On August 1st, 1981 the world was changed forever.

Part rockumentary, part rock-n-roll fantasy, 8.1.81 The Musical delivers the story behind the birth of MTV: Music Television.

8.1.81 is driven by 22 pop rock songs that introduced a generation to music videos by Madonna, Loverboy, Culture Club, Duran Duran, Huey Lewis and The News, ZZ Top, The Pretenders, Richard Marx, The Cars and more!

The story follows Les Garland, John Sykes and Bob Pittman – three of MTV’s founders with zero TV experience between them – and Katie Hines, a 17-year-old wanna-be world changer from Akron, Ohio. Pittman’s tiny creative team invents the world’s first 24/7 music TV channel featuring an ever-changing logo and bouncing moon man at the top of each hour introducing JJ, Mark, Martha, Alan, and Nina – the original VJs we came to love.

Katie and her friends are glued wide-eyed to MTV and a constant diet of new music. The teens are devastated when their local cable company pulls the plug on the new network. Katie’s crew mobilize a team to convince the cable company to put MTV back on the air. Meanwhile, the network’s founders are battling record companies who refuse to provide free content and local cable companies who won’t carry MTV fearing a backlash over sex, drugs, and rock-n-roll.

Realizing the power that the “Katies” of the world” can hold over cable operators, Pittman’s team enlists rockers including Pete Townshend and Mick Jagger for the infamous groundswell guerrilla marketing campaign: “I WANT MY MTV!” All over the country, young people rise up demanding that MTV be put on the air, forcing cable companies to give the people what they want – THEIR MTV.

Remember when YOU couldn’t stop watching…?

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