Video Killed the Radio Star
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| "Video Killed the Radio Star" | ||||||||||
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| Single by The Buggles | ||||||||||
| from the album The Age of Plastic | ||||||||||
| B-side | "Kid Dynamo" | |||||||||
| Released | 7 September 1979 [1] | |||||||||
| Format | 7" single | |||||||||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||||||||
| Genre | Synthpop | |||||||||
| Length | 4:13 | |||||||||
| Label | Island | |||||||||
| Writer(s) | Geoff Downes, Trevor Horn, Bruce Woolley | |||||||||
| Producer | The Buggles | |||||||||
| Certification | Gold (UK) [1] | |||||||||
| The Buggles singles chronology | ||||||||||
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"Video Killed the Radio Star" is a song by the British synthpop group The Buggles, released in 1979. It celebrates the golden days of radio, describing a singer whose career is cut short by television. The song topped several music charts and has been covered by many recording artists. It was the first music video shown on MTV in North America and has been widely parodied in popular media.
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[edit] Structure and release
Group member Trevor Horn has said that his lyrics were inspired by the J.G. Ballard short story The Sound-Sweep , in which the title character, a mute boy vacuuming up stray music in a world without it, comes upon an opera singer hiding in a sewer.[2] He also felt "an era was about to pass." The theme of the song is thus nostalgia, which is also echoed in the tone of the music.[3] The lyrics refer to a period of technological change in the 1960s, the desire to remember the past and the disappointment that children of the current generation would not appreciate the past. In the 1950s and early 1960s, radio was an important medium for many, through which "stars" were created.
The music video for the song, directed by Russell Mulcahy, was the first to be shown on MTV, when the music channel debuted on August 1, 1981, at 12:01 A.M. On February 27, 2000 it also became the millionth video to be aired on MTV.[4] At 2:57 in the video, Hans Zimmer can be seen playing a keyboard. Debi Doss and Linda Jardim, who provided the female vocals for the song, can also be seen in the video.[5]
The song was written by Trevor Horn, Geoffrey Downes and Bruce Woolley. The first version was recorded by Woolley & the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) for his album English Garden, which was a hit in Canada. The Buggles later recorded the song and it reached number one in the UK charts the week of October 20, 1979, the first-ever number one for label Island Records. It also would top the Australian charts, and made the Billboard Top 40 in the United States, debuting on December 15 1979 at number 40, remaining there for one week.
It appears on the album The Age of Plastic, where it has an additional piano coda. The complicated arrangement and production of the song, which includes a chorus sung by a group of very high-pitched backup singers, foreshadows Horn's later career as a producer.
The first live performance of the song by Horn and Downes came at a ZTT showcase in 1998.[1] In 2004, The Buggles re-united again with Bruce Woolley at Wembley Arena to perform "Video Killed the Radio Star" and another song ("Living in the Plastic Age") as part of a tribute event to Trevor Horn to raise money for the Prince's Trust charity. They were joined by Debi Doss and Linda Jardim, who performed the background singing on the original recording. Both Horn and Downes have performed the song live in other acts, including Yes (which Downes and Horn joined for the Drama album and tour in 1980), Downes in the 2006 revival of Asia, and Horn in his band The Producers, also in 2006.
In November 2006, The Producers played at their first gig in Camden Town. A video clip can be seen on the ZTT Records official website of Trevor singing lead vocals and playing bass in a performance of "Video Killed the Radio Star".
[edit] Presidents of the United States of America version
| "Video Killed the Radio Star" | |||||
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| Single by Presidents of the United States of America | |||||
| from the album The Wedding Singer soundtrack | |||||
| Released | 1998 | ||||
| Format | CD single | ||||
| Genre | Post-grunge, Thrash Rock | ||||
| Length | 3:22 | ||||
| Label | Columbia Records | ||||
| Producer | Presidents of the United States of America | ||||
| Presidents of the United States of America singles chronology | |||||
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In 1998 the Alternative rock band The Presidents of the United States of America released a version of "Video Killed the Radio Star" for The Wedding Singer soundtrack.
[edit] Track listing
- "Video Killed the Radio Star" - 3:22
[edit] PUSA Chart positions
| Year | Chart | Position |
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| 1998 | Official UK Singles Chart | No. 58 |
[edit] Other noted cover versions
| Year | Artist | Album |
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| 1997 | The Presidents of the United States of America | Rarities |
| 1998 | The Presidents of the United States of America | The Wedding Singer soundtrack Pure Frosting |
| 1999 | Lolita No.18 | ヤリタミン (YALITAMIN) |
| 2000 | Ken Laszlo | Ken Laszlo 2000 |
| 2000 | The Presidents of the United States of America | Lump |
| 2003 | Erasure | Other People's Songs |
| 2005 | Amber Pacific | Punk Goes 80's |
| 2005 | Ben Folds Five | Whatever and Ever Amen (bonus track on 2005 reissue) |
| 2005 | Len | The Diary of the Madmen (in hidden track) |
| 2007 | The Feeling | Rosé (CD single) |
| 2007 | Haruko Momoi | COVER BEST - Cover Densha |
[edit] See also
- The Jazz Singer is a 1927 U.S. film notable for being the first "talking motion picture" to be widely commercially distributed.
- Singing in the Rain is a musical film that explores the transition from silent film to sound film.
- Sunset Boulevard, explores how sound film and television led to the demise of films and silent stars.
- "Radio Ga Ga", a single by Queen, also laments the demise of radio as the primary mass medium.
[edit] References
- ^ a b "BPI Certified Awards Searchable Database". BPI. http://bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=19092. Retrieved on 4 January 2009.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Will (2004-11-05). "Horn of plenty". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2004/nov/05/1. Retrieved on 2008-09-14.
- ^ The vocals are initially limited in bandwidth, giving a "telephone" effect typical of early broadcasts
- ^ Dehnart, A. "Who really killed the video star?". Salon.com, 2000
- ^ Debi Doss – ‘70’s Rock Archive Photographs
| Preceded by "Message in a Bottle" by The Police |
UK number one single 20 October 1979 |
Succeeded by "One Day at a Time" by Lena Martell |
| Preceded by "Computer Games" by Mi-Sex |
Australian Kent Music Report number-one single December 3, 1979 - January 14, 1980 |
Succeeded by "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" by Michael Jackson |
