1980s music videos
Explore 1980s music videos on AltSounds.TV, a human-curated channel for watching classic videos, deep cuts, era-defining releases and genre-spanning visuals from the decade that made the music video a central part of popular culture. The 1980s music video channel currently features 891 videos spanning 1979-2017, including videos connected to artists such as David Bowie, Michael Jackson, The Smiths, Beastie Boys, Eurythmics, INXS, Prince, The Art of Noise, The Cure and Belinda Carlisle.
This page is designed for anyone looking for the best 1980s music videos, official 80s music videos, MTV-era classics, synth-pop videos, new wave videos, pop videos, rock videos, hip-hop videos, dance videos and country music videos from the decade. Instead of relying only on search engines, autoplay or disconnected video results, AltSounds.TV organises music videos by decade, artist, genre and related channel.
The 1980s were one of the most important decades in music video history. Music videos became a major part of how artists were introduced, promoted and remembered. Visual identity, styling, choreography, narrative, performance and director-led ideas became central to how songs travelled through culture.
What the 1980s music video channel covers
The 1980s channel brings together music videos from across pop, rock, new wave, synth-pop, hip-hop, R&B, soul, funk, disco, dance, punk, metal, country, reggae, alternative and experimental music. It includes mainstream classics, cult favourites, archive clips, artist-led visuals, director-led videos and deeper catalogue entries from across the period.
The page is organised as a decade channel, which means viewers can explore music videos connected to the 1980s without needing to search artist by artist. You can start with the full 1980s music videos channel, then move into wider discovery routes such as All Genres, Time Travel, Pop, Rock, Electronic, Hip Hop, R&B, Dance, Punk, Metal and Country.
The 1980s page also sits between the 1970s music videos archive and the 1990s music videos channel, making it useful for comparing the growth of music television with the alternative, hip-hop, pop and rock video culture that followed in the 1990s.
Why the 1980s matter for music videos
The 1980s changed the relationship between music and image. Earlier music films, television performances and promotional clips had already existed, but the 1980s made the music video a mainstream format. Artists increasingly used videos to define their sound, image, choreography, fashion, stage presence and public identity.
The decade also expanded what a music video could do. A video could be a short film, a dance routine, a live performance, a fashion statement, a narrative sequence, a surreal visual experiment, a comedy piece, a social document or a highly polished pop production. This variety made the 1980s a key decade for anyone researching how music videos became part of modern visual culture.
Many of the decade’s videos are still remembered because of their visual choices: choreography, lighting, costume, makeup, set design, storytelling, editing, camera movement and special effects. The 1980s channel gives those videos a dedicated archive structure, making it easier to browse the decade through sound, style, artist and genre.
Artists represented in the 1980s archive
The 1980s channel includes artist pathways that make it easier to move from a decade view into a specific catalogue. These artist channels help connect individual videos to wider bodies of work.
Beastie Boys
The Beastie Boys music video channel includes 33 videos from 1980-2011. On AltSounds.TV, Beastie Boys are connected to hip-hop, rap rock, alternative hip-hop, punk and rock, making their channel a useful route into the point where 1980s hip-hop, punk energy, humour and music video culture began to overlap.
Prince
The Prince music video channel includes 9 videos from 1980-1992. Prince is connected to pop rock, synth funk and contemporary R&B on AltSounds.TV, with videos that move across pop, funk, rock, R&B, new wave and experimental categories.
Eurythmics
The Eurythmics music video channel includes 8 videos from 1983-1999. The channel connects to blue-eyed soul, new wave, pop, rock, synth-pop, rhythm and blues, dance, gospel, soul and electronic music. Eurythmics are a strong route into the visual language of synth-pop and new wave during the 1980s.
INXS
The INXS music video channel includes 7 videos from 1982-2012. On AltSounds.TV, INXS are connected to alternative rock, new wave, funk rock, pop, rock and related styles, making their channel useful for exploring the polished rock, pop and new wave side of the decade.
David Bowie, Michael Jackson, The Smiths and The Cure
The visible artist pathways on the 1980s channel also include David Bowie, Michael Jackson, The Smiths and The Cure. These artists point to several major areas of 1980s music video culture, including pop spectacle, art rock, alternative music, post-punk, new wave and visually distinctive artist identity.
Selected 1980s music videos to start with
The full 1980s channel includes hundreds of videos. These selected examples provide a useful starting point for exploring the range of the archive.
Michael Jackson - Thriller
Michael Jackson - Thriller is listed on AltSounds.TV as a 1982 video directed by John Landis. The page connects the video to experimental, funk, horror, pop and urban categories. It is one of the most important music videos of the 1980s because it helped establish the long-form pop video as a major cultural format.
Duran Duran - Rio
Duran Duran - Rio is listed as a 1982 video directed by Russell Mulcahy. It is connected to pop and represents the glossy, location-led and image-conscious side of 1980s music video culture. The video is useful for understanding how fashion, travel imagery and pop performance became central to the decade’s visual identity.
Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen
Dexys Midnight Runners - Come On Eileen is listed as a 1982 video directed by Julien Temple. The video connects to Celtic, new wave, pop, rock and soul categories, and shows how 1980s videos could build a strong identity through costume, location, performance and group energy.
Beastie Boys - Shadrach
Beastie Boys - Shadrach is listed as a 1989 video directed by Adam Yauch. The video connects to alternative hip-hop, hip-hop and rap, and is a useful example of how animation, graffiti-inspired colour, sample culture and hip-hop energy were appearing inside late-1980s music videos.
Lipps Inc. - Funkytown
Lipps Inc. - Funkytown is listed as a 1980 video connected to dance, dance-pop, disco, experimental, pop, R&B and soul. It represents the dancefloor side of the early 1980s archive, where disco, pop and electronic textures helped shape visual performance culture.
RUN DMC - Walk This Way (feat. Aerosmith)
RUN DMC - Walk This Way (feat. Aerosmith) is listed as a 1980s video directed by Lionel C. Martin. The page connects the video to classics, hip-hop and rap. It is a useful entry point into the crossover between rock and hip-hop that became one of the decade’s most important cultural shifts.
1980s pop music videos
Pop music videos were central to the 1980s. The decade made the pop video a major part of artist identity, using choreography, styling, set design, close-up performance, lighting, narrative and repeated visual motifs to make songs more memorable.
Pop videos from the 1980s often worked as complete visual worlds. They could define an album era, introduce a new look, support a dance routine, create a recognisable character or turn a simple performance into a cultural image. Artists such as Michael Jackson, Prince, Duran Duran, Eurythmics and many others helped show how powerful the format could be when sound and image worked together.
The Pop music video channel provides a wider route into this part of the archive. Useful 1980s starting points include Michael Jackson - Thriller, Duran Duran - Rio and Eurythmics.
1980s rock and new wave music videos
Rock and new wave videos were a major part of 1980s music video culture. The decade included arena rock, pop rock, alternative rock, post-punk, new wave, glam metal, hard rock and experimental guitar-led music. Some videos were built around live performance and band energy, while others used fashion, theatre, narrative or more stylised visual concepts.
New wave was especially important because it connected music, design, fashion, synth technology and visual presentation. Many new wave videos used bold styling, graphic compositions, unusual locations and art-directed performance to create a visual identity that was immediately recognisable.
The Rock music video channel, Alternative music video channel and Indie music video channel provide broader routes into this side of the archive. Artist pathways such as INXS, Eurythmics and Prince also connect strongly to 1980s rock, pop rock and new wave visual culture.
1980s synth-pop and electronic music videos
The 1980s were a defining decade for synth-pop and electronic music videos. Synthesizers, drum machines, sequencers and studio technology changed the sound of pop, while music videos helped give those sounds a visual identity. Many videos from this area used clean lines, modern styling, artificial spaces, neon colour, shadow, fashion and futuristic imagery.
Electronic and synth-led videos helped define how technology could look in popular music. The visual language of the decade often reflected the sound: programmed, stylised, polished, rhythmic and sometimes deliberately artificial. This makes the 1980s an important decade for anyone interested in the relationship between music production and music video design.
The Electronic music video channel and Dance music video channel provide wider routes into this part of the catalogue. Eurythmics are a useful artist pathway for this side of the decade.
1980s hip-hop music videos
Hip-hop videos became increasingly important during the 1980s. The decade included old school hip-hop, golden age hip-hop, East Coast hip-hop, rap, rap rock and early crossover moments that helped bring hip-hop into wider visual culture.
Early hip-hop videos often highlighted performance, street style, group identity, turntables, dance, humour, community and attitude. As the decade developed, videos became more confident and more varied, helping establish hip-hop as both a musical and visual movement.
The Hip Hop music video channel provides a broader route into this side of the archive. Useful 1980s starting points include the Beastie Boys music video channel, Beastie Boys - Shadrach and RUN DMC - Walk This Way.
1980s dance, disco, funk and R&B music videos
Dance, disco, funk and R&B videos formed another important part of the 1980s archive. These videos often used rhythm, choreography, club energy, lighting, performance, styling and strong visual hooks to translate dancefloor music to screen.
The early part of the decade still carried disco influence, while funk, R&B, soul and dance-pop continued to evolve through new production methods and visual formats. Music videos helped connect those sounds to fashion, movement, club culture and television audiences.
The Dance music video channel and R&B music video channel provide wider routes into this area. Lipps Inc. - Funkytown is a useful early-1980s example from the archive.
1980s punk, metal and heavier music videos
The 1980s channel also includes punk, hardcore punk, hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal and other heavier styles. These videos often used performance energy, live footage, attitude, speed, distortion, humour, theatrical styling and strong subcultural identity.
Metal videos from the decade often leaned into spectacle, stage presence, dramatic lighting and larger-than-life performance. Punk and hardcore videos could be more direct, raw and performance-led. Together, these styles show that the 1980s music video landscape was not only polished pop and synth-driven visuals. It also included scenes built around noise, speed, rebellion and live energy.
The Punk music video channel and Metal music video channel provide deeper genre-led routes into this part of the archive.
1980s country music videos
The 1980s archive also includes country music videos, which gives the decade page a broader view than a typical pop, rock or MTV-focused list. Country videos from the period often used storytelling, performance, family themes, nostalgia, location and direct emotional framing to support the song.
This part of the archive is useful because country music videos often follow a different visual rhythm from pop, rock, hip-hop or electronic videos. They tend to place more emphasis on lyric-led storytelling, character and setting, showing how the music video format adapted across genres.
The Country music video channel provides a deeper route into this side of the archive.
The 1980s as a director-led music video decade
The 1980s helped establish the music video director as a visible creative role. Directors used the format to test ideas, build visual worlds and bring cinematic techniques into short-form music storytelling. Videos from the decade used choreography, special effects, location shoots, narrative structures, stylised lighting, fast editing and increasingly ambitious production design.
This matters because many 1980s videos are remembered not only because of the song, but because of how they looked. A video could define an artist’s image, change the public memory of a track, or introduce a visual style that continued to influence later decades.
AltSounds.TV includes director and artist pathways throughout the archive, making it easier to move from a single video into related work, genres and periods.
How to explore 1980s music videos on AltSounds.TV
The easiest way to start is with the full 1980s music video channel. From there, viewers can move into individual artist channels, related genres, other decade pages or the wider AltSounds.TV discovery system.
For genre-led browsing, use All Genres. For decade-led browsing, use Time Travel. To compare the 1980s with surrounding eras, explore the 1970s music videos archive or continue forward into the 1990s music videos channel.
This structure makes the page more useful than a simple list. A viewer can start with one video, follow the artist, explore the genre, move across the decade, or compare the same style with older and newer periods of music video history.
AltSounds.TV and the AltSounds Music Video Database
AltSounds.TV is built for watching and browsing curated music video channels. AltSounds.com supports the wider archive as the AltSounds Music Video Database, with individual music video entries, archive pages and additional discovery routes.
Together, the two sites are designed to make music videos easier to watch, organise, research and rediscover. AltSounds.TV focuses on channel-based discovery, while AltSounds.com supports the broader database mission of documenting music videos across artists, genres, directors, countries and eras.
Why use AltSounds.TV for 1980s music videos?
AltSounds.TV gives 1980s music video discovery a clearer structure. Instead of searching through disconnected uploads or relying only on recommendation feeds, the 1980s channel gives viewers a decade-based way to explore music videos and related archive entries.
- Decade-based discovery: browse hundreds of music videos connected to the 1980s.
- Genre coverage: explore pop, rock, new wave, synth-pop, hip-hop, R&B, funk, dance, punk, metal, country and more.
- Artist pathways: move from the decade channel into artist channels such as Beastie Boys, Prince, Eurythmics and INXS.
- Music television context: explore videos from the decade when the music video became a major part of artist discovery and visual culture.
- Human curation: use a structured music video archive instead of relying only on algorithmic discovery.
Frequently asked questions about 1980s music videos
What is the 1980s music video channel?
The 1980s music video channel is the main AltSounds.TV decade page for browsing music videos connected to the 1980s. It includes classic videos, deep cuts, archive clips and genre-spanning releases from across the period.
How many 1980s music videos are on AltSounds.TV?
The 1980s channel currently lists 891 videos spanning 1979-2017.
Can I browse 1980s music videos by genre?
Yes. You can browse related genre channels including Pop, Rock, Electronic, Hip Hop, R&B, Dance, Punk, Metal and Country.
Which artists can I explore from the 1980s channel?
Visible artist pathways from the 1980s channel include David Bowie, Michael Jackson, The Smiths, Beastie Boys, Eurythmics, INXS, Prince, The Art of Noise, The Cure and Belinda Carlisle. Verified linked artist channels in this page include Beastie Boys, Prince, Eurythmics and INXS.
Can I compare 1980s music videos with other decades?
Yes. Use Time Travel to browse decade channels, including the 2020s, 2010s, 2000s, 1990s and 1970s.
Is this an 1980s songs list?
No. This is a 1980s music video archive. The focus is on videos, artist channels, genre pathways, directors and the visual presentation of music during the decade, rather than a simple list of songs.
