Night Flight Short Cuts

In this candid Night Flight interview, Morris reflects on his unlikely path to Saturday Night Live, the early years alongside John Belushi and Gilda Radner, and why competition was built into both comedy and fabric of American culture itself.

Circa 1983, Boy George sits down with Lisa Robinson for a special Radio 1990 interview to discuss celebrity and individuality amid the media frenzy surrounding Culture Club. “I’m direct, and I think a lot of people are very evasive, especially rock stars,” George says.

Circa 1986, this Night Flight Short Cut captures Frank Zappa at the height of the PMRC controversy, challenging censorship, and arguing that every form of music has a right to exist:  "If you can't have it in every degree from the cheesiest to the most exalted because they all need to exist together. Without Louie Louie, a symphony is not quite so grand."

Circa March 1986, this Night Flight Short Cut finds Julian Lennon in conversation with Lisa Robinson about fame and the Lennon name, London nightlife, and his early days running with biker and heavy metal crowds before starting his music career.

In this uncut 1990 Slammin’ Rap interview, Eazy-E sits down with Tairrie B to discuss the future of N.W.A., building Ruthless Records alongside Dr. Dre, media backlash surrounding gangsta rap, and life after Ice Cube’s departure. 

In this new Short Cut arrival, Alice in Chains’ Jerry Cantrell and Layne Staley trade jokes about Hollywood and growing up as KISS heads. They reminisce about the first time hearing Metallica and touring with Iggy Pop. An essential snapshot of the Seattle band.

In this rare Radio 1990 interview with Lisa Robinson, Art of Noise’s J.J. Jeczalik and Anne Dudley reflect on the mystery behind the group’s masked identity (and why they chose to step into view), the art of programming synthesizers, and their label’s reaction to the original “Close (To The Edit)” video.

Steve Winwood in conversation with Lisa Robinson reflects on a period of solitary studio work as a product of process rather than persona, pushing back on rumors of a brooding recluse. This Night Flight Short Cut finds the Traffic legend reflecting on his musical process and the balance between tradition and new technology: “Technology is not to blame… it’s how it’s used.”

In this Night Flight Short Cut, Steve Miller reflects on the unexpected global success of “Abracadabra” and traces a career doing things on his own terms with an eye toward worldwide touring and cultural exchange.

In this Night Flight Short Cut, Jon Bon Jovi appears in a candid interview and press conference, reflecting on a historic Soviet performance at the end of the Cold War, the scale of stadium rock, and bringing fans into the studio to keep things fresh. “We don’t want to go back to that shoe store routine.”

“The first piece of fan mail I ever wrote was to George Michael!” Writing songs since childhood and breaking through as a teenager, Debbie Gibson reflects on a rise that felt anything but overnight in this original Night Flight interview.

With their signature deadpan delivery, this new Night Flight Short Cut captures Devo not just as a band, but as a fully realized creative apparatus. Taken from Night Flight's 1982 interview, the group outlines its theory of Devolution spanning technology, biology, and politics in pointedly postmodern terms: “There’s no center, there’s no firm issues or something hol...Read More

From his early days chasing a record deal to the breakthrough of American Fool, John Cougar reflects on a career shaped as much by persistence as luck in this Night Flight Short Cut.

Aboard his half-renovated boat, Great White frontman Jack Russell holds court in a self-contained world of fishing stories and blacked-out interiors before this Night Flight Short Cut takes us to a Capitol Records party where the band performs a energetic set.

From a chance meeting in a New Jersey music store to club shows honed with advice from hometown champion Jon Bon Jovi, Skid Row trace their rise in this Night Flight Short Cut. This exclusive episode also captures Sebastian Bach in a late-night hotel fever dream, reading fan mail and air moshing.

In her official Night Flight interview, Wendy O. Williams stakes her claim as the “heaviest woman in heavy metal,” establishing a metal creed rooted in raw energy and self-expression. From recording with Gene Simmons to trading vocals with Lemmy, this treasure from the Night Flight vault finds the icon channeling a loud, unfiltered worldview that's entirely her own.

Originally recorded on May 21, 1991, this uncut interview from Metalhead Video Magazine finds a candid Ronnie James Dio recounting his unlikely path from a small-town kid rehearsing in frozen barns to a defining voice of heavy metal. Dio reflects on leaving the bass behind to find his voice, drawing inspiration from James Brown and Sam Cooke, and the party from his ...Read More

Circa 1984, Annie Lennox and Dave Stewart talk fame, image, and why they refuse to be neatly categorized by the media. From their Grammys stunt with Lennox in male drag to their skepticism of music videos, this special Short Cut also covers their intuitive and at times combustible creative process, the kind that can turn an argument into the riff for “Here Comes the...Read More

In this Night Flight Short Cut, Yoko Ono joins Lisa Robinson for a candid conversation filmed in the kitchen of Ono’s apartment in the 1980s. Moving from banter with Robinson to reflections on life and music, Ono talks about art, the Beatles, and how the culture of the time eventually caught up with the experimentation she was pursuing.

In this Night Flight Short Cut, Penn & Teller welcome the camera into Penn’s home as he recalls how they met (“we both thought magic sucked”), their shared love of The Residents, and making movies for people tired of sequels. Shot for Gorgon Home Video, it’s pure P&T - rambling, profane, and unhinged.

What begins as backstage banter and a photoshoot turns into a fun interview packed with Scorpions lore in this new Night Flight Short Cut. The band goes celebrating Rudolph's birthday to a candid recollection of playing Roger Waters’ The Wall concert in a newly unified Berlin, originally shot for Stuart S. Shapiro’s MetalHead Magazine.

Shot at our studios 40 years ago, this vintage Night Flight interview features Kate Bush discussing the obsessive creative process behind Hounds of Love, building her countryside studio, and how she infuses each album with new energy.

In this uncut interview originally shot for Stuart S. Shapiro’s MetalHead Video Magazine in 1989, Rick Rubin talks Def American, Slayer, LL Cool J, Danzig, and more. From his NYU punk days with Hose to assembling artists with a unique identity, Rubin lays out an early version of his signature philosophy. He also reveals his favorite pro wrestler.

In this new short cut, Dire Straits frontman Mark Knopfler drops by the 1983 Night Flight studio to talk about his new EP Twisting by the Pool, knocked out by the band in just a few days. Knopfler candidly reflects on his evolution as a musician while describing how he stays humble about his playing: “I’m a perpetual student of music.” 

In this new Night Flight Short Cut, we spotlight rock icon Grace Slick. In a candid 1983 interview filmed on the Night Flight set during our second season, the Jefferson Airplane and Starship singer defends the band against its critics, muses on the imperfections of art and artists, and shares her excitement for the dawning era of music video.

In this essential Night Flight "Short Cut," we spotlight the androgynous, transgressive icon Grace Jones. Watch Night Flight’s exclusive '80s interview with the provocateur as she traces her journey from Jamaica to modeling in New York while describing her sound as a blend of "reggae basslines, American Black funk," combined with "the romantic feeling of Europe."

In this exclusive Night Flight Short Cut, we honor the legendary Freddie Mercury! Featuring highlights from his candid Radio 1990 interview with Lisa Robinson, interwoven with Queen mega-hits, Freddie opens up about the band’s contrasting personalities (“I like to go to ballet and opera… they don’t like those kinds of things”), collaborating with Bowie, and more.

In Night Flight’s exclusive 1985 interview, virtuoso vocalist Robert Plant reflects on his post-Zeppelin solo career and opens up about the creative freedoms of going it alone. Plant discusses the evolution of his sound in the early ’80s with atmospheric ballads like “Big Log” and “In the Mood." “A vocalist shouldn’t be stuck in the mold of what people will or won’t...Read More

Tonight’s new Night Flight Short Cut features one of the most iconic interviews from the original series: our exclusive sit-down with Ozzy Osbourne. Coming across as disarmingly self-aware, Mr. Osbourne sets the record straight on the infamous bat-biting incident, the media frenzy that followed, and more. Featuring vintage performance clips and classic Night Flight ...Read More

“If we combine the modern new wave elements with the old, beautiful melodies, that might be an intriguing mixture,” says Taco discussing his hit cover of “Puttin’ on the Ritz” in this exclusive Night Flight interview. Later on in this brand new Night Flight Short Cut, Falco talks about translating rap music influences into his German-language hits.

"New Age music is a global sound that reaches for the stars," says Pat Prescott in tonight's brand new Night Flight Short Cut. The best in New Age music is rounded up in this bite-sized Night Flight episode, featuring classics from Bowie collaborator Carlos Alomar as well as Yellow Jackets and Al Di Meola.

"Laurie Anderson has brought the avant-garde into pop music's mainstream," says Pat Prescott, "and Anderson's instrument is her body." In this Night Flight Short Cut, we explore the work of the sculptor, violinist, and multimedia artist through iconic songs like "O Superman" and "Sharkey's Day." Plus, hear directly from Anderson herself in our 1980s interview from t...Read More

This Short Cuts episode dives into the late 1980s rap scene with illuminating interviews with icons such as LL Cool J and legendary female rappers such as Roxanne Shonté, Queen Latifah, and Salt-N-Pepa.

This Night Flight "Short Cut" features an exclusive interview with Miles Davis, who shares his unique musical outlook and more. “I go with my feelings… that’s in my system, my soul, in my body—my body’s full of rhythm.” Davis reflects on his affinity for the Yamaha DX7, the tactile experience of painting, the importance of his visual style, and the “street sound” of...Read More

Night Flight profiles Black Sabbath, featuring videos of hit songs like "Paranoid" and "Black Sabbath" as well as interviews with the band discussing subjects like the influence of horror film on their music.

In a musical landscape dominated by men, these women in metal are breaking new ground. Including music by Warlock as well as interviews with metal managing legend Vicky Hamilton and former Runaway Lita Ford.

Tonight's new Short Cut dives into the theme of money in music, showcasing cash-and-capitalism themed videos from Talking Heads, the pioneering 3D-animated classic "Adventures in Success" by Will Powers, playwright Sarah Tuft's commercial collage, and the Pheromones' send-up of the '80s yuppie class in "Yuppiedrone."

Night Flight profiles the 1980s output of two punk legends. John Lydon opens up about his new musical direction with post-punk band Public Image Ltd., while Mick Jones and Don Letts discuss the eclectic influences and sound of Big Audio Dynamite, saying "we wanted a name that would describe the sound we were making."

Academy Award-nominated actor Michael Keaton discusses his unconventional path to leading man status as a former stand up comedian. After that, Night Flight profiles the greatest bad guys of cinema, including iconic roles of Dennis Hopper, Henry Silva, and Rutger Hauer.

Take a ride down the glory days of the Sunset Strip, featuring some of the hardest-rocking and hardest-partying bands of the era including Poison, Great White and Kik Tracee, as well as legendary venues such as the Rainbow.

The gross-out impresarios at Troma discuss combining horror and comedy for their distinctive style of filmmaking, while Wes Craven is interviewed on his enormous success with Nightmare on Elm Street as well as his upcoming projects.

This edition of Short Cuts features Gorgon Video Magazine and its interviews with the icons of horror. Stuart Gordon discusses helming Re-Animator, while makeup legend Screaming Mad George opens up about his process creating some of the most iconic images in horror film.

Night Flight transports you to the wacky world of celebrity rap singles, featuring bars from such hip hop luminaries as Mel Brooks, Rodney Dangerfield, the Chicago Bears and Mr. T. Don’t miss Night Flight's wild ride through this uniquely '80s genre phenomenon!

Songs from luminaries such as Jimmy Cliff and Peter Tosh invite us into the world of reggae in this short Night Flight special, exploring the genre's political origins, various subgenres, and biggest voices.

This sexy Short Cut compiles music videos and interviews featuring the most transgressive figures in the business, including Prince, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Queen.

Night Flight highlights the funniest women in showbiz in this special on female comedians, featuring material and interview clips from Tracy Ullman and Sandra Bernhardt.

In this bite-sized Night Flight special on Weird Al Yankovic, Al parodies Devo, Michael Jackson and Madonna. Also featuring an interview with the man himself, discussing his relationship to the artists he parodies.

A series of gruesome and gory horror shorts, including Alex Winter and Tom Stern's wacky "Aisles of Doom," and the hilarious zombie parody "Dawn of the Night of the Dead: The Musical."

A look into the films and music of John Carpenter, including an exclusive interview where he discusses his influences for films such as The Thing and Big Trouble in Little China, as well as his pioneering work on his own film scores.

A special on legendary rock band Bauhaus, dubbed the "originators of Goth Rock," featuring interviews with members, videos from later spin-off band Love and Rockets, as well as the solo career of frontman Peter Murphy.

This quick batch of music videos focuses on food, from Weird Al's love of Rocky Road ice cream to the Fat Boys. Also featuring an exclusive interview with the Fat Boys by TV 20000 host Joie Gallo!

Today Night Flight focuses on New York's downtown and the music that it spawned, including videos from Blondie and Sonic Youth, as well as a special on the downtown Club Kids.

Night Flight's Short Cuts jets off the the world of underground comix, featuring alternative luminaries such as Robert Crumb, S. Clay Wilson, and Victor Moscoso discussing their craft.

Night Flight takes you to the dazzling animation of contemporary music videos, from Herbie Hancock's computer-assisted imagery to the kaleidoscopic videos of Adrian Belew and the Tom Tom Club.

Night Flight brings an exclusive interview with ska punk band Fishbone and a special report on Jane's Addiction, featuring live footage and backstage interviews. Finally, a hand-drawn animated short called "Twist an' Shout!".

A politically charged mini-ep of Night Flight, featuring polemics from artists such as Billy Bragg and X as well as spoken word from William S. Burroughs.

This Night Flight episode focuses on religion in music, from the satanic accusations against Ozzy Osbourne to the Christian rock band Stryper. Also featuring videos from The Saints and XTC.

Night Flight explores the burgeoning "Street Music" culture of hip hop and breakdancing. Featuring videos from Grandmaster Flash, Dr. John, and Juicy.

For this edition of Night Flight, Morris Day, Prince collaborator and bandleader of The Time, sits down for an exclusive interview where he discusses what it was like acting for the first time in Purple Rain. Also featuring a special report on super-producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, including music videos from their hit songs with Janet Jackson and Robert Palmer.

In this bite-sized episode of Night Flight, future Academy Award nominee Marky Mark discusses the criticism he's received for being a white rapper, while Vanilla Ice introduces the man behind his iconic wardrobe.