vinyl LP back cover detail
detail photo by Styrous®
At midnight, forty years ago today, on Saturday, August 1, 1981, the MTV cable channel was launched and they broadcasted the very first music video from One Astor Plaza, 1515 Broadway, Times Square, Manhattan, New York where it is still based.
The song they blasted out to the world was Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles from their second album, The Age of Plastic: the prophetic song would forever change the way we listened to and, indeed, watched pop music or any music for that matter.
Video Killed the Radio Star was written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley in 1978. It was first recorded in 1979 by Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) for their first album and used again on their second album, English Garden. The later recording by British new wave/synth-pop group the Buggles, with just Horn and Downes, became the big hit version.
In those early days of broadcasting, MTV was desperate for video to show so they showed just about anything they could get their hands on (link below); I saw some truly fantastic stuff. I still remember the network's "VJ's" I liked the best, Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood and my very favorite, Martha Quinn: I thought she was the cutest EVER!
Mark Goodman, Nina Blackwood,
Alan Hunter, Martha Quinn, & J.J. Jackson
photo by Mark Weiss/WireImage)
I loved the song by Dire Straits, Money for Nothing, which references MTV with an iconic, echoey refrain (below).
There
is a terrific video of the first two hours of the broadcast on YouTube
with some of the greats of rock at the time, commercials included (link below). This is a valuable documentary of a major music event and a whole lot of fun to watch. The one downer is, April Wine and Cliff Richard were short-sighted and objected to the use of their videos so they were cut from the documentary; too bad, their loss!
Tracklist:
Side 1:
Side 1:
A1 - Living In The Plastic Age, written by Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 5:12
A2 - Video Killed The Radio Star, written by Bruce Woolley, Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 4:08
A3 - Kid Dynamo, written by Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 3:27
A4 - I Love You (Miss Robot), written by Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 4:55
A2 - Video Killed The Radio Star, written by Bruce Woolley, Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 4:08
A3 - Kid Dynamo, written by Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 3:27
A4 - I Love You (Miss Robot), written by Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 4:55
Side 2:
B1 - Clean, Clean, written by Bruce Woolley, Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 3:53
B2 - Elstree, written by Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 4:27
B3 - Astroboy (And The Proles On Parade), written by Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 4:48
B4 - Johnny On The Monorail, written by Geoffrey Downs*, Trevor Horn - 5:26
Companies, etc.
Manufactured By – EMI Records Ltd.
Distributed By – EMI Records Ltd.
Published By – Island Music Ltd.
Published By – Carlin Music Corp.
Phonographic Copyright ℗ – Island Records Ltd.
Copyright © – Island Records Ltd.
Mastered At – Strawberry Mastering
Credits:
Liner Notes [Essay] – Geoffrey Downes*
Mastered By – Sean*
Producer – The Buggles
Written-By – Woolley* (tracks: A2, B1), Downes*, Horn*
Notes:
Has inner lyric sleeve.
The label incorrectly states that track A2 "Video Killed The Radio-Star" as being 2:40 in length. (Actual length of the track is 4:13).
Barcode and Other Identifiers
Matrix / Runout (Side 1 Stamped / Etched): ILPS 9585 A-2U 3(sideways) STRAWBERRY Sean
Matrix / Runout (Side 2 Stamped / Etched): ILPS 9585 B-2U 42(sideways) D7H7
Matrix / Runout (Side 1 Stamped / Etched - VARIANT 1): ILPS 9585 A-2U 7(sideways) STRAWBERRY Sean
Matrix / Runout (Side 2 Stamped / Etched - VARIANT 1): ILPS 9585 B-2U 8(sideways) D7H7
Barcode: NO BARCODE
Buggles* – The Age Of Plastic
Label: Island Records – ILPS 9585
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1980
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop
Styrous® ~ Sunday, August 1, 2021
Label: Island Records – ILPS 9585
Format: Vinyl, LP, Album
Country: US
Released: 1980
Genre: Electronic, Rock, Pop
Style: Pop Rock, Synth-pop
Viewfinder links:
Net links:
CBS News ~ MTV turns 40
Forbes ~ MTV At 40
NBC News ~ MTV turns 40
USA Today ~ MTV turns 40
Variety ~ MTV Turns 40
YouTube links:
The Buggles ~ Video Killed The Radio Star
CBS News ~ MTV turns 40 years old
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