Can You Name These ’80s Music Videos From One Frame?

Well, it happened again. The internet had a meltdown recently when it was widely reported that MTV was shutting down its music channels.

However, various TikTok reactions and Reddit threads also overlooked the part that stated it was, in reality, MTV’s European networks (including MTV ’80s, MTV ’90s, and MTV Music) that are going dark at the end of 2025. Their main network, MTV HD, which focuses on reality programming like Geordie Shore (their take on Jersey Shore), will remain active (for now).

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The panic was understandable, especially after the genuine heartbreak that followed the shutdown of MTV News in 2023.

Still, the shockwaves across social media serve as a reminder of just how deeply ingrained the MTV experience is in the collective memory of an entire generation. Dare we say, the MTV generation? In particular, 1980s music videos became a language for this generation, heavily influencing how we danced, spoke, and dressed.

Put Your MTV Memory to the Test

While easy to dismiss as merely ads for songs, music videos became their own art form, as labels fought to grab the attention of a heavily distracted youth market.

Videos were sometimes cinematic, often clever pieces of high art that pushed boundaries and sparked some interesting dinner table debates, and also gave artists of the day a new creative outlet.