Alan versus Joe Jackson: “He wasn’t actually squaring off with me—he thought being a rock star in videos was silly and pretentious, but he did want to promote his music.” (© Gary Gershoff)
Martha serving as an appetizer for Ozzy Osbourne: “Ozzy discovered that my head was considerably larger than a bat’s.” (courtesy Mark Weiss / WEISSguygallery.com)
J. J. with the Eurythmics—his favorite musical acts were rock bands with bold front men, but he also enjoyed new wave and the New Romantics. (courtesy MTV)
Nina interviews Bryan Adams: “He was the boy who’d stick your pigtails in ink. To this day, he can tease me into blushing.” (© Gary Gershoff)
Mark’s contentious meeting with David Bowie: “After this interview, I called him Bowie the Ambusher.” (© Gary Gershoff)
Alan with Jon Bon Jovi and Tico Torres of Bon Jovi, at Club Hedonism in Negril, Jamaica. “Jon Bon and I were looking at the fabulous sunset. Tico was thinking about how much MTV wasn’t paying him to go on this trip for a week.” (courtesy Doug Herzog)
Martha in the embrace of David Lee Roth: “Seriously—a Boy Scout shirt? Can I please turn back the hands of time, just this once?” (courtesy Mark Weiss / WEISSguygallery.com)
J. J., Alan, Nina, and Mark welcome Zippy the Chimp to the MTV studio. Nina: “Of all the celebrities who visited our set, Zippy was my favorite, hands down. It was love at first banana!” (© Gary Gershoff)
Alan with Mick Jagger at Live Aid: “I was saying to myself, ‘I can’t believe I’m talking to Mick Jagger.’” (courtesy Doug Herzog)
Martha backstage at Slane Castle in Ireland, with Bono and Bob Dylan: “Bono was twenty-four and had just met Bob for the first time—U2 were at Slane Castle because they had just finished recording The Unforgettable Fire there.” (© Ken Regan/Camera 5)
Mark interviews Madonna: “I was trying to figure out how I could clandestinely chain myself to her wrist.” (courtesy Mark Weiss / WEISSguygallery.com)
Nina: “Once a cheerleader, always a cheerleader. Go Team MTV!” (courtesy Mark Weiss / WEISSguygallery.com)
Martha on the CBS sitcom E/R with Elliott Gould and George Clooney (not to be confused with Clooney’s later hit, ER): “I’m looking at George—‘Hey, you make house calls?’” (courtesy Embassy Television)
The VJs hang out in Sherman Oaks, California, in 1988. Martha: “The number one question I get is ‘Are you guys really friends?’ The answer is yes!” (courtesy Alan Hunter)
The VJs in 2011, celebrating the thirtieth anniversary of MTV. (courtesy SiriusXM)
NINA BLACKWOOD, MARK GOODMAN, ALAN HUNTER, and MARTHA QUINN were the first MTV VJs and are all hosts on SiriusXM Satellite Radio’s ’80s on 8 channel.
GAVIN EDWARDS is the author of five books on music. A contributing editor at Rolling Stone, he has written for The New York Times Magazine, Details, and Wired.
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Copyright © 2013 by Nina Blackwood, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, and Gavin Edwards
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Designed by Kyoko Watanabe
Jacket Design by Janet Perr
Front Cover Photograph: Photofest
Back Cover Photograph: Mark Weiss/Getty Images
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
VJ: the unplugged adventures of MTV’s first wave / Nina Blackwood . . . al.].
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. MTV Networks—History. 2. Video jockeys—Biography. I. Blackwood, Nina.
PN1992.8.M87V585 2013
791.45’611—dc23
2012034425
ISBN 978-1-4516-7812-3
ISBN 978-1-4516-7814-7 (ebook)
VJ: The Unplugged Adventures of MTV's First Wave Page 30
