Steve Barron

Not to be confused with Steve Bannon.

Steven Barron (born 4 May 1956) is an Irish-British filmmaker and music video director. Among the music videos he has directed are "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson, " Burnin Up" by Madonna, "Summer of '69" and "Run to You" by Bryan Adams, "Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits, "Electric Avenue" and "I Don't Wanna Dance" by Eddy Grant, "Going Underground" by The Jam, "Don't You Want Me" by The Human League, "Baby Jane" by Rod Stewart, "Pale Shelter" by Tears for Fears, "Africa" by Toto, and "Take On Me" by A-ha. The videos for "Take On Me", "Africa", and "Billie Jean" have each garnered over 1 billion views on YouTube. Barron also directed several films, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (1990), Coneheads (1993), and The Adventures of Pinocchio (1996).

Steve Barron
Barron in July 2009
Born	Steven Barron (1956-05-04) 4 May 1956 (age 68) Dublin, Ireland
Occupations	Filmmaker music video director
Years active	1976–present

Early life

Barron was born in Dublin on 4 May 1956,^[1] the son of filmmaker Zelda Barron (née Solomons, 1929–2006)^[2] and actor Ron Barron. His mother was born in Manchester 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.^[2] He was raised in London and attended St Marylebone Grammar School.

Career

Barron on the set of the 2012 TV series Treasure Island

Barron made his music video directorial debut in 1979 with "Time for Action" by Secret Affair and their following hit singles "My World" and "Sound of Confusion" and directed, and occasionally wrote additional treatment for,^[3] various music videos. These videos, which include "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson,"Burning Up" by Madonna,"Money for Nothing" by Dire Straits, and "Take On Me" 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.^[4] He founded the production company Limelight with his sister Siobhan and Adam Whitaker.^[5][6]

In 1984, he directed the science fiction comedy Electric Dreams, and then went on to direct several episodes of the television series The Storyteller before returning to film, directing the films Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 1990, The Adventures of Pinocchio 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 (2003) for Hallmark Entertainment. 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 was shown on British television channel Sky One.^[7]

In November 2014, Barron published his autobiography, Egg n Chips & Billie Jean: A Trip Through the Eighties.^[8]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Director	Producer	Writer
1984	Electric Dreams	Yes
1990	Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles	Yes
1993	Coneheads	Yes
1996	The Adventures of Pinocchio	Yes		Yes
2000	Rat	Yes	Yes
2001	Mike Bassett: England Manager	Yes	Yes
2006	Choking Man	Yes	Yes	Yes
2008	The Day After Peace		Co-producer
2016	Brahman Naman		Yes
2019	Supervized	Yes	Yes

Cameraman

• Trauma (1976)
• The Duellists (1977)
• A Bridge Too Far (1977)
• Superman (1978) (Uncredited)

Executive producer

• The Specialist (1994)
• While You Were Sleeping (1995)
• Peace One Day (2004) (Documentary)

Television

Year	Title	Director	Executive Producer	Notes
1987–1988	The Storyteller	Yes		Episodes: "Hans My Hedgehog", "Fearnot", and "Sapsorrow"
1994–2001	ReBoot		Yes
1998	Merlin	Yes		Miniseries
2000	Arabian Nights	Yes
2003	Dreamkeeper	Yes		TV movie
2005	Mike Bassett: Manager		Yes
2010	The Road Ahead	Yes		TV movie
2012	Treasure Island	Yes		Miniseries
2013	Delete	Yes	Yes	Miniseries
2016–2017	The Durrells in Corfu	Yes

Music videos

• A-ha – "Take On Me" (1985), "The Sun Always Shines on T.V." (1985), "Hunting High and Low" (1986), "Cry Wolf" (1986), "Manhattan Skyline" (1987), "The Living Daylights" (1987), "Crying in the Rain" (1990), "Butterfly, Butterfly" (2010)
• Adam and the Ants – "Antmusic" (1980)
• Bryan Adams – "Cuts Like a Knife" (1983), "This Time" (1983), "Run to You" (1984), "Heaven" (1985), "Summer of '69" (1985)
• Culture Club – "God Thank You Woman" (1986)
• David Bowie – "As the World Falls Down" (1986) "Underground" (1986)
• Def Leppard – "Let's Get Rocked" (1992)
• Dire Straits – "Money for Nothing" (1985), "Calling Elvis" (1990), "Heavy Fuel" (1991)
• Dolly Parton – "Potential New Boyfriend" (1983)
• Eddy Grant – "Electric Avenue" (1982), "I Don't Wanna Dance" (1982), "Living on the Front Line" (1983)
• Fleetwood Mac – "Hold Me" (1982)
• Fun Boy Three – "It Ain't What You Do...." (1982)
• Heaven 17 – "Penthouse and Pavement" (1981), "Let Me Go" (1982), "Temptation" (1983)
• The Human League – "Don't You Want Me" (1981), "Love Action" (1981), "(Keep Feeling) Fascination" (1983)
• The Jam – "Strangetown" (1978), "When You're Young" (1979), "Going Underground" (1979), "Dreams of Children" (1979)
• Joe Jackson – "Steppin' Out" (1982), "Real Men" (1982), "Breaking Us in Two" (1982)
• Level 42 – "Heaven in My Hands" (1988)
• Madonna – "Burning Up" (1983)
• Michael Jackson – "Billie Jean" (1983)
• Natalie Cole & Nat King Cole – "Unforgettable" (1991)
• Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark – "Maid of Orleans" (1982)
• Paul McCartney – "Pretty Little Head" (1986)
• Rod Stewart – "Baby Jane" (1983)
• Secret Affair – "Time for Action" (1979), "My World" (1980), "Sound of Confusion" (1980)
• Sheena Easton – "For Your Eyes Only" (1981), "Telephone" (1983)
• Simple Minds – "Promised You a Miracle" (1982)
• Skids – "Iona" (1981)
• Styx – "Haven't We Been Here Before" (1983)
• Supertramp – "Cannonball" (1985), "Better Days" (1986)
• Tears for Fears – "Pale Shelter" (1983)
• Toto – "Africa" (1982), "Rosanna" (1982), "Stranger in Town" (1984)
• ZZ Top – "Rough Boy" (1986), "Sleeping Bag" (1986)