“Technology’s moved on far too much to sell people things like this anymore”: Back in 1984, Ultravox’s Midge Ure dismissed the Minimoog as an “antique” and was embracing a digital synth future with the PPG Wave

Midge Ure Minimoog.

The thing about footage of people explaining contemporaneous music technology is that it has a habit of dating rather badly, and this clip of Ultravox in the studio, which aired on the BBC’s Science Topics on 28 February 1984 (that’s 40 years ago to the day, date fans), is a prime example.

The video features Midge Ure cheerily suggesting that the Minimoog - now one of the most coveted analogue synthesizers in the world - has had its time, and that digital instruments are the way forward.