"Elstree" is a synthpop

Synthpop

Synthpop is a genre of popular music that first became prominent in the 1980s, in which the synthesizer is the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s by the use of synthesizers in progressive rock, electronic art rock, disco and particularly the "Kraut rock" of...

 song by The Buggles

The Buggles

The Buggles were an English New Wave band consisting of Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes . They are remembered chiefly for their 1979 debut single "Video Killed the Radio Star" that was #1 on the singles chart in 16 countries. Its music video was the first to be shown on MTV in the U.S...

 recorded in 1980 and available on the album The Age of Plastic

The Age of Plastic

-Chart performance:-Personnel:The Buggles*Geoff Downes – keyboards, drums, percussion*Trevor Horn – vocals, bass guitar, guitarAdditional musicians*Paul Robinson - drums*Richard James Burgess – drums...

. Released on 27 October 1980, it was the fourth and final single from the album. "Elstree" refers to the Elstree Studios

Elstree Studios

"Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England, since film production begun in 1927.-Name:...

, in keeping with the film-making subject of the song.

Music video

A music video was filmed featuring Trevor Horn as a BBC janitor cleaning a cemetery set on a sound stage as he recalls his days as a bit player in Elstree Studio b-films. As Horn reminisces, black-and-white footage of his "films" play, illustrating the various roles he recalls in the song.

Cover versions

Gigi D'Agostino

Gigi D'Agostino

Luigino Celestino Di Agostino , better known by his stage name Gigi D'Agostino, is an Italian DJ, remixer and record producer...

reused parts of the song's melodic structure for his 1999 hit "Another Way".