Synopsis

A woman waits at home while trying to reach someone far away, as ELO perform amid the futuristic blue pipes of Paris' Centre Pompidou. The video cuts between the band, the woman's increasingly stylized image, and sweeping views of Paris, including the subway and Arc de Triomphe. Pull-back shots suggest a telephone signal traveling from the city toward America, while electric blue computer effects turn the song's long-distance longing into a distinctly mid-1980s visual journey.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in Paris and makes prominent use of the Centre Georges Pompidou, whose exposed blue structural elements provide its most recognizable backdrop.

• Its visual language combines location footage with early computer-generated effects, including an electric blue woman's head and a face that fragments into a mosaic.

• The implied journey from Paris to America mirrors the song's central idea: trying to maintain an emotional connection across the Atlantic.

• "Calling America" was released in 1986 as the lead single from ELO's album "Balance of Power."

• The single reached No. 18 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 28 on the UK singles chart.

• It became ELO's final US Top 40 hit.