Fifty-Three years, two weeks and five days ago Neil Armstrong uttered his famous words as he first set foot onto Earth’s big satellite. Some people to this day are certain that it was all staged, using studio photos and computer generated graphics.

Thirty-five years and one week ago MTV Europe went on air, with Dire Strait’s “Money For Nothing” being the first video that flickered into European music lovers’ homesteads. It featured lines Mark Knopfler – who had work-experience as a reporter for the Yorkshire Evening Post – had picked up from a guy standing next to him in an electronics store in New York City in front of a wall of TV’s (all playing MTV) and a guest performance by Sting (“I want my Em-Tee-Veeee….”). Most notably though it displayed breathtaking state-of-the-art CGI, depicting not one but two working-class men watching and commenting on music videos.

Knopfler was rather unimpressed, as he considered videos to be beneath his dignity, destroying the purity of the music. Luckily for us his girlfriend chimed in, finding the concept quite brilliant, and while Knopfler was supposedly not at all convinced he at least did not interfere with proceedings.

The video was supposed to have more details, like buttons on the shirts, which couldn’t be implemented as they ran out of budget. It still won the Video of the Year awards though.

But just think about what might have been possible, if only they had asked NASA, instead of having it directed by Steve Barron (whom we already know from A-Ha).