"MTV and BET both really did play it quite often," he said. "I went and met with both of them and really pleaded the case, and everybody sort of got on board. But you're right - it was too black for white radio and too white for black radio, sort of ironically exposing our own apartheid!"
Here's the video so you can check it out for yourself:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aopKk56jM-I
Soloists you'll recognize: Run-DMC, Pat Benatar, Bruce Springsteen, George Clinton.
Look quick for: Pete Townshend, Bob Dylan, Peter Wolf of J. Geils Band, Ringo Starr and his son Zak, Motley Crue.
1985 period piece: That's actress Daryl Hannah with Jackson Browne. They were one of the hottest celebrity couples at the time, and she decided that she wanted to be a singer, too. Hannah also sang backup on Browne's duet with Clarence Clemons "You're a Friend of Mine" that was in the Top 40 at the same time as "Sun City."
Additional historical note: The most recognizable face here for any youngsters who haven't watched The Sopranos is Bono, who wasn't even a big star in the States yet. U2 had only one Top 40 hit at this point, the MLK-memorializing "Pride (In the Name of Love)," and were becoming more known in the US after the band's Live Aid performance.
Coolness Factor: Joey Ramone got to sing the most provocative lyric (the anti-Reagan one), and Oates got to sing almost as much as Hall!