Over breakfast this morning I caught bits of a documentary on Sky Arts about the history of the pop video. I was astonished to discover that MTV had initially refused to air the video for Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" (1983) on the grounds that the artist was black.
Don't forget, this was just 4 years after the blatantly racist "disco Sucks" campaign that led to Disco Demolition night. Black music was considered to be mainstream TV poison. keep to the Fen Causeway
