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Television Appearances


Since the winter of 1986-87, when the Beastie Boys first started appearing on television with some regularity, fans have made an effort to record and preserve these interviews and performances. Ten years later (1996-97), fans began trading VHS video cassettes thanks to the burgeoning use of the internet. Compiling various clips was a challenge because in the USA video cassette recorders are NTSC formatted, whereas in Europe they are set to either the PAL or SECAM formats. This difference in formats required footage acquired from overseas to be converted with expensive international VCRs.

Around the turn of the century (1999), there was a great deal of talk regarding VCR to DVD recording possibilities. However, many DVD recorders were not compatible with other DVD players. Therefore a DVD+R or DVD-R that had been recorded on one machine may not be recognized when play was attempted in another DVD player. This opened the door for VCDs (video compact discs) to briefly be the media of choice among Beastie Boys video collectors/traders. It was not long though until DVD recorders came down in price and manufacturers ironed out the compatibility issues. In 2003, fans began to digitalized and archive their old clips either with stand alone DVD recorders or with computer software and in-tower CD/DVD burners. With high speed internet connections in most homes, trading digitalized footage became as simple as the click of a mouse. File sharing had largely replaced the old days of buying blank VHS tapes or DVDs, packaging the media up, and standing in line at the post office for hours.

In 2006, everything changed again. With the advent of YouTube, fans could upload digital footage of the Beastie Boys for others to see, but not necessarily download. In the past, only a select few had access to these old television interviews and performances. The popularity of YouTube and similar video streaming sites has had fans questioning the context: the who, what, where, when, and why of when a particular Beastie Boys interview was conducted. Even during the old days of VHS tape trading, footage was often labeled inaccurately or not labeled at all. So the challenge for us at Beastiemania.com was to find a way to organize these television clips chronologically and when possible provide as much information as we can about them. If you have footage which he have not yet included or more information about an appearance please email us here at the following address staff at Beastiemania dot com.

Date Show Country
1983 Livewire United States
October 1985 MTV News United States
6 October 1985 Krush Groove United States
13 November 1985 Equalizer: Mama's Boy United States
31 December 1985 MTV 5th Annual New Years Eve Rock N’ Roll Ball United States
1986 Much Music Canada
21 November 1986 MTV News United States
1987 1987 MTV Body Snatchers Contest United States
1987 British News United Kingdom
1987 MTV News United States
1987 MTV: Club MTV United States
1987 Showtime at the Apollo United States
1987 Unidentified United States
15 January 1987 Joan Rivers United States
Febuary 1987 MTV United States
24 Febuary 1987 Grammy Awards Show United States
24 Febuary 1987 Grammy Awards Show Interview United States
March 1987 MTV United States
March 1987 MTV United States
March 1987 MTV Spring Break Weekend United States
March 1987 MTV's 1987 Spring Break: Mike D's Date United States
1 April 1987 NBC Live at Five United States
27 April 1987 MTV United States
May 1987 Monsters of Rock England
May 1987 Rock File England
13 May 1987 Montreaux Pop/Rock Festival Switzerland
19 May 1987 Countdown Netherlands
24 May 1987 MTV United Kingdom
1988 MTV: MTV News United States
1988 MTV: MTV News United States
1989 MTV News United States
1989 Rapido United States
1989 Siskel and Ebert At the Movies United States
July 1989 MTV News United States
July 1989 MTV Week In Rock United States
July 1989 Yo! MTV Raps (Day 1) United States
July 1989 Yo! MTV Raps (Day 2) United States
July 1989 Yo! MTV Raps (Day 3) United States
July 1989 Yo! MTV Raps (Day 4) United States
July 1989 Yo! MTV Raps (Day 5) United States
July 1989 Yo! MTV Raps (Day 6) United States
October 1989 MTV News United States
October 1989 Yo! MTV Raps United States
1992 100000000% Beastie Japan
1992 Hangin' with MTV United States
1992 M 6 (French TV) United States
1992 MTV Most Wanted United States
1992 MTV News United States
1992 MTV News United States
1992 MTV's Big Picture United States