Thomas Dolby Channels His Own Childhood & Michael Jackson On 'Hyperactive!'
Imagine you are a rapidly up and coming Synth Pop pioneer in 1982. You have a chance encounter with Michael Jackson at the absolute height of his powers (mere months before the release of Thriller). You spend some time bonding over things like the rise of Hip-Hop and your shared love for The Beach Boys. Before you part ways, the King Of Pop mentions that he'd be open to you sending him a few demos for consideration on a future album. What do you do?
If you're Thomas Dolby, you spend the plane ride back to London whipping up what would become the song 'Hyperactive!'. A track that Jackson would take a pass on, but would become Dolby's biggest hit in the UK.
'Hyperactive!' is a tense, frantic jam of a song. Filled with chanking guitars and hot horns, it's easy to see how the song was written for Off The Wall era Jackson.
Thematically though, the song does ultimately fit Dolby like a glove, as he is able to inject the track with a certain manic energy and youthful reflection that only he could muster together. The result is a song that flies around like a superball, bouncing around Dolby's brain and delivering a strong dose of manic musical electricity.
The music video, directed by prolific UK director Daniel Kleinman, picks up where 'She Blinded Me With Science' left off. Sticking with the motif of Dolby on his couch, going tête à tête with his geriatric therapist. This time, though, things spin out of control almost immediately.
Dolby's head is replaced by a big cube with rip-able images of him emoting, he pulls out his heart as it flies away from his body, and even gets to control several dummy & puppet versions of himself.
The entire video whizzes by with a kinetic pace that really fits the song itself. It feels like you gave a child too much sugar, only that child was also able to harness the voices in their head to piece together a bonefide 80s Pop gem.
All of the energy is powered by Dolby, as well. It's him we see dancing around in his sharp suit; his hands & feet breaking from the rest of his body and dancing on their own, like some kind of ghostly Fred Astaire.
Between all the cubes & floating geometry, Dolby never forgets to have fun with the form. This is a man that, at the time, was so on the cutting edge of Pop Music that those same ideas he put into his songs served him just as well with his music videos.
While Dolby certainly had more subdued and reflective songs & videos, 'Hyperactive!' was the right song with the right tone for the right moment in time. Regardless of how the song started its life, Dolby was sharp enough to capitalize on a good idea and reimagine 'Hyperactive!' as a conduit for his own neurosis and childhood anxiety. Leading to one of his very best in music and visuals.
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