MTV Fans Aerosmith

6 months ago 08th May 13:15

Aerosmith decided not to quit because of MTV.

The group were set to call it a day in the early 1980s after Joe Perry and Brad Whitford left the group, but reconciled their differences in 1984 because they wanted the chance to make their own promotional videos.

Bassist Tom Hamilton explained: "I remember MTV came about during that period when the band was broken up. It was a revolutionary thing back then. Up until then, there were rock television shows, but it was still very scarce to be on TV. To be honest, it wasn't cool to be on most TV shows back then. Television was not that interested, either, to have this loud, obnoxious music on the air.

"MTV came along and changed all of that. I remember driving around during that time thinking how Aerosmith were missing that boat. We were on our way down and we were going to miss out. Maybe that was one of the things that everybody in the band noticed, and in their hearts said, 'I want to be part of this. I want to be around for this stuff.' It might have motivated everyone to do whatever it took to get back in a room together and be a band again."

' It might have motivated everyone to do whatever it took to get back in a room together and be a band again

The group soon embraced the new way of showcasing their music but admit they were unprepared for the level of popularity it would bring.

Tom added to Classic Rock Revisited: "Nowadays, I think the novelty of a music video has worn off. That was an amazing thing for us. We didn't predict that. When we got the band back together, we knew we wanted to be in on that.

" Our management, and the people around us, suggested directors to work with and how to go about making videos. We were very receptive. We really wanted to be a part of it.