Synopsis

Set in an office environment, the video casts Sheena Easton as an employee caught between routine workplace discipline and an intense attraction to her boss, played by Gorden Kaye. Easton performs amid stylized office imagery while the song's nervous synth-pop arrangement turns ordinary work into something surreal and emotionally charged. The clip balances playful humor with a sense of romantic frustration, presenting "Machinery" as a portrait of someone who feels controlled, confused, and unable to break free from a mechanical relationship.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Machinery" was released in 1982 as the lead single from Easton's third studio album, "Madness, Money & Music."

• Gorden Kaye appears as Easton's boss. He was best known at the time for British television work and later became internationally recognized as Rene Artois in "'Allo 'Allo!"

• The song was written by Julia Downes. Downes said that "Machinery" was originally written with actress and performer Pamela Stephenson in mind, before it was recorded by Easton.

• The single reached No. 38 on the UK Singles Chart and No. 57 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100.

• The video was part of Easton's early-1980s move toward more stylized, contemporary pop presentation, contrasting with the straightforward romantic material that had defined much of her breakthrough period.

• The track's unusual electronic textures and deliberately quirky lyric were noted as a departure from the adult-contemporary ballads that dominated Easton's third album.