Which music video was the first to be shown on MTV Europe when it launched in 1987?

Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” was the first music video shown on MTV Europe.

MTV Europe began broadcasting on August 1, 1987, exactly six years after the original MTV launched in the United States. Its opening video was “Money for Nothing,” a Dire Straits single whose lyrics mention MTV and the phrase “I want my MTV.” The choice linked the new European service to one of the channel’s most recognizable songs.

The video was notable for early computer-generated imagery, which showed two animated workmen watching music television and criticizing the performers they saw. Steve Barron directed it, and the computer animation was produced by a team led by Ian Pearson and Gavin Blair. The song became Dire Straits’ only US number-one single and won Video of the Year at the 1988 MTV Video Music Awards.