Rod Stewart - Oh God, I Wish I Was Home Tonight

What this video is

Produced in early 1981 at the cusp of the MTV era, this video exists in the transitional zone between the UK 'promo clip' tradition (driven by BBC's Top of the Pops and similar programmes) and the emerging American music video as standalone art form. Rod Stewart was at peak mainstream commercial status following the massive global success of 'Da Ya Think I'm Sexy?' (1978) and Blondes Have More Fun (1978), now…

Why it matters

Represents the AOR/soft-rock mainstream promo format at its most performance-pure — a pre-MTV artefact prioritising emotional delivery and artist charisma over editorial construction. Its slow-cut, long-take style is a direct formal contrast to the hyperkinetic MTV aesthetic that would dominate…

The director

Bruce Gowers (21 Dec 1940 – 15 Jan 2023) was a British-born television director and producer. Born in West Kilbride, Scotland, he trained at the BBC as a cable puller, cameraman, and production manager before moving into directing at LWT in the early 1970s.…