In 1988, Surprised Adams Resident Receives Fun Visit from MTV Crew (VIDEO)
I want my MTV. Pretty much everyone remembers that saying especially since it was all over the 1985 Dire Straits hit 'Money for Nothing" which the Music Television station aired in heavy rotation. MTV was fun back in the '80s. They played the most unique and innovative videos of the day. 'Money for Nothing" was cutting edge along with 'Land of Confusion' from Genesis and who could forget Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer'? This is when music really started to become a visual medium, sometimes eclipsing the audio portion. There's no doubt people listened with both their ears and their eyes, but that was the marketing strategy of that era and boy did they hit the jackpot with that method. In addition, MTV had fun game shows including 'Remote Control' in the late '80s and then 'Singled Out' later on in the mid to late '90s.
MTV Hosted Fun Contests and in 1988 the Channel Made a Surprise Visit to Berkshire County (an Adams Resident's Home)
In late summer of 1988, MTV made a visit to Berkshire County. They invaded Dawn Wellspeak's East Road home in Adams. MTV ran a contest 'MTV at Your House with Belida Carlisle.' It's just something fun Carlisle wanted to do which was perform from a fan's home. Hey, that sounds pretty fun to me. The VJS (video jockeys) that made the trek to Wellspeak's home in Adams were Julie Brown and the often goofy and entertaining Kevin Seal. Back at the studio, throwing to Kevin and Julie was Adam Curry, with one of the biggest mullets you'll probably ever see, as he handled the video countdown hosting duties.
Something Strange About Adams Resident Dawn Wellspeak Winning the MTV Contest
The interesting thing about Dawn Wellspeak winning the MTV contest is that she didn't even enter. That's right, her sister Deanna entered using Dawn's name because Deanna was under 18 and figured she wouldn't be eligible to enter. I don't think Dawn minded though because in addition to the visit, Dawn won $5,000 which she naturally decided to split with her sister.
Let's See the Video of MTV Invading the Adams Home (Some Bonus Videos Too)
The following videos are portions of the MTV visit to Dawn's home in Adams back in 1988. It's still hard to believe that MTV came to Berkshire County but they did. These are feel good videos and will send you on a time warp where not only it was a simpler time, but for many, it was the best of times (had to throw in the Styx reference). Wouldn't you agree? By the way, you'll love the commercial cut outs along with some of the tracking issues. Hey it was the '80s, which means VCRs and VHS tapes were running at a fever pitch.
Bonus Video #1 (Julie Brown Intro from Adams Home)
Bonus Video #2 (Belinda Carlisle Performance from Adams Home