Top 10 Hottest '80s Music Videos

MsMojo

The 80s were the decade of the music video. Welcome to MsMojo, and today we’re counting down our picks for the most risqué music videos from the decade of decadence.

Transcript

00:00Welcome to MsMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the most risqué music

00:08videos from the decade of decadence.

00:1110.

00:12Let's Get Physical – Olivia Newton-John

00:27The music video may run with the G-rated meaning of the title, but the adult interpretation

00:33is heavily alluded to, like in the way Olivia Newton-John eyes the camera, and all the sweat-sheened

00:39muscles.

00:45The singer takes on the persona of a personal trainer, which leads to some over-the-top

00:49scenes that are a lot more humorous than sexy.

00:56Still, the titillation is impossible to miss with Newton-John's quintessential 80s activewear

01:05and the intercut shower shots.

01:07In the, is-saying-a-cheeky ending, too, on the nose?

01:11In the end, the trainer is able to find herself a tennis partner.

01:159.

01:16If I Could Turn Back Time – Cher

01:24Cher is forever iconic, and performances like this prove exactly why.

01:29She put on a concert for the crew of the USS Missouri, wearing a fishnet outfit that covers

01:35pretty much only what it needs to, if that.

01:44It was considered so scandalous at the time that quite a few networks said no to broadcasting

01:49the video, with MTV outright banning it.

01:52Cher commands the attention of all as she parades across the ship's stage, and it's

01:57a miracle we're able to focus on her voice at all.

02:08Everyone say, thank you, Cher!

02:108.

02:11Alice Cooper

02:18Rana Kennedy is undoubtedly the centerpiece of this video, even with Alice Cooper himself

02:24commanding his usual scope of attention.

02:26Much of the video was clearly inspired by the lyric,

02:29I don't wanna break these chains, which certainly ups the heat.

02:42Two versions of the video were actually filmed, with the original having to be censored due

02:46to nudity.

02:47In that initial cut, the chains played an even bigger role, tying down Cooper to some

02:52sort of odd mechanism.

02:55That's not to take away from the safer version, which still calls for a glass of cold water.

03:047.

03:08Kiss Me Deadly – Leta Ford

03:10Credit where it's due, 95% of the allure comes from Leta Ford alone.

03:18Sure, the lighting and camera are doing a little work, but it's pretty much all Ford,

03:26her skin-tight leather pants, and her guitar.

03:34She moves with effortless sensuality, not to mention all of the time she spends on her

03:38knees or otherwise crawling.

03:40It's not too overt, and you get the sense that there wasn't a ton of intense staging.

03:46It's just Ford rocking out and being hot.

03:53The music video also made it onto the New York Times list of the 15 essential hair metal

03:59videos.

04:00Which, how could it not?

04:016.

04:02Is This Love?

04:03– Whitesnake

04:04Many point to Here I Go Again as Whitesnake's most lascivious video, who can resist Tawny

04:13Katayne rolling around on the hoods of cars, after all?

04:16Well, we raise you, Is This Love?

04:25Tawny Katayne is back, and this time she's swaying around in heels and well-fitting garments.

04:31The scenes with her, and then-boyfriend David Coverdell, are especially steamy, whether

04:36she's dancing for him in front of the bed, or he's holding her clothes in the mist.

04:47It's so passionate, it almost feels like we're intruding on a private moment, or several.

04:525.

04:53I Want Your Sex – George Michael

05:03This is the kind of video you'd dissect in your college film class.

05:06Nearly every shot calls something salacious to mind, the black silk sheets, the blindfold,

05:11the body parts sprayed with water, and it all paints a vivid story for a song whose

05:16message is perfectly unambiguous.

05:19Timing its cuts with the music, and alternating between black and white and color, this visual

05:24accompaniment fits right in with popular editing techniques of the time.

05:36With lacy lingerie, legs tangled in bedsheets together, and words written in lipstick, this

05:41is definitely a shift away from the sappiness of Careless Whisper.

05:514.

05:55Kiss – Prince and the Revolution

05:57Where do we even begin with a song and a video so legendary?

06:07From the sets to the choreography to the outfits, one of which slowly but surely comes off,

06:13sex appeal drips from every corner of the frame.

06:16Prince is as perfectly flamboyant as always, and he absolutely commits to every flair and

06:22finish.

06:30He's helped along by Monique Manon, in the sheer veil and sunglasses, and Wendy Melvoin,

06:35the guitarist, each who bring rather different energy to the overall ambience.

06:39If the word tease could be enveloped in just under four minutes, it would be this video.

06:493.

06:53Express Yourself – Madonna

06:54Like a Virgin is up there with provocative videos, but the queen of pop really has no

06:59shortage of seductiveness.

07:02If we have to pick just one Madonna music video, we're giving it to Express Yourself.

07:09It actually had the highest budget ever for a music video at the time of its creation,

07:18and its cool effects, dynamic set, and fun props really reflect that.

07:28Full of rippling muscles, tempting silhouettes, and some especially potent imagery, the video

07:34for Express Yourself is definitely a step up above your average promo.

07:39We especially love Madonna in that power suit.

07:42The end is a knockout too, with the singer and her partner expressing themselves indeed.

07:502.

07:56Cold Hearted – Paula Abdul

07:58So, have you even seen this dance?

08:00I haven't, but it's a Bob Fosse kind of thing, it's gonna be really, really hot.

08:05Yeah, but tastefully, it's tastefully hot.

08:09Is a tricky line to toe, but Paula Abdul does it wonderfully.

08:13The first half of the video is exactly that, fascinating and sexy, but restrained.

08:26That is, until the blinds go down.

08:28The dance moves become full-on simulations of what should only be seen behind closed

08:33doors.

08:34Beyond the way the performers are dressed, the routine seems to tout a lesson about the

08:37power of dance and playing to people's most baseline impulses, if that one guy's

08:42fogged glasses are anything to go by.

08:48It doesn't sound like the executives had any notes either.

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09:121.

09:14Wicked Game – Chris Isaac While you might know the song from 1990's

09:18Wild at Heart, you're missing out on a whole lot of sultriness if you skip the music video.

09:25Kisses, close-ups, and soft touches, among some other things, all make for staggering

09:34intimacy between Chris Isaac and supermodel Helena Christensen.

09:39The video has been ranked on a few other lists, including VH1's 50 Sexiest Video Moments,

09:45where it nabbed fourth place.

09:47It also got number one on Rolling Stone's The 30 Sexiest Music Videos of All Time and

09:52on Fuse's 2010 40 Sexiest Videos.

10:01It's all indisputably well-deserved, as few other music promos come close to the ardent

10:06visuals in Wicked Game.

10:13Which scandalous 80's music video did we miss?

10:16Let us know in the comments!

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