In 1981, MTV launched and brought music videos to nearly every household in the United States. The art form became a sensation with people experiencing music in a brand new way and making superstars of the likes of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Culture Club, Duran Duran and so many more.
Just a few years later, Israeli entertainment creators Haim Saban and Shuki Levy, both former aspiring musicians, decided to create a Saturday morning hybrid that would mix music videos and animation– Kidd Video.
The duo had some musical pedigree. Saban played in the band The Lions of Judah in the ’60s. Levy scored a hit called “Signorina – Concertina” in his former duo Shuky & Aviva, alternately called Shuki & Aviva. The single sold two million copies. He also penned the song “Halayla” which was Israel’s entry in the Eurovision Song Contest in 1981.
After joining forces, Saban and Levi formed a close working relationship with DIC Entertainment, penning the theme songs for Ulysses 31, The Mysterious Cities of Gold, The Littles, Inspector Gadget, ALF, Rainbow Brite, M.A.S.K., Dinosaucers, and more. It was DIC that produced Kidd Video.
In addition, to their work with DIC, Saban and Levy wrote some of the other most-memorable cartoon theme songs of the ’80s and beyond, including He-Man and the Masters of the Universe, Mister T, Pole Position, Punky Brewster, Jayce and the Wheeled Warriors, She-Ra: Princess of Power, and later X-Men, Spider-Man, Spider-Man: Unlimited, The Silver Surfer, and Avengers: United They Stand. Saban also created the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and the duo wrote the famous “Go Go Power Rangers” theme which has been adapted to every subsequent iteration of that franchise.
Kidd Video, The Animated Series
As for Kidd Video, that series arrived on NBC in the fall of 1984 and focused on a live-action band called Kidd Video (whose lead singer was also named Kidd Video) who, along with other real-world musical acts, get teleported to the psychedelic animated world called the Flipside by the tyrannical Master Blaster voiced by Peter Renaday. The Master Blaster commands a trio of fake musicians, The Copycats (actual anthropomorphic cats) who can’t sing, so they lip-sync to the music of Earth artists. Helping out Kidd Video was the fairy Glitter, dressed in ’80s aerobics fabulosity and voiced by Cathy Cavadini. The Copycats were voiced by Robert Towers (Cool Kitty), Marshall Efron (Fat Cat), and Susan Silo (She-Lion).
As was the case with a lot of ’80s toons, the basic premise is laid out in the opening credits:
Throughout each episode, real pop songs were used to score scenes, and the show would cut from animation to clips from actual music videos. This isn’t a complete list of EVERY song used on the show, but these were used as either narrative music or music videos:
- “All Night Long” – Lionel Richie
- “Electric Avenue” – Eddy Grant
- “Somebody’s Watching Me” – Rockwell
- “Owner of a Lonely Heart” – Yes
- “Footloose” – Kenny Loggins
- “White Horse” – Laid Back (Okay, this is a song about cocaine, but anyway…)
- “Hungry Like the Wolf” – Duran Duran
- “The Safety Dance” – Men Without Hats
- “Footloose” – Kenny Loggins
- “Wrapped Around Your Finger” – The Police
- “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” – Michael Jackson
- “Automatic” – The Pointer Sisters
- “Don’t Answer Me” – Alan Parsons Project
- “Breakdance” – Irene Cara
- “Karma Chameleon” – Culture Club
- “Ghostbusters” – Ray Parker Jr.
- “The Reflex” – Duran Duran
- “Dancing On The Ceiling” – Lionel Richie
- “Crazy In The Night” – Kim Carnes
- “Axel F” – Harold Faltermeyer
- “Relax” – Frankie Goes to Hollywood
- “The Heat Is On” – Glenn Frey
- “Taken In” – Mike + The Mechanics
- “Jammin’ [Master Blaster]” – Stevie Wonder
- “Point Of No Return” – Nu Shooz
- “Dreamtime” – Daryl Hall
- “Don’t Forget Me When I’m Gone”- Glass Tiger
- “Out of Touch” – Hall & Oates
- “I Love Rock and Roll” – Joan Jett
- “Solid” – Ashford & Simpson
- “Beat It” – Michael Jackson
- “When I Think Of You” – Janet Jackson
- “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” – Tears for Fears
- “All I Need is a Miracle” – Mike + the Mechanics
- “Sussudio” – Phil Collins
- “Angel” – Madonna
- “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” – Aretha Franklin
- “Daydream Believer” – The Monkees
- “Shout” – Tears for Fears
- “Everybody Have Fun Tonight” – Wang Chung
- “Every Time You Go Away” – Paul Young
- “Lay Your Hands” – Thompson Twins
- “Don’t Get Me Wrong” – The Pretenders
- “Rhythm of the Night” – DeBarge
- “Take On Me” – A-Ha
- “Dancing In the Streets” – Mick Jagger and David Bowie
- “Be Near Me” – ABC
There were more, but these were the only ones I could find documentation for. But if you needed an ultimate ’80s playlist… there you go.
Over the course of most episodes, Kidd Video would find Earth musicians that had been captured by the Master Blaster and set them free back to Earth. (No real musical artists ever appeared outside of their music videos.)
Now mixing animation with live-action wasn’t new in 1984 and prior shows had already featured live-action singers and musicians representing animated bands including The Archie Show (1968), The Banana Splits (1968), The Hardy Boys (1969), and The Kid Super Power Hour with Shazam! (1981).
The incorporation of the music videos was innovative, but it tended to be a little clunky in the actual shows. Generally, the music videos were used as distractions to the antagonists or the Macguffin of the episode. However, this was Kidd Video‘s big selling point and was stressed in the marketing of this series.
Each episode also ended with a live-action music video by the Kidd Video band.
The Real Kidd Video Musical Group
For the musical group, DIC hired actual singers/musicians and they all played and sang on the actual recordings. They also voiced their cartoon counterparts.
Bryan Scott portrayed Kidd and played keyboards and guitar. Although all four cast members were invited to write songs for the show, Scott is the only one whose song was actually used– the ballad “Time.”
Before Kidd Video, Scott had several acting roles and voiced Billy on the Spider-Woman cartoon.
Robbie Rist, who portrayed the brains of the group, Whiz, was already a familiar face, having played Cousin Oliver on the last season of The Brady Bunch and Little John on the live-action Saturday morning series Big John, Little John. He was an in-demand child actor throughout the ’70s and early ’80s, appearing on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bionic Woman, CHiPs, Knight Rider, and more. He played guitar and keyboards in Kidd Video.
Steve Alterman portrayed the awkward Ash and was a working actor and musician both before and after Kidd Video. Alterman played keyboards, bass, and saxophone on the series.
I’ve seen the voice actress that provided Carla’s voice credited as both “Gabriele” and “Gabriela.” Her last name in the first season was listed as “Bennett” and “Bennett-Rozzi” in the second. She now appears to go by “Gabriela Rozzi-Nelson.” She was a working singer before Kidd Video but was the only band member that didn’t play an instrument. She learned to play the drums for the series.
It would appear that NBC and Saban intended for Kidd Video to be a multimedia onslaught with a soundtrack album and tour planned. The cast appeared on multiple shows and in teen magazines to promote the series.
Below you can see the cast performing “Where Did Our Love Go” on the syndicated show Dance Fever:
The live-action cast also appeared on NBC’s annual preview specials used to promote their new fall Saturday morning lineups– 1984’s Laugh Busters and 1985’s Back to Next Saturday.
Perhaps because Saban and Levy are Israeli, the show took off in their native country. The original Kidd Video music videos aired on that nation’s equivalent of MTV and the album was released on vinyl, along with other merchandising including chocolate bars. (Yep… chocolate bars.) The band also toured in Israel.
Full disclosure: the Kidd Video cartoon sucks. It’s just not good. But… I. LOVE. THE. KIDD. VIDEO. BAND. I listened to their music just as… like… real music. It’s a perfect blend of catchy ’80s synth-pop.
Not all of the songs were completely original. The album and cartoon featured a cover of “Where Did Our Love Go” by The Supremes, a 1964 #1 hit which had also been featured in Soft Cell’s 1981 Top 10 hit “Tainted Love.”
Two songs that Kidd Video recorded were later re-recorded by other mainstream artists. “We Should Be Together” was covered by Agnetha Fältskog, from the legendary group Abba, in 1985, while “It’s Over When the Phone Stops Ringing” was released by Eighth Wonder in 1987 with the shortened title “When the Phone Stops Ringing.” The latter song featured lyrics by Bernie Taupin, co-writer of most of Elton John’s major hits.
Below is a list of all of the “original” Kidd Video songs, all of which were featured in music videos on the series:
- “Kidd Video Theme Song/Video to Radio” (lead vocals by Kidd/Bryan and Whiz/Robbie)
- “Where Did Our Love Go” (Kidd/Bryan)
- “It’s Over When the Phone Stops Ringing” (Carla/Gabriele)
- “A Little TLC” (Kidd/Bryan)
- “We Should Be Together” (Kidd/Bryan)
- “Come Back to Me” (Whiz/Robbie… although Robbie isn’t shown singing it in the video, I assume because he wasn’t as much “teen heartthrob material” as Bryan.)
- “You Better Run” (Whiz/Robbie, Kidd/Bryan)
- “Video Romeo” (Whiz/Robbie, Ash/Steve… Ash’s only lead vocal)
- “Time” (Kidd/Bryan)
- “Turn Me Up” (Carla/Gabriele)
- “Easy Love” (Kidd/Bryan)
ALL. BANGERS.
The “Kidd Video Theme Song/Video to Radio” is edited HEAVILY for the opening credits of the cartoon, so when you hear the full-length version it’s almost a different song. “Video to Radio,” “Come Back To Me,” “You Better Run,” and “Easy Love” were written by Saban/Levy, with the others provided by outside songwriters.
Unfortunately, the Kidd Video album was only released in Israel and only on vinyl.
Life After Kidd Video
After Kidd Video, Alterman, Scott, and Cavadini appeared as party guests in the film Some Kind of Wonderful.
Scott continued to work in show business but usually behind the camera as a voice actor or in sound post-production. He appeared on the special Janet Jackson: Driven as he had attended high school with the pop superstar. He was listed as “Bryan Mancini” on that show.
Alterman, like Scott, continued to work as a voice actor and in sound post-production. Among the voice work he has done are the films How to Train Your Dragon, Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs, Avatar, Madagascar 2, Monsters vs. Aliens, Kung Fu Panda, Hotel Transylvania, Penguins of Madagascar, The Angry Birds Movie 2, The Spongebob Squarepants Movie: Sponge on the Run, and most recently Trollhunters: Rise of the Titans, as well as the series Dragons: Race to the Edge, Trollhunters: Tales of Arcadia, 3Below: Tales of Arcadia, and Wizards.
He and Rist played together in the band The Beat Society after Kidd Video ended. Alterman was still playing in bands as of the early 2000s.
Rozzi has the least work on her resumé. It appears she had an acting role in 2019 on a show called The Smartlys.
On the “Flipside,” Rist has an extensive record of work, usually as a voice actor. He voiced Michaelangelo in the first two Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles live-action movies. He later voiced Modo Gecko in the 2015-17 TMNT animated series. He lends his voice to the Final Fantasy, Naruto, and Baruto franchises. He provides the voice of Stuffy on Doc McStuffins. (He has a lot more credits, trust me!) In live-action, he had a role as the bus driver in Sharknado, and just recently, he appeared in the Lifetime movie Blending Christmas. He has also continued working as a musician, playing in several bands and managing others.
Below is a video of Rist and Rozzi reunited in 2012:
Sadly, it doesn’t appear that the show crossed over to older viewers as Saban or NBC had hoped. I can’t find any ratings information for Kidd Video, but it was a big enough hit that it got a full 13-episode second season, which was extremely rare. It should be noted that the art style was changed between the two seasons, with all the major characters given a slight makeover, which made them look a little more “cartoon-y.”
Where To Watch Kidd Video
Kidd Video was not syndicated, but occasionally episodes would pop up outside of its original NBC airing. In those cases, the mainstream pop videos and music were removed due to licensing rights. The background music was changed to generic instrumental tracks and the music videos were simply missing.
Six episodes were released on VHS and similarly, the pop songs were edited out. So once again, due to music rights, Kidd Video is not available in any modern form of home video/streaming.
Honestly, DIC can keep the cartoon. Can I get that album though?!
A huge chunk of the information for this article came from the fan page Kidd Video Flipside. I don’t think it’s been updated in years, but there is a lot of info on it that didn’t fit into this write-up AND you can download the entire Kidd Video album! Check it out! (Okay, yeah so technically, I DO have the album, but I’d buy an official commercial release with higher quality… also, I’m strangely curious how those chocolate bars tasted.)
Do you remember Kidd Video? Were you a fan?
