Geoff Downes never imagined his opening synthesizer notes would launch an entire cable network into the stratosphere. But when MTV flipped the switch on Aug. 1, 1981, "Video Killed the Radio Star" became the first music video ever aired—and Downes became part of rock mythology, whether he'd planned on it or not.
The Yes keyboardist, who's held his position since 2011 and now claims the longest continuous tenure as keys player in the band's six-decade history, joined The Buggles alongside Trevor Horn after answering a Melody Maker ad in 1976. Horn was assembling a backing band for disco legend Tina Charles, and Downes won the gig over 39 other keyboard players because he showed up with a Moog synthesizer no one else had.
The Buggles' prophetic hit was more than catchy synth-pop. Horn, a voracious sci-fi reader obsessed with J.G. Ballard, wrote lyrics about technology reshaping culture. The song examines how talkies killed silent films, how video would disrupt radio—all before anyone imagined the medium would define the '80s.
But one MTV moment wasn't enough for Downes. In 1982, he co-wrote "Heat of the Moment" with Asia, the supergroup that cemented his place in prog-rock history. The track became an immortal classic, proving Downes could craft both the cutting-edge pop moment and the prog-rock epic.
Downes now balances time between Yes and a reconstituted Asia. "When I was listening to Yes as a student at music college, I never thought that would be the one thing somebody would be saying to me today," he tells us via Zoom from his England home.
The new Yes album, Aurora, is underway—proof that Downes's influence on music history continues.
