This episode of BBC Tomorrow’s World from 1980 takes a breathless look at the Fairlight CMI.

via Synthasy2000:

Not seen this before on YouTube so I’ve put it up for the Fairlight video collectors out there.

Kieran Prendiville bashes out a tune on a new synthesiser that can sample real sounds! Revolutionary for 1980 and now so main stream. One of TW’s hit predictions.

He’s wrong when he says the Fairlight (well he never actually mentions it’s a Fairlight) “mathematically works out” the sound. It doesn’t synthesise the sound which is the impression Kieran Prendiville is giving. He’s also wrong when he says “those aren’t recordings”. They are of course, sounds sampled into memory as we all know and love.

Although the tape based Mellotron from 15 years or so earlier than this was used to play back sound effects 😉

I’m not so keen on his mugging to camera though. Probably a struggling actor coming out of him. Maybe that’s why he wrote “Ballykissangel” 😀