Geoffrey Downes
| Geoff Downes | |
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Geoffrey Downes |
| Born |
25 August 1952 , Cheshire, England |
| Genres | Progressive rock, hard rock, space rock, new wave, electronic rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, producer |
| Instruments | Keyboards, vocoder |
| Years active | 1974-present |
| Labels |
EMI America Records Frontiers Records Geffen Records Universal |
| Associated acts | The Buggles, Yes, Asia, Glenn Hughes, New Dance Orchestra, John Wetton, Icon, DBA (Downes Braide Association), GTR |
| Website | Official website |
Geoffrey "Geoff" Downes (born 25 August 1952) is an English musician, songwriter, and record producer and keyboardist in the new wave group The Buggles with Trevor Horn, the progressive rock band Yes, and the supergroup Asia.
Born in , Downes moved to London to pursue a music career. In 1977, he formed The Buggles with Horn and enjoyed success with their first album The Age of Plastic (1980) which contained the worldwide hit single "Video Killed the Radio Star". In May 1980, Downes joined Yes with Horn and recorded Drama (1980). After Yes disbanded in 1981, Downes helped Trevor Horn to produce a second Buggles album, Adventures in Modern Recording (1981) although he only was involved primarily in sound effects on a few tracks. After Yes' disbanding, he co-founded Asia with ex-Yes fellow musician Steve Howe He left Asia in 1986, rejoined in 1990, and has been a part of the line-up since then; he released several solo albums and produced for several artists, including Mike Oldfield and the Thompson Twins.
In 2006, Downes reunited the original Asia line-up and rejoined Yes in 2011; he is currently a member of both groups. Since 1998, he has reunited with Horn on special occasions to perform songs from The Buggles. Downes entered the Guinness Book of Records for performing with a record 28 keyboards on stage in a single performance.
Downes was born at Stepping Hill Hospital in , Cheshire, the son of musical parents. His father was a church organist and his mother a pianist. He also took up the keyboards and played in a succession of local bands. He attended before studying at Leeds College of Music. After graduating he moved to London, where he played sessions and composed advertising jingles.
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