Cliff Richard — Dreamin'

JUL 01 1980 · 12:00

Cliff Richard — Dreamin' (1980) Director: Brian Grant Era: Early Music Video Era (1980) - Pre-MTV UK promotional clip era; British pop industry pioneering professionally produced artist-focused promo films for television broadcast on shows like Top of the Pops High curatorial value as a documented, director-confirmed early work by Brian Grant — one of the most significant figures in 1980s music video history — produced one year before MTV's launch. The video preserves the pre-MTV British promo aesthetic in high fidelity: warm analogue film stock, performance-centred staging, and slow editorial rhythm. As a commercial and cultural artefact of Cliff Richard's most successful commercial period, it offers a rare benchmark for studying the transition from television promotional clip to music video as art form. Context: Released in August 1980, 'Dreamin'' arrived at a pivotal moment in British pop: the post-punk mainstream had re-embraced polished, melody-driven adult contemporary songwriting, exemplified by Cliff Richard's preceding smash 'We Don't Talk Anymore' (1979). Both were produced and co-written by Alan Tarney, giving Richard's output of this period a cohesive synth-augmented pop sheen. The promotional video predates MTV by over a year and was designed for the UK television broadcast ecosystem. Its understated performance format reflects the conventions of the era, where promo clips were functional broadcast tools rather than cinematic event productions. The song co-written by Alan Tarney and Leo Sayer reached the top 10 in both the UK and United States, representing the zenith of Richard's commercial transatlantic appeal. Director notes: The 'Dreamin'' promo was produced in early 1980, representing one of Brian Grant's earliest high-profile UK pop commissions, predating both the launch of MTV (August 1981) and his founding of MGMM Productions (1982). As such it belongs to the formative phase of Grant's music video career, when UK promotional films were created primarily for broadcast on BBC programmes such as Top of the Pops. The video's slow editorial pace (avg shot 8.96s), warm analogue palette (saturation 133.05, colour temp 1.42), and low motion score (7.02) are consistent with Grant's early performance-centred approach before his later move towards high-concept narrative videos. The single was released in August 1980 on EMI Records and became a top-10 hit in both the UK and US, taken from the album 'I'm No Hero' produced by Alan Tarney.