morphing into a werewolf, appears in third place. Even though the original video was originally thought to be too long to broadcast, it received its world premiere on MTV in 1983. Meanwhile Jackson’s 1995 duet ‘Scream’ with sister Janet takes sixth place, and is remembered as much for its jaw-dropping special effects as it is for its enormous budget, the figure of which is not widely known but estimated to have been anything between $7 and $30 million.
Robbie Williams is the highest placed British artist in seventh position with ‘Rock DJ’, a video which pushed boundaries of taste of decency with Robbie peeling off his own skin. It was deemed so shocking when it was released in 2000 that it was only allowed to be broadcast on MTV in its entirety following the 9pm watershed.
Eric Prydz’s highly suggestive ‘Call on Me’ makes eighth place and is seen to be groundbreaking in the audacious moves of some extremely flexible, scantily-clad gymnasts enjoying a workout. It hit the headlines in January 2005 when Tony Blair said that on first catching the video in the Downing Street gym he nearly fell off his rowing machine!
On its release in 1997, ‘Virtual Insanity’ by Jamiroquai – which takes ninth place - baffled music video industry experts trying to work out how director Jonathan Glazer had depicted Jay Kay dancing in a room with moving walls! The intriguing style worked, and helped the band get their first big hit in America. The top ten is completed by the Spice Girls’ ‘Wannabe’ from 1996, which was filmed using only one take – unheard of in music video production – and marked the moment when girl power was unleashed on an unsuspecting world.
The Top Ten Videos That Broke The Rules
1 Madonna - Like A Prayer (1989, Dir. Mary Lambert)
2 Britney Spears - Baby One More Time (1999, Dir. Nigel Dick)
3 Michael Jackson – Thriller (1983, Dir. John Landis)
4 Madonna - Ray of Light (1998, Dir. Jonas Ackerlund)
5 Madonna – Vogue (1988, Dir. David Fincher)
6 Michael & Janet Jackson – Scream (1995, Dir. Marc Romanek)
7 Robbie Williams - Rock DJ (2000, Dir. Vaughn Arnell)
8 Eric Prydz - Call On Me (2004, Dir. Huse Monfaradi)
9 Jamiroquai - Virtual Insanity (1997, Dir. Jonathan Glazer)
10 Spice Girls – Wannabe (1996, Dir. Jhoan Camitz)
Over 10,000 MTV viewers voted in the poll, and the full 100 will be unveiled in ‘The Top 100 Videos That Broke The Rules’, which airs from 3.30pm on Monday 1st August 2006, to coincide with MTV’s 25th anniversary. It is a countdown of the most seminal, edgy and noteworthy music videos – the kinds of videos that have built careers, given birth to new trends and delighted us all.
Mardi Caught, Vice President, Talent & Music MTV Networks UK & Ireland, comments: “25 years on from the birth of MTV, we can say that contrary to all fears at the time, video definitely did not kill the radio star. In fact, video has helped make music stars more vibrant, creative and impactful. Videos like ‘Thriller’ and ‘Like A Prayer’ aren’t just great promos – they’re pieces of pop history that broke new ground and are irrevocably wrapped up in how we perceive the artists themselves. And it’s great to see that the legacy of great video making is very much alive and kicking, with newer, more cheeky videos like Eric Prydz’ ‘Call On Me’ and Robbie’s ‘Rock DJ’ being recognised too”.
While the poll does include work by acclaimed Hollywood directors John Landis and Jonathan Glazer, the top 10 doesn’t feature music videos titans Spike Jonze (who directed the universally acclaimed video for Fatboy’s Slim’s ‘Weapon of Choice’ featuring the actor Christopher Walken, plus the Beastie Boys’ seminal ‘Sabotage’) and Hype Williams, who has directed iconic videos for the likes of Missy Elliott and Busta Rhymes.
MTV celebrates its 25th anniversary on August 1st 2006, with special programmes including The Top 100 Videos That Broke The Rules, which will tx. at 3.30 pm and TV That Broke The Rules …MTV’s Top 25 Moments, at 9pm.
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