The Unofficial    Fan Site

1st Anniversary

Welcome to the world’s only full-fledged Buggles fan site today.  The last one went 404 and can’t be archived, so I took it upon myself to start my own from scratch.

Birth of Buggles

Buggles (or The Buggles) were originally Northerners Trevor Horn, Geoffrey Downes, and Bruce Woolley.  The band were formed in 1977.  Punk and disco ruled the airwaves.  Prog was at a crossroads.  New wave was in its infancy.  The next big thing was coming.

Horn and Downes got their start together writing commercial jingles and backing pop singer Tina Charles.  They would have Brian Lane as their manager.  They signed to Island Records.

Video Killed the Radio Star

“Video Killed the Radio Star” is where things started happening.  It was initially a stand-alone single in fall 1979.  It went to #1 in the UK, and managed to get to #40 in the US with limited promotion.  It is often passed as a one-hit wonder.

The video for “Video” needs little introduction.  I’m not sure how it was seen at that time.  A couple years later, it was chosen by a new cable network in the US called MTV.  The HMS MTV was christened on 1 August 1981.  However, only a few markets had it and some others didn’t even have cable service yet.  How far we’ve come!

Woolley left the group before they were signed, and recorded the song with his new band The Camera Club, which was a hit in Canada.

The Age of Plastic

An album was on the agenda, and Buggles released The Age of Plastic in early 1980.  Three more singles were derived from the album; “Clean Clean” (also redone by The Camera Club), “Elstree” (named after a legendary film studio), and “Living in the Plastic Age” (the title theme).  They didn’t sell as well as the first single.  There were videos and TV appearances for these as well.

A major turn of events occurred that spring when Jon Anderson and Rick Wakeman (again) left Yes to pursue their solo careers.  Horn and Downes were Yes fans, and met the rest of the band; Chris Squire, Alan White, and Steve Howe.  Horn and Downes presented the song “We Can Fly from Here” to the band (the studio version was not officially released until 2003 on Downes's solo collection), and a twist of fate brought them into the band.  A new album and tour were expected for the summer.

In August 1980, Drama was released by Atlantic Records.  It was met with mixed reactions.  People didn’t know what to make in the latest and most unusual lineup of Yes to date.  It sold better in the UK than US, though with the tour, the tables were turning.  Horn had to learn (from a performing angle) the past catalogue.  His voice was not quite as high as Anderson’s trademark falsetto, which made him choke some nights (a bootlegged performance of Howe’s “Go Through This” in Boston showed the strain on his voice).

Fan response was a double-edged sword.  For the US and Canada, people were still happy to go see them.  Back home in the UK, most fans were cross about Anderson and Wakeman’s absence, and some showed up just to jeer, slate, and complain (two northern shows I have capture some of the ire).  The event was traumatising for Horn, who rarely discusses this period of his career.  The tour also lost money.  Brian Lane was sacked as manager of both Buggles and Yes.  Horn’s wife Jill Sinclair would take over management of her husband’s career until her recent accident.

Songs from Drama were almost never performed on future tours because Jon Anderson wouldn't do them, but stand-in singer Benoît David can and will, as he can reach Horn's range as well, so the diehards are pleased.

Yes went DOA in April 1981.  It was back to the Buggles.  Or was it?

Adventures in Modern Recording

Island dropped Buggles for slugging sales, and they would sign to French label Disques Carrere.  Perfect Recordings was formed as a vanity label for the new LP and its derived singles (this would evolve into publisher Perfect Songs and successful dance label ZTT Records).

Adventures in Modern Recording was released in late summer 1981 after making history in the US.  It suffered from sophomore syndrome and was largely ignored.  It had been out of print for years and is set to get an official worldwide reissue on ZTT.

One standout track was “I Am a Camera”, a recycling of “Into the Lens” from Drama.  Only three other tracks would feature Downes as he left to join Howe in the newly formed supergroup Asia (who I’ve seen twice) with John Wetton (ex-King Crimson) and Carl Palmer (ex-ELP).  Downes only appears on half of the original album.  He was replaced by Simon Darlow and John Sinclair (not the same one who played keyboards for Ozzy Osbourne).  Squire would provide special effects on the title track.

Aftermath

Buggles would quietly split by the end of the year.  Horn would become an in-demand producer for acts such as Art of Noise, Godley and Creme, ABC, Grace Jones, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Seal, Paul McCartney, Cher, T.A.T.U, Genesis, and many more.

He would return to Yes as producer to produce 90125 and Big Generator.

Horn and Downes have reunited briefly in 1998 and in 2004 at the Prince’s Trust Concert.  Another Buggles album is highly unlikely in future due to Horn being in the band The Producers, as well as tending to his ill missus, and Downes in the original lineup of Asia as well as the offshoot iCon with Wetton, though I may have heard that there's a slight chance.

After seeing Asia at the local casino last year, I told Geoff Downes as he signed my CD that I made this site. He asked, "So you're a Buggles fan?" "Video" was part of the setlist again this year, and the sleeve from the top of both pages was shown, as well as clips of MTV's maiden voyage (they have video screens this year). Geoff still uses the vocoder to this day. He does harmonies, but he doesn't come off as a singer, and is buried in the mix anyway. I hope he'll find time in his busy schedule to stop by. I did leave a message on MySpace, but he might not always see that, so I told him in person.

Thanks for coming to the site. I will add to it as I see fit. Any input is appreciated.

Icon 3 from Wetton Downes coming soon!

Not authorised by SPZ Group, Ltd., Island Records (UK), Ltd., Warner Music Group (Atlantic and Carrere), or Asia Icon, Ltd.  All information subject to change.

Updated by John Sposato on 15 March 2010.  Do e-mail me at sposato@inmail24.com.  Do feel free to send me pictures, info, files, and more.  This is your site as well!