Synopsis

Presented as an old-fashioned British television music program, the video opens with a stiff, formally dressed host introducing the Propellerheads as a new kind of musician: the disc jockey. Shirley Bassey then performs "History Repeating" with the duo and a jazz-style backing band, while the studio crew watches with increasing curiosity. The supposedly restrained television set gradually loosens up as musicians, technicians and presenters begin tapping their feet, dancing and eventually breaking into more contemporary moves.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed in monochrome to match its deliberately retro television aesthetic.

• Its staged broadcast setting gently parodies British light-entertainment and jazz programs, with the production crew initially behaving like a very formal studio ensemble.

• The visual joke depends on the collision between Bassey's classic performance style and the Propellerheads' big-beat production. The era-conscious presentation mirrors the song's skepticism toward claims that every new trend is revolutionary.

• The studio performers and crew gradually abandon their restrained behavior and dance, creating the video's main comic payoff.

• Scenes from the shoot were later included on Shirley Bassey's *Divas Are Forever* DVD. The making-of material notes that filming took several hours and that Bassey had difficulty with the shoes used for the performance.

• "History Repeating" was written with Bassey in mind, helping make the video feel like a meeting between her established screen persona and the Propellerheads' retro-electronic world.

• The song later appeared on the soundtrack to *There's Something About Mary* and was used in a Jaguar S-Type television commercial, extending the video's period-conscious pop-culture reach.