Every week, we dig in the archives for videos that we find noteworthy, memorable, or just unbelievably stupid. And then, Jon McMillan breaks ‘em down for you. Why Video Hangover? Because when you watch as many videos as we do, you’re going to feel it afterwards.
“Reggae Christmas”
Bryan Adams, 1984
The holiday video season kicks off with one of the least necessary songs ever written.
The conga line started in 1984 and stretched all the way into oblivion
In case anybody was wondering what MTV was like in 1984, “Reggae Christmas” serves as a pretty good time capsule: Martha Quinn was skinny, JJ Jackson was black, Nina Blackwood had hair like a flaming porcupine, and Bryan Adams was a figment of Pee-Wee Herman’s imagination.
Speaking of Pee-Wee (Mr. Reubens if you’re nasty)
Are there any Pee-Wee completists out there who can explain the significance of the Mr. T doll? Is there a missing piece to the video, or did Alan Hunter take the doll as some sort of hostage so that Pee-Wee would have to VJ while he got wasted on Mark Goodman’s special eggnog and tried to sex up the interns in the ad sales department? Man, Alan Hunter was a dick.
The ghost of Bob Marley showed up later, and rolled over in its grave
I don’t think much of this video, but I do appreciate Adams’ kitchen-sink approach to cameos. Slap a Santa hat on Pee-Wee Herman, round up the original “fab five” MTV VJs, liquor up your bass player and set everybody loose in the studio — anything to divert attention from the fact that you’re singing a song called “Reggae Fucking Christmas.”
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This is awesome. A Canadian doing reggae….a reggae Christmas no less.
SING ‘COME PICK ME UP’!
Why is this song not a classic?
HOLY FUCK!!!! AMAZING
“conga line” not “congo line”
otherwise great post.
Maybe the Mr. T doll is a reference to Pee-Wee eating Mr. T cereal in “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”? For the record, Mr. T cereal was pretty damn good, kind of like Cap’n Crunch. I pity the fool who don’t like T’s cereal!
@ christian
Will fix! Thanks.
As uncool as Bryan Adams was or may be, it’s hard to begrudge a guy willing to do a reggae-style Christmas song. That takes some serious cojones.
Congo is a country.
Conga is a dance.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conga_line
Oh dear deity, I am overwhelmed to go listen to Snow.
thanks a lot.
It’s probably going to have to be “Informer”
(that’s kind of like trurning in my resume to VH1, right?)
I was IN this video! I worked at MTV at the time! What a great way for me to recall that time of my life! SO COOL and BTW Bryan was very sweet to all of us as was Pee wee and the VJ’S WE HAD A BLAST!