Seems to me that matter where you go in new york, with all sorts of different things you spoiled for choice, and it's pretty only two with television, because believe it or not, but this little box here I can get over thirteen different tv. animals reason for that is that this is cable tv, something we ve been hearing a lot about recently. Thirty channels just seems incredible me what what sort of thing

there are no further well there's one channel that just has weather twenty four hours a day where you could just tune in and find out whether to grab the raincoat or just a light sweater. Another channel would have sports features. All different types of hockey basketball baseball. Another channel would be one that you'd pay extra for which would be movies and what tends to be the most popular channel, one of the most popular across the country is a pop music channel. Twenty four hours of pop music videos nets: music, television, mtv. Forty years ago, television history was made when mtv came along. Every college student became glued to the closest tv they could find that had cable for the next hour on the BBC world service, we're going to tell the story of a groundbreaking tv channel that not only changed my life but the world of music forever. I knew we would touch a chord with kids if we could give them their music twenty four hours a day. He changed my life that lemon really

changed, my life. That's the way you do it and market, but one of the five original videos on mtv welcome to empty the news of television. A new concept is born back and nineteen eighty one, the five of us, or just trying to figure out what a v J even was. We made it up as we went along having watched empty the of the last few months, I'm just throw by the fact that so few black artists painted on name a video which defines the empty the era. They were safe, threatened. we world premiered it and we played it every hour. I walked in, and I said Michael because I'm over here and his first words were. I want to thank you, and I said no, no, no! No! No. I want to thank you now this noisy rebellious channel is heading into middle age. So what does the future hold? Don't watch him tv

find it all very samian tedious and you turn it off. You ve called the tune. Welcome to mtv at forty Now I want to start by taking you back to the nineteen seventies and the united. It's when it came to discovering new music radio was. Certainly king This is crazy case him. In hollywood, elevation remain by far the most dominant medium in america throughout the seventies, but it wasn't particularly a golden age. Tv was three networks, abc missy sylvia ass. There was no home video. You couldn't go rent obviate, just take me out. So if it wasn't on tv or wasn't in a movie theater, you never could see it. Bob hitman was and

up and coming star in radio in the late seventies, the winning programming philosophy, called least objectionable programming theory, says only three choices. What will win is the choice that is the least objectionable days, and if you looked at tv, that's exactly what it looked like. No one wanted to take a chance everyone was trying to be the least offensive. They could possibly be it was really boring from a music point of view. In Britain, it's more than the? U S, videos or some artists, often due to accompany a new album, the video for queens nineteen. Seventy five epic bohemian rhapsody has long been seen as one of the most trade.

Blazing and memorable videos. The film was used around the world and worked very successfully. Here's green drummer roger taylor didn't any just get record across it, got queen across both visually and serve already, but what people actually watch these videos on tv twenty four hours a day, but about pitman thought so rich Surely the idea them tv was. It was a video radio station. You had a generation that a grown up, the rock and roll music and television with the two had never successfully come together by parents. Boss was a guy called John Lennon. he'd been having similar ideas about trying to launch a cable channel. That would only show music videos. It came about for me when I was on my honeymoon in paris in nineteen eighty, because in europe those days music videos, created to sell music and they appeared on shows, like top of the pops, that as potty time herod to itself with the bands went to promote their music, which eventually sold records in america. Of course, we had in new york, you know twenty thirty, forty radio

The times of music was promoted on radio radios, what sold records in the fifty sixty seven is so John lack and bob pit had the idea for mtv. They just needed. The funding so picture this scene. It's john lack and his team in a room about to pitch the idea for mtv to the top bosses is a famous story of the board meeting to get the final money from american express and warner who, how to say, go or no go. There was Jim Robinson president. Of american express and the chairman of warner communications, Steve ROS, not many whim. The boardroom, yeah, that's right! the glass ceiling still existed at the beginning of the eighties Robinson, looked at his people and said university. We disgusted at some length. We think it's brilliant television and we kind of want to be pioneers with you on this one. If, if you believe it, we believe it and I kind of breathe,

I believe in and raw said, Jim. I don't know. I've wondered about whether people are gonna watch these things over and over again, like they watch traditional television and I'm not really sure Jim. By this point I was about half way under the table sliding itemised going home. I got all this work and then ross tells us a pocketful story about having been with his daughter, tony Just tell me, I don't know John locke as this idea for empty being we're meeting with the boredom or what do you think and she said that it's the coolest thing I've ever seen and you gotta do it. Just I guess we're in for a twenty five million jobs, Ok, it's august. First, nineteen, eighty one launch night, switching to the re data sent say: clatter t minus twenty seven, that's where one eastern time mtv flickered onto our screens. For the very first time we got or redundant sequencer star

The first thing you saw was the countdown of the very first colombia space shuttle large, which had taken place earlier that year divide minus ten die. This was followed by footage of allow eleven lifting off and neil armstrong walking on the moon, which we used because it was free start. We lack had wanted to you. the famous one small step for man. Audio is the first words spoken on the channel, but Armstrong own, the copyright and said no, so they had to come up with a plan b about a week before we launched fred seibert creative server. His guy and sir John. You know you've got to have a proper launch here. It just can't be midnight, music is played, he says say what you always say. I said: what do you mean? He said, ladies and gentlemen: rock and roll were doing it, so I went to my boss at the time he said to me. What do you wanna do that, for I said I dunno, I think it's kind of proper we've got to have an induction. This is a big deal. He said, okay, if you insist so that's sort of how it happened. I went into a studio a couple of days beforehand and recorded it. So

very first words on mtv spoken by a thirty seven year old warner communications executive were Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll beginning MTV was only available in a couple of hundred thousand homes across the united states. It was in most of the major markets, including new york city, although I should say they told us. We were working on the channel that we launched with about two million, not so so that and for the launch for us to see the launch that we had recorded a couple of days earlier we had to leave men, and had two new jersey where it was being shown on cable. Here we were unable to

the our own travel in the time that we were making it, and so we had to go to a little bar across the George washington bridge in new jersey. I remember the bar was called the loft and we run our own big television sets in to watch it. We showed up about ten o clock and they shoved ass down in the basement, where we proceeded to drink and party and wait for this incredible launch. What why

up happening that night was frankly pretty much a mess. The technology had not caught up to mtv, yet so each of the recorded bits that we had done previously had to be inserted into a machine while the engineer inserted the wrong bits into the wrong machine, and thus my segment, which was supposed to come on first, came on somewhere towards the end. Nonetheless, we all had a great night. I did tear up a bit honestly. I was so proud of what we had done and the idea of this channel never going off was not lost on any of us. So the very first played on anti day. Well, that's a piece of music history. The baby single by english banned the bubbles had been released two years previous in nineteen, seventy nine. It was certainly a statement of intent to launch the world's first twenty four hour music shadow

the words that benatar You better run with the second song ever played on mtv and after this first two tracks. Well, then, it was me this welcome to mtv music television, the world's first twenty four hour stereo video music channel. We are so excited about this new concept in tv people. Ask me all the time. How did I at this incredible job, a job that so many wanted luck right place right time. I believed in music, I believed in the underground. I was always

king for the underground and I was working in commercial rock radio. I was tired of playing meat, loaf and oreo speedway and over and over again- and I was looking for something else. Luckily, a friend of mine called It said that there was this company warner am acts and they were doing this video music channel. I don't know much about it, but maybe you want to go and see him. The first meeting was, in these sheridan hotel on seventh avenue in new york. It felt kind of sketchy, but that meeting went ok. I was brought back for a second edition, but my third audition was really going to be the one that would put me to the test robber Morton. Who would go on to be the producer of the late? My talk show here in the: u s david letter

was a producer for us in the early days of mtv and for this third audition he played a cantankerous billy Joe, and it was my job to interview Billy jaw. Who was giving me? Yes, no, I don't know it was that kind of interview which I guess I handled well enough and ultimately I wound up, get in this job. I like to think that part of the reason that I got the job was because I did have the incredible hair. It was big. It was long and initially it looked sort of like a football. Omit the main question I was asked over the years and still to this day, did you per mere your hair. No I would someone do that to their hair

the worst, such believers in rock and roll on television. In this new John read this new disruptor that we were all involved with there's another of my fellow former mtv vigils Martha quit. I use You say we were rebels with a cause. Twenty forest then, we believed in what we are doing, and I think that extends to everybody who is there in the early days of mtv getting off the ground? The era of the major had arrived programming is tied together by its staff on your personalities, all video jobs, record, segue ways of music news and happy talk to play between the video. What people bonn too, human being. Not a thing bob happen again speaking on the job. Silly podcast, What they really were watching him tv for was very much a radio like experience, which is first and foremost companionship, were hanging out together. I can hang out with Is it video I can hang out with a person?

tv, music television and mean a blacklist this hour to push mode put the best put forward a new album coming up within ten minutes in the news right now, there are how china, to avoid fellow, Former mtv vijay's nina blackwood and the late j J jackson explained what our new job we're all about the bbc in nineteen o three videos that we play the focal point We call these intelligent region tv, our function as a region spokesmen you can use them to do very much like a radio. I don't believe in any one of them to be really special, even once the person to sit there and watch like say our blocks. But it's a very much like you. Do in radio you haven't in the background, walk away from it. You're still getting a broadcast in stereos, for example, the music videos are just a part of the and the other part of the programming is probably the most essential part man. We can't do without the building blocks, but the most essential part are the people that human relationship, and so that's why we needed the pjs. It's basically a

I show, even though it's taped we just go, and things go on around us. While we're we're talking, that's fun, you know we try and have fun. We work very hard with them. You know there was a very fine balance between talking too much and playing the music and we really worked hard on making sure they said the right things. They were scripted, obviously in the beginning, but they all had a way about them that we thought would not interfere with the music because we believe that it was all about the music and not about the personalities, got the music here on mtv. It also got me mark goodman, coming up just a couple of seconds. Some conversation with pat travers isn't that the bee jays were the focal when it's where the rubber met the road, and it was very important that we put together people who are very likable but conveyed the attitude we were trying to convey. We got a short break coming up and we got more music to stick around. I don't remember having a dinner with them at a famous bar in new york sitting around a table with them all, making a little speech that tomorrow they were all going to be famous and that their lives would change.

it's more than mine would and they all went to bed very excited. I remember seeing them, you know subsequently in the weeks and months at and and they were never the same- they were the original mtv v js and they would be famous the rest of their lives. m tv or music through television. I am Gavin edwards and I wrote the book of Egypt be unplugged adventures of empty these first wave, the videos, the original five presenters on empty day, were absolutely harder. Like the channels appeal, they became nasa celebrities for a couple of years. They would get mob by fans, they discover that they could like go. Do appearances and people will be like a round the block, trying together autograph there magazine covers their mobbed when they go out and public and they were to serve swept up in the insanity of united states. What kind of mad for empty leave her alone

It is time the data is now additionally the answers for her upcoming world tour. The tour will start in june, and that is also contemplating a change of hair color. I now she's honey blind, but she may go back to platinum. Her hair expires, was concerned if this channel was going to make. listen to music fans. We had to have people on the air who knew music and could talk about it and talk to the artist to me so with the channel on the air and the continued growth of cable. Tv throughout america, MTV quickly started to make waves, sixtys and seventys had top forty radio, the eighties mtv me the brig. the moment is like I'm baby sitting at the neighbours one night and they have cable television, and I am seeing videos I've never seen before and I'm hearing songs. I've never heard before these glimpse,

the video, so they have large groups with names like men at work and iran's arrange previously unknown, but now selling millions of progress, because exposure on mtv so mtv launches an we launched with a few hundred videos, not nearly enough for a twenty four hours a day channel. Consequently, we repeated a lot, but within six months of mtv, launching artists all over the country made sure that there was a paragraph in their contract that included A video music budget, increasingly record stores or install and television sets to play mtv or their own videos to promote sales. Albums are starting to come out with, as seen on mtv on the label, and we put on like hot tv video digits when we put it in the store them using only I m tv, let's get this empty. These audience is teenager went away,

tvs and watching, like a show, you watch them. I usually turn it on. Just as most artists were excited at this new way to connect to their fans, video productions quickly, became bid budget. It really was the start of a revolution and how music was produced and, more importantly, consumed I am tv was in the beginning, was an enormous amount of duration. We ve looked at all the videos we ve picked the best one and by the way we scheduling so there's a great flow to them, and you see the more popular one. More often than you see the unpopular ones, videos weren't a thing, so an mtv came along everything changed it was such a major disruptor at the grammy awards, introduced a best video category for the first time in nineteen. Eighty form, a new art form video music It's an exciting new media man, it's just a ninety. Eighty four is

and best of all mtv was these videos for free rider Sand on mtv had a really extraordinary business plan. One way incredibly the record companies all board, which is that all of their televised content will be provided no charge themselves by the record companies and the result of this the mtv built up an extremely powerful global brand. Then they started to picking and choosing which videos they would play on. The record come his wishes, since she created mtv found themselves going cap in hand to try and get their videos played most remarkable instance really ever of a sort of frankenstein's monster. mtv sneak preview videos. Videos from today is that there is more than just putting a new tv channel on the air in the states or cable channel is aware it was creating a video revolution. Here's john lack again and cable was really exploding in america, but No really original programming you'll, see and was really news. Radio and television hbo is movies without commercials, and he has

and with the sports nobody wanted in those days. So we came along and said we're gonna change the face of the television set. adds a lot of people laughing at us. We really believed we were going to visually, make a big difference and that if we could get kids to find it they'd embrace it, and that was the point the channel was making an impact but only with the limited number of people who could watch it, mtv needed to x and its audience to properly make money, channel, executive, less garland admitted to the bbc, and eighty three is mtv. Financial success on those empty is not financially successful. At this point but you have to stand. It cost millions and millions of dollars to launch this town back in august. Nineteen eighty one kids would say two other kids I've mtv in your household and one would say yeah. We have cable because cable wasn't in one hundred percent or eighty percent of america, so John lack and his team had an idea, bob pittman who was then my ceo said he said John. I think we ought to go directly to the consumer. He said I think we get Mick Jagger

and stevie nicks and peter towns into make spot for us, but I want I want my mtv and we broadcast in these local markets and see if we can convey He's gay barbers at the kids want the stuff and they ve got demanded I want my m t v. I want my arm d really about what we had the creative disabled people, want to put it on a lot of a lot of money. We have long call your cable company and say I want my mtv when it came time to do. I want my mtv, which was probably the greatest marketing promotion in the history of. Perhaps country on such a small amount of money, channel executive, less garland. It was me who flew to paris, france and taught me jagger into saying. I want my mtv and once we got mick jagger to say I want I am t it became it

easier to get everyone else. I've fallen upon whom you and you, and your what listening stereo, tv, music, television, you'll, never look at people think we need cucumbers, somebody is not, is completely spontaneous guy who did the I want. My maypole cereal commercials in the united states was the guy who gave mtv the I want. My mtv campaign was wrong: the campaign worked within two years of being on the air mtv within ten million homes across the country. In just a few short months, music television had become the fur genuine challenge to the thirty year dominance of a forty radio across amerika Tommy hedges, former programme direct. Of radio station caleb ass in los angeles, was asked in nineteen eighty three, how much of a threat and tv was to traditional fm stations like yes, there's some of them sanctions that really dont consider mtv,

I think they have their heads in the sand, so we'd burst onto the scene. We're making a lot of noise, but it wasn't all without controversy. Having watched mtv of the last few months, I'm just throw by the fact that so few black ass his speech it on why's that coming up in mtv at forty will look at claims. The channel discriminated against black artists, loose didi, wonder where's Marvin Gaye, where these people don't we exist. The documentary is just one of our bbc world savitz podcast. There are many others to tease from here. You know it where are these, we ve, had a lot of really brilliant letters sent to us for our podcast, dear daughter. Some are funny. Some are sad. Some are inspiring and some I'm moving. So it's a little bit of a rocky time for me at times like these put it all perspective, it's going to be all right and we'll come out of it. On the other end more appreciative of all we have and that's a good thing between us. We,

creating handbook to life, so our daughters around the world can benefit from the things that we ve learned. What I wanted to pass on sale. My future daughter is just brace all of your souls, dear daughter, from the BBC world service. By the time you get to my age, I want you to be able to decide what's best for you, search for dear daughter, wherever you get, your podcasts are not blitz returned to the document May I marker then- and this is mtv at forty on the BBC world service- I was the very first presented on the kind of music channel when it launched back in eighteen, eighty one for decades on we're looking back at how this cutting edge concept, revolutionized television and how the chair

Its self has changed. We ve heard how it all started. Mtv, music, television, you'll, never look at music. The same way again. And remembered how the channel disrupted the established order was very shared and unifying experience for the mtv generation. All soundtrack to some of the best music of the decade reason there was criticism bell from so

people of mtv music policy in the early years. The fact the channel only played rock and roll led some to point out that all the artists onscreen basically looked the same hand, shakes ghettos. Those on the monitor, posing skins. Dress: girls, white, skin white, skin and white skin rob dickens in nineteen. Eighty seven, he was chairman of we're records in the uk, the worry of mtv set in the morning America mtv. That said, narrow minded. If it's not hard rock or heavy metal, it really doesn't have much chance. Black music doesn't really get So really is heavy rotation of the same thing. In the early years of them today, the people who originally put the child together conceived it in your sort of the rock radio format, author Gavin edwards again, they said, oh well, we play unit a few black artists in election

arbitrating, its played now and then said: lizzie gets played now and then the mtv got the accused by a lot of people, of having a racist attitude toward music when that was really never ever the situation channel executive, less garland Sid. I was there wasn't a lotta music videos available produced by people of color, one artist specifically was rick James, who went very, very public, making his statements, he sat in the back of the bus tv style. That's what's happening. I took it quite personally, but we went through a period of empty. when there were a lot of mud slinging like that, going around a lot of like his opponent tv we're still wonder where's gay, where these people don't we exist. When,

claims that mtv was racist. First started cropping up. I was a little dubious about it because we were a rock and roll channel mtv before it launched, did all kinds of market tests. It was rock n roll that was guaranteed to pull an audience and by the way I should mention that mtv was playing black artists, who did rock and roll living color prince, the bus boys, they were all getting air play because they were rock bans, show this isn't a wizard of oz, something there are black people here we may music and we spend four hundred as lot has on videos and when I do this for the sake of because we enjoy doing, and we are doing it because, as part of the art will being excluded from the art. In fact, I was born deal with accusations about anti these music policy when David Bowie sprung, surprise quit

at the end of an interview I did with him in nineteen eighty three for the let's dance release. Toddlers will ask you something: does it occur to me having watched mtv of the last few months, but it's a solid enterprise, but it's got a lot going for it on just throw by the fact that so few black artists featured on it. Why is that? I think that we're trying to move in that direction. We want to play artist that fits into what we want to play for mtv, there's the company's thinking in terms of narrow casting that's evident. It's evident in the fact that the only few black causes that one ducey are on about two thirty in the morning on the to around six very few have featured predominantly predominantly during the day.

but, as there seem to be a lot of black artists, making very good videos that I'm surprised aren't used on mtv, we have to play the music that we think an entire country is going to like and certainly we're a rock and roll station. Now the question would be asked: well should, since we're in new york, should pl J play the isley brothers? Well, you and I might say, yeah because we have grown up in an era when the isley brothers means something and so do the spinners. What does it mean to a seventeen year old? Well, it's actually what it means I totally want. Maybe the isley brothers or Marvin Gaye means to a black seventeen year old and surely he's part of america as as western no question

That is a moment that I feel awful about, because I didn't respond coherently to David. The idea, as I've said before and when I tried to express to David bowie at the time, was that mtv was a rock channel. That's what it was designed to do so. The fact that we were turning down videos from people like Rick James didn't really qualify as racism bowie feeling like he would take up the sword. Winds up springing this question on me at the end of the interview knowing full well that I was seated right next to the senior vice president of my company, the president of my company. He knew that and he put me on the spot. I was young and I was nervous and I didn't respond in

I thought I would have liked interesting. I can't thank you very much. That makes sense valid point. I understand your point of view. The late jj jackson was the only vj of color at mtv when we first launched here, he is speaking in two thousand and two mtv was taking a slam, and I was even taking a bit of a slam for being on it. The criteria was, you had to be thought of as a rock on. If you happen to be black, yellow green or they didn't care as long as that was, that was the criterion legend, our job musician miles. Davis was particularly outspoken when he was asked about the acts played on mtv in this hard to hear clip from nineteen. Eighty four regions want him, there's nothing a wise when it was like the ones. I think, at the end of the day, programmers it empty it may be should have been more willing to take the lead as some

These artists were making these incredible strides. Certainly the evolution of hip hop. We were a bit behind on that, although we did do yo mtv wraps towards the end of the decade, but its difficulties. our vision when you are in the midst of a changing environment, I think maybe we weren't quick enough to take the lead and to read We show where music was going as well as where it was at that moment, however, there was one world famous black artist, more conspicuous by its absence or an empty than any one else. Michael Jackson was so massive and so popular around the time of the billy gene and beat it that it became just glaringly obvious. Send kind of re says that the channel wasn't playing it. What was then see the record

basically twisted, emptied his arm and said you are going to play these videos or going to a yank all for other videos off the channel author, Gavin edwards, and then you have Michael Jackson became one of the flagship artists of mtv, so it was a case where the outside pressure on them actually made the channel much much better when it sort of transformed into a pop station. The jackson's big hits billie jean and beat it got wide exposure on mtv. His next release in the autumn of nineteen. Eighty three would prove to be the real game. Changer I have something I want to tell you. Is not like other guys course, not. That's why I'm happy. I mean I'm different. What are you talking about this question

Michael Jackson, knighted. Eighty three was another of the staging posts in the growth of mtv writer, Robert Sandro, the stuff he D, in particular with the thrill of video they emanate, took the medium to another level. I dont think Michael Jackson would have achieved anything like the level of sales he did with a thrill robin if it hadn't been for that video which obviously needed mtv to be seen the one of the biggest videos we did was thriller with Michael jackson: here's my old boss, Bob pittman, we world premiered it and we played it every hour. so everybody was tuning in to see. What's that thriller they, the fourteen minute epic, was the most expensive video ever made. To date, part financed by mtv, we premier thriller. We gave

are our famous mtv world premier, video slot and for the first twenty four hours we played it every hour now for a forty minute, video, that's a lot of programming. Still it was huge, so huge in fact, tat? One day during this era I was late going to the studio and I had a jump in a cab in new york city, and I asked the cabdriver the police area, I'm really late and the cab driver turned around and looked over the seat at me and he said a mock. Don't worry if you're late they'll just play the thrill of one more time, the the

when he was on the set of thriller, and I had been invited out and I went to his private trailer channel executive les garland and they led me back into this private room in the back. It was pitch dark and I walked in- and I said Michael Michael because I'm over here and his first words were, I want to thank you and I said no, no, no! No! No! I want to thank you and you think I sound excited now, but back in eighty three even more. So what a piece of work thriller a long time coming, Michael Jackson's, thriller, the only place tv you can see, thriller is here on em tv and we are proud of it it is more than just a video, a short film and quite a piece of art.

Empty these expansion during the eightys was rapid within two years of launching we were in ten million homes by nineteen, eighty five, wherein sixteen million homes and by the end of the decade, nearly one hundred million home,

I think we've always thought it'd be a success, but what it turned out to be as a phenomenon that exceeds the boundaries of cable, television and music, and is, I think, a phenomenon of the youth culture. Today, the channel still wasn't to everyone's taste. Dire straits were absolutely mocking mtv in their track money for nothing but hey, there's, no such thing as bad publicity. The said I happened to bump into mark knopfler as manager at a concert before that record was released and we were chatting about what mark was up to, and he said oh you're going to love this there's a new track that marks worked on. This is about mtv. I was like. Oh, that is awesome. What's it called money for nothing

ouch? I was deeply hurt the bosses not so much here's the disneyland. It was really fun for us. As a company when dire straits wrote a song, people called up and said: oh they're, making fun of you. Aren't you insulted, and were you kidding this? What a compliment you'll play, the guitar and the groundbreaking video for money for nothing. Ironically, went on to win two mtv video music awards, including best video at the eighty six vms, the ships one night I was in a restaurant, new york city, here's original dj martha. Queen again, I was with my parents and I see Bruce Springsteen come in and I lean over to my dad- and I said- oh, my god, there's spruce, Springsteen time magazines, man of the year and sitting down next to us and Bruce Springsteen leaned over to me and said: hey, aren't you that girl on

tv. Don't I see you on mtv and I said for more than I can say for you. When are you going to make video and then, in the middle of a decade, one of the most defining music events not just of the eighties, but arguably the last fifty years. It's swell mood in london. Seventy here, It's time July. Thirteen seven a m one concert over sixty artists, banding. Together too,

the african famine crisis. Only one channel has all seventeen hours of live aid. Mtv music television join us a worldwide broadcast was unheard of. Would we be able to pull it off? We all got to the site. F, K, stadium at six, a m. It was already happening in london and the juggle was to be able to go back and forth between london and philadelphia with but really interrupting anyone set. I mark goodman with market. When I don't want to sound too coy, but the four of us and in fact, in our entire crew, who was working that day felt like we were apart. Something important. He felt like we had done something to help

in a moment, we're going going to wembley stadium in london, where our guest v will be charles and princess, die, and then the music. It was a long day a lot of running ground backstage I got to stand outside of the trailer where, through the window, there was Keith richards and bob Dylan workin on some stuff. I mean this kind of stuff just doesn't happen all the time you watch tv and we're gonna stick with live aid until the very end. We don't know what I was onstage. A lot of the time and opposition was just stage right of the performance space, it's hard to believe that its seventeen hours later it's been a hell of a night. We are all very, very tired, but together we made history live, it was definitely defining of ever mtv and the network and

We need to think big after six years on the air. In the: u S, it was time for the channel to expand overseas. Europe, never look at music. The same again, the mtv europe launched on august first nineteen, eighty seven broadcasting from london ass. The continent, I think, will be a success from the moment we launch. We hope that in the next five years will have a very big influence on the music community and television communities throughout europe my name's toby amy's. I used to be a video jockey and producer on MTV europe yeah, I mean people you ve got hot for their looks as though the way of putting it. I see. I cause. I knew something about. Music was a bonus, it's probably unfair, to say to some of my compatriots, but I think a fair few that did get hired entirely on the base their looks. The churn out slowly began to make an impression met. Indeed wanted armies dot is evolving sheets prison.

in the european market is the signal for pretty much everybody that the big boys are here, advertising director? That's wonder, Uk tv viewers were more skeptical at the start, at least some of the stuff. Actually I mean you can go out and get video I really would you sit and watch X. Amount of pop videos is just the idea of kind of wall to wall. Tv just doesn't appeal to me to be so: they're not brain death, a decade after it burst onto the scene. In the u s and with foundations laid in new territories, mtv was at the height of its powers, as we rolled into the nineties hi. I'm j, J pagan and my work behind the scenes are mtv europe between ninety ninety four. Ninety, ninety eight there was agency that was looking for assistance to work at mtv

and it turned out to be for you is. I worked at the studios otherness system like a run, that was like a run and looking after guess arrived on the first guess. My first day I had to help stevie wander off, I'm not joking. That was my first day. I had to help stevie wonder up the stairs to get him to where he was be interviewed, blew my mind. That was my first day and, let's see we wonder if you want me to tell you that it was nonstop sex trunks and rock and roll. I will toby Amy's again chaotic, but it was really good fun and there was like a tremendous momentum. I mean the nineties were a lot of fun but to sort of have access to all of the parties. All of the stars was a tremendous privilege and one that both myself and lots of other people definitely made the absolute most The

it's the night c six at the mtv awards, which took place in london literally with me and george, Michael in the dressing room I was assigned to him. I was pregnant with my daughter and he made a joke when I went to pick him up from the con. He put his hand on my tommy said. Oh my goodness, congratulations. It was just so lovely. He made a jackass or I bless this child, the gift of song. He cracked, jokes and I walked him to his dressing room and for about five to seven minutes at the beginning. It was just me and him. I will never forget it because shoot forward to two thousand and nine to work for him. He changed my life and, in that moment, really changed my life. The there was something really wonderful about working for a channel that broadcast to all of the young people in europe. It was a

privilege, and it was really really exciting. It's true to say that the nineties did see a lot of change it mtv. I left the network in ninety eighty seven, but for many empty He was still the voice of a generation just a new one. It was early on MTV made the decision to not grow old with their audience. The channel continue to speak to young people directly and act as a focal point for big mouth. It's the music and pop culture. I'm kurt loader with an mtv news special report, the body of nirvana leader, Kurt Cobain, was found in a house in seattle. On Friday morning, dead of an apparently self inflicted shotgun blast to the head. Cobain was twenty had reportedly been missing for several days. The los angeles times billions. watch. The hours and hours of special mtv programming after Cobain suicide and ninety for many many nirvana fans have called in and asked an ecstasy nirvana music is weakened. That's what we're doing Did you feel when you heard the news on the radio I wanted bra

I got really man you're one as I do in his ear. Listen do birds and people like me. It's gonna be unbelievable and This is one man that will not be with us. There was another shift in it. If you programming during the nineties, as Gavin edwards, remembers later on, you started seeing much more segmented. Programmers like okay, we'll have a specialty, chauffeur heavy metal. That's headbangers ball will have a specialty show for hip hop, that's yo, mtv raps, but that was based to just as much in trying to have some that could sell it. commercials against as it was against this segment of the channel also started to move away from music altogether when a commissioned one of the very first Reality shows the real world in nineteen. Ninety two an incredible amount of relief just to see the other six people and

I was really excited and really friendly cartoons like beavis and butthead cool and dating shows like singled out. Here we have a single one hundred people. Looking for a visa bans on and see me the channel still making cutting edge tv just of a different kind. There was a definite Sid MTV was now more of a youth lifestyle channel. Unless a vehicle for pop promos really you thousands only accelerated this change of direction for mtv the channel still remain prominent pop culture can be monitored.

and still made cutting edge television the root causes. and the unless I can do the one thing someone would take over the whole. The many felt that being a home for music videos was now really an afterthought. channel. I wasn't there when they start play music on tv. So, like I can't say other than what my friends who were there say you know video on demand. You had other outlets on tv had hundreds of channels of tv that the uniqueness the video had declined by pitman fears that, when it came down to it, money talked the advertiser would pay more money to be in a show than they would pay for. Just whenever The spot ran with some videos for all of us who were there in the beginning of the original mtv. It's sad to look at him.

and not see what we really started. Advances in technology have definitely play their part as well. apple is going to reinvent the phone, calling it iphone? Why for a tv channel to show your favorite video, when you can watch at any time on your phone, my daughter, watches mtv all the time why she's is in her early twenties was that she is obsessed with catfish, so she doesn't actually go to mtv for the music she has on spotify for music, so it is different, but I think we've got to evolve with the times forty years on, it's clear that mtv changed everything: music, tv, pop culture for sure in eighteen, eighty one, the concept of it tv channel, showing nothing but videos. Twenty four hours a day was a whole new way of promoting and consuming music, but the young upstart is now forty. Where is that

ex generation of rebellious tv coming from twenty seven year old, british singer Becky hill number one in the uk with gecko overdrive She says Does it become less relevant for the modern artist ya? Think it's important than it was? I think people you know now so spotify focused, you know. I think it used to be really really important for now is to put a video and a visual alongside stuff, and I would say that people are less likely to go and watch a music video than they were fifteen years ago, which is a shame really because it's another creative outlet for an artist with or no music. Videos now scheduled on the channel it feels like mtv is lost. Its personality is casting about four.

Daddy or an idea? Will they ever be able to find something as remotely powerful as the idea John lack had over forty years ago will mtv be around ten years. For now? I think yes, but Will it resemble anything like what it was at the start, no trying to figure out where they fit as a pop culture channel going forward is no small task, because The generation has moved away from tv itself, it's hard to imagine that anything resembling mtv will ever be on television again I gotta say being must it kind of breaks my heart and tv is, is sort of like my high school? You know it's sort of place.

where I grew up, when I look back at the things that we did, proud, no matter what has happened to mtv. I know while I was there. I was well to make a contribution to music. Mtv at forty was presented by me market with the producer for the BBC world service was MIKE Williams. Thank you for listening. There will be more from the document she podcast soon. If you haven't already, please do you subscribe and don't forget. Do try our other bbc world service podcast, tee