10 Best Classic Rock Intros Of The 1980s

The '80s saw the rise of the MTV age, a gift for bands with the visuals to match their songs, riffs and productions. Many of the bands on this list had been successful before the dawn of the video age, but they wasted no time in capitalising on the new profile-raising medium to deliver some of the biggest hits of their careers.

However, great visuals don't count for much without a great song to back them up. Hand in hand with a great track is a killer intro - that distinctive scene-setter that catches your ear and pulls you in for the hook. If the tune doesn't grab you in the first 30 seconds, chances are you aren't going to stick around to see what else it has to offer.

Every entry on this list has not only a great intro, but an unforgettable chorus and the power to instantly transport you back to the first time that you heard it - the '80s were truly the last great decade for kickass rock 'n' roll.

Like so many of the songs here, the moment the intro kicks in the classic video come to mind. This was the song that transformed ZZ Top from a solid Texas blues n' boogie band - who already had enjoyed great success in the 'States - into global superstars.

The only thing that they changed about their sound was the addition of a little '80s trickery, via the use of sequencers on a couple of tracks. Once Billy Gibbons' greasy, distorted guitar enters you know right away who you are listening to. The 'Eliminator' album, from which this was taken, spawned a whole run of hits and for a couple of years ZZ Top were a fixture on MTV.

The ZZ Top image was already in place before the release of 'Eliminator' (hey, you can't grow those beards overnight), and the next couple of albums continued to generate big hits. Although the hits dried up eventually, the quality of their music never dropped, and ZZ Top continue to sell out stadiums around the world.