I shot an 8mm music video of my 80s band and finished it 36 years later

"Down for the Count" - by Champion (Official Music Video) My 80s band Champion was one of the most popular cover bands in the Cleveland, Ohio area during the 1980s. We couldn't afford to shoot an expensive MTV-type video, so I got the idea to shoot seven reels of 8mm film, and to hold on to the footage until one day in the future when I could turn it into a real music video. One reel containing the verse vocal performances and shots of the World Trade Center was lost, leaving only 6 reels to work from. The first half of the video was filmed in Cleveland in the Flats on the third floor and on the roof of Peabody's Down Under, a club we used to play all the time. The second half was filmed on a trip to NYC to play for record company A and R people. (The balcony shots are on the 24th floor of the Millford Plaza). Most of the record executives didn't show because they instead went to watch the Mets beat the Red Sox in the '86 World Series. One notable executive did show - the president of Nemporer Records, Nat Weiss, the American lawyer for the Beatles. Atlantic Records was there also, but both companies passed. This definitive version of the band didn't make it much further after this, succumbing to the years of the pressure of playing clubs full time while trying to develop as recording artists. Unfortunately. the audio for this track has degraded over time, and was only a home demo version, because the band was going through much turmoil and change at the time and the song was not chosen to be on the band's upcoming first studio album. This video is dedicated to George Yunis, entertainer and songwriter. CHAMPION George Yunis - Lead vocals Kevin Alexander - Lead Guitar John Norman - Guitar and Production Tim Kenworthy - Bass Jerry Quade - Drums David Mauk - Keyboards, music and lyrics for "Down for the Count", video director and editor Please subscribe to our channel