Squeeze — Hourglass (HQ)

JUL 01 1987 · 12:00

Squeeze — Hourglass (HQ) (1987) Director: Adrian Edmondson Era: Late MTV Golden Age (1987) - Height of British New Wave crossover into US mainstream, driven by high-concept, effects-laden music video production at peak MTV influence Tier-1 archival priority. 'Hourglass' is a historically verified MTV VMA-winning music video representing the apex of analogue, practical-effects surrealism in British pop video production. Its cultural significance is multi-layered: it is simultaneously Squeeze's commercial breakthrough in the US, a landmark in pre-CGI visual effects craft, and an artefact of the fertile cross-pollination between 1980s British alternative comedy and the music video industry. Its warm-toned, high-contrast, film-shot aesthetic is a textbook signature of late-80s A&M Records production values and merits permanent preservation as a primary document of the MTV Golden Age. Context: Released in July 1987 as the lead single from Babylon and On, 'Hourglass' arrived at a moment when MTV's rotational power could transform a niche British band into a US chart contender overnight. Squeeze had long been celebrated in the UK but struggled to convert critical acclaim into American sales. The Edmondson-directed video — suffused with Dalí-esque optical illusions and practical forced-perspective effects — became a perfect vehicle for MTV's appetite for visually arresting concept videos. The decision to hire Adrian Edmondson, a comedian-director from the British alternative comedy scene rather than a conventional promo director, reflects the cross-pollination between UK TV's anarchic visual culture and the music video industry in 1987. The video's MTV VMA win for Best Special Effects in 1988 placed it in a prestigious lineage alongside a-ha's 'Take On Me' (1986) and Peter Gabriel's 'Sledgehammer' (1987), cementing it as a landmark of practical-effects artistry in the pre-CGI era. Director notes: Edmondson directed 'Hourglass' for Squeeze in 1987, released on A&M Records as the lead single from the album Babylon and On. The video employs optical illusions and forced-perspective practical effects inspired by surrealist art. It received heavy rotation on MTV and won the 1988 MTV Video Music Award for Best Special Effects in a Video, with the award credited to effects supervisors Jim Francis and Dave Barton. The video is widely credited as the catalyst for 'Hourglass' becoming Squeeze's highest-charting US single, peaking at #15 on the Billboard Hot 100. Edmondson also directed Squeeze's follow-up single '853-5937' (1987), as well as music videos for The Pogues ('Fiesta', 1988), 10,000 Maniacs ('Like the Weather', 1988), Elvis Costello ('This Town', 1989), Sandie Shaw, Michelle Shocked, and Zodiac Mindwarp during the same period.