Great Googley Moogley! I got a mind stunning message from my friend Mr. Ware this morning that demands I bump my planned posting for this breaking news. Hot on the heels of having read Trevor Horn’s zippy autobio, came the news that the reason why we paid attention to Horn in the first place, his band The Buggles, will be touring the world this year [and possibly next] as the opening act for ZTT star Seal‘s show celebrating 30 years of his first two albums.
Seal will be playing “Seal I” and Seal II” in their entirety, along with other setlist features, we’re sure. Since Seal has sold millions of those discs, and keeping in mind that Trevor Horn produced them, no doubt there was the budget to enlist Horn as the Music Director. At that point the notion of rounding up The Buggles to be the opening act wasn’t that great a leap! After all, Horn would be hand picking the band members for the Seal show. Having the same people play the opening set means that there won’t be much if any breakdown between sets.
And once I wrapped my head around the concept that The Buggles would actually be touring America in a few months, I got to thinking. If Trevor was there, I’m sure the budget for Geoff Downes could be found as well. According to Retropop, Downes will be there as well. So in a few months, two hours away from where I live The Freaking Buggles will actually be on tour with Seal, playing the opening set in what’s sure to be a fantastic sounding concert. As we know, Trevor Horn does nothing by half-measures!
And let’s place this in the right context. The Buggles never played any concerts when they were releasing records. The first Buggles live gig was at the 2004 “Produced By Trevor Horn” Prince’s Trust mega event at Wembley Stadium! Following that, I know of two other shows The Buggles played. A 2010 fund-raiser for the hospital where Horn’s then comatose wife lay in their care, and a 2011 Alison Moyet show at the O2, London. Then…nada. Until now. So what are those dates?
Seal + The Buggles | 2023 Tour | USA
April 25 | Phoenix, AZ | Arizona Financial Theatre
April 28 | Houston, TX | Bayou Music Center
April 29 | Austin, TX | Bass Concert Hall
April 30 | Dallas, TX | Music Hall at Fair Park
May 02 | New Orleans, LA | Saenger Theatre
May 04 | Charlotte, NC | Ovens Auditorium
May 06 | Atlanta, GA | Fox Theatre
May 07 | Louisville, KY | Louisville Palace
May 10 | Washington D.C. | The Anthem
May 11 | Philadelphia, PA | The Met
May 12 | Boston, MA Boch | Centre Wang Theatre
May 15 | Toronto, ON | Massey Hall
May 17 | Indianapolis, IN | Murat Theatre
May 19 | Minneapolis, MN | Orpheum Theatre
May 21 | Detroit, MI | Fox Theatre
May 23 | New York, NY | Beacon Theatre
May 26 | St. Louis, MO | Stifel Theatre
May 27 | Chicago, IL | Chicago Theatre
May 30 | Denver, CO | Bellco Theatre
June 02 | Las Vegas, NV | Venetian Theatre
June 03 | Las Vegas, NV | Venetian Theatre
June 06 | Oakland, CA | Paramount Theatre
June 07 | Los Angeles, CA | Greek Theatre
June 10 | Portland, OR | Keller Auditorium
June 12 | Seattle, WA | Paramount Theatre
Ooof! That’s soooooo tempting. Charlotte is just two hours away. But I really don’t feel comfortable seeing concerts now. I’m not sure I’ll ever do that again, the way things are looking. And I can guarantee that the pandemic will not miraculously evaporate in two months. So I really can’t see the formerly unthinkable: The Buggles will be playing a concert two hours away and I will not be attending. At the very least, I will be spared the nerve-shredding, wallet-gouging experience of buying tickets from TicketMonster.
But if you think otherwise, the tickets go on sale the Friday after next, January 27th. At the usual places I would prefer not to link to.
-30-
Post-Punk Monk 
OMG…a Portland date, and it’s a Saturday, at a nice theater that we like….we’ve done several concerts in the past year, so it will come down to cost. But to think that one has the opportunity to even consider such a thing…!!
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Big Mark – The costs will he high. Guaranteed. It’s Seal with Trevor Horn’s hand-picked band. But yeah, it’s more a case of just imagining that it is happening at all! I’m sure that Ron would have been there in spite of Seal.
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Not directly related, but talk about bands coming out of the woodwork…I just found out the incredible French new wave electronic band Martin Dupont is coming to the states in May! The week they come to San Francisco, I’ve already got the Molchat Doma/Nuovo Testemento and Ladytron shows. I haven’t gone to three shows in a week in years. No way can I pass up Martin Dupont. I wear a mask to shows for safety. Life is too short to miss certain bands!
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Double-mask and avoid the SRO area and you have a very low risk. In fact I would expect there is no SRO area for a show like this except at arena dates.
Turns out the Seattle venue is one I know will be a seated event (it’s a former movie palace), so that makes it a bit more likely we’d go. If Trevor brings Mr. Woolley along for Buggle backup/Seal’s guitarist, goddam it, I’m in!
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I’m going to the show in my town, but does anyone know if the Buggles finished the new album that they were working on and will release it this year?
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John – Welcome to the comments! The last I’d heard of any “new Buggles” material were mentions in 2016 or so. So your guess is as good as mine, but let’s admit it… the timing could not be any better for a Buggles world tour now would it?
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Without wishing to downplay your concerns covid-wise, I have been to many gigs since lockdown ceased here in the UK and, fingers crossed, haven’t succumbed. I’m fully ‘jabbed’ and take reasonable precautions, but don’t wear a mask at gigs. Very few do, if any.
It seems a shame to miss the experience.
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SimonH – XBB.1.5 is the new variant locally and it’s incredibly virulent. In the last month all of our neighbors have gotten it in spite of masking and vaccinating. Not inclined to tempt fate…even for The Buggles.
Johns Hopkins US Covid map
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Fair enough, hope you reach a point where you feel comfortable attending again. My wife and I wonder if we’ve had it but didn’t realise… I have had moments standing at packed gigs and thinking, oh, oh…
Let’s hope I don’t come to regret my relaxed approach:)
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My daughter brought COVID home over the holidays and, despite vaccinations everyone got it but me (I had it last year, so maybe that helped). So, yes, COVID is still a concern. Hopefully things will be better by the summer.
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Do I have to pay for the whole ticket if I’m going to skip the headliner? I mean, he’s alright, but I don’t really have any interest in seeing Seal.
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postpostmoderndad – Hah! You have made visible the transparent pachyderm in the room!
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Bless you sir for telling us, otherwise I might not have heard! And The Buggles with Seal, that’s a great billing. I cannot pass up the chance to see The Buggles. Dang, I’m starting to get giddy just thinking about it. Will they play the first album in entirety? Will I actually get to hear “I Love You (Miss Robot)” live??? Will Geoff Downes be playing??? I last had the privilege of seeing Geoff Downes playing live on the 2006 tour of the Asia original lineup (John Whetton, Steve Howe, Carl Palmer, and Geoff Downes), which was a mindblowing show in an intimate venue.
I’m in the same boat as you for travel distance to the announced Seal/Buggles shows. The D.C. show is about 3 hours away for me (I miss living in D.C. for all the great concerts).
I just started seeing indoor concerts again as COVID died down, seeing Porcupine Tree and then Metric (both insanely good shows). It was pretty amazing to be there again for live music.
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Todd Lewis – I have seen confirmation of Geoff Downes on the link in the post. But only at that website [which I can’t remember] right now. But it only makes sense. This will be a high profile, big budget event; Trevor Horn is the MD! So I’d be shocked if Downes weren’t there.
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If Geoff can’t be there, it might be because he is touring with Yes. I hope that his commitments with that band don’t prevent him from touring with Trevor. I’m very excited that the tour is coming here! But has there been any update about the new Buggles album that they started work on a few years ago?
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johnofsunhilow – Well, I could only find one instance of Geoff Downes being on the Buggles tour at Retropop.
But I think Retropop may be in error there.
If “Yes” are touring with Downes at the same time then obviously that will not be happening. I’m sure the budget was there but the prior commitment on the part of Geoff with Howe + co. would surely hold. I mentioned that the last I’d read about any new Buggles was date stamped 2016 or so. I’d be first in line for anything, of course! Geoff barely got his feet wet with “Adventures With Modern Recording” which played like a fascinating bridge between “Plastic Age” and “Drama,” which pointed the way to the resurrection of Yes as well as the dawn of ZTT. A very important album for Mr. Horn. And in 1981 I loved it, of course! Still do.
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If Downes is busy with Yes, that would be a regrettable loss … but maybe Mr. Woolley could step in there …?
(why yes, I am obsessed with seeing Bruce Woolley live … how the devil did you deduce it, Mr. Holmes?)
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It appears there will be no Geoff Downes on this Buggles tour. Geoff is officially listed on the Yes site http://www.yesworld.com as doing the Yes tour May 7 through June 20 in Europe and UK.
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RobertB – Welcome to the comments! So I noticed once I checked on the Yesworld website after johnofsunhillow mentioned the Yes tour. I need to edit the post by now. Thanks!
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Sadly, is does not appear that Geoff will be playing with the Buggles due to the conflict with the YES tour.
It will still be a dream to hear Buggles material sung by Trevor
https://www.yesworld.com/live/
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David Ponak – I’m sure that the Yes conflict would be the only reason. I’m guessing the Seal tour is going to be top drawer all the way if they can have TCH as MD for the gig! Otherwise I’m certain Downes would have been there.
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But, YES still lists their now deceased drummer Alan White as a tour member, so perhaps they are incorrect about Geoff being on the tour 🤔
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David Ponak –
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Maybe Trevor could talk Thomas Dolby into filling in for Geoff?
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The YES tour has been canceled, so Geoff is now free. He tweeted a Buggles tease a couple of weeks ago, so I wonder……🤔
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David Ponak – That would be SPECTACULAR. If there’s rehearsal time he should go for it!
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Just yesterday
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David Ponak – Sacré bleu!
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I hope you changed your mind regarding the Charlotte show at Ovens Auditorium, it was nothing short of perfection. The Buggles/ Trevor did not disappoint. The sound quality was the best I’ve ever heard at a concert, and I’m not even exaggerating. And I learned The Buggles were so much more than Video Killed The Radio Star.
Just an outstanding performance from both Seal and Trevor.
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Pete Harrison – Welcome to the comments! Nope, I’m still not ready for indoor shows, and I’d forgotten all about them coming that close until last week when I saw all of the traffic that post was getting now that the tour is underway. It boggles my mind that there was a Buggles concert that close to me but things are different now. We will see outdoor shows. We have a Kishi Bashi show with the orchestra next weekend, and ironically, a June 2020 Kishi Bashi concert was the second musical casualty when the pandemic started. The first was my trip to the UK for the Human 17 “Reproduction/Travelogue” concert. That will always sting.
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This was the setlist for the show I attended (still smiling):
https://www.setlist.fm/setlist/buggles/2023/beacon-theatre-new-york-ny-63b92a1b.html
I don’t believe Geoff Downes was there; in fact this incarnation of The Buggles = Trevor Horn + Seal and Seal’s backup group
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schwenko – I’m pleased that at least one person I “know” [via the internet, but still…] managed to see The almighty Buggles. Though I’m not thrilled at the FGTH/AON/Yes material making this a Trevor Horn show as much as anything. What was the merch like?
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Sorry, I can’t comment on what the merchandise was. At the end of the show I did pass by but it was so crowded I couldn’t get close enough to even see what it was. And I was in quite a rush to get home for some rest; I attended 3 concerts in 8 days (and had a ticket for a 4th of which I flaked), 2 of which were in the far flung mass transit unfriendly depths of Brooklyn (though worth it to see Martin Dupont).
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