"Video Killed the Radio Star" Premium Unisex T-Shirt

The Song Was Two Years Old Before MTV Existed. Trevor Horn Wrote It as an Elegy. Then MTV Chose It as the First Video They Ever Played.

"Video Killed the Radio Star" was written by Trevor Horn, Geoff Downes, and Bruce Woolley and released by The Buggles in September 1979. It went to number one in the UK. MTV launched on August 1, 1981, at 12:01 AM, and the programmers chose this song — knowingly, deliberately — as the first video they played. The words "Ladies and gentlemen, rock and roll" appeared on screen. Then the song that had been mourning technological displacement for two years became the instrument of it.

The song is an elegy, not a celebration. It's about a specific loss: a generation that experienced music as pure sound — on the radio, in the car, without images attached — and found that medium being replaced by one that favored a different kind of performer. "In my mind and in my car / we can't rewind, we've gone too far." The people who built careers on voice and presence and the imagination of an audience they'd never see were being superseded by people who photographed well. The song understood what was happening before it happened.

Trevor Horn, who sang about it, spent the next decade producing the future he'd described. He produced ABC's The Lexicon of Love, Frankie Goes to Hollywood's "Relax" and "Two Tribes," Grace Jones, Yes. He was in the room for some of the most visually ambitious records of the 1980s. Geoff Downes formed Asia. The Buggles effectively ceased to exist. The radio stars adapted or didn't.

This tee is for the song that knew what was coming, sang about it, and then became the proof.

Premium Quality

• Bella + Canvas 3001 — Premium unisex tee, true to size
• Airlume combed and ring-spun cotton — Exceptionally soft from the first wear
• Classic unisex fit — Relaxed, versatile, works for everyone
• Available in Black, Electric Blue, and Fuchsia — Sizes XS–4XL

Made to Order

For environmental and quality reasons, this tee is made specifically for you after you order. Please allow approximately one week for production. Tracking information will be sent as soon as it ships.