Classic song. First time seeing this video. What's striking is how the band did their make-up to simulate 1920s silent films like Metropolis. It's like a retro-futuristic vibe which gives the audience a visual hook to their music style.
First released in '78 but regained new popularity and chart success(UK No1 in March 1982) due to the Human League's 'Dare' lp and generally all the synth-band's explosion that made synth sounds more commercially potential and acceptable,getting a 'mainstream' establishement after also having been influenced by pioneer acts of this genre and especially Kraftwerk's discography.
Great band - one of the great influencers; listen to house and hip hop you'll hear them sampled there too. New Order's Blue Monday contains a Kraftwerk sample too. Don't forget Pete Townshend of the Who though when looking at synth music. Who's Next has some amazing synth work
If my memory serves me, Kraftwerk hit, unintentionally, the nerve on the burgeoning New Romantic/ Goth movement in London which turned this song to big hit. Of course the movement spawned the bands of its own, Spandau Ballet, Duran Duran and others. Roxy Music and Japan were heavy influences on the movement visually.
Kraftwerk are a German band from the 70s, and they were the pioneers of Krautrock (German Cosmic Music). Kraftwerk, especially Florian Schneider, inspired David Bowie (Berlin Trilogy) and Depeche Mode!
First live show I went to see was Kraftwerk (1981 computer world tour) absolutely blew my mind (first 10 minutes the electronics are playing the backing track and me and my mates are thinking "is this what a live gig is" and we're thinking if thats all lets go, then the band come on stage and the concert then gets properly going, tracks like trans europe express, (we are the) robots, autobahn, computer world, numbers etc) phenomenal sounds and visuals, you mentioned 80's synth & electronic bands but Kraftwerk tracks and samples were/are used in a lot of hip hop/rap tracks as well.
Without Kraftwerk no Electro Pop no Techno no Rave no Synthesizer Pop - they are one of the most influencial bands in music history even more than the Beatles ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1651r_oqy48.html the only German band who is inducted in the Rock´n Roll Hall of Fame