(Credits: Far Out / MTV)
Tue 23 December 2025 0:00, UK
As soon as MTV first launched onto the small screen back in August 1981, it was clear from that moment forward that the musical medium would never be the same again.
Music was, of course, not merely just an auditory sensation any longer. It was accompanied by this filmic vision that, by the very virtue of television broadcast, meant that the stakes of cinematography grew even higher, at the same time as the channel did. But aside from the videos themselves, the true revolutionary thing about MTV was that it realised it also needed to bring the arena experience to the screen.
The thrill of live performance was something that had long since been capitalised upon in the charts to TV pipeline, with shows like Top of the Pops leading the way on that front well before MTV was ever on the scene. But there was still something about shows like that which veered closely into the music video territory: slick and polished and perfected down to a tee, and not the raw and unplugged version you could see in the flesh.
That was the area in which the channel cleverly came into its own by asking bands and artists to record their live gigs for future broadcast, with the cameras zooming in on every pore and strained vocal. For obvious reasons, it was an invite that piled on the pressure and proved to make or break potential stars.
Yet through it all, there couldn’t have been anyone more nervous than the band selected as the very first to perform live on MTV, only mere days after it had launched as a channel originally. REO Speedwagon were the custodians of that coveted title, with their show in Denver, Colorado, being the first gig to be broadcast on the channel in the same week that it launched.
What did the MTV gig mean for REO Speedwagon?
With both MTV and REO Speedwagon hand in hand, there was an electric feeling of change crackling across the air. Music had found a whole new medium through the TV, of course, but for a band like the Illinois arena rockers, it also changed a new rocket launch in their stratosphere.
Having been treading the boards for a painfully prolonged period of time, ever since 1966, it wasn’t until the release of their album Hi Fidelity in 1980 that REO Speedwagon really felt the gears shifting. Taking the leap to switch genres from hard rock into a more pop-like style, it paid dividends: four hit singles were spawned, and the record sold over 10million copies.
The advent of MTV within the space of the following year was a lucky accident of timing, as it allowed the band a new lease of life while embracing this fresh, exciting innovation of the industry. By broadcasting their gigs, it wasn’t just the fans in Denver, Colorado, who got to take in the show, but a whole new generation, hungry to crowd around their screens.
What might have seemed like a novel idea for MTV to launch at the time has turned into a powerhouse entity. Think about festivals or any range of TV specials showing a particular concert – it all stemmed from that one idea. Would Elton John have had such a seismic broadcast farewell when he performed at Glastonbury if it weren’t for REO Speedwagon taking the plunge first? Who’s to say.
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