On Aug. 1, 1981, MTV launched with a music video that seemed almost too perfect for the occasion: “Video Killed the Radio Star” by The Buggles. It was a clever choice, an announcement that music television had arrived and the world would never be quite the same.
But what if we told you that one of the men responsible for that historic song wasn’t actually in The Buggles when they recorded their hit version?
Meet Bruce Woolley, one of new wave’s more fascinating unsung heroes and our special guest on this week’s Stuck in the ’80s podcast.
Woolley co-wrote “Video Killed the Radio Star” with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes in 1979, two years before MTV made it part of music history. And while The Buggles’ version became the international smash, Woolley actually released his own recording of the song first.
His version, recorded with Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club, appeared on the band’s 1979 album English Garden. It’s a fascinating alternate take on the familiar hit, a little more guitar-driven and a little less futuristic than the version that eventually conquered the world.
And here’s another interesting bit of ’80s trivia: The Camera Club featured a young keyboard player named Thomas Dolby. Yes, the same Thomas Dolby who would eventually blind us all with science.
Apparently, the future of ’80s pop was already getting together for rehearsals in 1979.
The story behind “Video Killed the Radio Star”
In our exclusive Bruce Woolley interview, we explore the creation of the song, including its beginnings at Woolley’s apartment piano and the creative partnership that brought Horn, Downes and Woolley together.
We also discuss the two very different recordings of the song and how The Buggles transformed it into an electronic pop masterpiece.
For all its futuristic imagery, “Video Killed the Radio Star” was also a song about nostalgia — the feeling that new technology was changing the way we experienced music and leaving something familiar behind.
Which makes its selection as MTV’s first video even more remarkable. A song about technology replacing an older form of entertainment became the opening act for a revolution in how we consumed music.
Forty-five years later, it remains one of the most recognizable moments in television and pop music history.
Bruce Woolley, Thomas Dolby and the birth of new wave
Of course, there’s much more to Woolley’s musical career than one song.
We spend time discussing Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club, the band’s distinctive sound and the musicians who helped bring it to life. The presence of Thomas Dolby is particularly intriguing, considering how important synthesizers and electronic experimentation would become to the sound of the ’80s.
Woolley’s story is also a reminder that some of the decade’s most important musical developments were already taking shape in the late 1970s. The borders between punk, new wave, rock and electronic pop were still being drawn, and musicians like Woolley were helping connect the dots.
Our conversation offers a fascinating look at those early days, when nobody could have predicted just how dramatically music would change over the next few years.
A conversation with an unsung ’80s pioneer
One of the great pleasures of hosting Stuck in the ’80s is getting to talk with the musicians whose work helped create the soundtrack of our lives, particularly those whose names aren’t always as recognizable as the songs themselves.
Bruce Woolley certainly fits that description.
His contribution to “Video Killed the Radio Star” helped launch one of the most memorable chapters in pop culture history. But his own music and collaborations tell a much larger story about the creative energy that fueled the new wave revolution.
Join us for a conversation about songwriting, musical experimentation, unexpected connections and the song that helped introduce the world to MTV.
And if you’ve never heard Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club’s version of “Video Killed the Radio Star,” do yourself a favor and give it a listen. It’s a wonderful reminder that even the most familiar songs can have a few surprises hiding in their history.
Listen to our Bruce Woolley interview now on Stuck in the ’80s, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, iHeartRadio and wherever you get your favorite podcasts.
Join us on The 80s Cruise
Want to celebrate the music and memories of the ’80s with us in person? Join Stuck in the ’80s aboard The 80s Cruise, where we celebrate the decade with live music, special events, trivia and plenty of opportunities to meet fellow ’80s fanatics.
Use promo code STUCK when booking to receive a $250 cabin credit.
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