Why the 'Start Me Up' video kept it simple – and who called the shots

The “Start Me Up” video was directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg, the same guy who directed the Stones’ Rock and Roll Circus and the Beatles’ “Hey Jude” clip. He’s basically the guy who invented the “band in a room” video format.

The simple studio setup wasn’t laziness; it was deliberate. The song started life as a reggae outtake from the Some Girls sessions in 1978, and when they dusted it off for Tattoo You, they wanted a visual that matched the raw, live feel of the track. Lindsay-Hogg shot the band in a small, nondescript room with minimal lighting – no sets, no narrative, just four guys plugging in and playing. The idea was to make you feel like you were in the studio with them, watching it come together.