 The UK had been a home for music video pioneers . When MTV started broadcasting in 1982 , the importance of videos abruptly grew , changing from an occasional promotional fancy to an indispensable means of reaching an audience . MTV filled its programs with many hard rock and heavy metal videos , but these were too expensive for bands who either had no recording contract or had signed to small , independent labels . Moreover , music videos exalted the visual appeal of a band , an area where some British metal groups were deficient . So the NWOBHM suffered the same decline as other musical phenomena that were based on low @-@ budget productions and an underground following . Many of its leaders , such as Diamond Head , Tygers of Pan Tang , Angel Witch and Samson , were unable to follow up on their initial success ; their attempts to update their look and sound to match new expectations of the wider audience not only failed , but also alienated their original fans . By the mid @-@ 1980s , image @-@ driven , sex @-@ celebrating glam metal emanating from Hollywood 's Sunset Strip , spearheaded by Van Halen and followed by bands such as Mötley Crüe , Quiet Riot , Dokken , Great White , Ratt and W.A.S.P. , quickly replaced other styles of metal in the tastes of many British rock fans . New Jersey act Bon Jovi and the Swedish Europe , thanks to their successful fusion of hard rock and romantic pop , also became very popular in the UK , with the former even headlining the 1987 Monsters of Rock Festival . Record companies latched on to the more polished glam metal subgenre over the NWOBHM bands , which maintained a fan base elsewhere in Europe , but found themselves crowded out of the UK and US markets by the success of these American groups . 
