Musicians are n’t the only entertainer who like to flex their performing muscles ; doer at times ca n’t resist the lure of even MTV rotation . That was the trend for a while during the 1980s , anyway . Most of the claim songs from films that hit the Top 40 were turn into euphony video recording simply by splice together a hodgepodge of clips from the movie , but there were some actor who take the trouble to in reality appear in the company picture . Whether it was a fortune to ham it up with their favored singers or because the studio apartment ordered them to participate , the resultant role were usually more interesting than the received collection of movie clip .
1. “GHOSTBUSTERS” (1984) // RAY PARKER JR.
Ray Parker Jr. was not particularly interested in writing / recording the theme Sung forGhostbusters ; his forte was songs about romance , not the paranormal . So he was even less enthusiastic about appearing in the video recording for the song . When he saw the sparse set outlined in Ne , he worriedthat he was going to calculate silly tittup around while mime the lyrics . So he suggest to director Ivan Reitman that mayhap if he could get some of the Guy from the movie to look in the television , even if just long enough to shout “ Ghostbusters ! , ” the audience would understand that the clip was supposed to be humorous .
Reitman liked the idea and ran with it , pop a cassette of the melodic line into a boombox and calling on various industry friends ( or worker who fall out to be work out nearby , such as John Candy on the set ofBrewster ’s Millions ) , with a small camera crew in towage . George Wendt , like the other cameo actors , did not get paid for his coming into court , which later got him into spicy piddle with the Screen Actors Guild and set the wheels in motion for SAG to begin organize the music video diligence .
2. “WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING” (1985) // BILLY OCEAN
The Jewel of the Nileproducer Michael Douglas was savvy enough to have observe his eye on MTV and the previous telecasting that had help to advance moving picture ( particularly Eddy Grant ’s “ romance the Stone ” ) and thus was the driving force behind the TV accompany Billy Ocean ’s “ When the Going have hard . ”
Douglas enlist hisThe Jewel of the Nileco - star Kathleen Turner and Danny DeVito to perform with him as a “ doo - wop ” character of backup group . The trio of actors had three hours of rehearsal to memorize their Temptations - elan movement , and they actually sang along to the track as it played , rather than merely backtalk - synchronise . “ We were sear our a**es off,”Douglas toldPeoplemagazinein 1986 . “ You begin to believe in yourself until they release the sound off and you ’re there croaking . ”
3. “ST. ELMO’S FIRE (MAN IN MOTION)” (1985) // JOHN PARR
David Foster , the record producer in charge of the soundtrack of the 1985 Brat Pack angst - fill filmSt . Elmo ’s Fire , approached British singer / songster John Parr with the musical theme of save a theme song for the movie . Interestingly enough , Foster did n’t furnish Parr with any scenes from the moving-picture show ; instead he usher him some moving picture footage of Canadian ParalympianRick Hansenwho , inspired by fellow CanadianTerry Fox’s“Marathon of Hope , ” set in motion a 26 - month “ Man in Motion ” trek across 34 countries on four Continent in his wheelchair .
When it came time to film the video for the Sung dynasty , it had to be shot within a 24 - hour timeframe , due to some of Parr ’s previous commitments . The stars of the film assembled on a set structure to resemble a decrepit version of the quondam watering jam they frequented in the picture show . Parr by and by allow that he did n’t recognize any of the actors — the “ Brat Pack ” had not yet made an encroachment in the U.K.—and remember that they were “ just Thomas Kid . " Having starred in a few school plays in his juvenility , he even offer them a couple of playing tips . ( Mare Winningham , who play Wendy in the motion-picture show , was actually three month pregnant while filmingSt . Elmo ’s Fire , and even more so when the music video was snap , which is why she ’s hold up a close - up wintertime coating in front of her tummy during her close - up . )
4. “SPIES LIKE US” (1985) // PAUL MCCARTNEY
John Landis directed both the moving picture and the music picture for the title of respect song ofSpies Like Us . Chevy Chase and Dan Aykroyd travel to London to lark about Abbey Road Studios with Sir Paul McCartney . The U.K. reject to beam the telecasting until it was reedited to remove scenes of Chase “ play ” the keyboard and Donna Dixon and Vanessa Angel singing backup , because they were not members of the Musicians Union .
5. “THE GOONIES ‘R’ GOOD ENOUGH” (1985) // CYNDI LAUPER
Steven Spielberg invite Cyndi Lauper to be the musical director for the soundtrack to his 1985 risky venture filmThe Goonies . Lauper was disappointed with the final result , not only because Spielberg cut most of the music from the film — making the soundtrack “ meaningless ” in Lauper ’s opinion — but because the title of her song “ beneficial Enough ” was interchange to “ The Goonies ‘ R ’ honorable Enough . ” studio apartment execs believed that listener would n’t associate the song with the movie unless “ Goonies ” was in the title ; Lauper opine the novel title sounded “ bum . ”
Nevertheless , she film a long - shape , two - part television for the vocal , which featured not only appendage of the movie ’s cast but also several WWF stars like Rowdy Roddy Piper , Captain Lou Albano , and André the Giant . “ We were spaced out because it was Saturday after a prospicient week,”Sean Astin remember , “ but we flipping loved that Sung dynasty and wanted to do lots of vids with the Great Cyndi Lauper ! "
6. “PRINCES OF THE UNIVERSE” (1986) // QUEEN
Queen was commissioned to provide the soundtrack to the 1986 filmHighlander , and “ prince of the Universe ” ( which was recreate over the principal titles ) was the only track on the album to be credited exclusively to Freddie Mercury . The television that keep company the strain was directed by Russell Mulcahy , who also helmedHighlander , and was filmed at London ’s Elstree Studios .
There was bang-up tending to detail ( not to mention disbursal ) on the set when it came to recreating the Silvercup rooftop scene with scenes of the knightly crumple castle in the background . Brian May , John Deacon , and Roger Taylor were dutifully habilitate in official Connor MacLeod trench coats ( “ Macs ” to U.K. readers ) for the occasion . Highlanderstar Christopher Lambert fly in from Paris just to shoot a ready “ blade struggle ” with Mercury for the video . Lambert toldEntertainment Tonightthat he completely savor the experience ; that it was like being witness to a individual Queen concert .
7. “SWEET FREEDOM” (1986) // MICHAEL MCDONALD
“ Sweet Freedom ” was n’t technically the theme birdcall toRunning Scared , the 1986 sidekick pig film starring Billy Crystal and Gregory Hines ; that honor belongs to Fee Waybill ’s “ Running Scared , ” which played over the possibility credits . But the lead singer of The Tubes did n’t have the Top 40 marquee time value of Michael McDonald , who ’d fronted the Doobie Brothers for seven years and had several top 10 hits under his belt . “ Sweet Freedom ” was produced by Rod Temperton , who wrote Michael Jackson ’s hit “ Thriller , ” and was heavy with the percussive synth - bass voice that was the 1980s movie backdrop “ sound . ” Crystal and Hines join McDonald to “ sing ” along on the chorus , as luck would have it in more toned - down plume than they sported in the film duringthis Key West musical collage .
8. “CITY OF CRIME” (1987) // DAN AYKROYD AND TOM HANKS
Dan Aykroyd and Tom Hanks are n’t known for being vocalizer , much less rappers , but they gamely recorded the closing theme for their 1987 big - screen version ofDragnet . Paula Abdul devised the stage dancing for the euphony video , reuse some of the moves she learn ZZ Top for their “ Velcro Fly ” video .
During a 2015 appearance onThe Graham Norton Show , Hanks busted a few rhymes from the call “ that will haunt him for the rest of his life ” and also expose that “ City of Crime ” was the first video he ever saw on YouTube — good manners of his children , who could n’t await to razz him with it .
