Song:Video Killed The Radio Star
Album:Pure 80's
Video Killed The Radio Star was the first video played when MTV started in 1981. It's a very appropriate choice because the song is about the death of radio in England. The song became the first hit spawned by MTV though it only reached #40 on the Billboard Hot 100. The guys behind the song were British studio musicians. Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes met when they were part of the touring band for British pop singer Tina Charles in 1977. Horn met Bruce Woolley when he was house bassist at the Hammersmith Odeon. Horn wanted to be a record producer but he was having problems finding decent songs and bands. So the three formed Buggles. The original name of the group was The Bugs and they changed it to Buggles as a goof on The Beatles. Though Video Killed The Radio Star is credited to all three, Horn says he wrote the words and Woolley wrote the music. Buggles signed with Island Records. But Woolley left and recorded Video Killed The Radio Star with his new group Camera Club. It was unsuccessful and that group was short lived. The Buggles version of Video Killed The Radio Star was released in England in 1979 and topped the British charts. You can get the song on this Universal various artists comp. Then they had to record an album. The Age Of Plastic was released in 1980. By the time MTV played Video Killed The Radio Star in 1981, all three guys went on to other things. Horn and Downes replaced Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman in Yes and Woolley tried to keep Camera Club together. Horn and Downes reunited to record a second Buggles album. When Yes didn't work out, Downes founded Asia with John Wetton and still leads them today. Horn and Woolley have both had long careers as producers. Horn's first hit album was The Lexicon Of Love by ABC in 1982 and he has had plenty of other hits. Woolley first had success producing Frankie Goes To Hollywood and Grace Jones. They are still producers today. Here's the video for Video Killed The Radio Star by Buggles.
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