Ever since the dawn of MTV and Friday Night Videos, the music video has significantly impacted musical tastes and pop culture. It might not be as extreme as when the Buggles declared that "Video Killed the Radio Star", but there is no arguing that the music video certainly could make or break a song's popularity. So this regular Flashback Video feature will serve to remember some of the music videos from the great '80s decade that made an impact on me in one way or another. This issue we will cover "Walking on Sunshine" by Katrina and the Waves. "Walking on Sunshine" had originally been released in 1983, but it was when Katrina and the Waves released a re-recorded version of “Walking On Sunshine” (with the added drum intro) in April of 1985 that it really made some waves. It became a worldwide hit peaking at #9 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. that summer, but it also reached the Top 10 in at least four other countries. There aren’t too many songs that can make you feel better than this upbeat and fun hit that has since been used in countless movies and commercials. The song’s success even helped earn the band a Grammy nomination for Best New Artist. For the music video, Katrina and the Band start in what appears to be an abandoned building and then walk through London (though not on a particularly sunshine-y day) starting at a Docklands alley, passing through Hyde Park and crossing the Tower Bridge, before ending up in a dressing room before a concert with performance footage interspersed along the way. Here is the music video for “Walking On Sunshine” by Katrina and the Waves…
In my interview with Katrina herself, here is what she recounted about making the music video for "Walking on Sunshine": The “Walking On Sunshine” video was shot in London on one absolutely freezing day for nothing. The director kept saying “try and look warm”. You can see STEAM coming out of my mouth! The indoor stuff was such a relief and you can see how happy we were to be warm. We didn’t really know how important (or viewed) the video would become and you can see we are not that bothered and keep making stupid faces to each other. At the end of the song I am only shaking my head a lot to hide the fact I didn’t bother to memorize the last outro bit of singing. It does look chilly and you can definitely see the steam coming from her mouth when she is outside. I guess when you are "walking on sunshine" you don't need actual sunshine! As I mentioned, the song has earned lots of extra revenue from its use in other media. Some of my favorite uses of "Walking on Sunshine" in movies include memorable scenes from Secret of My Success (1987), Look Who's Talking (1989), American Psycho (2000) and High Fidelity (2000). The song has lived many lives and certainly has remained relevant much longer than anybody could've originally expected. Hope you enjoyed another trip back to the '80s thanks to Flashback Video!