Looking back on your first two videos ("We Close Our Eyes" and "Don't Look Down Girl") I was struck by how there seemed to be a blue sky motif that partially emulated the album's packaging. Not many bands of the 1980s were effectively able to brand themselves as seemingly happened here. How focused were you on marketing yourselves in those days? In terms of the present day, how enjoyable is it to be able to harness the power of social media to stay in touch with your strong and loyal fan base?
Well spotted. The blue theme came about by accident really. The album colour was mostly blue and as already said, the "We Close" video had a blue background. Then Russell Mulcahy had a vivid blue sky in the "Call Me" promo, and we sat down to discuss a single sleeve with John Pasche, who was head of design at Chrysalis who to this day is still a friend of mine. We realised that this theme had organically evolved and we should run with it. We were very aware of image. It was the eighties. I think the whole image thing had a negative effect in the long run.
On the second album we went out of our way to downplay the pop aspect. The album was very serious and we wore overcoats on the sleeve. It seems obvious now, but it wasn’t at the time. Now, social media is fantastic for us. It allows you to make information about what you’re doing easily available to anyone who’s interested, and get feedback from them as well.
Were there other video directors that you really enjoyed working with?
We enjoyed working with most of them, really. I loved making videos. It was very exciting and highly creative.
You two always looked like you were having fun when making videos--did you all really have fun or were the two of you just really great actors?
Unfortunately we’re not great actors. We really were having fun!
Would it be unfair to ask if you have a favourite video from the ones included in Frame by Frame?
Article comments