One hit wonder. I'm sure there are people that bought the album but this was the only song on the radio. If you have the time you should check out the original MTV video this is not the original. There's a lot of truth to this song. If you compare 70s bands to after, it turned into who looked best in front of the camera. there are songs like from Chicago and the Doobie Brothers that some of the bands after, MYV started, couldn't handle even if they tried. Before they didn't have the effects, the music became more catchy and was that about actually playing difficult music. This song in point. This was the beginning of a category called New Wave, in which turned into techno.
I remember it well. There were a lot of empty channels on cable in those days. Somehow I learned that a music video channel was going on air on one of them and turned to it on the day of its premier. The screen showed some color bars and digital text with a timer counting down to airtime, so I rode my bike around the neighborhood for an hour or so and came back to this. As a young drummer it became a huge chunk of my existence, and I remember fondly that brief period of time when MTV was truly Music Television.
I was in the Air Force stationed in England in 78-80, and they had a show called Top of the Pops where I saw this video for the first time. MTV was not the first TV show that featured music videos, I think Top of the Pops was.
There's an awesome podcast on Sirius XM called the I Want My 80s Podcast starring 3 of the original MTV vjs-Alan Hunter, Mark Goodman, & Nita Blackwood, that discusses the beginning of MTV.
They were a bit of a one hit wonder,Geoff Downes went on to join both "Yes" and "Asia".Trevor Horne went on to write song for some of the BIGGEST names in the Music Industry.Horn embarked on a highly successful career as a record producer, achieving success with the bands ABC, Dollar, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Art of Noise, and even the albums 90125 and Big Generator from a re-formed Yes, with Jon Anderson back on vocals. In 1985, Horn won the Best Producer BRIT Award. More than twenty years on, he is still active, producing with Seal, Tina Turner, Paul McCartney, Tom Jones, Cher, Simple Minds, Belle and Sebastian, t.A.T.u., Charlotte Church, Captain, Pet Shop Boys and Robbie Williams among his many credits. He is currently working with his new band, the Producers, who released the album Made in Basing Street in 2012.
I love this song so much. It's got this wonderful mismatch of New Wave sensibility, (for the time) cutting-edge electronic music which now sounds completely retro, and it's about the past glory of radio. It's like this beautiful mash-up of intentional retro layered over unintentional retro, and it still completely works in a way that feels real and not artificial, even though it's intentionally loaded with all sorts of artifice.
I was 18 in 1982 in what was the Miami of the North East, sun, beaches, fast boats, and yes the white....and we weren't the Hamptons.....was nuts....it was so bad, we had our own DEA field office
When I was in high school I remember a club called The New Wave Lounge where they played all early 80s music. Killer time for so many great artists & bands, it was a new sound as disco died and rock switched gears to the hair bands.
Yep, New Wave. Like the line in the Bellamy Brothers' "Old Hippie," which Jamel has reacted to: "He's got young friends into New Wave/But he's just too friggin' old."
"Video Killed The Radio Star" First song to be played on MTV. Great history with this band. After this hit, the two joined Yes (as singer & keyboardist) for the Drama album & one year tour. After one year Trevor Horn left to be a producer. He produced Seal's first albums (including tunes Crazy & Kiss From A Rose). Horn also returned to produce Yes albums 90125 & Big Generator (co writing credit on "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" as well). Many other artists of the 80's & 90's were produced by Horn (Relax- Frankie Goes To Hollywood, the band ABC, plus more). Horn also created a band Art Of Noise, that had a few minor hits. Peter Gunne cover was one. Geoff Downes left Yes to form the band Asia who had a string of hits. Years later, Downes rejoined Yes. These two were pioneers in their sound & for the 80's & 90's music style. Interesting group.
The main guy behind The Buggles, Trevor Horn, also produced Frankie Goes To Hollywood and their hit “Relax”. If you like this song, you will also like “Pop Muzik “ by M and “Cars” by Gary Numan.
"Age of Plastic" is what my roommates and I put into the stereo on the days we cleaned the apartment to keep our energy up back in college days (1979-1983). "Clean Clean!"
Man, I remember the song "I Ran (So Far Away)" by The Flock Of Seagulls. But I remember the Bowling For Soup cover better (it was the opening theam for the cartoon show/anime Knights of the Zodiac bka Saint Saya).
Yep, the first song to be played on MTV. It was pretty accurate because it seems in most cases if people don’t have the right look their talent is mainly overlooked 💯
Except it is inaccurate. The song is not about "videoS" killing radio stars of the 70s, it is about television (video singular) killing radio stars who were famous before television.
@@jamieflowers1493 Hi, I got what you’re saying. The point I was trying to make was unfortunately many that have tremendous talent are not accepted because they don’t have the image that fits for profit to the industry. ☮️
That's interesting a British band would be the first video on MTV, I'm British and the first video on MTV europe was Dire Straights, money for nothing, fun facts
@@bigdaddigaming Hi, that really is interesting, I love the fun facts & any extra info. I think that the choice of song was very relevant to the kind of channel it was. I really like Dire Straits & ‘Money for nothing’ &’Sultans of swing’ are my favorites. I get your point though about the irony of the song choices for both countries. Thanks for the info 🤗
Check out The Buggles’ “Living in the Plastic Age” and “Elstree”. Trevor Horn was part of Art of Noise, their biggest hit was “Close (To the Edit)”. He is also a prolific music producer. Geoffrey Downes was in the group Asia who had the hits “Heat of the Moment”, “Only Time Will Tell” and “Don’t Cry”.
Heck, check out the entire album - The Age of Plastic. Then check out Bruce Wooley and the Camera Club's version of Video Killed the Radio Star. Bruce co-wrote this one and some others with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. Both bands released the song at about the same time, but it was The Buggles version that got all of the attention. Bruce's version has a bit more of a rock feel to it. It also has Thomas Dolby on the keyboards and you can't go wrong there! The other song that I remember both bands releasing was 'Clean, Clean.' Again, it's interesting to compare versions. I like them both, but there is a different feel to the versions.
This is about the advent of television killing the radio drama stars that was listened to before the widespread distribution of television back when there were only three channels & later PBS
Yes and no. I mean - right there in the lyrics there's mention of the year 1952. There was a wave of changing technology throughout all forms of media and artistic expression and the lyrics peg the 60s. Horn has mentioned Kraftwerk being an influence on the song. There was a perception that things were about to change... were changing... and a nostalgic concern what that would mean. That the song itself is New Wave is... well... interesting.
This is just the promo video. They made an official music video: Famed film composer Hans Zimmer is briefly seen. A woman floating in a tube, Virginia Hey, is known best for her role in Farscape as the blue alien Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan, but also another warrior woman in Mad Max: The Road Warrior. Lead guy singing and playing bass, Trevor Horn, went on to craft the production sound of Yes in the 80s (Owner of a Lonely Heart, Leave it, for examples), his own avante garde experiments as part of The Art of Noise, and helped Frankie Goes to Hollywood with their biggest hit.
The singer , Trevor Horn replace Jon Anderson in Yes for the album Drama in 1980. After he was a succesful producer especially for the most popular Yes album , 90125 , in 1983 !
I love that you found your way to this band. Trevor Horn member of the Buggles went on to be an incredible song writer and producer. He co-wrote Owner of the lonely heart, yes Yes! He Was their lead singer in 1981. He also Discovered and Produced Seal. Along with many other bands in the 80’s.😀
Someone could be a radio star without being a beautiful person. That's the whole gist.... If you had to be on camera, then you had to be pretty, be something other than JUST a musician. There were lots of very talented musicians who could not make the leap from the radio to the TV.
The Buggles (pronounced like a beetle is a bug ... BUG + els) were described as New Wave or Synth Pop in terms of genre. This was there only song to chart and the band didn’t quite last five years. Geoff Downes went on to play bass and sing lead for Asia right after the breakup. Trevor Horn did several projects after the iglesia as well. You generally will find the Buggles among the one-hit-wonders, a bit unfair as they had more success in the U.K.
Does not matter Boys and Girls, Guys and Dolls. Saw this first on Video West and when it came on empty v, 1st. Vid. I was with an established S.F. Metal drummer, drinking me dads pinched scotch. After this played... My buddy said, give us another drink, this is the end of radio. And then there was KUSF. After
Trevor Horn, the singer and producer became the singer for Yes in 1980. He did a great job! Also produced "Slave to the Rhythm" by Grace Jones, "Relax" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, "Crazy" by Seal amongst others. A real genius!
The Buggles also reached the Top20 in the UK with 'Living in the Plastic Age', so they were not strictly a one hit wonder. Their wonderful album "Adventures in Modern Recording" is worth a listen.
Not true that they had nothing else. They made two albums and although subsequent singles didn't make as much of an impression as Video Killed the Radio Star, songs such as Elstree (about the film studio), Livening in the Plastic Age and Adventures in Modern Recording (a favourite of mine) did get radio play (at least in the UK). As people are saying, Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes joined Yes, after which Horn went on to be a big name producer (Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC) and record company owner (ZTT). Downes was a founder member of the prog rock supergroup Asia (you should check out their track Heat of the Moment).
@@startledmoose My reference was more to single radio or video airplay in North America. Video killed..... was the only top 40 hit, possibly only hot 100 charting record.
Love the Buggles. One of the greatest 'one hit wonders' of all time.Based on the emergence of music videos and their impact on musicians who didn't have one. Still a classic.
The vocalist Trevor Horn became a world class record producer. He produced hits like "Owner of a Lonely Heart" by Yes, "Kiss From A Rose" by Seal, "The Look of Love" by ABC, "Downtown Train" by Rod Stewart, and "Can't Fight The Moonlight" by LeAnn Rimes.
Best way to hear more from these guys is to listen to the "Drama" album by Yes. Trevor Horn & Geoff Downes were in that band for that one album right after this song was released. Trevor Horn produced a couple of Yes albums after that. You can listen for him in The Art Of Noise as well.
I remember when this song came out I thought the singer was Jon Anderson on Yes. I heard on the radio that there was a connection with The Buggles and Yes.
@@elysehfm8797 I know, after I had finished I saw I was the only one that liked the video but then when I went back into it again it jumped to 104! It's amazing how quickly videos can be viewed!
@4:35 - When she starts vocalizing here and through the rest of the song I always thought it was something done in the studio. I was shocked to see them perform this live and she hit all those notes without missing a beat! Incredible!
I don't understand why everyone in the comments are calling this the first video shown on MTV. This is a performance of the band in front of an audience with an audio dub. Yes, it's the correct song - but not the correct video. The actual first video that was played on MTV is this version: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-W8r-tXRLazs.html
The Buggles were mainly a vehicle for producer Trevor Horn, who's credits are iNSANE! They had another hit in the UK with Living The Plastic Age, then Trevor joined Yes for a while. He produced may 80's bands and still (kind of) works today.
Wow! You just took back Jamel! I remember being glued in front of the TV with my girlfriends having a sleep over waiting for that first MTV video at midnight & it was THIS! Thanks for the flashback!
This is the Buggles 2nd video of the song ... this isn't the one on MTV ... Here's the 1st two hours ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-PJtiPRDIqtI.html Stay Safe 😷 & 💗 Much Love ~😈🔺🦋
I sat in front of the TV, nothing but fuzz, in 1981 at the age of 18, and watched as MTV blazed to life. It was glorious and I sure do miss those days.
I was 10 or 11 years old when this came out in the UK. I thought it was the greatest song in the world for a couple of months. edit: check out some prog rock and synth pop artists brother, you'll find similar stuff to Buggles.
You sent me down the rabbit hole! I found the first 2 hours of MTV on the youtubes! Of course I was old enough to stay up for it. PS. Mark Goodman was the opening VJ. At one time he was a DJ on WMMR-93.3 Phil-ah-delphia. Great stuff Jamel/Jamal
As a band they were a one hit wonder. But the singer became one of the most successful producers of the 80's and 90's. Producing Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC, and Seal. And Yes. His name is Trevor Horn.
Love my 80's!!!! I was 10 yrs old when MTV debuted their music channel. For me, watching the 1st video on MTV was like watching the first man walk on the moon. What wonderful memories!
This band was formed by Geoff Downes and Trevor Horn. Shortly after this, they joined Yes (replacing Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman). Then when Yes split up a short time later, Downes helped for Asia. Quite a prog pedigree with this guys.
Strangely enough, this song still holds up by todays standards. If it played on the "radio" today, it would be up on the top of the list real fast. Good on you for reviewing this old classic.
I was in the Air Force stationed in England in 78-80, and they had a show called Top of the Pops where I saw this video for the first time. MTV was not the first TV show that featured music videos, I think Top of the Pops was. Anyhow, this song brings back some great memories. Thanks Jamel!
I think, going back in the eons of time, yes I'm that old, it was in the late 70's I believe.. This is the first EVER music video I had ever seen.. And it still looks good today.. OH it's pronounced BUG-els Loving your reactions as always Jamel, keep up the god work young Sir. Best wishes from Wales
This was a TV performance for German TV. There is a music video for this song. It is classified as "New Wave" music (a subgenre of Rock music, bands in this subgenre include The Buggles, Lene Lovich, Gary Numan, The Cars, Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Blondie, etc.). Another music video by The Buggles that you might want to react to, is for the song, "(Living In) The Plastic Age". According to Wikipedia, The Buggles only recorded two albums before breaking up in 1982. The Buggles have done some reunion concerts during the past twenty years or so.
Jamel, Buggles was Trevor Horn, one of the super producers of the 80s and 90s. He discovered Seal, Frankie Goes To Hollywood and ABC, Gave Grace Jones a monster album Slave To The Rhythm, gave Yes their only Top 10 hit Owner Of A Lonely Heart. He had the midas touch.
I totally love that show the sing off! I was trying to explain it to my friend in Portland Oregon earlier this evening and she didn't understand what I was talking about I was so aggravated dude.
Nothing “top 40” but in the mid 80s Dr Demento had a special on Mtv He played songs like “Take a Skinhead Bowling by Camper VanBeethoven and Fishheads (roly poly fisheads!!) 🤣and I remember he played some of their other stuff 😉
@@philipsmith4321 You know how it is, if it isn’t a hit in the US “it never happened” 😉 I will NEVER FORGET when Harvey Levin on TMZ was interviewing singer Psy (Korean singer - Gangnam Style) and asked if if he was afraid he would become a “One Hit Wonder” and the other guy chimed in “umm, you do realize he is extremely popular in South Korea?” 😂
I never saw the launch of MTV but heard this song every time I started up my "GTA-Vice City" game. At the time that game was a game changer, still an all time favorite of mine. Good story line, great voice actors and a lot of killer songs from the era. Thanks Jamel, Peace.
@@robert_bbiii I was going to say that!! How can you disrespect the music of 79-81??!! There was so much variety!! It was awesome! Even now I listen to the 80s Top 40 countdown on SiriusXm (original Mtv DJs) and I LOVE listening to the early 80s!
yea from 1965 to 1977 there was new stuff coming out all the time ,the album charts was vastly different from singles chart so you got loads to choose from ,then you also had the jazz fusion bands from the Miles Davis alumi like rtf ,MILES ahead
One hit wonder. In 1980, they both were invited to join Yes, and recorded an album with them. THe singer is Trevor Horn, who became a maor producer in the 80's. The keyboard player is Geoff Downes, who formed Asia.
One hit wonders the Buggles. First music video played on MTV, back when they actually played music videos. the Buggles had actually broken up by the time MTV came on in 1981. I remember I was flipping through the channels and saw a countdown going for MTV. I had seen ads for it. There was about 5 minutes to go so I watched. When it got down to 10 seconds a video of an apollo launch played. Then a video of the astronaut planting the flag on the moon, but it was an MTV flag, then it launched into Video Killed the Radio Star. I also remember the second video was Brass in Pocket by the Pretenders. I went out the next day and bought the Pretenders album. Yes, you used to have to go to a record store to buy music.
Thanks for this memory song Jamel, I recall seeing this when first released and thought wow what a catchy song and it still is. Pronounced Bug_Gulls and yes pretty much a one hit wonder group they did have a few follow up songs but this one nailed it forever. Keep Safe Keep Strong
