Those Barbarian Times: East Village `86

Here’s a curious one.

I must confess that, until this morning, I’d never heard of Terry Mann, the artist featured in the video below for the song “Barbarian,” a compelling little period piece captured around Alphabet City and other parts in 1986. I’m quite curious as to where exactly that big, open lot featured in the beginning was shot. I want to say those quick tracking shots (where Mann must have been stood at the rear of a flat-bed truck, maybe?) were taken around the Financial District, around the same neighborhood Yoko Ono and Zbigniew Rybczynski shot the clip for “Hell in Paradise.”

Here’s the info that goes with the clip:

Courtesy of NYC's Manic/Tango Productions, a music video production house once operated by the team of Abigail Simon and Tal Yarden out of 377 E. 8th St. in the East Village.

Clipping from the Video Track section of Billboard magazine dated June 28, 1986: "CBS International recording artist Terry Mann's video for 'Barbarian' was filmed at the now -defunct Manhattan cabaret 8 B.C. The clip is said to reflect Mann's East Village roots and employs some 50 extras, including members of local acts the Tomboys, Hell At Forty Feet, Band of Thieves, Harry Boy, and the Dogs. Abigail Simon produced for Manic /Tango; Tal Yarden directed." Professionally digitized from 3/4" U-matic tape by Rick Lombardi of Telefilm Transfers in Southampton, PA: Tape generously provided by Abigail Simon from her personal archives, who shared some background info: "Cornelius who owned 8BC is the main Mad Scientist dude, members of the Bad Brains, Frank Maya , and some other notorious east village characters of the time are in the cast...even Tal! it was a complete family production, shot in 8BC before the club was turned into Postmasters Gallery."

Regular readers might remember my invocation of 8BC from last April.

According to what I believe is his own official website, Mann abandoned New York and the travails of the duplicitous music industry to become a nomadic busker around Europe before settling in Amsterdam. You can find out more here.