As the answer to the trivia question "What was the first act ever played on MTV?,"
the Buggles assured their place in pop music history. Vocalist and bassist
Trevor Horn and keyboardist
Geoff Downes formed the electro-pop duo in England in 1979 after meeting two years prior as session musicians. Their first single, "Video Killed the Radio Star," hit number one in the U.K. in late 1979; when MTV went on the air in 1981, the prophetically titled record's video was the first ever broadcast on the fledgling cable network.
Although
the Buggles enjoyed three more British hits -- "The Plastic Age," "Clean Clean," and "Elstree" -- both
Horn and
Downes were more interested in production than performing; in 1980, they helmed
Yes'
Drama, joining the group as replacements for
Rick Wakeman and
Jon Anderson. After
Yes' subsequent momentary breakup,
Downes signed on with
Asia, while
Horn formed ZTT Records and produced hits for the likes of
Frankie Goes to Hollywood and
ABC.
–
Jason Ankeny, Rovi