The Psychedelic Furs - Here Come Cowboys

What this video is

Released in 1984 as the US single from Mirror Moves, 'Here Come Cowboys' represents a pointed satirical collision between British post-punk sensibility and Reagan-era American mythology. Written by Richard and Tim Butler — who had by then relocated to America — the song targets President Reagan and the law-and-order iconography of the American cowboy as a political archetype. Tim Pope's video amplifies this…

Why it matters

A key artifact of the British post-punk-to-new-wave transition, the video demonstrates how 1984-era UK acts used MTV's visual platform for political and cultural commentary. The documentary-performance hybrid format, combined with Pope's wit and rapid editorial rhythm, influenced the aesthetic…

The director

Timothy Michael Pope (born 12 February 1956, Hackney, London) is a British film director best known for his prolific MTV-era music video work. He studied at Ravensbourne College of Art and became one of the defining video directors of the 1980s, directing…