“Talking fast, I make a deal, buy
the fake and sell what’s real. What’s this pain here in my chest?
Maybe I should take a rest…”
Hello
friends! The Dial returns to transmit another signal containing an
overlooked tune from years gone by. This time, we turn our frequency
to the work of Trevor Horn and Geoffrey Downes, “The Buggles”,
and their timeless classic “Video Killed the Ra-…”
Wait.
NO. That’s NOT the song we are covering today. Yes, you read that
right. And yes, that does mean that the Buggles produced music OTHER
THAN that iconic tune that kicked off the MTV generation. (though
most of us in the U.S. had NO IDEA!) Allow me to educate you on the
ups and downs of “Living in the Plastic Age”!
Formed in London by keyboardist Geoffrey
Downes and vocalist and bassist Trevor Horn, The Buggles released
their first album “The Age of Plastic” in early 1980, with
“Video Killed…” as the lead single in late ‘79. For a follow
up cut, “Living in the Plastic Age” was selected.
“Plastic”
criticizes the trend of plastic surgery being used as a way to deal
with the increasing hecticness of modern life, and this was written
back in late 1979… I wonder what Downes and Horn must feel about
modern life nowadays! Anyway, Trevor sings of a salesman immersed in
technology, who suffers a mild heart attack. The “heart police”
submit him to a facelift which supposedly makes everything better…
but does it really? Trevor offers no real answer to this question,
just an unsettling feeling that things didn’t improve and probably
won’t at all.
In
contrast to the somewhat dark lyrics, the music video is a campy
delight, featuring time traveling monks, humanoids that shoot
electricity (and resemble the Silver Surfer), science fiction
costumes complete with goggles, Trevor Horn being pulled through
walls, Trevor Horn flying on a rotating disk (he has all the fun),
and a nice little arcade cameo as the Space Invaders attempt to bomb
the Buggles band members.
“Plastic”
peaked at a respectable UK #16, but did not chart at in the US. I
suspect it wasn’t even pushed to radio or released as a single over
here, as “Video Killed…” only peaked at US #40 (despite being a
UK #1... and #1 in Australia, Austria, Sweden, and Switzerland),so
American program directors probably weren’t confident that the
second Buggles singles would do any better. This is a shame, because
I think this is a better song than “Video Killed…” and I would
have loved to have heard it on the radio.
YouTuber
and song reviewer Todd in the Shadows (seriously, he’s awesome, and
one of my favorites, look him up), has described “Plastic” as
sounding like Abba meets Devo, and I can think of a no more concise
description of the sound of this track. The Abba harmonies are
especially apparent in the vocal buildups that precede each chorus
repetition, and the opening keyboard riff, which recalls tracks by
the Swedish icons like “Money Money Money”, and “Does
Your Mother Know”.
The
remainder of the tune carries the Devo comparisons… the cold, new
wave, robotic quality of the verses, and those shouted “PLASTIC
AGE!” repetitions. Interestingly, the chorus is the most musically
rich part of the tune with a very 80’s blend of guitar, synths, and
echoed vocals.
The
Buggles broke up after their second LP, 1981’s “Adventures in
Modern Recording”, then joined Yes for the recording of that
group’s tenth LP “Drama”. Following that, the guys left
Yes, and Trevor became a highly prolific producer, for acts like
Frankie Goes to Hollywood, ABC, Grace Jones, the Pet Shop Boys, Paul
McCartney, Simple Minds, Seal, Tori Amos, Cher, Rod Stewart, LeAnn
Rimes, Faith Hill, Danny Elfman, John Legend, Robbie Williams… the
list is truly staggering, and I even left a ton of people out!
Geoff
didn’t do so bad for himself either, as he co-founded the AOR super
group Asia with Steve Howe (ex-Yes), John Wetton (ex-King Crimson,
and Uriah Heep), and Carl Palmer (ex-Emerson, Lake & Palmer),
which graced us with hits like “Heat of the Moment”
(#4/82), and “Don’t Cry” (#10/83). He also entered the
Guinness Book of Records for performing with a record 28 keyboards on
stage during a single performance.
So,
I invite you to click the video below and check out the Buggles’
second single. Do you think “Plastic” had the potential to have
been a bigger hit than “Video Killed...” if given the right push
in the U.S.? Post a comment and let me know what you think! And be
sure to stay tuned to the Dial for more great overlooked tunes from
the past!
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