The Buggles
The Buggles (originally only Buggles ) were a British Pop-/New Wave duo, which existed from 1979 to 1981 and with Video Killed the Radio Star had a worldwide hit single.
Prehistory
The keyboardist Geoff Downes, who had previously played in several local bands and composes jingles for television, met in 1976 while auditioning for the band of pop singer Tina Charles their former friend and bassist Trevor Horn and Bruce Woolley know their guitarist. The musicians immediately understood and Downes and Horn began to work together to write songs. At the same time they played in Tina Charles ' band. You are listening to some of their songs, including Dance Little Lady. After about a year, the three musicians decided to make a separate project on its feet.
Shortly thereafter, Downes, Horn and Woolley founded together with Thomas Dolby and composer Hans Zimmer, the band Camera Club. However, this project was only a short time; the musicians left the band gradually.
Buggles (1979 to 1981)
After the end of the Camera Club Downes, Horn and Woolley called the pop group The bugs in life. Because of a joke, the bugs could never be as successful as the Beatles, the new band named soon into Buggles. Shortly after its inception, the band shrank to a duo consisting of Downes and Horn as a singer.
In this occupation, the Buggles published in September 1979 her debut single Video Killed the Radio Star ( Sample? / I ), which was a great success internationally. The song reached number two in the German, number one in the Austrian, Swiss and UK and number 40 in the American charts. However, he remained the only number -one hit of the group. The clip for the song (directed by Russell Mulcahy ) was presented two years after its publication on 1 August 1981 the first music video that aired the U.S. television channel MTV.
In January 1980, the debut album The Age of Plastic appeared, followed a year later Adventures in Modern Recording. Buggles produced only these two albums, the latter was not published until after Horn and Downes were already changed to the progressive rock band Yes.
Fusion with Yes (1980 )
Buggles were like Yes at manager Brian Lane and worked under contract in 1980, coincidentally in the same studio as the Yes - musician Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White. The latter had to deal with at this time, the departure of their singer Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman. Trevor Horn tried the musicians he had admired for years, a song called We Can Fly from Here to sell. Squire was interested, and since Howe and White short term were not available, a session with Squire, Horn, Downes and former Yes drummer Bill Bruford was placed on the legs in a short time, during which you We Can Fly from Here rehearsed. Squire had organized this interaction is not without ulterior motives, but should already start in a few weeks a Yes tour, for which one musician urgently sought. As the time until the tour was short, Downes and Horn were asked if they would not be Yes - members. Both agreed and the five musicians were able to finish the album Drama by Yes, the combination of material with some songs of the Buggles in record time. Yes then went with Downes and Horn on 29 August 1980 on tour.
After the dissolution
The success of Buggles Trevor Horn helped to an exceptionally successful career as a producer, which he has pursued to date. He worked in the years that followed, among others, on albums by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Pet Shop Boys, Simple Minds, Marc Almond, Seal, Lisa Stansfield, Sugababes, Céline Dion, Sinéad O'Connor, Grace Jones, Godley & Creme, Belle and Sebastian and tATu.
Geoff Downes, however, was by former Yes guitarist Steve Howe, former King Crimson and UK bassist and vocalist John Wetton and former Emerson, Lake and Palmer drummer Carl Palmer 1981 newly founded as the fourth member of the AOR Supergroup Asia fetched.
Live performances
On December 25, 1979 Buggles were seen with Video Killed the Radio Star as a playback in an episode of the British singles chart Top Of The Pops. The drums at this gig played Warren Cann, the drummer of the group Ultravox.
On 3 December 1998 it was the first live appearance of Buggles at a concert of Horns record company ZTT Records in London's Mean Fiddler Club. The band, who only played Video Killed the Radio Star, consisted of Downes, Horn, and the singer Tessa Niles.
2004, there was a reunion of almost all former members of the British Festival Buggles The Prince's Trust, where she also played a live version of their greatest hits.
Discography
Singles
From album The Age of Plastic:
From the album Adventures in Modern Recording:
Albums
Find out more
The health song by voice imitator Elmar Brandt uses the melody of Video Killed the Radio Star. In addition, Hans Zimmer can be seen in the music video.