Afternoon:
15°c
David Smyth's rating
The Buggles are electro dreamers that time too easily forgot
By
David Smyth
29 Sep 2010
Already in the history books as the men behind the first video ever shown on MTV, The Buggles must have broken another record last night for the longest time between a band’s formation and its first full gig.
OMD, Alison Moyet and even Gary Barlow were there to help them overcome their 30-year stage fright.
In 1979, bassist Trevor Horn and keyboard supremo Geoff Downes were content to allow their band to become one-hit wonders with Video Killed the Radio Star and join Yes, before Downes formed Asia and Horn became a world-beating producer. They reunited in 2004 to perform the song at a Wembley Arena tribute to Horn’s talents but this was the first full airing of their debut album, The Age of Plastic.
Like Led Zeppelin’s reformation on a rather more intimate scale, this club show in aid of the Royal Hospital for Neuro-disability was the lot – no follow-up tour, and certainly no new album.
Some aspects of the evening had a wedding disco feel, from the dressy older crowd who had paid £100 or more for a ticket, to the incongruity of seeing Richard O’Brien doing The Time Warp again followed by Barlow belting out Hard to Handle.
Horn and Downes, in silver jackets similar to the ones they sported in their famous video, struggled manfully with feedback and seemed amused by their belated moment in the spotlight. Horn even attempted to rap on a cheeky cover of Check it Out, the new will.i.am and Nicki Minaj song that samples their hit.
Lesser known synth-heavy tracks such as Clean, Clean and The Plastic Age had aged well, though the futuristic predictions of the latter weren’t as accurate as their thoughts on videos. It will be another 30 years at least before Horn can sing about “shiny serving clones” with a straight face.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
