The Second British Invasion

In 1983, aided by the rise in popularity of MTV, a new wave of synth-driven pop music crossed the pond from Britain in what came to be known as the second British invasion.

Duran Duran went through several changes in lineup before hitting their stride in 1982 with keyboardist Nick Rhodes, bass guitarist John Taylor, drummer Roger Taylor, guitarist Andy Taylor, and vocalist Simon Le Bon.  Their second album Rio was released in 1982 and the single Hungry Like the Wolf peaked at #3 on the Billboard charts in America in March 1983.

Culture Club was also at the vanguard of British new wave.  The single Karma Chameleon spent three weeks at #1 on the Billboard charts in early 1984 and enjoyed heavy rotation on MTV.  

The importance of MTV to the dynamics of the Second British Invasion can not really be overstated.  By the turn of the decade from 1979-1980, Brits were already accustomed to music as a visual artform.  Shows like Ready Steady Go! and Top of the Pops arguably paved the way for American ingenuity to give rise to the all-music-all-the-time Rock format of Music Television.

MTV itself launched at 12:01 AM Eastern Time in a single small cable group in New Jersey.  Its effect was felt instantly in places where it aired since record stores in the area started selling music that local radio stations weren't playing, including many British acts.

The very first two minutes of MTV, including vanity footage of the first launch of Space Shuttle Columbia and the Apollo 11 mission:

With MTV fueling the Second British Invasion in America, it was only a matter of time before the music video became directly responsible for a song's success.  And that distinction is held by I Ran (So Far Away) by British new wave group A Flock of Seagulls which peaked at #9 on the US Billboard charts.