The Buggles

The short-lived New Wave duo The Buggles made history on 1 August 1981, when their technophobic 1979 hit “Video Killed the Radio Star” became the first-ever video played on MTV. • Singer and bassist Trevor Horn met keyboardist Geoff Downes in the late ’70s when both were working as session musicians. They formed The Buggles soon after. • “Video Killed the Radio Star” was their debut single. It went No. 1 in the UK in September 1979, about two years before its historic moment on MTV. • The group’s 1980 debut LP, The Plastic Age, is a concept album about the perils of technology. • While working on their second album, both Buggles members joined the legendary prog-rock band Yes, replacing Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman for their 1980 album Drama. • Downes then left the Buggles to form the supergroup Asia, leaving Horn to finish recording the second (and final) Buggles album, Adventures in Modern Recording, released in 1981. • Horn went on to become a superstar producer whose credits include ABC, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Pet Shop Boys. In 1996, Horn won a Record of the Year Grammy for his work on Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose”.