The Buggles, a duo consisting of bassist Trevor Horn and keyboardist Geoff Downes, have a discography of two studio albums, a compilation album and video live album, a promotional extended play, nine singles, and three music videos. The Buggles also produced three songs, "Back of My Hand" by The Jags, "Monkey Chop" by Dan-I, and "Film Star" by Tom Marshall. The group formed in 1977 in Wimbledon, South West London, and were signed by Island Records to record and publish their debut studio album, The Age of Plastic, which was released in 1980.The Buggles. ZTT.com. Accessed on 16 July 2013. The album charted in the UK, Canada, the Netherlands, France, Sweden, and Japan.
The lead single for The Age of Plastic was "Video Killed the Radio Star", released in 1979. The song was a huge commercial success, becoming the 444th number one hit on the UK Singles Chart, spending one week at the top. It was also number 1 on fifteen other international record charts Accessed 18 July 2013. and sold more than five million copies worldwide.Meet the Buggles. People. 15 July 2001. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Accessed on 16 July 2013. It received certifications by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique and British Phonographic Industry of platinum and gold respectively. Its music video was the first to air on MTV. Three other singles from The Age of Plastic, "Living in the Plastic Age", "Clean, Clean" and "Elstree", achieved chart success in the UK, Germany and the Netherlands. Music videos were made for all of the album's songs, with the "Video Killed the Radio Star" video being the first to air on MTV, and the "Living in the Plastic Age" video being the second-to-final video aired that day.
Adventures in Modern Recording, released in 1981, was the second and last album by The Buggles. Five singles from it were released between 1981 and 1982, "I Am a Camera", "Adventures in Modern Recording", "On TV", "Lenny", and "Beatnik". The album and its singles were a commercial failure in the UK, but the album did chart in the United States, peaking at number 161 on the Billboard 200 and at number 7 on the Bubbling Under the Top Rock Albums chart. The album also charted in the Netherlands, as did "I Am a Camera" and "Lenny". "On TV" was certified gold by Music Canada for sales of 5,000 units. Music videos were also made for the album's first three singles. By the end of 1982, the band would break up, although they would reunite multiple times, including in 2010, when they released their sole live album, A Sea of Cameras – Live in New York, 20th September 2010. They would also release a compilation album, The 12" & Rarities Collection, a year later, in 2010.
Albums
Studio albums + List of studio albums, with details and chart positions Title DetailsPeak chart positionsUKCANFRAIn the box under Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste & Appuyez sur OK :, click BUGGLES. Accessed on 17 July 2013.ITAJPNNLDNORSWEUSUSRockThe Age of Plastic Released: 10 January 1980 (Australia)Buggles Sound in the New Decade. The Sydney Morning Herald. 30 December 1979. Accessed on 16 July 2013.
Formats: CD, LP, cassette, digital download 27 83 15 17 35 — 23 24 — — Adventures in Modern Recording Released: November 1981 (UK)
Formats: CD, LP, cassette, digital download — — — — — 26 — 50 161 57 "—" denotes releases that did not chart or did not have a release in that territory.
Compilation + List of compilation albums with detailsTitleDetailsThe 12" & Rarities CollectionReleased 2011 Format: CD
Live video albums + List of compilation albums with detailsTitleDetailsA Sea of Cameras – Live in New York, 20th September 2010Released 2010 Format: DVDr
Promotional extended plays + List of promotional extended plays with detailsTitleDetailsExtracts from The Age of PlasticReleased 1979Extracts from the Age of Plastic. encorerecords.com. Accessed on 23 July 2013. Labels: Island Format: Vinyl
Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions, certifications and salesTitleYearPeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbumUKAUSAUTGERITAHit Parade Italia – Indice per Interprete: B. hitparadeitalia.it. Archived from the original on 21 July 2013. Accessed on 10 July 2013.NLDNZSWESWIUS "Video Killed the Radio Star" 1979 1 1 1 2 23 16 2 1 1 40 BPI: Platinum SNEP: Platinum IFPI Danmark: Gold FIMI: Gold RIAJ: Gold PROMUSICAE: GoldThe Age of Plastic"Living in the Plastic Age" 1980 16 — — 29 — 29 — — — — "Clean Clean" 38 — — 60 — — — — — — "Elstree" 55 — — — — — — — — — "I Am a Camera" 1981 — — — — 45 46 — — — — Adventures in Modern Recording"Adventures in Modern Recording" 1982 — — — — — — — — — — "On TV" — — — — — — — — — — MC: GoldBuggles certification search results. Archived from the original on . musiccanada.com. Accessed on 8 July 2013."Lenny" — — — — — 17 — — — — "Beatnik" — — — — — — — — — — "—" denotes releases that did not chart or did not have a release in that territory.
Music videos
SongYearDirector"Video Killed the Radio Star"1979 Russell MulcahyFreitag, Paul (8 April 2012). The Buggles – Living in the Plastic Age. Fine Print Magazine. Accessed on 22 July 2013."Living in the Plastic Age"1980 "Clean, Clean"1980"Elstree"1980 "I Am a Camera"1981"Adventures in Modern Recording"1982"On TV"1982
Production +List of songs produced by The Buggles, with year of release and chart positionsSong and artistYearPeak chart positions UKBuggles-produced songs in UK Singles Charts: The Jags: JAGS. officialcharts.com. Retrieved 26 July 2013. Dan-I: DAN-I. officialcharts.com. Retrieved 26 July 2013. NZDiscography Dan-I. charts.nz. Retrieved 26 May 2019. SWEDiscography Dan-I. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 29 July 2013. USJags – Awards. AllMusic. Retrieved 26 July 2013."Back of My Hand" by The JagsDiscography. trevorhorn.com. Accessed on 23 July 2013. 197917 ——84"Monkey Chop" by Dan-IDeller, Fred (21 February 1980). "Life With the Buggles". Smash Hits. Volume 32. Accessed on 29 July 2013.30411—"Film Star" by Tom Marshall 1981———— "—" denotes releases that did not chart or did not have a release in that territory.
Notes A The 2010 Japanese reissue of The Age of Plastic made a minor appearance on the Oricon charts, taking the number 225 spot. B Adventures in Modern Recording was not able to chart on the Billboard Top 50 Rock Albums, but did manage to reach number seven on Bubbling Under the Top Rock Albums chart,Billboard. 20 February 1982. p. 30. Accessed on 9 July 2013. an extension to the Top Rock Albums. C Although never appearing on the proper singles chart, Ö3 Austria Top 40, "Living in the Plastic Age" reached number six on the Ö3-Hitparade. D This single did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but did reach number 97 on the Record Business Top 100 Singles chart. E This single did not enter the UK Singles Chart, but did reach number 136 on the Record Business Bubbling Under Singles 101–150 chart.
References
External links The Buggles discography at AllMusic The Buggles discography on Discogs