Michael Jackson crowned king of the pop video

Published on Sunday 2 May 2010 22:49

MICHAEL Jackson's zombie dance spectacular Thriller has been crowned the most groundbreaking video of all time.

The late king of pop's 14-minute epic, which cost half a million dollars to make in 1983, topped a poll shortlisted by music critics.

Second in the list was Here It Goes Again by US act OK Go in which the band members perform a dance routine on treadmills. The video also inspired a television advertisement for Berocca vitamin tablets

A shortlist of the most influential and groundbreaking videos was compiled by critics and MySpace users voted on the final 20.

Thriller, the most expensive video ever made at that point, was directed by an American Werewolf In London filmmaker John Landis who co-wrote the screenplay with the late Jackson.

It is widely seen as taking pop promos into new areas, blending music videos with film-making.

OK Go's 2006 video – which became a viral hit – was shot in one continuous take and took 17 attempts to get it right. The film has become a phenomenal hit with 48 million views on YouTube.

Britney Spears' breakthrough hit, Baby One More Time – which saw the then teenage singer dancing in school uniform – finished in third position.

A-Ha's animated promo for Take On Me, propelling the Norwegian trio to worldwide stardom – was fourth.

In fifth place was Johnny Cash's poignant black and white film for Hurt – shot while he was in poor health just six months before he died from diabetes complications.

Will Francis, site editor of MySpace UK, said: "Only two of the top ten were made this century which shows despite advances in technology, a brilliant idea coupled with a great star is an unbeatable format."

Sixth on the list was Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody which was made in 1975, with Daft Punk's Around the World coming in seventh.

Number eight went to Weapon Of Choice by Fatboy Slim and Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel which deals specifically with the themes of sex and sexual relations was voted number nine.

Music video Sabotage by the Beastie Boys, which is presented as the opening credits of a fictional 1970s-style police show , came in at number ten.

The Scotsman's pop critic Fiona Shepherd said she thought the list was an interesting mix.

"I can understand why Thriller was voted as the most groundbreaking because it was and continues to be a very memorable video. It was made with a huge budget with amazing visual effects and choreography.

"It was also groundbreaking as it was one of the first to blur the division between music videos and film making.

"Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody was also very memorable – the four heads lit up was a very simple and visually attractive effect."

She added that the animation in Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel was unforgettable.

However, she said others on the list were less memorable.

"I'm not sure if Baby One More Time by Britney Spears could be described as "groundbreaking".

"OK Go's video was entertaining as was the Beastie Boys and Fatboy Slim's but I wouldn't classify them as being amongst the most influential."