Recorded in 1984 and released in 1985, this song is about rock star excess and the easy life it brings compared with real work. Mark Knopfler wrote it after overhearing delivery men in a New York department store complaining about their jobs while watching MTV on the store's televisions. He wrote the song there and then, sitting at a kitchen display they had set up. Many of the lyrics were things the delivery men actually said.
Sting (who was on vacation in Montserrat, where it was recorded) sings on this, and helped write it (he and Knopfler are the credited writers). You can hear him at the beginning, singing "I want my MTV". Sting did not want a songwriting credit, but his record company insisted, because they believed they would have earned royalties from it anyway, as they claimed it sounded very similar to Sting's "Don't Stand So Close To Me".
Knopfler played a 'Les Paul Junior' on this track, plugged into a "Laney" amp. Producer Neil Dorfsman told "Sound On Sound" magazine in May 2006: "We were going for a ZZ Top sound, but what we ended up getting was kind of an accident." The innovative video which accompanied the single was one of the first to feature computer-generated animation, using an early program called "Paintbox".
It was directed by Steve Barron, who also made the famous "Take On Me" video for 'A-Ha', and Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science". The characters were supposed to have more detail, such as buttons on their shirts, but the budget disappeared quickly due to the new technology, and they had to leave it as is. It won 'Best Video' at the 1986 "MTV Video Music Awards", and also won a "Grammy" in the same year for best 'Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group'.
12 Comments (since 11 Mar 2015)
leejohnson
Recorded in 1984 and released in 1985, this song is about rock star excess and the easy life it brings compared with real work. Mark Knopfler wrote it after overhearing delivery men in a New York department store complaining about their jobs while watching MTV on the store's televisions. He wrote the song there and then, sitting at a kitchen display they had set up. Many of the lyrics were things the delivery men actually said.
leejohnson
Sting (who was on vacation in Montserrat, where it was recorded) sings on this, and helped write it (he and Knopfler are the credited writers). You can hear him at the beginning, singing "I want my MTV". Sting did not want a songwriting credit, but his record company insisted, because they believed they would have earned royalties from it anyway, as they claimed it sounded very similar to Sting's "Don't Stand So Close To Me".
leejohnson
Knopfler played a 'Les Paul Junior' on this track, plugged into a "Laney" amp. Producer Neil Dorfsman told "Sound On Sound" magazine in May 2006: "We were going for a ZZ Top sound, but what we ended up getting was kind of an accident." The innovative video which accompanied the single was one of the first to feature computer-generated animation, using an early program called "Paintbox".
leejohnson
It was directed by Steve Barron, who also made the famous "Take On Me" video for 'A-Ha', and Thomas Dolby's "She Blinded Me With Science". The characters were supposed to have more detail, such as buttons on their shirts, but the budget disappeared quickly due to the new technology, and they had to leave it as is. It won 'Best Video' at the 1986 "MTV Video Music Awards", and also won a "Grammy" in the same year for best 'Best Rock Vocal Performance by a Duo or Group'.
leejohnson
In the US, this stayed at No. 1 for 3 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100, and charted at No. 4 in the UK in a creditable 16 week run. (This is the album version.) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Money_for_Nothing_%28song%29
21schizoid
A Dire Straits essential...
azche24
... thx for this footage!
HappyZebra
Love this to bits! The melody and the lyrics: brilliant! One of my favourite songs from my favourite band.
rumn8tr
One of my favorite bands of all time. Great song from a great album.
blueskies
Good times!
florencevibert
Oh, yes! Good one
pippamiddleton
restricted, but I love it!