Released on Jan. 10, 1980, the Buggles’ The Age of Plastic heralded a period that no one knew was coming yet – the MTV era. In fact, more than a year would pass before this album’s breakout single, “Video Killed the Radio Star,” became the new music-video channel’s premiere clip at 12:01 a.m. August 1, 1981.
That definitively confirmed what the Buggles seemed to know all along: Technological advances were overtaking the music industry and, in a larger sense, reshaping the world. That was the larger message of “Video Killed the Radio Star” – and really all of The Age of Plastic – back then. Offered with a synthy sheen of pop coolness by Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, it resonates more than ever today.
“That was the whole essence of the song,” Geoff Downes tells us, in an exclusive Something Else! Sitdown. “It wasn’t specifically about video succeeding over radio. The song was about how technology was changing lives. In many ways, that was a very prophetic statement – when you look at the way that people receive music now.”
Written by Horn, Downes and Bruce Woolley in 1978, “Video Killed the Radio Star” was first recorded by Woolley’s band the Camera Club, which featured a pre-fame Thomas Dolby on keys. A year later, the Buggles made another pass – and the song hurtled them to the top of the charts in the UK and 15 other countries.
Curiously, though, “Video Killed the Radio Star” barely crept into the American Top 40, and the Buggles seemed doomed to relative stateside obscurity. Then, MTV came along.
A promo clip for “Video Killer the Radio Star,” constructed by Russell Mulachy, gave shape to the looming industry – and societal – changes. The Age of Plastic was indeed upon us. And the Buggles remained very much a video band, releasing a series of singles (including “Clean, Clean” and the title cut from this debut) – but never performing a full-length concert before their 1981 breakup.
That, too, echoes through the ages, as new artists craft entire modern-day careers via lap tops. “Technology is very much the medium now,” Downes adds, returning to “Video Killed the Radio Star”: “The lyrics talk about machines writing music, and that’s actually happened, too. All things considered, it was a very prophetic song.”
A smattering of one-off performances began to take shape in the late 1990s. It wasn’t until a charity show in 2010, however, that Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes finally performed a full slate of music. The winkingly titled “Lost Gig” found the pair – who’ve also collaborated on Yes’ Drama and Fly From Here albums – playing many of the Buggles’ songs from The Age of Plastic for the very first time.
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