ABSTRACT
The Buggies was a relatively short-lived duo comprising Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes. Downes was a keyboard player who, like Horn, began his career in the 1970s as a session musician. As is the case with many singles chart groups, The Buggies never performed live, and existed for their fans purely through recorded media: vinyl, magnetic tape and video. This chapter explores some of aspects of the relationship between audio technology, the creative process and the aesthetic response to popular music through an analysis of 'Video Killed the Radio Star' by The Buggies. In spite of the sense of common intent presented by the separate elements of 'Video Killed the Radio Star', its real fascination derives from a fundamental paradox: nostalgia for live music presented on a disco record. Disco was one of the first pop genres that was never intended to be performed live.
