“Got My Mind Set on You” [1987]: a “Girl in the Video” update

How could something Beatles-related be completely—truly completely—undocumented? 

Welcome to the madcap step-by-step on how I finally found a person who appeared in one music video more than 30 years ago and has virtually no digital footprint.

Got my mind set on you indeed!

In 2013 and 2014, I ran a series called “Girl in the Video” for which I tracked down and interviewed 50 women who appeared in 42 iconic music videos of the 1980s and early 1990s. 

Some were deep in the shadows. Most had not been interviewed about this before. Some of their stories were amusing. Others were moving. 

Though I was thrilled with the people I found and the number who participated, some declined—or eluded me.

TEN YEARS LATER…

10/7/24

I received a message on Facebook from a person who determined possible identifications for the lead woman of two videos: “Should’ve Known Better” by Richard Marx and “Shake Me” by Cinderella. [I am aware that you can’t accurately call that song or video iconic; it’s just one I remembered, and I am steering this Starship.]

He did this by using a facial recognition site called PimEyes. Like plenty online, it can be used for purposes both legitimate [like research for a writing project] and unscrupulous.

The Marx woman did not check out and I’m still waiting to hear back from the Cinderella one. 

This launched a related mission that would play out over five days.

I used the site to check some of the other women on my “where can I find a woman like that” list.

Only one ended in success—up to a point. 

George Harrison released two videos for “Got My Mind Set on You” [1987], his third and last #1 hit and his last song to crack the top 10 in the U.S. The one that got more airplay on MTV features George playing guitar in a room where inanimate objects moved along with the song. The other video is a girl meets boy scene that takes place in an arcade. 

It was the lead girl in the arcade video whom I’d tried to find in 2013. 

I thought my best lead would be the boy from that video, actor Alexis Denisof [Buffy the Vampire Slayer]. He kindly replied to me on Twitter. Unfortunately, he did not remember her name, which I can understand given the short shoot and time passed. 

Upon plugging a screenshot of the girl’s face into PimEyes, I was directed to a 2022 message board thread about her.

In that thread, a woman posted that she attended the same UK school as the video star, and remembered her name was Sarah. She also remembered that Sarah won a 1986 model contest for a British magazine called Just Seventeen—and she bought a copy of that issue so she could come back and report her last name: REDACTED.

In the UK, many people have the name Sarah REDACTED.

Still, I searched that name with the artist and song title. No luck.

I searched that name with the magazine name and found nothing.

That thread seems to be the only page on the entire internet linking that girl to that video and to that model contest.

On Facebook and Instagram, I did not see someone with that name whom I thought resembled the girl in the video, plus she may have a married/different name now.

I went through an online cover gallery of the magazine. It was a weekly, which initially made me think this was going to be time-consuming, but I soon found a November 1986 issue with Sarah on the cover, announcing her as the winner.

I asked several sources if they could email scans of the article [and masthead], hoping it mentioned details that could focus the search, i.e. city she’s from, name of her parents, etc.

Both a kind eBay seller and a UK university archive did. The eBayer refused my offer to pay him. The university collection is cleverly called Femorabilia.

Alas—and surprisingly—the article had no details about her.

I began tracking down people who worked for Just Seventeen magazine at that time, using both the Facebook page for it and searching for names from the masthead.

It was hard to reach most of them. I’m not connected to any of them on social media and messages sent to strangers on Facebook and Instagram go into “hidden” inboxes that many people don’t know about and therefore never check.

When names were uncommon, I tried to find emails, and occasionally did.

The few who replied did not know anything about Sarah.

10/8/24 

The November issue of Just Seventeen indicated that the contest had been announced in an April issue, so I revisited the cover gallery, found the issue, and again requested scans of it. Obviously Sarah wouldn’t be mentioned in the announcement of a contest she had not yet entered, but perhaps it would include other names I could contact.

It didn’t.

10/9/24

It sunk in that the April and November issues said that readers voted on the models. Therefore, there would be an issue between April and November that lists all the entrants/finalists...and maybe more.

Luckily, revisiting the cover gallery yet again yielded pay dirt because a July cover not only said “You pick the winner” but also showed all 10 finalists.

I requested scans of that interior where, finally, I learned one more piece of valuable info: the city Sarah was from.

However, that was not instantly helpful because, as I said above, her name is common.

After a fruitless search of name + city, I went back to the message board. I knew it was a long shot that the former classmate who posted there about Sarah two years earlier would see let alone reply to a new post, but I asked anyway: what school?

Incredulously—within minutes—she responded with the name.

I asked this person to email me so I would not clog up the message board with my additional questions.

In the meantime, I learned that the school closed years ago. I went back to Facebook to ask groups connected to the school if anyone knows Sarah or knows anyone who might.

You can’t post to certain groups unless you’re a member, and sometimes such groups don’t accept you if you don’t have a direct connection. Sure enough, one of them declined my request.

I searched for articles about the school with the hope that I’d find alum names for whom I could then find contact info.

I tried to find emails for the admins of those Facebook groups, the only members whose names I, a non-member, could see.

I contacted a newspaper archive in Sarah’s hometown, figuring a local model contest winner would have gotten some press and hoping someone would be willing to check, well, most of 1986…obviously a big ask.

10/10/24

The archive suggested posting to a Facebook group for her hometown, which has many more members than the school groups. Also, the archive could research for me for £35 per hour.

While waiting to see if the hometown group would accept me [which it did, after about six hours], I tried another Hail Mary—looking for any of the nine model contest finalists.

I knew they’d all met because they posed for a photo together, but assumed they didn’t learn much about each other that day—or if they did, likely wouldn’t remember it nearly forty years later.

Most of their names were also common. Of the nine, I did a quick search for six. I found that one had spent three years in isolation in Tibet and adopted a Buddhist name:

Rebecca Tisbury, 23, hugs a friend goodbye as she prepares to embark on 3 years of isolation at the Samye Ling Tibetan retreat, November 7. Rebecca, formerly a top fashion model, will emerge from the retreat in February 1997

I found record of another of the finalists, but didn’t pay to access contact info.

I found a third on Facebook and was surprised that she responded quickly [given that my message had gone into that aforementioned hidden inbox]. She did not know about Sarah but kindly said she’d ask around. I thought she meant the “former models” community. 

Minutes later, she sent a link to a Facebook profile I’d seen the day before but had quickly moved on from because that Sarah REDACTED [who was wearing sunglasses] did not immediately seem to resemble 1986 Sarah. But that was before I knew that Sarah was from the city of REDACTED…and this profile says this Sarah is from SAME REDACTED.

I messaged this Sarah, but instead of waiting weeks or more for her to stumble upon it [her last post visible to me was from 2014], I found emails for some of her Facebook friends and emailed them, hoping someone could connect us or pass along my request.

10/11/24 

Under my post on the Facebook page for her hometown, two kindly wrote that they know Sarah and will notify her. A person I emailed said the same.

Then weeks of silence.

11/4/24 

One of those go-betweens told me she was glad to reconnect with Sarah after at least a decade but also reported what already seemed clear: Sarah does not want to be interviewed.

Hugely disappointing.

But also exhilarating to solve at least part of a mystery that lasted five days, and before that 10 years, and before that 26 years. 

Appropriately, it was there all along in the lyrics to “Got My Mind Set on You”:

It’s gonna take time

Whole lot of precious time

It’s gonna take patience and time

Hopefully one day soon Sarah will feel comfortable sharing her memories of that experience.

First school visits in London

On 2/17/23, I arrived in London for my first school visits in the United Kingdom. But my initial catalyst to make the weeklong trip was not those speaking engagements. For what was, see the end of this post.

Hampton Court House

(one of the three schools I spoke at; 

it's housed in a handsome structure built in 1757)

exterior of HCH

Knightsbridge School

Eaton Square Prep School

Big Ben

(not a school)

Westminster Abbey

Buckingham Palace

Hampton Court Palace,

onetime home of Henry VIII and his VI wives

Kew Gardens

The Hive, a striking installation in Kew Gardens

A decade ago I found and interviewed the five women who appeared 

in the iconic video for "Addicted to Love" by Robert Palmer. 

On this trip, I met three of them in person. 

Mak Gilchrist gave me an articulate and fascinating tour of Kew Gardens.

Julie Pankhurst and Julia Bolino took me to a

popular meeting spot with character in spades.

I saw the musical inspired by Back to the Future.

I thought this was the funniest part.

speaking of funny (because tragedy plus time equals...)

again speaking of funny: three coffee shops in a row

I walked a lot in London.

The reason I planned the trip...my daughter would be in town,

returning from a five-week gap year service trip in Kenya.

I surprised her. At the airport at 6:30 am.

Meeting the "Addicted to Love" video women

Ten years ago, I had the thrill and privilege of being the first person to find and interview all five women from the iconic video for Robert Palmer's "Addicted to Love" (1986).

A year later, the fab five reunited in person for the first time since the shoot.

Lovely people all, and we've stayed in touch. Patty Elias lives in California, Kathy Davies lives in Thailand, and the other three are still in London (where the video was shot).

On 2/17/23, at Bluebird in London, I had the thrill and privilege to meet two of them in person, Julie Pankhurst (keyboards) and Julia Bolino (guitar far right). 

Julie again on left, Julia again on right.

A wee bit blurry but best we got. Gonna have to face it.

Three days later, still in London, I met a third, Mak Gilchrist, who had been out of town the night I met Julie and Julia. She took me on an enlightening walking tour of Kew Gardens, where I'd never been. 

It was mind-warping to get to know people I'd known of since I was 14 and now consider friends.

Everyone has a story behind the story...

Bat signals out west

From January 21-24, 2020, I spoke at five schools in California, two in Los Angeles and three in Bakersfield (my first time).

The schools got into the bat-spirit. I didn't document every banner but here are two (which have similar color schemes):

 Curtis School, Los Angeles

Veterans Elementary, Bakersfield

Thank you to all the Cali schools who kindly hosted me. I had a wonderful time despite the unavoidable traffic.

Fun fact: Bakersfield is where Sherrie Swafford, she of the Steve Perry song "Oh Sherrie," lives. We had plans to meet; it didn't work out this go-round but I think I'll be back in Bakersfield before long and we're both determined to make it happen then.

Best wrong-but-really-right number ever

In 2013, I was prepping round 2 of my "girl in the video" series for which I tracked down and interviewed 50 or so iconic 1980s MTV ingenues from "Sister Christian" to all five women in the "Addicted to Love" band. 

I was looking for Cindy Horn, the woman in the video for Ray Parker Jr.'s "Ghostbusters."

On a public records site I have often used for research, I found what was listed as her number and called. Her husband answered. Mildly annoyed yet still polite, he said I was actually using his private home line. I apologized and told him where I got it. He said he hates when that happens. I understand.

Her husband is Alan Horn, Chairman of Walt Disney Studios.

But he took my info and gave Cindy the message.

Seeing "The Heart of Rock & Roll" jukebox musical in San Diego

I dressed as Huey Lewis.

I interviewed women who starred in Huey Lewis and the News videos.

I met Huey Lewis (and some of the News).

And now I've seen the new musical based on the songs of Huey Lewis and the News.

The Heart of Rock & Roll world-premiered in San Diego in September 2018 and is set to close in late October. As luck may have it, I was already scheduled to be in California during the show's run, but in Redlands, about 1.5 hours from San Diego. 

Still, not knowing if the musical would be successful enough to pop up elsewhere, I seized the opportunity. I flew directly to San Diego, drove straight to the show, and straight afterward drove into the night to my Redlands-area hotel.

Bonus: This poster combines two things I love.

The story was better than I was expecting based on a review or two I read, but of course this was not first and foremost about a story. The songs were the stars. I've rarely heard HLATN songs reinterpreted, so that was a rare treat. I was pleasantly surprised that the show included a few songs that were not hits ("I Never Walk Alone," "World to Me") and one song Huey wrote specially for the story. 

It was worth the side trip.

It was hip to be there.

Two special guests at a special speaking event

On 6/14/18, I did something old and new at the same time.

I gave my talk about the often-tragic backstories of Superman and Batman at the Raue Center for the Arts, a performance venue in Crystal Lake, IL that has hosted notables from David Sedaris to Rick Springfield.

I've delivered a version of this presentation so many times, but never quite like this. That is to say that I've done evening events, I've done events where people actually paid to hear me speak, and I've done events in beautiful settings—but never, as far as I can recall, all at once. (And certainly never on a stage that has featured Los Lobos.)

Like many authors, I tend to go into events like this with low expectations (so as not to be disappointed if no one shows). The hall—originally a 1920s vaudeville theater, then a cinema—was not filled, but I was happy with the 50 or so people who attended.

Two in particular.

One was Lee Ann Marie, one of the women whom I interviewed because she appeared in a popular 1980s music video, Survivor's "I Can't Hold Back" (1984).

She could not stay for the talk but made a special surprise trip—with her mom—to say hi since she and I had not yet met in person. About 30 minutes before showtime, before the audience was let in, she walked down one of the unlit aisles of the Raue to introduce herself. It almost reminded me of one of her scenes from the video (see second black-and-white photo at that link)—sans smoke, of course.

It was so lovely to see her and meet her mother.

I knew in advance that the other special guest would be there, but that made it no less special. Her name is Hannah Klamecki. In 2007, she survived two days alone in the woods. She was 5 years old. In my 2010 book Vanished: True Stories of the Missing, I told her story.

In 2012, when she was 11, I met her for the first time. 

The Raue marked the second time I've seen her (and her wonderful parents, Mike and Carol) in person...and it was, by chance, the eve of the 11th anniversary of her rescue.

She's got a boyfriend, a nose ring, an admirable sense of self, and college plans. Oh, and she's got several inches on me.

I'm so proud of the person she's become and so honored that in telling her story, her family have become my friends.

Martha Quinn tweeted about my '80s video girls interviews

For many my age, the "M" in "MTV" stands for "Martha."

As in original MTV VJ Martha Quinn.

Honored she did this. Impressed she remembered this. (I posted the second and to date last installment in 2014.)

Thanks, Martha!

Addicted to lies

Within two weeks of each other, two people commented here that they each know a (different) woman who claims she was one of the five “bandmates” in the iconic 1986 “Addicted to Love” video…yet not one of the five I featured.

One is a high school English teacher named Anita Dowd.

The other is named Alison-Louise Mitchell.

However, I tracked down and interviewed all five women from the video, and all five know one another, and none knows the names of these other two, so it’s a rather bizarre bid for attention or…something.

From one of the five ATL ladies:

“Many have claimed otherwise, but we five are without a doubt the girls in the original ‘Addicted’ video. It’s actually quite easy to get away with claiming to be in it as the makeup is difficult to see through…until you put our faces next to our younger ones and you can see it was us.”

2014 reunion

I couldn’t resist the title of this post, but concede that it is too harsh and maybe inaccurate. There are other explanations for these claims.

Perhaps the people posting about Anita and Alison-Louise are sincerely misremembering the reality. Perhaps those women were on set but as musicians, not models. Or perhaps they were dancers in another Robert Palmer video. Perhaps Anita and Alison-Louise did say they were ATL women, but as a joke that was taken for truth. Perhaps they were so under the influence of something in the ‘80s that they genuinely believed they were in the video. And so on.

By the way, did you spot me in Madonna’s “Vogue”?