“Hot Music and Hollywood Movies are coming together in the new phenomena of Movie Music Videos” - Pat Prescott. Night Flight’s Film Music special is a bonafide who’s who of movie soundtrack anthems from 1984. Whether it’s a close look at Prince’s Purple Rain ("the hottest movie film of 1984)," a heartfelt Karate Kid soundtrack video from Survivor or Police guitarist Andy Summer’s update to the 2001: A Space Odyssey anthem, this episode is a stylish, free-form recap of the merge between Hollywood and the music industry.

Music Video's directed by feature filmmakers for The Cars, Lionel Richie, The Art of Noise, Bruce Springsteen and more

Tonight, we go back to 1988 to Take Off to Futurism in Music Videos. "The future is upon us, with Robots, Computers and new technologies" Pat Prescott informs us at the top of tonight's episode. Kicking off with Bonnie Tyler scored supercut of Fritz Lang's Metropolis this episode shows a multitude of visions of the future through music. Re-flex is "Hurt," the Earons explore "The Land of Hunger," Tangerine Dream's Peter Baumann signs of "Strangers in the Night" and DEVO tell the tale of the "Worried Man." This episode on the future has the special honor of being bookended by a good friend from the past, Mr. Bill.

"All through the rich history of Rock N Roll, artists have claimed the material of others..." says Night Flight syndication host Tom Juarez at the start of tonight's Take Off to Cover Songs. The hour long episode salutes the great musical tradition in what turned out to be the golden decade of covers, featuring Fine Young Cannibals covering Elvis, Cyndi Lauper's best Marvin Gaye impression, and The Pretenders' Jimi Hendrix reinvention. Chrissie Hynde sits down at the Night Flight studio to talk us through how she created the tune, while additional cuts from Boomerang, Club Nouveau and more follow.

Night Flight presents "Sold American," an eye-opening documentary about Marijuana production in California in the early 1980s - from seed to bud. The film explores political and economic ramifications of growing cannabis and features interviews growers, narcotics enforcers, and politicians.

An evil demon runs a toy store.

Welcome to part 2 of Visions of Platinum! We look at the top selling artists of today (1985!). You'll see videos from best selling artists Madonna, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Huey Lewis, Cyndi Lauper, ACDC, and Kiss. We also speak to the producers behind some classic records Nile Rodgers producer of David Bowie and Duran Duran, Phil Ramone, the main producer of Billy Joel and Julian Lennon, and Madonna's producer Jellybean Benitez.

For three magical days in 1969, the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was a "Rock 'n' Roll City" half a million strong. Get ready for one of the headiest retro-television experiences of your life as Night Flight flashes back to Woodstock, with live documentation, concert footage and music from the iconic festival's key sets. 

A man threatens to commit suicide off a tall building.

This Night Flight original episode is part 1 of the 1983 New Year's Special. Featuring Music Videos, Video Profiles, and more. Night Flight rings in the New Year in style!

Two "expressionistic wackos" argue over a glass of juice.

This Night Flight original episode is part 4 of the 1983 New Year's Special. Featuring Music Videos, Video Profiles, and more. Night Flight rings in the New Year in style!

Tonight we dive into the dark underworld of Gothic Rock! Rising from the ashes of late 70s punk, Goth Rock mixed the batwing style of Bram Stoker's Dracula with bizarre sentiments, black humor and a big beat. This classic episode (part of the Night Flight Series 'Twenty Years of Rock N' Roll Style') is a tour de force of goth bands and their myriad solo offshoots. Fittingly kicking off with Bauhaus' "Bela Lugosi's Dead," this episode also features music from Peter Murphy, Love and Rockets, The Damned, Sisters of Mercy, Fields of the Nephilim and more. Hope all you post-punk ghouls enjoy!

Welcome back to Viewer’s Choice, where you get the videos you asked for. “We’ve got some wild requests tonight...” Pat Prescott proclaims as she lists of: Zappa, The Cure, Falco (“Jeanny!!!”), Whistle, Ultravox, Shriekback and Phil Collins. Another snapshot of pop music in the '80s from the perspective of the fans, preserved forever in an episode of Night Flight. “Ska is a pre-reggae Jamaican dance rythym first popular in the 60s…” Pat Prescott explains, while introducing this very special Video Vault. Tonight we all dance to a Ska beat when the vault opens to the leaders of Britain’s ska revival of the 80s featuring Special AKA, Madness, Fun Boy 3, The English Beat and more.

One of the more popular animated short films that aired during Night Flight’s '80s heyday was Wes Archer’s cult fave Jac Mac & Rad Boy, Go!, a wonderfully frenetic cartoon about two party-bound teens who inadvertently destroy a city on their way to hell, which Archer admits he may have also been inspired by his own wayward youth in Houston, Texas. Note: Wes went on to have an amazing career in animation and is currently the supervising director on Rick and Morty.

Welcome back its time to climb into the video vault for Devo, and follow the bands career through their experimental clips. Night Flight looks at the hottest metal in 1986 with new Twisted Sister, Black 'n Blue, Autograph, Kiss and more metal masters.

"Tonight, a trip into terror, a journey through the macabre," Pat Prescott explains at the beginning of tonight's episode. In this 1986 Halloween special, Night Flight looks at the past and future of Horror. Part 1 finds in-depth previews of multiple cult films of that year including "From Beyond," "Deadly Friend," metal monster movie "Trick or Treat," and "Texas Chainsaw Massacre 2." Next, Night Flight presents an hour-long mashup session of Horror throughout 40 years of film history, titles range are as exotic as "Beast With A Thousand Eyes," surreal as Buñuel's "Un Chien Andalou" and classic as "Nosferatu."

In this excellent Flash Tracks episode from June, 1987 Night Flight covers Women in Rock including Siouxsie and the Banshees, Yazoo's Alison Moyet and Suzanne Vega. Born Susan Janet Ballion in a London suburb, Siouxsie Sioux cut her musical teeth on rock legends the Sex Pistols and David Bowie. Siouxsie Sioux brought unrestrained fashion and rock together, (what Night Flight's Pat Prescott calls a modern day "Mata Hari") with a style imitated all over England. Performing since 1976, Siouxsie and the Banshees unique sound smacks of their fascination of the bizarre. 

The "TITANIC of homemade zombie films" (Fangoria). In 1997, 17-year-old suburban Buenos Aires filmmakers Pablo Parés and Hernan Sáez pooled $450 to co-write/produce/direct and star in a shot-on-VHS zombie epic of such flesh-ripping, gore-spewing greatness that it instantly drew global cult acclaim and redefined the possibilities of extreme DIY horror.

We were saddened to hear about Leslie West of Mountain passing away in late December of 2020. His Night Flight interview is an underrated gem of the library. A down to earth and spirited guest, West talks about his success in frank terms while musing about eating bagels behind the stage at Woodstock, watching Cream play on acid and more.

Tonight, we "Take Off" to iconic solo careers and the band's they left behind in this 1994 special Syndication episode of Night Flight. Ahh, the solo career: the proving ground for artists who uncouple from the bands that made them or simply want to blow off some creative steam. Hosted by Tom Juarez, we take a journey through the solo songs of Mick Jagger, Phil Collins, Stevie Nicks, and finally Morrissey (see below for our additional offerings from The Smiths this week) all while giving credit to the original bands that made them.

Night Flight's video profile of one of the seminal bands of the 1980s, Manchester England's innovative New Order. Highlights include their music video for "Confusion" which contains scenes filmed inside legendary NYC nightclub 'The Funhouse' along with rare footage of revered dance music producer Arthur Baker at work in the studio.

“If we combine the modern new wave elements with the old, beautiful melodies, that might be an intriguing mixture,” says Taco discussing his hit cover of “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in this exclusive Night Flight interview. Later on in this brand new Night Flight Short Cut, Falco talks about translating rap music influences into his German-language hits.

Welcome to Night Flight's 1986 exclusive video profile of Black Sabbath. "They were the most successful and controversial metal band of the mid ‘70s. Hated by critics, adored by their fans, Black Sabbath mixed a taste for the occult with bone crushing volume,” Pat Prescott proclaims. This special episode features Night Flight’s iconic interviews with both Ozzy and Tony Iommi, and covers over a decade of the band's output and individual members' solo careers. Absolute essential viewing for Night Flight and Sabbath fans alike!

Ann Magnuson's performance art video piece in character as "Fallopia," the latest in a line of sexy Prince protégés — which she describes as "a classroom lesson in "How to Become a New Wave Video Slut"-- was produced exclusively for Night Flight in the 1980s, and you can now watch it in its entirety in this episode from 1986. "My rise to the top was pretty much standard stuff, same as everyone else's. First there was the live sex acts, then the stag parties, then the sleazy piano bars and conventions, then "Star Search." And then after, gosh, I don't know how many 'dates' with record company executives, I was signed to a major label, and my own rock video, and today I'm one of the BIGGEST New Wave Sluts in the industry!!"

Comedienne Renee Taylor's parody of the Fellini films of the 1960s.

This Night Flight Original episode features a segment from the "Take Off" series on Politics and Progressive Rap. We also included extra special bonus feature on 'Movie Villains.'

"One of the sturdiest trends in rock videos," Pat Prescott says, "is the use of 'high art' to elevate down and dirty Rock 'n' Roll." Tonight's original episode of Night Flight from the archives is a "Take off" to Art in Music Videos! The episode highlights art and music collaborations like New Order and William Wegman (and the dog supermodel Fay Ray), Grace Jones's cadre of counter-culture luminaries in "I'm Not Perfect," Warhol's video for The Car's "Hello Again," and Roberto Longo's for The Golden Palominos (feat. Michael Stipe).

In a rare candid interview from the time, Janet Jackson discusses her famous family, especially her relationship to brother Michael.

Night Flight’s 1987 episode of New Sounds is teeming with deep cuts and lost treasures. Mondo Boffo with Scorpio (!), Prince proteges Wendy and Lisa's excellent tune "Waterfall," Squeeze's Dali-esque video painting and more.

"Take Off To Animation" takes a colorful look at the use of animation in music video over the previous few years in styles ranging from experimental camera technique to 'Saturday morning cartoon'. Many of the videos compiled for this episode first became well-known due to their repeat exposure on Night Flight. Bona fide Night Flight classics here include Tom Tom Club's "Pleasure of Love", Randy Andy's "The People (Livin' in the USA)", Machinations: "Pressure Sway" & Will Powers: "Adventures In Success". Night Flight's innovative "Take Off" series dispensed with playlists, bland VJ set-ups and the usual tired video countdown format and instead cleverly programmed music videos and performance clips by theme. The series regularly featured hits from Eighties pop icons juxtaposed against obscurities from not-ready-for-MTV cult favorites. Original Air Date: 2-17-84

Welcome to Night Flight circa 1993. “Ten years ago,” Pat Prescott tells us “The Replacements played their first ragtag gig in a church basement in Minneapolis. Much to everyone’s surprise, including their own, the ‘Mats became one of the hottest underground bands in the world.” Tonight’s Video Profile shows off some of the band’s finest moments and features ultra-candid interviews with Paul Westerberg. Part B of Night Flight's Original Episode tonight is the German-surrealist short film "Balance." Created by twin brothers Wolfgang and Christoph Lauenstein, this stark experimental animation allegory won the Academy Award for Best Animated Short in 1989. Another treasure of the archive.

"Tonight we bring you your favorites!" "Over the last couple months you've written in to tell us what you want to see most," Pat Prescott says, explaining the viewer-requested curation behind this classic episode of Night Flight. Unsurprisingly, it turns out Night Flight viewers had great taste. Among the top requested artists are Kate Bush, Prince, Culture Club, The Thompson Twins, and Duran Duran. Check out this exceptional episode of that turns the attention back on the fans and viewers, who in 1986 were the ones making the Night Flight dream a reality. 

New from the Night Flight vaults: Welcome to our Commercial Free Top Ten Video Picks, circa 1983. We won't give away #1, but expect to see some of the era's megastars including Adam Ant, Bowie & Jagger, a makeup-less Kiss for that year's album "Lick it Up," Bonnie Tyler, and more!

Hottt videos from heavy headliners Madonna, Rod Stewart, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Queen and Van Halen are highlights from this epic installment of Night Flight's "Take Off" from late 1984.

Night Flight finally makes it to Alt Rock this weekend in a new addition to our “Take Off” features. This 1994 showcase appeared in the twilight of Night Flight’s 90s syndication. The music videos and concert footage included (The Breeders, Pearl Jam, Soundgarden, Afghan Whigs, Rage Against the Machine, and more) is as accurate a snapshot of the era as one could ask for, but it’s still a bit uncanny to see the NF chyron next to quintessential 90s acts.

Tonight we present another edition of Politics in Music Video with John Lennon, Nena, U2, Men at Work and the Fixx. As we dig through the massive vault of Night Flight tapes, we see more and more that politics were a recurring theme for our 1980s writers. This doesn’t come as much of a surprise if you read Night Flight creator Stuart S. Shapiro’s recent book "Identifi Yourself" where he reminisces about his time as “one of the go-to concert organizers from D.C. to Boston for the anti-war movement.” Night Flight was born from the inextricable connection between art and politics.

In this revealing 2002 interview with David Bowie, he reflects on his storied career and various musical styles and personas, as well as his latest album, Reality.

Five identical men balance themselves on an ever-shifting plane.

Tucked away inside this 1990s Syndication episode is Night Flight's "Take Off" to Reggae. Night Flight has always been proud of exposing our audience to Reggae music early on by being one of the first music shows to put the genre's music videos into heavy rotation. Tonight's "Take Off" episode is a perfect example of this. Featuring interviews and music with Jimmy Cliff, Peter Tosh, Third World, and Bob and Ziggy Marley, this classic episode is not to be missed and still serves as an excellent entry point to the incredible genre. Be sure to also stick around long enough to see Laurie Anderson's performance of "Language is a Virus (From Outer Space)."

“In the ‘80s, America rediscovered the Body” Pat Prescott tells us. “We jogged, we danced, we exercised and put our bodies back into shape.” Right in time for that gym membership, we're kicking off another year of Night Flight Originals with "Take Off to Body Language," an excellent 1984 special featuring tunes from Thomas Dolby, Berlin, The Gap Band, Herbie Hancock and of course, Queen.