The music of Daryl Hall and John Oates was most popular in the late 1970s and the early 1980s, with their soul-flavored pop hits frequently burning up the charts. While they did that, the punk rock revolution was underway in the U.K., and the U.S., with snotty, aggressive acts like the Sex Pistols, the Clash, and Black Flag energizing the disaffected youth. Hall and Oates may have seemed corporate and slick, but during an appearance on MTV in 1985, they demonstrated that they had some punk cred.
According to Rolling Stone, the duo refused to play nice during a live, phone-in event that aired on the burgeoning network to promote their album Big Bam Boom. "Why are you guys starting to dress so punky?" a caller named "Cinnamon" posed. After staring into the camera for a while, Hall replied, "Well, I have no answer for that." After playing the video for "Out of Touch," MTV VJ Mark Goodman pointed out that it had a director in common with the hit clip for the Cars' "You Might Think." Hall nodded and took a drag of a cigarette; Oates stared ahead blankly. Another caller inquired into the band's favorite group, to which Hall claimed "The Three Stooges." When asked their most embarrassing moment, the pop stars yelled, "Right now!" before they both descended into howling laughter, cracking up a nervous Goodman, too.
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