Martika - Toy Soldiers

What this video is

Released April 26, 1989 as the second single from Martika's self-titled debut album (CBS/Columbia, 1988), 'Toy Soldiers' arrived during the height of America's crack cocaine epidemic and the 'Just Say No' cultural moment. The song was written by Martika about a real friend battling cocaine addiction — one of the earliest instances of a teen-pop artist foregrounding substance abuse as explicit lyrical subject…

Why it matters

A landmark of late-80s socially conscious teen pop, 'Toy Soldiers' demonstrated that the MTV era's commercial pop format could carry serious thematic weight without sacrificing chart viability. It predates the 1990s tradition of 'message pop' and represents a transitional artifact between the…

The director

Jim Shea is a New York-born director, cinematographer, and photographer who began his career as an advertising photographer on Madison Avenue before relocating to Los Angeles. He shot album covers for artists including Linda Ronstadt, Aerosmith, and the…