This is the music video that started it all for me...

[greengoblinrulz]

I was into Kiss as a grade schooler in late 70s but then fizzled out when they did.
Live Wire, Pyromania stuff, Quiet Riot stuff got me back into rock in early 80s but one particular video was Big City Nights by Scorps when I was "Holy Shit, this is their life?" that Ive never outgrown.

[HueyRamone]

Speak of the Devil, Number of the Beast and Screaming For Vengeance, I got them all before we got MTV. So no video "started it all" for me. But their infrequent airings of Rock of Ages and Looks that Kill, along with the Priest live show I taped onto VHS helped seal it all in.

[pieceofme]

Speak of the Devil, Number of the Beast and Screaming For Vengeance, I got them all before we got MTV. So no video "started it all" for me. But their infrequent airings of Rock of Ages and Looks that Kill, along with the Priest live show I taped onto VHS helped seal it all in.

Shout or Speak?

[HueyRamone]

Speak of the Devil, Number of the Beast and Screaming For Vengeance, I got them all before we got MTV. So no video "started it all" for me. But their infrequent airings of Rock of Ages and Looks that Kill, along with the Priest live show I taped onto VHS helped seal it all in.

Shout or Speak?

Speak. Im far too old school to have begun with Shout. Shout came out like 6 months into my fandom.

[Wiseacre]

This is the music video that started it all for me...

Motley Crue - "Smokin' in the Boys Room"

Me too, if by “it all” you mean realizing Motley Crue officially fucking SUCKED now.

[Chip Z'Hoy]

This is the music video that started it all for me...

Motley Crue - "Smokin' in the Boys Room"

Me too, if by “it all” you mean realizing Motley Crue officially fucking SUCKED now.

I get it. When millennials say the song that got them into metal is "Fuel," I make a face.

Or worse, something by Korn.

[Tommy]

The video for me was 'Body Talk' by Ratt. I was in 1st grade and would walk to the babysitter's house after school with her daughters that were in 7th and 8th grades. They were into all of this stuff and I'd watch MTV with them.

Plus it was 1986 and I grew up in New Jersey. Bon Jovi was about to explode.

[the_man_incognito]

If you were lucky enough to have MTV around 82, it was hard rock/metal heaven.
It was before the time of dedicated shows and you'd see hard rock/metal videos all day mixed in with everything else.
Early videos by Triumph, Krokus, Ozzy, Def Leppard (they had quite a few off Pyromania), Quiet Riot, Night Ranger, MotorHead were a 12 year olds existence and inspiration...

[eddie lee roth]

The first video I ever saw on MTV was “Shine” by Collective Soul after watching the VMAs that year.

I’d like to formally thank most of you for making me feel young, which is increasingly rare these days.

Your welcome now go get me a Coke Zero with a cup of ice young man.

I'd ask for a New Coke, but Junior here wouldnt know what that was.

I’ve loved reading this thread.

I guess I’m one of the lucky ones as we were hooked up with a cable company that had MTV from day one.

The whole channel was a game changer for me from the get go. I sometimes think back to the early goofy ones that I’d still watch just to see what’s next.

Bands like Madness and Haircut 100 the real early ones where they didn’t have a big enough library yet so you get what you get.