Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker. He is best known for directing the music videos for the songs "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...

" by

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, "

Summer of '69 "Summer of '69" is a song recorded by the Canadian musician Bryan Adams from his fourth album, '' Reckless''. The song is about a dilemma between settling down or trying to become a rock star. The song was written by Adams and his longtime song ...

" and " Run to You" by

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

, " Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits, "

Electric Avenue Electric Avenue is a street in Brixton, London. Built in the 1880s, it was the first market street to be lit by electric lights (The first street to be lit by an incandescent lightbulb was Mosley Street, in Newcastle upon Tyne). Today, Elect ...

" and " I Don't Wanna Dance" by

Eddy Grant Edmond Montague Grant (born 5 March 1948) is a Guyanese-British singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, known for his genre-blending sound; his music has blended elements of pop, British rock, soul, funk, reggae, electronic music, Af ...

, "

Let's Get Rocked "Let's Get Rocked" is a 1992 single by English hard rock band Def Leppard from their multi-platinum album '' Adrenalize''. The song peaked at number one on the ''Billboard'' Album Rock Tracks chart, number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, n ...

" by

Def Leppard Def Leppard are an English rock band formed in 1976 in Sheffield. Since 1992, the band has consisted of Rick Savage (bass, backing vocals), Joe Elliott (lead vocals), Rick Allen (drums, backing vocals), Phil Collen (guitar, backing vocals), ...

, "

Going Underground "Going Underground" is a single by The Jam, released in March 1980. It debuted at number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top. "Going Underground" was the first of four number one singles the band were to achieve throug ...

" by

The Jam The Jam were an English mod revival/ punk rock band formed in 1972 at Sheerwater Secondary School in Woking, Surrey. They released 18 consecutive Top 40 singles in the United Kingdom, from their debut in 1977 to their break-up in December 1 ...

, "

Don't You Want Me "Don't You Want Me" is a song by British synthpop group the Human League (credited on the cover as The Human League 100). It was released on 27 November 1981 as the fourth single from their third studio album, ''Dare'' (1981). The band's best k ...

" by

The Human League The Human League are an English synth-pop band formed in Sheffield in 1977. Initially an experimental electronic outfit, the group signed to Virgin Records in 1979 and later attained widespread commercial success with their third album ''Dare' ...

, " Baby Jane" by Rod Stewart, "

Pale Shelter "Pale Shelter" is a song by the British band Tears for Fears. Written by Roland Orzabal and sung by bassist Curt Smith, it was originally the band's second single release in early 1982. The original version of the song, entitled "Pale Shelter ( ...

" by

Tears for Fears Tears for Fears are an English pop rock band formed in Bath, England, in 1981 by Roland Orzabal and Curt Smith. Founded after the dissolution of their first band, the mod-influenced Graduate, Tears for Fears were associated with the new ...

, "

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

" by Toto, and "

Take On Me "Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was p ...

" by A-ha. The videos for "Take On Me" and "Billie Jean" have each garnered over 1 billion views on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second mo ...

. Barron also directed several films, including ''

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' is an American media franchise created by the comic book artists Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird. It follows Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello and Raphael, four anthropomorphic turtle brothers (named after It ...

'' (1990), ''

Coneheads The Coneheads are a fictional family of extraterrestrials with bald conical heads, created for a series of recurring sketches on ''Saturday Night Live'' (SNL). They first appeared on the January 15, 1977 episode hosted by Ralph Nader (episode 3 ...

'' (1993), ''

The Adventures of Pinocchio ''The Adventures of Pinocchio'' ( ; it, Le avventure di Pinocchio ; commonly shortened to ''Pinocchio'') is a children's fantasy novel by Italian author Carlo Collodi. It is about the mischievous adventures of an animated marionette named Pi ...

'' (1996) and '' Mike Bassett: England Manager'' (2001).

Early life

Barron was born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

on 4 May 1956, the son of filmmaker Zelda Barron (née Solomons; 1929–2006) and actor Ron Barron. His mother was born in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

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. He was raised in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and attended

St Marylebone Grammar School St Marylebone Grammar School (SMGS) was a grammar school located in the London borough of the City of Westminster, from 1792 to 1981. History Philological School Founded as the Philological Society by Thomas Collingwood, under the patronage of ...

Career

Barron made his music video directorial debut in 1979 with "Time for Action" by

Secret Affair Secret Affair are a mod revival band, formed in 1978 and disbanded in 1982 during which period their work is predominantly best-known. They reformed in 2002 and have since then produced an album in 2012. Career Formed after the demise of the ...

and their following hit singles "My World" and "Sound of Confusion" and directed, and occasionally wrote additional treatment for, various music videos. These videos, which include "

" by

, " Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits, and "

" 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. He founded the production company Limelight with his sister Siobhan and Adam Whitaker. In 1984, he directed the

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

comedy '' Electric Dreams'', and then went on to direct several episodes of the television series '' The Storyteller'' before returning to film, directing the films ''

'' in 1990, ''

'' in 1996, '' Rat'' in 2000 and '' Mike Bassett: England Manager'' in 2001. Barron directed several award-winning miniseries, such as '' Merlin'' (1998), '' Arabian Nights'' (2000) and ''

Dreamkeeper ''Dreamkeeper'' is a 2003 film written by John Fusco and directed by Steve Barron. The main plot of the film is the conflict between a Lakota elder and storyteller named Pete Chasing Horse (August Schellenberg) and his Lakota grandson, Shane Chas ...

'' (2003) for

Hallmark Entertainment Halcyon Studios, LLC., formerly known as Sonar Entertainment, RHI Entertainment, Hallmark Entertainment, Qintex Entertainment, HRI Group and Robert Halmi Inc., is an American entertainment company specializing in the production and distribution ...

. 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 ''Treasure Island'' (originally titled ''The Sea Cook: A Story for Boys''Hammond, J. R. 1984. "Treasure Island." In ''A Robert Louis Stevenson Companion'', Palgrave Macmillan Literary Companions. London: Palgrave Macmillan. .) is an adventure no ...

'' was shown on

British Sky Broadcasting Sky UK Limited is a British broadcaster and telecommunications company that provides television and broadband Internet services, fixed line and mobile telephone services to consumers and businesses in the United Kingdom. It is a subsidiary of ...

. In November 2014, Barron published his autobiography, ''Egg n Chips & Billie Jean: A Trip Through the Eighties''.Hawksley, R
"'Michael Jackson? I was more excited about The Human League!'"
Telegraph.co.uk, 27 November 2014; retrieved 28 November 2014.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

* A-ha – "

" (1985), " The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (1985), " Hunting High and Low" (1986), " Cry Wolf" (1986), " Manhattan Skyline" (1987), "

The Living Daylights ''The Living Daylights'' is a 1987 spy film, the fifteenth entry in the ''James Bond'' series produced by Eon Productions, and the first of two to star Timothy Dalton as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. Directed by John Glen, the film's ...

" (1987), "

Crying in the Rain "Crying in the Rain" is a song composed by Carole King with lyrics by Howard Greenfield, originally recorded by American duo the Everly Brothers. The single peaked at number six on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 in 1962. The song was the only ...

" (1990), " Butterfly, Butterfly" (2010) *

Adam and the Ants Adam and the Ants were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. The group existed in two incarnations, both fronted by Adam Ant, over the period 1977 to 1982. The first, founded in May 1977 and known simply as The Ants until November of t ...

– " Antmusic" (1980) *

– "

Cuts Like a Knife ''Cuts Like a Knife'' is the third studio album by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. Released on 18 January 1983 by A&M Records, the album was a huge commercial success in the United States and Canada. Three singles were released worldwide ...

" (1983), " Run to You" (1984), " Heaven" (1985), "

" (1985) * Culture Club – "God Thank You Woman" (1986) *

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

– " As the World Falls Down" (1986) "

Underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

" (1986) *

– "

" (1992) * Dire Straits – " Money for Nothing" (1985), "

Calling Elvis "Calling Elvis" is a song written by Mark Knopfler and performed by Dire Straits. It first appeared on the final studio album by the band, ''On Every Street'' (1991). It was released as the first single from that album, peaking at number 21 in ...

" (1990), " Heavy Fuel" (1991) *

Dolly Parton Dolly Rebecca Parton (born January 19, 1946) is an American singer-songwriter, actress, philanthropist, and businesswoman, known primarily for her work in country music. After achieving success as a songwriter for others, Parton made her album d ...

– " Potential New Boyfriend" (1983) *

– "

" (1982), " I Don't Wanna Dance" (1982), " Living on the Front Line" (1983) * Fleetwood Mac – " Hold Me" (1982) *

Fun Boy Three Fun Boy Three were an English new wave pop Fun Boy Three Allmusic bio/ref> band, active from 1981 to 1983 and formed by singers Terry Hall, Neville Staple and Lynval Golding after they left the Specials. They released two albums and had seve ...

– " It Ain't What You Do...." (1982) *

Heaven 17 Heaven 17 are an English new wave and synth-pop band that formed in Sheffield in 1980. The band were a trio for most of their career, composed of Martyn Ware (keyboards) and Ian Craig Marsh (keyboards) (both previously of the Human League), and ...

– "

Penthouse and Pavement ''Penthouse and Pavement'' is the debut studio album by English new wave and synth-pop band Heaven 17, released in September 1981 by Virgin Records. "(We Don't Need This) Fascist Groove Thang" was released as a single, but did not achieve char ...

" (1981), " Let Me Go" (1982), "

Temptation Temptation is a desire to engage in short-term urges for enjoyment that threatens long-term goals.Webb, J.R. (Sep 2014). Incorporating Spirituality into Psychology of temptation: Conceptualization, measurement, and clinical implications. Sp ...

" (1983) *

– "

" (1981), " Love Action" (1981), "

(Keep Feeling) Fascination "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" is a song by British synthpop group the Human League. It was composed by Jo Callis and Philip Oakey, and produced by Martin Rushent (which would be the last song he produced for the band for seven years). The song ...

" (1983) *

– " Strangetown" (1978), " When You're Young" (1979), "

" (1979), " Dreams of Children" (1979) * Joe Jackson – " Steppin' Out" (1982), " Real Men" (1982), "

Breaking Us in Two "Breaking Us in Two" is a song by British musician Joe Jackson. It was the third of three charting singles from his 1982 LP, '' Night and Day''. The single was released in the UK on 13 August 1982, backed with a song called "El Blanco", which w ...

" (1982) *

Level 42 Level 42 is an English jazz-funk band formed on the Isle of Wight in 1979. They had a number of UK and worldwide hits during the 1980s and 1990s. Their highest-charting single in the UK was " Lessons in Love", which reached number three on th ...

- " Heaven in My Hands" (1988) * Madonna – " Burning Up" (1983) *

– "

" (1983) *

Natalie Cole Natalie Maria Cole (February 6, 1950 – December 31, 2015) was an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She was the daughter of American singer and jazz pianist Nat King Cole. She rose to success in the mid-1970s as an R&B singer with the h ...

Nat King Cole Nathaniel Adams Coles (March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965), known professionally as Nat King Cole, was an American singer, jazz pianist, and actor. Cole's music career began after he dropped out of school at the age of 15, and continued f ...

– " Unforgettable" (1991) *

Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) are an English electronic band formed in Wirral, Merseyside, in 1978. The group consists of co-founders Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass guitar) and Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), along with Martin Co ...

– " Maid of Orleans" (1982) *

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

– "

Pretty Little Head ''Pretty Little Head'' is the second album by singer Nellie McKay. It was released October 31, 2006, on Nellie's own Hungry Mouse label. It features duets with Cyndi Lauper ("Beecharmer") and k.d. lang ("We Had It Right"). Other songs include " ...

" (1986) * Rod Stewart - " Baby Jane" (1983) *

– "Time for Action" (1979), "My World" (1980), "Sound of Confusion" (1980) *

Sheena Easton Sheena Shirley Easton (; born 27 April 1959) is a Scottish singer and actress. Easton came into the public eye in an episode of the first British musical reality television programme '' The Big Time: Pop Singer'', which recorded her attempts to ...

- " For Your Eyes Only" (1981), "Telephone" (1983) * Simple Minds – "

Promised You a Miracle "Promised You a Miracle" is a 1982 song by Scottish band Simple Minds and was released as the first single from their fifth studio album '' New Gold Dream (81–82–83–84)''. It was the band's first chart hit in the UK,''Glittering Prize 81/ ...

" (1982) * Skids - "Iona" (1981) * Styx – " Haven't We Been Here Before" (1983) *

Supertramp Supertramp were an English rock band that formed in London in 1969. Marked by the individual songwriting of founders Roger Hodgson (vocals, keyboards, and guitars) and Rick Davies (vocals and keyboards), they are distinguished for blending p ...

– "

Cannonball A round shot (also called solid shot or simply ball) is a solid spherical projectile without explosive charge, launched from a gun. Its diameter is slightly less than the bore of the barrel from which it is shot. A round shot fired from a lar ...

" (1985), "Better Days" (1986) *

– "

" (1983) * Toto – "

" (1982), "Rosanna (song), Rosanna" (1982), "Stranger in Town (Toto song), Stranger in Town" (1984) * ZZ Top – "Rough Boy" (1986), "Sleeping Bag (song), Sleeping Bag" (1986)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barron, Steve 1956 births Comedy film directors English film producers English music video directors English people of Russian descent Irish film producers Irish music video directors Irish people of Russian descent Living people People educated at St Marylebone Grammar School Film directors from London