The First Music Video Played on MTV Was Not 'Video Killed the Radio Star'
Music
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What was actually the FIRST video played on MTV at its launch?
It's common knowledge that The Buggles' 'Video Killed the Radio Star' was the very first video played when MTV launched on August 1, 1981. But here's the nuanced trivia: the first music video ever deliberately produced as a promotional tool was Queen's video for 'Bohemian Rhapsody' in 1975 — six years before MTV existed.
Queen created the Bohemian Rhapsody promo because they couldn't appear on Top of the Pops in person. The innovative video — featuring the band performing in front of a simple dark background with overlaid images — pioneered the music video format that MTV would later popularize. It's now considered the first true modern music video.
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