{"id":296108,"date":"2021-07-11T01:32:41","date_gmt":"2021-07-10T22:32:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/en.buradabiliyorum.com\/insiders-recall-early-wild-days\/"},"modified":"2021-07-11T01:32:41","modified_gmt":"2021-07-10T22:32:41","slug":"insiders-recall-early-wild-days","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/insiders-recall-early-wild-days\/","title":{"rendered":"#Insiders recall early wild days"},"content":{"rendered":"

“#Insiders recall early wild days<\/strong>”<\/p>\n

\n

In the early days of MTV, life often imitated art.<\/p>\n

Which is how a real-life Beastie Boys bash, hosted by the music channel, came to look an awful lot like the band\u2019s raucous \u201c(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)\u201d video.<\/p>\n

\u201cThings on that trip<\/a> could have resulted in dangerous outcomes,\u201d an MTV producer who asked not to be named told The Post.<\/p>\n

It was 1987 and someone at the network had the bright idea for the \u00a0band to \u201ckidnap\u201d a fan and take the guy to Spring Break in Daytona Beach, Fla.<\/p>\n

\u201cKids were having sex on nightclub dance floors, the Beasties got the winner drunk and put him into a hot tub with a bunch of girls, kids were jumping off of balconies,\u201d recalled the producer. \u201cO.J. Simpson was [there as] a judge for the Hawaiian Tropic beauty contest. He would not have been there if not for MTV.
\u201cEveryone was blowing it out and showing off because of our cameras.\u201d<\/p>\n

Finally, the producer had to rein in the action. \u201cThe Beastie Boys were getting wasted in a swimming pool and it could have gotten dangerous,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\"During
\u201cKids were having sex on nightclub dance floors .\u2009.\u2009. The Beasties were getting wasted in a\u00a0swimming pool,\u201d said an MTV producer on a 1987 Spring Break contest.<\/figcaption>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After all, he pointed out, MTV was a multi-million-dollar business. \u201cSponsors were a big part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Back when MTV debuted on Aug. 1, 1981, it seemed destined that business and pleasure would mix. The channel played rock \u2019n\u2019 roll videos 24 hours a day, after all. It revolutionized not only pop culture but also cable TV \u2014 making music a visual commodity and delivering a crop of hard-partying role models<\/a> into homes across America.<\/p>\n

And at MTV headquarters in Midtown Manhattan, the off-screen hijinks were often just as wild as the\u00a0videos that the network played until the early aughts, when reality shows became the new normal.<\/p>\n

Sex on the elevator, cocaine in the offices, stars melting down \u2014 it all used to be par for the course at MTV.<\/p>\n

Ken R. Clark, who managed on-air talent, recalled an executive walking into a lounge at the network\u2019s headquarters and finding an underling being sexually gratified by the female vocalist of a New Wave band.<\/p>\n

As Clark told The Post, the exec shouted just three words to his subordinate: \u201cShut that door!\u201d<\/p>\n

KISS bassist Gene Simmons, meanwhile, was known for roaming the offices and, as Clark said, \u201chitting on staff.\u201d On at least one occasion, however, the entreaties got out of hand.<\/p>\n

\"Some
Some MTV VJs admitted to doing drugs with Van Halen singer David Lee Roth.<\/figcaption>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cA woman who worked in the office got flirty with Gene,\u201d Clark added. \u201cShe said she would do anything for a backstage pass. He picked her up and put her on [the green room\u2019s] pool table.\u201d It\u2019s unclear what happ<\/a>ened next but, \u201cShe came out of the room, screaming.\u201d<\/p>\n

As one of the network\u2019s original VJs, Mark Goodman had a front-row seat for rock stars being outrageous.<\/p>\n

He remembers conducting a backstage interview with David Lee Roth at the 1983 Us Festival, which his band Van Halen headlined.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got paid a ton of money, had a huge backstage compound and David was completely drunk and coked,\u201d said Goodman, sounding not at all surprised by the behavior. \u201cHe\u2019s the funniest guy in the world and kept laughing at his own jokes.\u201d<\/p>\n

Goodman also admitted he did his fair share of playing along.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t do any cocaine with him that night,\u201d he said of Roth. \u201cBut I have on many occasions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI went out for a week or so on tour with him,\u201d Goodman added. \u201cWhile high on coke and pot, we talked about Chinese art. David makes crazy associations and his mind moves quickly.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"MTV
MTV insiders dubbed M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce the \u201cmobile party\u201d because they brought along their own groupies and drugs. <\/figcaption>
WireImage<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Other messed-up rockers proved less engaging. Goodman, who now hosts a show on Sirius XM, looked forward to doing the first US interview with Frankie Goes To Hollywood when their song \u201cRelax\u201d hit it big on MTV.<\/p>\n

Then he met frontman Holly Johnson and co-vocalist Paul Rutherford.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey rolled into the studio straight from a night out at the gay clubs, partying, with no sleep,\u201d said Goodman. \u201cI\u2019d ask a question, Holly would whisper in Paul\u2019s ear and they would both laugh.<\/p>\n

\u201cFinally, I said, \u2018I love Frankie Goes to Hollywood, but America does not give a shit. If you want to do an interview, let\u2019s do it. If not, let\u2019s stop.\u2019 Holly said, \u2018Okay, let\u2019s stop.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

A few days later, though, Johnson dropped by the studio to say sorry.<\/p>\n

Goodman is still skeptical of the apology: \u201cMaybe his manager said, \u2018This is MTV. Get in there and apologize to this guy.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Such amends were not made by Ian Astbury, vocalist for The Cult, after a 1987 New Year\u2019s Eve run-in. MTV\u2019s five VJs were hosting the night\u2019s coverage from various bashes around the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cI bought a bunch of coke and a bottle of Cristal,\u201d said Goodman who sipped champagne during breaks. \u201cI was about to light a cigarette when Ian and the Beastie Boys came out of a bathroom. They were partying and drunk. Ian walked by and flipped the cigarette out of my mouth. I grabbed him by the lapels, threw him to the floor and said, \u2018What the f\u2013k?\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ozzy
Ozzy Osbourne apparently asked MTV make-up artists to cover facelift scars.<\/figcaption>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before things escalated, Goodman added, \u201cPeople pulled me off of him.\u201d<\/p>\n

The incident took place off-camera, but that wasn\u2019t always the case.<\/p>\n

VJ \u201cDowntown\u201d Julie Brown, who joined the network in 1987 and now hosts the show \u201c\u201990s on 9\u201d on Sirius, was hosting \u201cClub MTV\u201d when she had to deal with the alt-punk band Dead Milkmen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey came out on stage and handcuffed me. I freaked out,\u201d said Brown, who tried squirming away from the pranksters. Producers cut to a commercial and, added Brown, \u201csomebody came on stage and got me unlocked. I was upset to have gotten into that situation \u2026 and they weren\u2019t on the show again.\u201d<\/p>\n

Over the years \u2014 when MTV still focused on music and before reality shows became the channel\u2019s bread and butter \u2014 it grew more and more common for bands to drop by to promote new music. That led to opportunities for shenanigans \u00a0both behind-the-scenes and on-air.<\/p>\n

Whenever M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce came in, they \u201cwere a mobile party,\u201d recalled Clark. \u201cThey\u2019d set up in the green room, with babes or groupies, and do coke off of the pool table.\u201d<\/p>\n

A decade older than most of the Cr\u00fce guys, Ozzy Osbourne, meanwhile, had a different set of needs. \u201cThe make-up artists had to hide his facelift scars,\u201d Clark said.<\/p>\n

Howard Stern knew how to stir up trouble. During a Thanksgiving appearance in the 1980s, he showed up with a freshly killed turkey and tried to hand it off to Middle Eastern cab drivers outside of MTV\u2019s Midtown headquarters.<\/p>\n

\"Howard
Howard Stern as Fartman during the 1992 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles.<\/figcaption>
Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In 1992, Stern made an even more outrageous appearance during the Video Music Awards: Dropping from the UCLA Pauley Pavilion\u2019s ceiling as a gas-blowing superhero called Fartman. The whole thing promised to be off-putting enough that an insider told The Post, \u201cWe had to ask 10 or 15 people to co-present with Howard before Luke Perry agreed to do it. Luke was not our first choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

In the late \u201990s, MTV launched its afternoon countdown show \u201cTotal Request Live,\u201d which aired live, with a studio audience, from the Times Square studios.<\/p>\n

One of the show\u2019s most notorious guests was Mariah Carey, who in 2001, made an unhinged, unannounced appearance \u2014 performing a strip tease, passing out ice cream and completely throwing off host Carson Daly.<\/p>\n

As recalled by a former staffer who asked not to be named, \u201cIt was a last minute booking, which was unusual. Typically her lighting director came in ahead of time and told us how to light her \u2014 it was always controlled. This time, she rolled through with an ice cream cart. She gave a rambling interview to Carson and seemed to be having her Britney shaved-head moment. In the control room, we watched with our mouths open \u2014 but we didn\u2019t cut it short.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another favorite diva, Madonna, put on an exclusive for MTV staffers ahead of the release of her controversial 1989 video \u201cLike a Prayer,\u201d which featured her kissing a black Jesus and dancing in front of burning crosses \u2014 and cost her a Pepsi sponsorship.<\/p>\n

For the sneak peek, [Madonna\u2019s team] \u201cbrought [the video] in a Brink\u2019s truck, like they were afraid one of us would steal it,\u201d said Clark. Turns out, the fears were warranted.<\/p>\n

\"Mariah
Mariah Carey from her infamous \u201cice cream meltdown\u201d on TRL in 2001.<\/figcaption>
MTV<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Before the clip showed, \u201cSomebody drilled a hole through the wall [of the room where the video would be viewed] and ran a cable into a back-office with a VHS recorder. While they were screening the video, a copy was made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Did Madonna care? \u201cGive us a break. She would not have a career if not for MTV.\u201d
Another time, Madonna herself was challenged by a rival diva. It was the 1995 Video Music Awards and MTV News<\/a> anchor Kurt Loder was doing a serious interview with the singer who had just won her first \u201creal\u201d \u2014 Loder\u2019s words \u2014 VMA trophy: Female Video of the Year for \u201cTake a Bow.\u201d (Her previous awards were for technical categories like Cinematography.)<\/p>\n

Suddenly, Courtney Love began lobbing containers of makeup at Madonna from beneath the interview platform.<\/p>\n

Madonna asked that Love be kept at bay but Loder, recognizing a juicy moment, invited her up anyway. \u201cCourtney Love is in dire need of attention,\u201d Madonna said drolly.
Love then scrambled up to the interview spot and accused Madonna of being \u201cmean to me.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cCourtney was wasted and taking it out on Madonna,\u201d said an MTV producer who was there.<\/p>\n

\"Courtney
Courtney Love crashes Madonna\u2019s MTV interview<\/a> in 1995.<\/figcaption>
YouTube<\/a><\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But questions remain: \u00a0How was Love ever allowed to start throwing stuff at Madonna? Who let Mariah Carey have her meltdown on \u201cTRL\u201d? And why didn\u2019t anyone stop the Beastie Boys from getting a fan wasted?<\/p>\n

As the producer put it: \u201cIn the early days of MTV, the standards of traditional television did not exist.\u201d\n <\/p><\/div>\n

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Source<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

“#Insiders recall early wild days” In the early days of MTV, life often imitated art. Which is how a real-life Beastie Boys bash, hosted by the music channel, came to look an awful lot like the band\u2019s raucous \u201c(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)\u201d video. \u201cThings on that trip could have resulted in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":296109,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2021\/07\/Sex-Drugs-and-MTV-1.jpg?quality=90&strip=all&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[70897],"tags":[111601,72893,77824,94316,111625,82809,69934,72530,111626,9388,74187,111627,74610],"class_list":["post-296108","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-7-10-21","tag-beastie-boys","tag-carson-daly","tag-courtney-love","tag-david-lee-roth","tag-gene-simmons","tag-madonna","tag-mariah-carey","tag-mark-goodman","tag-mtv","tag-ozzy-osbourne","tag-total-request-live","tag-van-halen"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296108","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=296108"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/296108\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/296109"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=296108"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=296108"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buradabiliyorum.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=296108"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}