Into the Lens

{{Infobox song

| name = I Am a Camera

| cover = I Am A Camera Single Cover.jpg

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = the Buggles

| album = Adventures in Modern Recording

| B-side = Fade Away

| released = 2 October 1981{{cite web|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1981/Music-Week-1981-10-03.pdf|title=Music Week|page=30}}

| recorded =

| studio =

| genre =

| length = 4:32

| label = *Carrere

• ZTT

| writer = *Geoff Downes

• Trevor Horn

| producer = Trevor Horn

| prev_title = Elstree

| prev_year = 1980

| next_title = Adventures in Modern Recording

| next_year = 1982

}}

The first version of the song was a demo, recorded on a Sunday afternoon when songwriters Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes started working on the second Buggles album in 1980.{{cite AV media notes |title=Adventures in Modern Recording |others=The Buggles |date=2010 |last=Peel|first=Ian |type=CD insert |publisher=Salvo Records |id=SALVOCD036}} When they joined Yes, it gained input from other members Steve Howe, Chris Squire and Alan White, and therefore, "Into the Lens" features a more distinctive "prog rock" sound.

When Horn and Downes resumed work on the Buggles album which would become Adventures in Modern Recording, the song was reworked as "I Am a Camera". Trevor Horn said about the two versions:

The song "I Am a Camera" was a Buggles track and we had adapted it into a Yes track. It became "Into the Lens" and, naturally, slightly more overblown. I don't mind "Into the Lens"—the melody's unadulterated while the arrangement's a lot more complicated—but I still prefer The Buggles version. I think Geoffrey's brilliant on the Buggles version.

Along with the "On TV" and "Lenny" singles, the Buggles' "I Am a Camera" was re-released by ZTT on iTunes in 2012, including three bonus tracks: the aforementioned "12" Mix" of the song, and two demos both titled "We Can Fly from Here" ("Part I" and "Part II" respectively).{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/us/album/i-am-a-camera-ep/512751929|title=The Buggles: I Am a Camera - EP|website=iTunes|access-date=21 April 2013}}{{Dead link|date=September 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} The latter two songs would (like the "I Am a Camera" demo) be reworked as Yes songs, and in fact become the basis of Yes' future album, 2011's Fly from Here, which would mark the second time that both Horn and Downes would work with Yes following a departure by Jon Anderson - Downes returning on keyboards for both the album and the tour, but Horn taking the role as producer and offering some backing vocals, but reserving lead vocals for Benoît David. Along with the "12" mix", the B-side, and the two demos also appear on ZTT's 2010 re-release of Adventures in Modern Recording.

In the Netherlands, the Buggles version originally peaked on the Single Top 100 at #46,{{cite web|url=http://hitparade.ch/showitem.asp?interpret=Buggles&titel=I+Am+A+Camera&cat=s|title=Buggles - I Am A Camera|website=hitparade.ch|access-date=21 April 2013}}

but reached #11 on the Dutch Top 40.{{cite web|url=https://www.top40.nl/the-buggles/the-buggles-i-am-a-camera-15220|title=Buggles - I Am A Camera|website=Top40.nl|language=nl|access-date=5 June 2013}}

Yes' version of the song was also released as a single, although significantly shortened from the original album version. The single was released under the title "Into the Lens (I Am a Camera)"

In 1985, "I Am a Camera" was covered by Kim Carnes as a bonus track on her album Barking at Airplanes.{{Youtube|NdlNY2YVKsw|"I Am a Camera" by Kim Carnes}} In a 2020 interview, Carnes admitted that she was unhappy with her performance of the song.{{cite web|last=Shawhan|first=Jason|date=2 July 2020|url=https://www.nashvillescene.com/music/features/article/21138830/talking-with-kim-carnes-on-the-35th-anniversary-of-barking-at-airplanes|title=Talking With Kim Carnes on the 35th Anniversary of Barking at Airplanes|work=Nashville Scene|accessdate=16 February 2021}}

Record World called it a "playful pop-rocker" with "sweetly affecting" harmonies and keyboards.{{cite magazine|magazine=Record World|date=October 11, 1980|page=1|accessdate=2023-02-22|title=Hits of the Week|url=https://worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/Record-World/80s/80/Record-World-1980-10-11.pdf}}

In the music video made for "I Am a Camera", during the beginning, there are a pair of Horn's trademark glasses. On one of the lenses is a video and the other is glass. Horn comes out of the video side of the glasses (as illustrated). There are scenes involving Horn singing, broken glasses and opticians' tools. The video is seemingly set in a dollhouse. Towards the end, Horn is seen lying on the floor passed out.{{YouTube|nSlkEwYHMm4|The Buggles - "I Am a Camera" Music Video on MTV2}}. Accessed from 21 April 2013. On 22 March 2013, Classic Pop Magazine rated the music video a "Classic Video".{{cite web|url=https://www.classicpopmag.com/2013/03/classic-videos-22032013/|title=Classic Videos 22/03/2013|website=Classic Pop Magazine|access-date=27 October 2013}}

• Trevor Horn – lead vocals
• Geoff Downes – keyboards, vocoder
• Steve Howe – Fender Console Steel and Telecaster
• Chris Squire – bass, backing vocals
• Alan White – drums, percussion

• Geoff Downes – keyboards, vocoder
• Trevor Horn – vocals, guitar, drum programming, production

Since 1982, a few bars from the song are used as a jingle of "music premiere" at Polskie Radio Program III (Polish Radio Three) and as a jingle to announce a new song on their chart, Lista Przebojów Programu Trzeciego.{{cite web|url=http://www.trojkofan.trojka.info/lista_przebojow_programu_trzeciego.html|title=Lista przebojów Programu Trzeciego|publisher=Trójkofan|access-date=4 November 2016|language=pl|archive-date=5 November 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161105032743/http://www.trojkofan.trojka.info/lista_przebojow_programu_trzeciego.html|url-status=dead}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{Youtube|qXhYsMEjsZ8q|Into the Lens official video}}

{{The Buggles}}

{{Yesband}}

{{authority control}}

Category:Yes (band) songs

Category:The Buggles songs

Category:1980 songs

Category:Songs written by Trevor Horn

Category:Songs written by Geoff Downes

Category:Songs written by Chris Squire

Category:Songs written by Steve Howe (musician)

Category:Carrere Records singles

Category:Atlantic Records singles