The Age of Plastic
| The Age of Plastic | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Side one: Trevor Horn
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| Studio album by The Buggles | ||||
| Released | 10 January 1980 | |||
| Recorded | 1979 | |||
| Studio | Virgin's Town House, West London Sarm East Studios, Brick Lane London, UK |
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| Genre | Synthpop, new wave | |||
| Length | 36:24 | |||
| Label | Island | |||
| Producer | The Buggles | |||
| The Buggles chronology | ||||
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| Singles from The Age of Plastic | ||||
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| Alternate cover | ||||
Side two: Geoff Downes
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| Audio | B+ |
| Krinein Magazine | 8/10 |
| Melody Maker | |
| The Rolling Stone Record Guide |  |
| Smash Hits | 8/10 |
| Sounds | |
| Virgin Encyclopedia of Popular Music | |
The Age of Plastic is the debut studio album by the British new wave duo The Buggles, composed of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. The name of the record was conceived from the group's intention of being a "plastic group". The album has lyrical themes of nostalgia and anxiety about the possible effects of modern technology. The titular song, "Living in the Plastic Age", views the experiences of watching media coverage of the Vietnam War, while "Kid Dynamo" follows a child overexposed to media and its resulting effects on him. Described by writers as the first technopop landmark, the record is an electropop new wave album that includes musical elements and influences of disco, punk, progressive rock and 1960s pop music. In a 1979 interview, Downes defined the album as "science fiction music. It's like modern psychedelic music. It's very futuristic." Horn used pre-dated technology for the album to have sounds unlike what was typical in records that were released at the time. The songs were written by The Buggles between 1977 and 1979, with contributions on several tracks from Bruce Woolley. The backing tracks were recorded at Virgin's Town House in West London, while the vocals were recorded and mixed at Sarm East Studios. Mixing was completed before Christmas 1979.
The Age of Plastic was released by Island Records in Australia in January 1980, and later in February in the UK. The album's release followed the success of the group's 1979 first single, "Video Killed the Radio Star", which reached number 1 on the UK Singles Chart. Most of the songs for the album were written during promotion of the song. Three subsequent singles, "The Plastic Age", "Clean, Clean" and "Elstree", all released in 1980, followed "Video", and also charted in the UK, reaching number 16, 38 and 55 respectively. In Europe, The Age of Plastic reached the Top 20 in Italy and the Top 40 in France, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. In other continents, the album reached the top 40 in Japan and was number 83 on the Canadian RPM albums chart. It has been met with positive critical response, with some critics comparing it to other albums of its genre. There have been two reissues of the album, in 2000 and in 2010. A September 2010 performance of the album by the Buggles, a gig live at the "Ladbroke Grove's Supperclub" in Notting Hill, London, marked the first time the group performed it in its entirety.
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