1986 MTV Video Music Awards

The 1986 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 5, 1986, honoring the best music videos from May 2, 1985, to May 1, 1986. The show was hosted by MTV VJs Downtown Julie Brown, Mark Goodman, Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, and Dweezil Zappa, and it emanated primarily from both The Palladium in New York City and the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles. Other parts of the show, however, took place in various locations such as London, Miami, Florida, and New Haven, Connecticut.

The night's biggest winner and one of the year's two most nominated artists was Norwegian group a-ha, which won eight out of eleven awards it was in contention for. Their video for "Take on Me" earned six awards out of eight nominations, including Viewer's Choice, while "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." won two awards out of three nominations.

The other most nominated artist was rock group Dire Straits, whose video for "Money for Nothing" also earned eleven nominations and won two awards, including Video of the Year. Thus, "Money for Nothing" was also the most nominated video at the 1986 VMAs.

Nominations

Winners are in bold text. [1]

Video of the Year

• a-ha — "Take on Me"
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing"
• Godley & Creme — "Cry"
• Robert Palmer — "Addicted to Love"
• Talking Heads — "Road to Nowhere"

Best Male Video

• Bryan Adams — "Summer of '69"
• Phil Collins — "Take Me Home"
• Robert Palmer — "Addicted to Love"
• Bruce Springsteen — "Glory Days"
• Sting — "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"

Best Female Video

• Kate Bush — "Running Up That Hill"
• Aretha Franklin — "Freeway of Love"
• Whitney Houston — "How Will I Know"
• Grace Jones — "Slave to the Rhythm"
• Tina Turner — "We Don't Need Another Hero"

Best Group Video

• a-ha — "Take on Me"
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing"
• INXS — "What You Need"
• The Rolling Stones — "Harlem Shuffle"
• Talking Heads — "And She Was"

Best New Artist in a Video

• a-ha — "Take on Me"
• The Hooters — "And We Danced"
• Whitney Houston — "How Will I Know"
• Pet Shop Boys — "West End Girls"
• Simply Red — "Holding Back the Years"

Best Concept Video

• a-ha — "Take on Me"
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing"
• Godley & Creme — "Cry"
• Talking Heads — "And She Was"
• Talking Heads — "Road to Nowhere"

Most Experimental Video

• a-ha — "Take on Me"
• Pat Benatar — "Sex as a Weapon"
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing"
• X — "Burning House of Love"
• ZZ Top — "Rough Boy"

Best Stage Performance in a Video

• Bryan Adams and Tina Turner — "It's Only Love"
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing"
• Huey Lewis and the News — "The Power of Love"
• Robert Palmer — "Addicted to Love"
• Pete Townshend — "Face the Face"

Best Overall Performance in a Video

• David Bowie and Mick Jagger — "Dancing in the Street"
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing"
• Robert Palmer — "Addicted to Love"
• Bruce Springsteen — "Glory Days"
• Sting — "If You Love Somebody Set Them Free"

Best Direction in a Video

• a-ha — "Take on Me" (Director: Steven Barron)
• Pat Benatar — "Sex as a Weapon" (Director: Daniel Kleinman)
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing" (Director: Steven Barron)
• X — "Burning House of Love" (Director: Daniel Kleinman)
• ZZ Top — "Rough Boy" (Director: Steven Barron)

Best Choreography in a Video

• Pat Benatar — "Sex as a Weapon" (Choreographer: Russell Clark)
• Morris Day — "The Oak Tree" (Choreographers: Russell Clark and Morris Day)
• Madonna — "Dress You Up" (Choreographer: Brad Jefferies)
• Madonna — "Like a Virgin (live)" (Choreographer: Brad Jefferies)
• Prince and The Revolution — "Raspberry Beret" (Choreographer: Prince)

Best Special Effects in a Video

• a-ha — "Take on Me" (Special Effects: Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger)
• Pat Benatar — "Sex as a Weapon" (Special Effects: Daniel Kleinman and Richard Uber)
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing" (Special Effects: Ian Pearson)
• X — "Burning House of Love" (Special Effects: Daniel Kleinman)
• ZZ Top — "Rough Boy" (Special Effects: Max Anderson and Chris Nibley)

Best Art Direction in a Video

• a-ha — "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (Art Director: Stefan Roman)
• Pat Benatar — "Sex as a Weapon" (Art Director: Daniel Kleinman)
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing" (Art Director: Steven Barron)
• Honeymoon Suite — "Feel It Again" (Art Director: David Brockhurst)
• ZZ Top — "Rough Boy" (Art Director: Ron Cobb)

Best Editing in a Video

• a-ha — "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (Editor: David Yardley)
• Pat Benatar — "Sex as a Weapon" (Editor: Richard Uber)
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing" (Editor: David Yardley)
• X — "Burning House of Love" (Editor: Dan Blevins)
• ZZ Top — "Rough Boy" (Editor: Richard Uber)

Best Cinematography in a Video

• a-ha — "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (Director of Photography: Oliver Stapleton)
• Pat Benatar — "Sex as a Weapon" (Director of Photography: Peter Mackay)
• Joe Walsh — "The Confessor" (Director of Photography: Jan Keisser)
• X — "Burning House of Love" (Director of Photography: Ken Barrows)
• ZZ Top — "Rough Boy" (Director of Photography: Chris Nibley)

Viewer's Choice

• a-ha — "Take on Me"
• Dire Straits — "Money for Nothing"
• Godley & Creme — "Cry"
• Robert Palmer — "Addicted to Love"
• Talking Heads — "Road to Nowhere"

Video Vanguard Award

• Madonna
• Zbigniew Rybczyński

Special Recognition Award

• Bill Graham
• Jack Healey (Executive Director, Amnesty International) [2]

Performances

• Robert Palmer — "Addicted to Love"
• The Hooters — "And We Danced"/"Nervous Night"
• The Monkees — "I'm a Believer"/"Daydream Believer"
• 'Til Tuesday — "What About Love"
• INXS — "What You Need"
• Van Halen — "Best of Both Worlds"/"Love Walks in"
• Mr. Mister — "Kyrie"/"Broken Wings"
• Simply Red — "Holding Back the Years"/"Money's Too Tight (To Mention)"
• Whitney Houston — "How Will I Know"/"Greatest Love of All"
• Pet Shop Boys — "Love Comes Quickly"/"West End Girls"
• Tina Turner — "Typical Male"
• Genesis — "Throwing It All Away"

Appearances

• Jay Leno - "Presented Best Overall Performance In A Video"
• Robin Williams - "Presented Best New Artist In A Video"
• Mark Goodman - "Presented Best Stage Performance In A Video"
• Janet Jackson - "Presented Best Choreography In A Video"
• Bobcat Goldthwait - "Presented Most Experimental Video"
• David Lee Roth - "Presented Best Group Video"
• Robert Palmer - "Presented MTV Video Vanguard Award"
• Van Halen - "Presented Viewer's Choice"
• Paul McCartney - "Presented Best Female Video"
• Belinda Carlisle - "Presented Best Male Video"
• Don Henley - "Presented Video Of The Year"

External links

• Official MTV site