RATT - Round And Round

What this video is

Released in June 1984, 'Round and Round' arrived at the precise moment MTV was transforming rock promotion. The video's theatrical narrative — a glam metal band invading a stuffy upper-class dinner party from above — literalized the genre's class-disruptive fantasy while delivering the visual spectacle that MTV's programming demanded. The casting of Milton Berle, a television institution from the 1950s, bridged…

Why it matters

One of the defining early documents of the glam/hair metal genre on MTV. 'Round and Round' helped establish the visual vocabulary of 1980s metal promotion: theatrical narrative framing, outrageous performance energy, and celebrity cameo spectacle. The song reached No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100…

The director

Don Letts (born 1956, London) is a British filmmaker, DJ, and musician known for his pioneering work documenting the UK punk scene. He directed early music videos and concert films for The Clash and worked extensively in music film throughout the 1980s. He…