There’s a Treasure Trove of Vintage, Early 1980s-Era MTV Programming Available Online Right Now

August 1, 1981 was an important date in history. It was the day MTV made its debut, when the concept of something called “Music Television” sounded fresh, innovative and groundbreaking.

For decades it was just that — and, thanks to the services of a user of the Internet Archive, a bounty of vintage MTV programming from the early ’80s is now available online.

You know, stuff like this:

And this:

Also a relevant archive of early MTV material is Rock Cellar’s 2013 interview with VJ Martha Quinn — click here to read that. 

Brooklyn Vegan notes that among the programming uploaded to the Internet Archives, the first four hours of the launch day programming is available, a sequence which included the premiere of The Buggles’ “Video Killed the Radio Star,” a landmark moment for sure:

The best part of this, by the way, is that the entire MTV footage was uploaded via VHS tapes, apparently, which gives the whole thing an undeniable sense of authenticity — after all, watching old-school MTV on warbled, second-generation VHS transfer is more genuine than if the files had somehow been restored and uploaded in HD.

Click here to head to the Internet Archives website and find out how you can watch all of this classic Music Television.