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 "I Beg Your Pardon" by Kon Kan. The song was originally released in 1988, but then re-released in Spring of 1989. "I Beg Your Pardon" was a worldwide hit reaching the Top 20 in at least six countries including reaching #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and became one of the biggest dance club hits of the late-80s. The song includes many interesting samples but most notably country artist Lynn Anderson’s 1971 hit “(I Never Promised You a) Rose Garden”. It all comes together to create a fun dance track (despite its sad lyrics).
The music video for "I Beg Your Pardon" mostly takes place in or around a phone booth. Barry Harris is shown dancing with a keyboard on a strap hanging around his neck. There are some random crowd shots along with other guys like a cowboy and an accordion player joining the fun. Definitely feels lower budget especially for 1989, but gets the job done.
I had the pleasure of an interview with Barry Harris who wrote and performed the song and here's what he had to say when I asked him about the song's music video:
Ha! That video cost $3,700 to make and you can tell. It was the director’s idea to do most of the crowd, etc. I’m sure I probably brought up the telephone booth idea. I can’t remember now. It was certainly a fun day! MTV was huge of course and crucial. I’m sure if we had “I Beg Your Pardon” on MTV it would have been ever bigger. As it was, Atlantic Records didn’t feel the video was good enough for MTV and wouldn’t pay for another one to be reshot as the first L.P. wasn’t finished.
Even though it apparently wasn't on MTV, I do remember seeing this music video back then. Here is the music video for "I Beg Your Pardon" by Kon Kan...
To find out much more about this song, please check out the rest of our interview with Barry Harris from Kon Kan.
Hope you enjoyed another trip back to the '80s thanks to Flashback Video!