The Buggles

Buggles
Geoff Downes (left) and Trevor Horn (right)
Background information
Origin	Wimbledon, London, England
Genres	New wave, synthpop, art pop,progressive pop
Years active	1977–1981
Labels	Island, Carrere, ZTT
Associated acts	Yes, The Trevor Horn Band, Art of Noise
Past members	Geoff Downes Trevor Horn

The Buggles were an English new wave band formed in London in 1977 by singer and bassist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoffrey Downes. They are best known for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star" that topped the UK Singles Chart and reached number one in 15 other countries.

Formed in London, the duo released their first album, The Age of Plastic, in January 1980 with "Video Killed the Radio Star" as its lead single. Its music video was the first shown on MTV in the US in August 1981. Soon after the album's release, Horn and Downes joined the progressive rock band Yes, recording and releasing Drama in the process. Following a tour to promote the album, Yes disbanded in 1980. The following year, the Buggles released a second album, Adventures in Modern Recording. Its lack of commercial success led to the break up of the group. Since 1998, Horn and Downes have occasionally performed the Buggles' songs. In October 2011, The Buggles reunited to play at the British Music Experience at the O2 Arena in London.

Downes claimed the group's name derived as a pun on the rock band the Beatles, saying: "It was originally called the Bugs ... studio insects—imaginary creatures who lived in recording studios creating havoc. Then somebody said as a joke that the Bugs would never be as big as The Beatles. So we changed it to the Buggles." Horn later spoke of its name: "I know the name's awful, but at the time it was the era of the great punk thing. I'd got fed up of producing people who were generally idiots but called themselves all sorts of clever names like the Unwanted, the Unwashed, the Unheard ... when it came to choosing our name I thought I'd pick the most disgusting name possible. In retrospect I have frequently regretted calling myself Buggles, but in those days I never really thought much about packaging or selling myself, all that really concerned me was the record."