Channel 4’s Top 50 Pop Music Videos

50.

49.

This video involves many faces, morphing from once face to each other, often around a similar characteristic. This helped to address all audiences. Godley and Creme became very famous music video producers/directors themselves, making over 100 music videos including the famous Two Tribes video.

Frankie Goes to Hollywood - Two Tribes (1984)The open and direct links to the nuclear cold war shocked contemporary audiences and had great effect. Directed by the famous Godley and Creme, the song is always remembered with its video in mind.

Godley and Crème - Cry

Frankie Goes To Hollywood – Two Tribes

48.

47.

The outlandish and crude video made my Missy Elliot features effects from an enlarged neck that is tracked by the video and spitting in a member of the opposite sex' mouth. Disgusting, crude and a really entertaining video!

Missy Elliot – Get Your Freak On

Pulp – Common People

Colourful, eye-catching, strange - you wouldn't expect anything less from Jarvis Cocker. A good song with a memorable video, despite its confusing nature.

46.

45.

Dire Straits – Money For Nothing

Sinead O’Connor – Nothing Compares 2 u

An excuse to use the contemporary technology? Seems dated and silly now, but at the time had a huge WOW factor.

One of the most extremely influential videos EVER. The sheer display of emotion. Real. Simple. Effective. Remembered for the tears on camera and her shaved head, it worked!

44.

43.

ABBA – Knowing Me, Knowing You

New Order – True Faith

A very simple video which I, personally, find highly boring. WHAT IS THIS DOING IN HERE!?

Don't try and decipher this video or try to give it meaning. Its been tried. Save yourself the migraine. Its abstract colours and characters make for real fun viewing. Has no links with the song, its just fun to watch!

42.

41.

Robert Palmer – Addicted To Love

David Bowie – Ashes To Ashes

Has been seen as sexist and degrading by quite a few, but the provocative nature of it does bring in an audience. Suits the song lyrics and is a simple video, only remembered for its controversial nature.

Another abstract video, as weird as the singer! Splashes of colour with surreal black skies give it a futuristic effect that surrounded the whole decade. It was a good indicator of what to expect for the next few years in music videos.

40.

39.

Unfinished Symphony – Massive Attack

Bob Dylan – Subterranean Homesick Blues

Similar to The Verve's "Bittersweet Symphony" video. A woman walking down the street past several incidents and troubled people.

Perhaps the simplest video ever made, but its very fun to watch and works VERY well. Bob Dylan goes through cards in an alley behind a hotel. Very low budget, simple and fun.

38.

37.

Bjork – Its Oh So Quiet

Aerosmith & Run DMC – Walk This Way

A fun stereotypical Hollywood set. A very lively video to match the music. Enjoyable with lots of choreography and energy.

The first "clash of the bands". Two very different bands coming together to create a surprisingly good track and a god music video. Combines the destructive persona of Aerosmith and the material desire of Run DMC. Good.

36.

35.

Duran Duran – Girls On Film

The Prodigy - Firestarter

Perhaps the most explicit and censored music video of all time. Includes several female models who partake in particular activities, including naked mud wrestling and intimate kisses. Censored and even banned in a number of places.

A questionable video which touches upon vandalism and sheer anger. Filmed in an abandoned London Underground tunnel at Aldwych, Keith Flint uses random movement and fierce looks to show anger. The use of black and white made the video 'not suitable for children' so some television channels refused to show it before the watershed.

34.

33.

Weezer – Buddy Holly

Outkast – Hey Ya!

A video that uses the favourite comedic character of 'The Fonz', who was previously the epitome of the word 'cool'. A simple band playing in the background with dancing and a storyline in the foreground. Simples.

A very fun and entertaining video in which the band member named Andre 3000 plays all the people in the band. Good technological effect and a catchy, fun song.

32.

31.

Radiohead – Street Spirit

Nirvana – Smells Like Teen Spirit

Simple set leaving most of the enjoyment to the music. A party gone wild but encased in a studio. Very famous song, very famous band, very famous video.

A strange video but entertaining nonetheless (plus, its sticks in your head, which is the whole point, right?) Uses band and a storyline.

30.

29.

Johnny Cash - Hurt

Beastie Boys - Sabotage

Made just a few months before Johnny Cash’s death, giving it greater emotional and historical reference. A cover of a ‘Nine Inch Nails’ song. Sheer emotional display, recapping over Johnny’s previous years.

A very fun video with comedic characters, attacking a specific stereotype. This is very similar to the video we hope to create, capturing the seriousness of characters in order to create humour. Plus . . . GREAT song!

28.

27.

Guns ‘N’Roses – November Rain

Gorillaz – Clint Eastwood

A very famous song for which the video has been mimicked many times, most regularly in the form of a parody (see: ‘French and Saunders’). Memorable yet not too difficult.

100% animation. The Gorillaz characters were known for many years as just that, characters. The mysterious aura surrounding the band creates for a great video and great songs. Love both the video and the song for this one.

26.

25.

The Verve – Bittersweet Symphony

Peter Gabriel - Sledgehammer

Another simple video that has been very successful. Representative of the culture clash between the north of England and London. Also representative of carrying on with life and pushing through. Simple, but with deep meaning.

Another video that used contemporary resources in effects. Peter Gabriel simply stands on the spot and sings, and the effects occur round him. Fun

24.

23.

Coldplay – The Scientist

Beyonce – Crazy In Love

A very very very clever video. Everything is in reverse apart from the singing. It took lead singer Chris Martin 4 weeks to re-learn the lyrics, backwards! Very clever and definitely worth the effort it must have taken.

A popular video from Beyonce featuring her (at the time) soon to be husband Jay-Z. A catchy song and a lively video that fits very well.

22.

21.

Queen – Bohemian Rhapsody

Fat-boy Slim – Praise You

This video was famously made under a very short time limit set by the producers. Simple effects that compliment the song very well. For contemporary audiences it was amazing, for audiences nowadays . . . Its still amazing.

A masterful video by the great Spyke Jonez. Imitating a community dance group in front of a local theatre with purposely terrible dance routines, purely for the sake of humour and entertainment. That’s what we like to see. Inspired our own video.

20.

19.

Queen – I Want To Break Free

Blur – Coffee and TV

A very humorous video from the Queen boys. Men in drag doing house chores, the opposite to their everyday lives. Hoping to include some men in female dress in our video, purely for humours sake

One of my favourite videos with great animation. Easy video with little effort from the band. I would like the band to be included more in our video however.

18.

17.

Kylie Minogue – Can’t Get You Out Of My

Head

Spice Girls – Wannabe

My favourite song to hate. I despise it. Despite this, the video did compliment it very well, in true, regular, Kylie style. Choreography, loose suggestive clothing. Strutting. Sounds about right.

A very lively and active video, true to the Spice Girls way. Each girl has their own parts and yet they are a group. I like this feature and may try and include it in our video . . . Somehow.

16.

15.

Christina Aguilera - Dirty

Eminem - Stan

Sexy. Raunchy. Fully Loaded. All are relevant to this video. A strange video displaying the singers dominance within the area. Active video for an active song. Good

A good video that goes along with the story heard in the song. Eminem playing multiple characters, where could we have seen that before? Maybe in every video hes done! A very versatile video man, lets hope we can get there too.

14.

13.

The Prodigy – Smack My Bitch Up

Aphex Twin – Window Licker

My favourite music video of all time. Shot in first person which I think is genius, and is why I will try and include as many point of view shots in my video as possible. This video is a bit twisted, confusing and explicit, but for me, that’s why its amazing.

A very very very very very strange video, but successful nonetheless. Men’s heads on previous women’s bodies, its weird. Tackles gender and the way we see them in society. That, plus the weird choreography . . . Its a lot to take in.

12.

11.

Britney Spears – Hit Me Baby One More

Time

Janet Jackson & Michael Jackson - Scream

Teen video set in a school with choreography. Simple and boring. I don’t like it. But hey, it did well and what do I know. Its very 90’s.

A weird video. The contrasting colours of the background and the costumes of the singers mean that all focus is upon them. Ironically, the black and white is a reflection on Michael so soon after vigorous procedures. Its an ok video I suppose.

10.

9.

Madonna – Like A Prayer

Madonna - Vogue

A catchy song with lots of choreography in the videom which is stereotypical Madonna. Has religious links. I’m hoping to tackle less serious issues in my video. At least just for now. It does use some fun imagery, for example, the priest using a fire exit.

This video focuses heavily on props and wealth. Unfortunately, we don’t quite have the budget to do something like this, but it is a fun video to watch, especially with the black and white effects.

8.

7.

A-Ha – Take On Me

Lady Gaga - Pokerface

Another favourite video of mine. The clash of cartoon and real life is very well put together and is admirable. A great song and a great video.

Lady GaGa or as I like to call her ‘Madonna 2.0’. Strange fashions and a strong weight put upon costume, means that all her videos are widely viewed and acclaimed. This is also gives strong links to gay community. Choreography and costume, a good mix apparently.

6.

5.

Fat Boy Slim – Weapon Of Choice

Beyonce – Single Ladies

Another of my absolute favourites. Uses the famous actor Christopher Walken in order to widen the videos reception. Great movement, very funny and a great song. Love.

Very recent and very well received across all fields. Choreography, costume and hair, simplicity, catchy. It has all these factors. Majorly boosted the profile of the song and of Beyonce, even though she was already HUGE in the industry.

4.

3.

Jamiroquai – Virtual Insanity

Robbie Williams – Rock DJ

Yet again another favourite. Shows how setting doesn’t have to play a massive part. Simple setting that toys with the idea of perception, specifically depth perception. A definite great video.

Another strange one, but also another favourite. This is a very controversial video, banned in many countries due to the explicit nature. Nudity, although it is not seen, and a stripping down of the body makes this video extremely different, and never to be copied again. Well done Robbie

2. Britney Spears - ToxicThis video was top of the charts for weeks, meaning it was very very very successful. Britney plays a number

of different characters in a number of different situations. The variation between these characters is

huge, with simple close ups used in some and an actual storyline in others. The provocative nature of these characters is maintained throughout. It is al of these

features that makes the video so successful.

1. Michael Jackson - Thriller

The longest music video of all time comes in at number one. The costumes, make-up and all aspects

of the video are impeccable, with a scary horror theme running throughout. Unusual perfection.

Deservedly number one.