Synopsis

Thomas Dolby turns a restless mind into a surrealist spectacle in this fast-moving 1984 video. Appearing as a bespectacled, hyperactive performer, he occupies a stark studio world filled with geometric imagery, visual distortions, and rapidly changing expressions. A cube-like headpiece becomes the central visual gag, with paper faces peeled away to reveal new moods beneath. The video's playful pseudo-psychiatric setting, layered images, and deliberately artificial effects match the song's nervous energy while extending Dolby's eccentric mad-scientist persona into a more graphic, technology-driven style.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was released in February 1984, shortly after "Hyperactive!" became the lead single from *The Flat Earth*.

• The cube imagery became closely associated with Dolby's later "Dolby's Cube" name and helped establish a recurring visual language around geometric heads and electronic surrealism.

• The changing-face effect was created by peeling away successive paper layers from the front of the cube, revealing different expressions underneath.

• The production made creative use of early videotape compositing. Multiple video sources could be layered and recorded together, allowing effects that were difficult or expensive to achieve with conventional film techniques.

• Contemporary coverage described the video as a humorous take on psychiatry, emphasizing its special-effects gimmickry rather than treating the song as a conventional performance clip.

• "Hyperactive!" was nominated for Best Computer Graphics and Most Innovative Music Video in 1984 video-award coverage. Its effects also earned recognition in the Best Special Effects field at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards.

• Dolby originally wrote the song with Michael Jackson in mind. After sending Jackson a demo and receiving no response, Dolby recorded it himself.

• The single reached No. 17 on the UK singles chart, making "Hyperactive!" Dolby's highest-charting single in his home country.