Ancient Egypt has been stopping music videos in their tracks for nearly 50 years. What started as a chaotic green-screen pyramid stunt in 1979 grew into one of pop culture’s greatest love affairs, ending with a Colombian superstar shutting down the Sphinx itself in 2022. Here is how a civilization built 4,000 years ago became the world’s most irresistible music video backdrop.
The British Pop Scene That Made Egypt a Visual Shorthand
It started with a band, an improvised video shoot, and a pyramid made entirely of green screen.
Madness released “Night Boat to Cairo” as part of their 1979 debut album “One Step Beyond.” The music video was hastily filmed in a London studio because there was simply no time to produce anything elaborate before the record hit shelves. The band dressed in stereotypical British colonial attire, complete with Wolseley pattern pith helmets, and performed in front of a chroma-keyed pyramid backdrop while the song’s lyrics bounced across the screen in karaoke style.
The result was deliberately chaotic. During the instrumental sections, the band marched, ran, and performed their signature “Nutty Train” routine around the set. The video peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart and helped lock in Egypt as an instant visual shorthand for British pop music for years to come.
British singer-songwriter Kate Bush added a more mystical dimension to Egypt’s pop presence that same year. When she premiered her track “Egypt” during a BBC Christmas Special in 1979, later releasing it on her 1980 album “Never for Ever,” she described it as “an attempted audial animation of the romantic and realistic visions of a country.” That album became the first studio album by a British female solo artist to enter the UK Albums Chart at number one, making Egypt part of a genuinely historic cultural moment.
The Bangles Made Egyptian History With a Ferry Ride Idea
The most chart-stopping Egyptian-themed pop song in history began on a rough boat crossing over the English Channel.
Songwriter Liam Sternberg was traveling by ferry when choppy waters sent passengers scrambling to keep their balance. Their stiff, outstretched arms and jerky body movements reminded him instantly of ancient Egyptian figures painted on tomb walls. He wrote “Walk like an Egyptian” in a notebook right there on the boat, with no idea it would eventually become a global phenomenon.
The song was first offered to Toni Basil, who rejected it, and then to Lene Lovich, who recorded a version before stepping back from music. The Bangles eventually recorded it and released it in September 1986 as the third single from their album “Different Light.”
“Walk Like an Egyptian” reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 20, 1986, stayed at the top for four weeks, and became Billboard’s number one song of the entire year of 1987.
The record made history in more ways than one:
- First song by an all-female group playing their own instruments to top the Billboard Hot 100
- Reached number one in at least seven other countries worldwide
- Nominated for Best Group Video at the 1987 MTV Video Music Awards
- A million-selling single that pushed their album “Different Light” to number two on the Billboard 200
The music video, directed by Gary Weis, mixed concert performance footage with street scenes of everyday New Yorkers striking exaggerated pharaonic poses. Its instantly recognizable sideways arm choreography turned into one of the most imitated dance moves of the entire decade, proving that ancient Egypt could be both timeless and deeply, joyfully fun.
Michael Jackson’s “Remember the Time” Changed the Rules
Michael Jackson did not make a music video for “Remember the Time.” He made a nine-minute short film that redefined what was possible in the format.
Released as the second single from the “Dangerous” album on January 14, 1992, the video was directed by John Singleton, fresh off the critical success of “Boyz n the Hood.” Singleton had one firm condition before agreeing to direct the project. The entire cast and production had to be Black, presenting ancient Egypt as the civilization of African royalty it historically was.
Jackson agreed without hesitation. Eddie Murphy played the Pharaoh, supermodel Iman played the Queen, and NBA star Magic Johnson appeared in a supporting role, all set against an elaborate ancient Egyptian court built on the Universal Studios Hollywood backlot in January 1992.
The video premiered live simultaneously on ABC, NBC, Fox, BET, and MTV on February 2, 1992, recording a Nielsen Rating of 13.1 on the Fox broadcast alone, making it one of the most watched event premieres in pop music history.
Entertainment Weekly described it as “a gorgeous ancient Egyptian extravaganza.” Rolling Stone later ranked it number 18 on a list of Jackson’s greatest short films in 2014. The single itself was certified Gold by the RIAA in March 1992 and went on to achieve Triple Platinum status in 2022, over three decades after it first dropped.
When Real Egypt and Fantasy Egypt Both Hit Differently
Not every artist needed Hollywood sets to capture Egypt’s magic. Shania Twain went to the real place instead.
Twain filmed the music video for “The Woman in Me (Needs the Man in You)” on location in Cairo and Saqqara, Egypt, in July 1995. Directed by Markus Blunder, the video shows her riding horseback beside the Pyramids of Giza, sailing a boat down the Nile River, and wandering through ancient ruins in flowing desert looks. Twain later described it as her favorite video she ever made, specifically recalling riding a black Arabian horse barefoot at the base of the great pyramids.
Katy Perry took a completely different approach in 2014. Rather than traveling to Egypt, she built one from scratch in Los Angeles.
“Dark Horse,” released February 20, 2014, was directed by Mathew Cullen and featured Perry playing a Cleopatra-inspired character she named “Katy Patra.” The concept came directly from Perry after she discovered the ancient Egyptian city of Memphis shared its name with rapper Juicy J’s hometown of Memphis, Tennessee. She told Cullen she wanted to mash up ancient Egyptian culture with Memphis hip-hop, a creative idea he said was “music to his ears.”
The “Dark Horse” video became the most viewed music video worldwide in 2014, accumulating approximately 2.5 billion views on YouTube and becoming the first music video by a female artist to reach one billion views on Vevo.
Several Egyptologists who reviewed the video for TIME magazine pointed out genuine historical details embedded in the production, including accurate hieroglyphics and legitimate visual references to the goddess Isis. The song also won Best Single at the 2014 American Music Awards, proving that Egypt could sell just as convincingly in a CGI palace as it could on real desert sand.
KAROL G Closed the Pyramids and the World Noticed
In November 2022, Colombian reggaeton star KAROL G did something no pop artist had ever managed before. She temporarily closed the Pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx to film a music video.
“Cairo,” released November 13, 2022, was directed by Pedro Artola and filmed entirely on location across the Egyptian capital. Filming locations included the Pyramids of Giza, the Saladin Citadel, the Sultan Hassan Mosque, the Qasr el-Nil Bridge, and the Nile River. KAROL G shared on Instagram that she had always wanted to visit Egypt and described achieving the pyramid closure as “one of the best feelings of my life.”
The video recorded 25 million YouTube views in just its first ten days and turned global media attention toward Egypt almost immediately upon release.
The commercial performance of “Cairo” confirmed that Egypt still holds extraordinary pulling power for global audiences:
- Peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot Latin Songs chart
- Debuted at number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100
- Topped the Billboard Colombia Songs chart for eight consecutive weeks
- Reached number 51 on the Billboard Global 200
- Achieved massive airplay chart success across Colombia, Peru, and Ecuador
Egyptian media responded with genuine enthusiasm. Multiple outlets reported that the video’s global success was expected to drive fresh international interest in Egypt as a travel and tourism destination, proving that a well-made music video can still move the needle for an entire country.
From Madness goofing around with a green screen to KAROL G closing the Sphinx for a dream shoot, ancient Egypt has served as the world’s most magnetic music video backdrop for nearly half a century. Every generation of artists finds a new reason to return, whether for the visual power, the historical weight, the physical beauty, or simply because nothing else on earth looks quite like it. That a civilization built more than 4,000 years ago continues to shape the most viewed videos on the internet today is not just impressive. It is proof that some stories never get old. What do you think keeps global pop artists coming back to ancient Egypt again and again? Drop your thoughts in the comments below.
