LOS ANGELES (UPI ) -- Alternative rock group R.E.M., rocker Chris Isaak and the techno-pop C+C Music Factory took top honors at an 8th annual MTV Video Music Awards Thursday night that featured some rare live performances.
R.E.M. won in six of its nine nominated categories, including video of the year for 'Losing My Religion.' Isaak took three awards and C+C Music Factory won two.
'We'd like to thank the fans from 12 years back all the way to today,' said R.E.M.'s lead singer Michael Stipe, who served as a walking billboard throughout the night, changing T-shirts that offered political opinions on everything from abortion to gun control.
Isaak's sexually provocative video 'The Wicked Game,' took top honors for best male video, cinematography and best video for a film for the Nicholas Cage movie, 'Wild at Heart.'
Janet Jackson's 'Love Will Never Do Without You' was named best female video, beating a bizarre list of nominees, ranging from Christian singer Amy Grant to Madonna's masturbation-tainted 'Like A Virgin.'
Aerosmith was named best metal-hard rock video for 'The Other Side.'
Backstage, Aerosmith's Steven Tyler commented on the group's longevity, saying, 'I don't take things too seriously. I take the music seriously and the albums seriously, but everything else I let roll off me a little bit. You have to.'
Best rap video went to LL Cool J for 'Momma Said, Knock You Out.'
He praised MTV, which virtually ignored black artists during its early years, as a medium that crosses all 'color boundaries.'
'I don't know what the definition of black music is. I just play what comes from my heart,' he said, sporting his trademark black patent leather rain hat and heavy gold jewelry.
Jane's Addiction's 'Been Caught Stealing' beat out R.E.M. for best alternative video, while Madonna's 'Immaculate Collection' was named best long-form music video.
Other winners included the group Faith No More for special effects and Jesus Jones for best new artist.
There was an unlikely roster of presenters from super model Cindy Crawford to actor-director Dennis Hopper, whose tuxedo looked wildly out of place in the crowd of young rockers, rappers and video mavens.
Prince, who almost never ventures out in public, performed 'Get Off, ' which served as the evening's grand finale. An elaborate set featured a recreation of Dante's inferno, complete with dancing flames and sweating, scantily-clad slaves.
R.E.M.'s 'Losing my Religion' from its 'Out of Time' album won three awards, including best breakthrough video, best group and best direction.
C + C Music Factory, an ensemble of singers and dancers led by rapper Freedom Williams and singer Zelma Davis, won awards for best dance video and choreography for the song 'Gonna Make You Sweat,' a pulsating number combining rap, rock and house music.
Crossover rock group Jane's Addiction beat out R.E.M. for best alternative video, a category won last year by Sinead O'Connor.
The evening's biggest surprise came when Paul Reubens took the stage in character as Pee Wee Herman following the opening credits. Reubens, arrested for indecent exposure at a Florida movie theater, was treated to a standing ovation.
Reubens appeared moved but then quipped, 'Heard any good jokes lately?' an apparent reference to the spate of Pee Wee jokes that spread across the country following his arrest.
The appearance was sanctioned by MTV executives.
Unlike most award shows, trophy presentations took a backseat to entertainment. A dozen performers took the stage at the Universal Ampitheater, including Poison, Paula Abdul, C+C Music Factory and Van Halen, which made its first live televised appearance.
Guns N' Roses performed live via satellite from London.
Live performances have become the acid-test for many artists since last year's lip-synching Milli Vanilli scandal, a means of distilling who is real and who was manufactured on the mixing board.
Arsenio Hall was the emcee of the show, which was broadcast to more than 100 countries.
The hardest-working man in show business now that he's out of prison, James Brown, was among a list of presenter that included Cher and Billy Idol.
MC Hammer, who won two MTV Video Music Awards last year, presented the Viewers Choice Award to Queensryche.
For comic relief, 'Saturday Night Live' basement-dwelling adolescent characters Wayne and Garth did a routine, as did the metal band spoof, Spinal Tap.
Awards in 22 artistic and technical categories were handed out during the three-hour show, broadcast to 140 affiliates as far-flung as Asia, Europe, South America and Australia.
Up for best video of the year with R.E.M. were Chris Isaak for 'Wicked Game,' Queensryche for 'Silent Lucidity,' the Divinyls for 'I Touch Myself,' Deee-Lite for 'Groove is in the Heart' and C+C Music Factory with 'Gonna Make You Sweat.'
