Buggles was the synth-pop duo of keyboardist Geoff Downes and vocalist Trevor Horn. Their debut single, Video Killed The Radio Star (1979), that also featured the young Hans Zimmer, remains the masterpiece of the genre. By fusing the dance-oriented new wave of the B52's and the silliness of Sixties' girl-groups, the duo came up with a divine novelty. Quasi-classical strings open the song. Then a piano strums a music-box theme and the lead male singer tells the story in a mildly distorted voice. Synthesizers radiate sparkling curls and a female singer wails in the background. The drums take off and the female singer releases the cheesy chorus. From that point on the instrumental counterpoint and the vocal harmonies keep challenging each other. It is a masterpiece of arrangement, that continuously morphes and regenerates the melody, introducing even vibes and gongs.

The rest of the first album, The Age Of Plastic (Island, 1980), was worth a lot less than the hit, but it still highlighted the duo's technique, borrowed from Brian Eno's melodic vignettes and Kraftwerk's robotic machines.

In 1980 the duo joined Yes for Drama. Then Downes joined Asia and Horn became a producer.

Hans Zimmer went on to become one of the most successful composers of film soundtracks (Rain Man, 1988; Driving Miss Daisy, 1989; Thelma and Louise, 1991; The Thin Red Line, 1998) and of Broadway musicals (The Lion King, 1997).