Forgotten Gem of The 80s #4
For the next in our “Forgotten Gem” series, we remember Thomas Dolby’s Hyperactive. Surprisingly, only reaching number 17 in The U.K. in1984 ( however deservedly getting to number 5 in The U.S.), it was the first single from the album The Flat Earth and was originally written for Michael Jackson.
Born Thomas Morgan Robertson, the stage name Dolby was given to him at about the age of 13 by his friends due to his love of tapes and keyboards. Dolby Laboratories expressed concern over his stage name and after a court battle it was decided that Dolby couldn’t release electronic equipment using the name. For the 1982 single release Dolby famously sampled Dr Magnus Pyke, who also appeared in the video.
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Loved him! There was him, Howard Jones and Nik Kershaw as the top solo synth artists but Thomas Dolby was always the coolest and kookiest and never took himself too seriously. His lyrics always had a sense of fun about them and when you listen to the music there was always so much more going on in the background other than the keyboards! A great reminder of a good tune – thanks Hog!