“Video Killed the Radio Star” is a 1979 synth-pop anthem by The Buggles (Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes) that famously became the first music video broadcast on MTV in 1981.
Written by Horn, Downes, and Bruce Woolley, the song reflects on the transition from radio to visual media, a theme inspired by J.G. Ballard’s story“The Sound-Sweep” and the emerging technology of the era.
“Video Killed the Radio Star” was inspired by the J.G. Ballard 1960 short “The Sound-Sweep”. It was written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes and Bruce Woolley, and was the first track recorded for The Age of Plastic. The song went on to become a worldwide hit, peaking at number one in several territories.
A little-known fact is that the song was originally recorded by Woolley’s band Bruce Woolley and the Camera Club. This version had slightly different lyrics and lacked the characteristic “oh-a oh-a” hook.
A spiritual successor to the movie Singin’ in the Rain, which was about how the rise of what were known as “talking pictures” wrecked the careers of those talented silent film actors whose voices wouldn’t translate to film. The song is about musicians whose careers were destroyed because they did not translate visually on television.
Adequate to this theme, the music video for the song was famously the first aired on MTV, at 12:01 a.m. on August 1, 1981. It was also the last music video ever shown on MTV Music before the channel shut down on December 31, 2025.
[Verse 1: Trevor Horn, Debi Doss & Linda Jardim]
I heard you on the wireless back in ’52
Lying awake, intently tuning in on you
If I was young, it didn’t stop you comin’ through
Oh-wa, oh-ah
They took the credit for your second symphony
Rewritten by machine on new technology
And now I understand the problems you could see
[Pre-Chorus: Trevor Horn, Debi Doss & Linda Jardim]
Oh-wa, oh-ah
I met your children
Oh-wa, oh-ah
What did you tell them?
[Chorus: Debi Doss & Linda Jardim, Trevor Horn]
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Pictures came and broke your heart
Oh, ah-ah-ah, oh
[Verse 2: Trevor Horn, Debi Doss & Linda Jardim]
And now we meet in an abandoned studio (Oh-oh)
We hear the playback and it seems so long ago (Ah)
And you remember the jingles used to go
[Pre-Chorus: Trevor Horn, Debi Doss & Linda Jardim]
Oh-wa, oh-ah
You were the first one
Oh-wa, oh-ah
You were the last one
[Chorus: Debi Doss & Linda Jardim, Trevor Horn]
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
In my mind and in my car
We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far
Oh, ah-ah-ah, oh
Oh, ah-ah-ah, oh
[Bridge: Trevor Horn, Debi Doss & Linda Jardim]
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
In my mind and in my car
We can’t rewind, we’ve gone too far
Pictures came and broke your heart
Put the blame on VCR
[Outro: Debi Doss & Linda Jardim]
You are a radio star
You are a radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
Video killed the radio star
(You are) Video killed the radio star
(A radio star) Video killed the radio star
(You are) Video killed the radio star
(A radio star) Video killed the radio star
(You are—) Video killed the radio—
