The 1987 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on September 11, 1987, honoring the best music videos from May 2, 1986, to May 1, 1987. The show was hosted by MTV VJs Downtown Julie Brown, Carolyne Heldman, Kevin Seal, Michael Tomioka, and Dweezil Zappa, and it took place at the Universal Amphitheatre in Los Angeles.
This year featured the debut of the award for Best Video from a Film, which recognized the most outstanding video of a song taken from a movie soundtrack. Concurrently, 1987 also saw the elimination of the Special Recognition award that had been given out every year since 1984. Unlike Video Vanguard, which could go a few years without being handed out and then return, the Special Recognition award was never again given out at the VMAs.
In terms of awards, meanwhile, Peter Gabriel was undoubtedly the night's biggest winner, as he took home a record-setting ten moonmen that night, including Video of the Year and the Video Vanguard award. Gabriel's video for "Sledgehammer" earned nine moonmen out of the ten it was in the running for, making it the night's most nominated video of the night, as well as the most rewarded video in VMA history. Lastly, Gabriel also set a record for the most VMA nominations in a single year, as along with the ten nominations for "Sledgehammer," Gabriel's video for "Big Time" also received two nominations, bringing his total up to twelve nominations in 1987. This record would go uncontested until 2010, when Lady Gaga received thirteen nominations.
Read more about 1987 MTV Video Music Awards: Performances, Appearances
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