The Silencers - Peter Gunn, Remote Control and Illegal

What this video is

The Silencers' 'Peter Gunn, Remote Control and Illegal' video occupies a singular position in American music video history as one of the first 40 clips ever broadcast on MTV (August 1, 1981), placing it at the literal ground zero of the music video revolution. Produced in 1980 by an independent Pittsburgh band on a regional CBS subsidiary label, it predates the glossy, budget-heavy videos that would come to define…

Why it matters

A rare American new wave / power pop artifact from the pre-MTV independent scene that achieved national cultural relevance by being broadcast at MTV's network launch. Its Houston Film Festival win for independent video (1980) confirms its formal ambition beyond a standard promo clip. As one of the…

The director

Joe Wittofski is a Pittsburgh-based filmmaker credited as director of The Silencers' 'Peter Gunn Theme/Remote Control/Illegal' music video (1980). The video was produced by Guido D'Elia and John Sutton and won first prize for independent video at the Houston…