Night Flight

Thirty-six years ago to the day. Tonight’s Night Flight original mixes chart-toppers and heatseekers to provide a complete snapshot of music circa January 20th, 1984. With the top-ten countdown, you get a suite of the year’s trending music videos and tucked inside the Rising Stars section, a peak at bands on the rise like Sons of Heroes, Howard Jones and Wendy and The Rockets.

"Take Off To Animation" takes a colorful look at the use of animation in music video over the previous few years in styles ranging from experimental camera technique to 'Saturday morning cartoon'. Many of the videos compiled for this episode first became well-known due to their repeat exposure on Night Flight. Bona fide Night Flight classics here include Tom Tom Club's "Pleasure of Love", Randy Andy's "The People (Livin' in the USA)", Machinations: "Pressure Sway" & Will Powers: "Adventures In Success". Night Flight's innovative "Take Off" series dispensed with playlists, bland VJ set-ups and the usual tired video countdown format and instead cleverly programmed music videos and performance clips by theme. The series regularly featured hits from Eighties pop icons juxtaposed against obscurities from not-ready-for-MTV cult favorites. Music videos included: Chuck Berry - Maybelline (set to Disney Animation) Elvis Costello - Accidents Will Happen Tom Tom Club - Pleasure of Love Randy Andy - The People (Living in the USA) Machinations - Pressure Sway Will Powers - Adventures in Success George Clinton - Atomic Dog Herbie Hancock - Autodrive Donald Fagen - New Frontier Adrian Belew - Big Electric Cat Jean-Luc Ponty - Individual Choice Will Powers - Smile Rush tour dates superimposed over Limelight

When you think of party time in the '80s... what comes to mind? It's totally understandable if a dark void exists for those of you who really found the time party. If the faint lingering echo of Gap Band's "Party Train," or Madness' "Our House" is ringing in your ears, then welcome - please step inside our time capsule to Night Flight's "Take Off To Party Time" from 1984. This version of Party Time mixes the elegant side of the soirée, with cuts from Lionel Richie and Huey Lewis and The News to the get out of your chair dance tunes from Men Without Hats and the Pointer Sisters. From the Kinks, to Prince, this is not a Party Time you want to miss!

This episode takes a provocative peek at gender-bending styles and comic cross-dressing in vintage video from the vaults featuring many pop icons such as David Bowie, Eurythmics, Grace Jones, Culture Club & Queen.

Highlighting European rock including videos from Peter Schilling, Nina Hagen, Scorpions and more.

"Rockabilly is a strange brew," Pat Prescott announces, "part Rhythm & Blues, Country & Western, Gospel and even Pop. It's a style that takes us back..." Continuing with our recent theme of looking at the history of rock and roll, this week we've got Night Flight's 1984 Take Off To Rockabilly. With Jerry Lee Lewis, Stray Cats, Robert Gordon, The Blasters and X, this episode is pure americana music history, Night Flight style.

"In the past 3 years, Night Flight has kept pace with Music Video revolution in its own unique style." - Pat Prescott. Night Flight's 1984 Anniversary Special is a fine collection of all that the original series had to offer. "Take Off" to Video Art? Check. Dog Police? Double Check. Epic episode-long Ghostbusters giveaway with the grand prize winner getting 1984 Isuzu P'up Truck? TRIPE CHECK!!

Night Flight’s full episode from June 30th, 1984 kicks off hot and heavy with a bold “Take Off” to Sex. “Music videos use phallic and vaginal symbols,” Pat Prescott tells us as she introduces videos from INXS, Berlin, Mary Jane Girls and of course, Prince. Then we get into a Heavy Metal Half Hour with Ratt, Divinyls and Def Leppard. Dig into more music videos from Rush, The Go Go’s, Nick Lowe, and a strange short film called The Speed of Light, starring Sally Norvell (later cast by Wim Wenders as “Nurse Bibs” in Paris, Texas).

Starting off with Michael Jackson's iconic Pepsi commercial, this full 3 hour special of Night Flight from 1984 truly has it all with a top ten video pick featuring Dead or Alive, The Cars and George Kranz and an excellent Radio 1990 clip with a Van Halen profile and interview. We finish with a cult classics section of UBU, Space Cadet, Santana and Stephen Stills' Manassas

New Wave Theatre, Heavy Metal Heroes, Radio 1990 (featuring Eurythmics) and much more.

Tonight we Take Off to Cameos with “guest shot” appearances from Rodney Dangerfield, Milton Berle, Father Guido Sarducci, and more. Originally airing in 1984, tonight’s original episode features an eclectic music selection featuring the likes of Sons of Heroes, Tracey Ullman, Ratt, Ebn Ozn; all defined by their high-profile cameos.

“In the ‘80s, America rediscovered the Body” Pat Prescott tells us. “We jogged, we danced, we exercised and put our bodies back into shape.” Right in time for that gym membership, we're kicking off another year of Night Flight Originals with "Take Off to Body Language," an excellent 1984 special featuring tunes from Thomas Dolby, Berlin, The Gap Band, Herbie Hancock and of course, Queen.

Title says it all, inquire within for Night Flight's Duran Duran feature.

Music videos featuring flashy female rock icons such as Debbie Harry, Grace Slick, Tina Turner, Wendy O. Williams & Stevie Nicks.

We begin this 3 hour As-Aired episode with an excellent selection of videos from Eurythmics, Jermaine Jackson, Prince, and Prince produced The Time. Night Flight's Rising Stars covers songs from classic acts Psychedelic Furs, Slade, and Night Flight's Discovery Segment features Milk 'N' Cookies' Ian North and Eva Everything. Hour 2 brings an incredible selection of new film and video art featuring experimental animation and video from Chel White.

Tonight we take off to Sex in Music Videos, and a suite of experimental video animation starting with Shalom Gorewitz's Subatomic Babies, Ian Snow Carpenter’s cosmic existential film, The Lessons an opera commissioned and produced for television by The Kitchen and finally wrapping up with a video retrospective, 20 years of the Kinks.

This episode features profiles on Rolling Stones, The Psychedelic Furs, surreal 80s video art and a strange New Wave love story called White Lies from director Marion Cajori starring a young Willem Dafoe with stellar music by Peter Gordon. We’re all but certain this doesn’t exist anywhere else, so dig in and enjoy!

Video hits from Prince and affiliated acts such as Morris Day and The Time and the late, great Vanity. Music videos included: Dirty Mind Uptown Controversy Sexuality 1999 Little Red Corvette When Doves Cry (long version) Clips from the film Purple Rain Morris Day interview The Time - Ice Cream Castles Vanity - Pretty Mess Let's Go Crazy

Night Flight’s full episode from September 1984 starts off with a Lou Reed’s wild dancing in his video for “I Love You Suzanne,” and doesn’t stop until way past your bedtime. Night Flight’s Video Picks give you selections from Art of Noise, Billy Idol, Sheila E. and Elvis Costello. Cut away to some classic commercials, and we’re back with AC/DC, Hendrix and Judas Priest on Heavy Metal Heroes. Finally stick around for a full episode of Radio 1990 featuring Billy Squier, as he releases his video for "Rock Me Tonite", the clip that may or may not have torpedoed his career.

“Their music was devil’s music: high decibel, tortured, frenzied songs about Death, Destruction and Black Magic.” Welcome to Night Flight’s 1984 Take Off to Heavy Metal History with a look at metal forgers Black Sabbath. We go back to the 1970s for classic Sabbath, trace the development of Ozzy Osbourne and Ronny James Dio from their days as Black Sabbath’s lead singers to their solo careers in the mid 80s as “Rock’s Top MadMen.” We’ve heard from many of you that your first exposure to BS was late at night on Night Flight, so consider this your return trip home to some 35 years ago. If you are a Black Sabbath original line-up purist and Dio isn't your thing, may we suggest the Black Sabbath Video Profile for another excellent episode?

Music Video's directed by feature filmmakers for The Cars, Lionel Richie and Bruce Springsteen. Music videos included: clip from Five Easy Pieces, directed by Bob Rafelson Lionel Richie - All Night Long (directed by Bob Rafelson) Laura Branigan - Self Control (directed by William Friedkin) Billy Idol - Dancing With Myself (directed by Tobe Hooper) clip from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, directed by Tobe Hooper clip from Body Double, directed by Brian DePalma Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax (uncensored version)(directed by Brian DePalma) Bruce Springsteen - Dancing in the Dark (directed by Brian DePalma) clip from Get Crazy, directed by Alan Arkush Bette Midler - Beast of Burden (directed by Alan Arkush) The Cars - Hello Again (directed by Andy Warhol) clip from Tango - directed by Zbigniew Rybcynski Art of Noise - Close to the Edit (directed by Zbigniew Rybcynski) Belfegore - All That I Wanted (directed by Zbigniew Rybcynski)

A look at those performers who had a profound influence on popular music including Chuck Berry, Elvis, Smokey Robinson and more classics. In true Night Flight fashion, this episode explains the influences and cultural context of Rock and Roll through the decades and up to more contemporary (for the time) artists. This is an original episode not to be missed.

Welcome to Night Flight, where we're showcasing the directors behind some of the top music videos of the time. We'll look at the people who directed the videos of Duran Duran, The Police, Kenny Rogers, Billy Joel and Bette Midler. Starting with Russell Mulcahy, director of "Video Killed The Radio Star" heralding in a new era.

Hot videos from heavy headliners Madonna, Rod Stewart, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Queen and Van Halen are highlights from this epic installment of Night Flight's "Take Off" Music videos included: Prince - Dirty Mind Malcolm McLaren - Madame Butterfly Madonna - Burning Up Madonna - Lucky Star Rod Stewart - Infatuation Laura Branigan - Self Control Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Relax (original version) Queen - Body Language Van Halen - Hot For Teacher The Rolling Stones - She Was Hot The Mr. Bill Show - Tubing

“Hot Music and Hollywood Movies are coming together in the new phenomena of Movie Music Videos” - Pat Prescott. Night Flight’s Film Music special is a bonafide who’s who of movie soundtrack anthems from 1984. Whether it’s a close look at Prince’s Purple Rain ("the hottest movie film of 1984)," a heartfelt Karate Kid soundtrack video from Survivor or Police guitarist Andy Summer’s update to the 2001: A Space Odyssey anthem, this episode is a stylish, free-form recap of the merge between Hollywood and the music industry.

It's 1984. A Friday night. Maybe you're flipping through the channels thinking about how to crush it at the upcoming High School formal and BAM, you stumble upon Night Flight's special "Take Off to Dance," a special segment exploring dance in pop and rock through the ages. Featuring Electric Light Orchestra, Kool and the Gang and more, this episode is just what you needed.