Steve Barron Explained

Steve Barron
Birth Name:	Steven Barron
Birth Date:	4 May 1956
Birth Place:	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation:	Filmmaker, music video director
Years Active:	1976–present

Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker and music video director. Among the music videos he has directed are "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Summer of 69" and "Run to You" by Bryan Adams, "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits, "Electric Avenue" and "I Don't Wanna Dance" by Eddy Grant, "Going Underground" by The Jam, "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League, "Baby Jane" by Rod Stewart, "Pale Shelter" by Tears for Fears, "Africa" by Toto, and "Take On Me" by A-ha. The videos for "Take On Me" and "Billie Jean" have each garnered over 1 billion views on YouTube. Barron also directed several films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Coneheads (1993), and The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996).

Early life

Barron was born in Dublin on 4 May 1956,^[1] the son of filmmaker Zelda Barron (née Solomons, 1929–2006) and actor Ron Barron. His mother was born in Manchester to an English mother and Russian father. His parents married in 1953 but the marriage was later dissolved. He has an older sister named Siobhan.^[2] He was raised in London and attended St Marylebone Grammar School.

Career

Barron made his music video directorial debut in 1979 with "Time for Action" by Secret Affair and their following hit singles "My World" and "Sound of Confusion" and directed, and occasionally wrote additional treatment for,^[3] various music videos. These videos, which include "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits, and "Take On Me" by A-ha, would come to define the medium during the early days of MTV and are still considered among the best of all time.^[4] He founded the production company Limelight with his sister Siobhan and Adam Whitaker.^{[5] [6]}

In 1984, he directed the science fiction comedy Electric Dreams, and then went on to direct several episodes of the television series The Storyteller before returning to film, directing the films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990, The Adventures of Pinocchio in 1996, Rat in 2000 and in 2001. Barron directed several award-winning miniseries, such as Merlin (1998), Arabian Nights (2000) and Dreamkeeper (2003) for Hallmark Entertainment. In July 2010, it was revealed that Barron would make a return to music videos, directing "Butterfly, Butterfly", the then-final video of A-ha.

In late 2011, Barron's two-part production of Treasure Island was shown on British Sky Broadcasting.^[7]

In November 2014, Barron published his autobiography, Egg n Chips & Billie Jean: A Trip Through the Eighties.^[8]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer
1984	Electric Dreams
1990	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
1993	Coneheads
1996	The Adventures of Pinocchio
2000	Rat
2001
2006	Choking Man
2008	The Day After Peace
2016	Brahman Naman
2019	Supervized

Cameraman

• Trauma (1976)
• The Duellists (1977)
• A Bridge Too Far (1977)
• Superman (1978) (Uncredited)

Executive producer

• The Specialist (1994)
• While You Were Sleeping (1995)
• Peace One Day (2004) (Documentary)

Television

Year	Title	Director	Executive Producer	Notes
1987–1988	The Storyteller			Episodes: "Hans My Hedgehog", "Fearnot", and "Sapsorrow"
1994–2001	ReBoot
1998	Merlin			Miniseries
2000	Arabian Nights
2003	Dreamkeeper			TV movie
2005
2010	The Road Ahead			TV movie
2012	Treasure Island			Miniseries
2013	Delete			Miniseries
2016–2017	The Durrells in Corfu

Music videos

• A-ha – "Take On Me" (1985), "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (1985), "Hunting High and Low" (1986), "Cry Wolf" (1986), "Manhattan Skyline" (1987), "The Living Daylights" (1987), "Crying in the Rain" (1990), "Butterfly, Butterfly" (2010)
• Adam and the Ants – "Antmusic" (1980)
• Bryan Adams – "Cuts Like a Knife" (1983), "This Time" (1983),"Run to You" (1984), "Heaven" (1985), "Summer of '69" (1985)
• Culture Club – "God Thank You Woman" (1986)
• David Bowie – "As the World Falls Down" (1986) "Underground" (1986)
• Def Leppard – "Let's Get Rocked" (1992)
• Dire Straits – "Money for Nothing" (1985), "Calling Elvis" (1990), "Heavy Fuel" (1991)
• Dolly Parton – "Potential New Boyfriend" (1983)
• Eddy Grant – "Electric Avenue" (1982), "I Don't Wanna Dance" (1982), "Living on the Front Line" (1983)
• Fleetwood Mac – "Hold Me" (1982)
• Fun Boy Three – "It Ain't What You Do...." (1982)
• Heaven 17 – "Penthouse and Pavement" (1981), "Let Me Go" (1982), "Temptation" (1983)
• The Human League – "Don't You Want Me" (1981), "Love Action" (1981), "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" (1983)
• The Jam – "Strangetown" (1978), "When You're Young" (1979), "Going Underground" (1979), "Dreams of Children" (1979)
• Joe Jackson – "Steppin' Out" (1982), "Real Men" (1982), "Breaking Us in Two" (1982)
• Level 42 - "Heaven in My Hands" (1988)
• Madonna – "Burning Up" (1983)
• Michael Jackson – "Billie Jean" (1983)
• Natalie Cole & Nat King Cole – "Unforgettable" (1991)
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – "Maid of Orleans" (1982)
• Paul McCartney – "Pretty Little Head" (1986)
• Rod Stewart - "Baby Jane" (1983)
• Secret Affair – "Time for Action" (1979), "My World" (1980), "Sound of Confusion" (1980)
• Sheena Easton - "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), "Telephone" (1983)
• Simple Minds – "Promised You a Miracle" (1982)
• Skids - "Iona" (1981)
• Styx – "Haven't We Been Here Before" (1983)
• Supertramp – "Cannonball" (1985), "Better Days" (1986)
• Tears for Fears – "Pale Shelter" (1983)
• Toto – "Africa" (1982), "Rosanna" (1982), "Stranger in Town" (1984)
• ZZ Top – "Rough Boy" (1986), "Sleeping Bag" (1986)

Notes and References

1. Web site: Steve Barron Discography at Discogs . . October 14, 2017.
2. News: Simon Relph. Obituary: Zelda Barron. The Guardian. September 12, 2006. September 20, 2012. London.
3. Web site: mvdbase.com - index = Steve Barron Profile . October 14, 2017.
4. Web site: Interview with Iconic International Music Video Director Steve Barron (Michael Jackson, Madonna, & David Bowie) IMRO Ticket Offer . November 16, 2017 . March 2, 2019.
5. Web site: CAMPAIGN CRAFT: THE CREATIVE ISSUE - Why Limelight went from UK commercials boom to bust. The kitchen-table start-up couldn't rekindle its glory days. Emma Hall reports. 2018-08-25.
6. Web site: They were on their last legs: Behind the story of how Take On Me catapulted A-Ha to success. March 3, 2022. Journal. March 3, 2022.
7. Rose, Steve, "Elijah Wood: I was thrilled to play Frodo Baggins in The Hobbit", The Guardian, December 22, 2011, retrieved December 25, 2011.
8. Hawksley, "'Michael Jackson? I was more excited about The Human League!'", Telegraph.co.uk, November 27, 2014, retrieved November 28, 2014.