VHS Archives

#735: Quite Possibly the Worst Music Video I’ve Ever Seen: Vigilants – “Run For Cover”

GETTING MORE TALE #735: Quite Possibly the Worst Music Video I’ve Ever Seen
Vigilants – “Run For Cover”

Recording music videos from the TV as a kid was a fine art.  My method was to keep the machine on “record-pause” as videos were playing.  Then all I had to do was un-pause and I’d be able to start recording almost immediately.  I’d lose maybe a second of video.  Then I’d pause again at the end, waiting for the next “good song”.

The Pepsi Power Hour was an amazing way to discover new (or old) bands.  By recording the videos, I could hear the songs over and over.  If there was a new band I was curious about, I’d take a chance and hit record.  If I didn’t like the song or band, I’d just rewind and record over it.  The Power Hour would play virtually any kind of metal.  Their intro had Slayer’s “Angel of Death” as the theme music!  From Poison to Cro-Mags, they would play it.  Venom were regular favourites.

One afternoon in 1986, I was recording away when J.D. (John) Roberts announced a new band coming up, called Vigilant.  (Over the years I’ve seen it spelled as Vigilants and Vigilante, but I will continue to use the spelling as it appeared on TV that day.)  I recorded it — decent enough hard rock song — and I kept the video because their labelmate Lee Aaron had a cameo in it.  Lee Aaron was and is Canada’s Metal Queen, so I thought the band must be OK.  But dear God, what a video.  What a horrendous video!

Let’s break it down.

We got the asshole record exec who won’t give a band a shot.  We have Lee Aaron at reception, and a stripper entering the offices!  What could this be about?

The stripper plays the record exec a tape, and then suddenly enters:  more strippers!  How many?  Who knows, but you can play “count the strippers” with your friends if you like.  The song is playing, but we still haven’t seen the band.

It’s well over two minutes before the band burst into the room, guitars in hand, to play along to their song.  The fashion of the day:  checkers, stripes, tassels, and tight tight pants.  Pants so loud that Jon Bon Jovi himself wouldn’t have been seen in them.  The bassist has one of those narrow body basses that were trendy at the time.  The drummer?  He doesn’t even show up until the 3:00 mark.  Poor drummer!  The point of course is that the strippers have far more screen time than the guys in the actual band, the hallmark of the stinkiest of the 1980s.  Sulfer-stinky!

The one on the left is in roller skates.

The plot thickens when a roadie enters, with a flash bomb.  He’s going to blow up the band!  But then, Lee Aaron pulls the old switcheroo.  And the roadie, though good at plugging in flash bombs, doesn’t seem to know how to unplug them.  Guess who gets blowded up!  Not the band or the strippers, I’ll tell you that!

Don’t worry, it’s a happy ending for everybody.  Including the lead stripper, it’s heavily implied….

Please enjoy (?) the music video for “Run For Cover” by Vigilant (or Vigilante, or Vigilants) featuring Lee Aaron.  The song actually wasn’t that bad.  The verses were nothing to write home about, but the bridge and chorus are pretty good!  Generic as hell, but it was the 80s.  (Oh, and check out the funny MuchMusic bumper before the actual video, featuring Loudness singer Minoru Niihara!)

VHS Archives #10: KISS band interview 1992

In 1992, MuchMusic introduced a new Saturday show called Start Me Up that focused on rock.  It helped make up for the diminished Power 30.  It got to the point that Start Me Up was the show to watch for rock and metal, since the Power 30 detoured into grunge and thrash.

Paul Stanley, Gene Simmons, Bruce Kulick and Eric Singer of KISS dropped in one afternoon on the Revenge tour.  It’s a strange, stiff interview compared to past KISS appearances on MuchMusic.  Paul Stanley seems to want to answer all of Eric’s questions and aside from Bruce, everyone’s awkward.

By request of reader KK, enjoy this strange Kiss interview from 1992!

VHS Archives #9: Faith No More host the Power 30 (1992)

In 1991, MuchMusic made a change that, I think, ultimately hurt their standing with heavy metal. They cancelled the twice weekly Pepsi Power Hour, and replaced it with the daily Power 30. The difference of course was that the Power 30 was a shorter show, but at five days a week, you’re getting an extra 30 minutes of metal every week. In theory. In reality, this meant more ad breaks so the amount of music you got was the same or even less. The reduced run time also meant no more hour long specials or hosting gigs. Coming up, we have a Power Hour co-hosted by Queensryche, but this segment with Faith No More is from the shorter Power 30.

Here Billy Gould and Roddy Bottum talk Slayer, Helmet, Young Gods and possible issues with the “MidLife Crisis” video. They’re funny in this clip but you can certainly see how the Power 30 offered less.

VHS Archives #8: Bruce Dickinson interview (1986)

Popular vote by Harrison, Jessie, and a bunch of others who picked Iron Maiden’s Bruce Bruce (Bruce Dickinson) for this VHS Archive.

Yes folks it’s 1986, and that means questions about Satanism and devil worship. Oh my.

VHS Archives #7: Ugly Kid Joe interview (1992)

By request of Jay.

Ziggy Lorenc usually hosted soft rock on MuchMusic, but this time she got to talk to Dave Fortman and Whitfield Crane of Ugly Kid Joe! The guys discuss the video for their hit “Neighbor” and the memorable back cover of the America’s Least Wanted CD.

 

Who would you like to see next in the VHS Archives?  Vote in the comments from the artists below!

  1. Faith No More (Billy & Roddy) 1992
  2. Bruce Dickinson 1986
  3. Kiss (full band) 1992
  4. Queensryche (Wilton & DeGarmo) 1990
  5. Steve Vai 1990

VHS Archives #6: Blackie Lawless of W.A.S.P. interview (1986)

This video comes from popular Facebook vote!  Stone from Metal Odyssey, Max the Axe, and your Heavy Metal Overlord all voted for Blackie Lawless as our next VHS Archive.

In this interview (estimated to be from 1986 based on the date of the tape), Blackie is confronted by MuchMusic’s Erica Ehm about W.A.S.P.’s stage show.  Lawless is strangely awkward and makes very little eye contact with anyone. It’s the 1980s and so Satanism must be denied.  Check it out!

 

Who would you like to see next in the VHS Archives?  Vote in the comments from the artists below!

  1. Faith No More (Billy & Roddy) 1992
  2. Bruce Dickinson 1986
  3. Kiss (full band) 1992
  4. Queensryche (Wilton & DeGarmo) 1990
  5. Steve Vai 1990

VHS Archives #5: Rob Halford interview (1986)

This brief but great clip has MuchMusic’s Terry David Mulligan getting Rob Halford to open up about drugs and Judas Priest’s image.  TDM hosted a show called MuchWest, but this was aired on the Power Hour.  Summer 1986, (presumably from Expo ’86) and Rob’s got a moustache and slick, long hair!  Definitely a look that didn’t stick.

VHS Archives #4: Pepsi Power Hour – classic 1987 intro

This sure does bring back memories.

Below is a MuchMusic bumper and the Pepsi Power Hour intro from 1987.  This intro heralded my favourite hour of television every week.  The best hours of my life.

Look for two cameos by Master T (Tony Young) before he was the host of Rap City.

 

VHS Archives #3: Vinnie Vincent Invasion interview (part two)

The second part of the Vinnie Vincent Invasion interview by Erica Ehm, from MuchMusic’s Pepsi Power Hour, September 1987. Dana, Vinnie and Bobby speak. Mark makes faces.

“Why is there so much heavy metal in L.A.?” is the question.

Part one can be found here.

VHS Archives #2: Hear N’ Aid Special – Pepsi Power Hour (1986)

The one VHS tape I’m working on currently spans a period of recordings from about July 1986 to September 1987. This Hear N’ Aid special features a MuchMusic interview conducted by J.D. (John) Roberts. There’s lots of exclusive information in this valuable video, including a tidbit on bands who refused to be in the same project as Spinal Tap!