Meaning
Recorded in 1983 and released in January 1984, the song was a commentary on television overtaking radio's popularity and how one would listen to radio for a favorite comedy, drama, or science fiction programme. It also pertained to the advent of the music video and MTV. Ironically, the video for "Radio Ga Ga" would become a regular staple on MTV in 1984, and was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award that year. Taylor originally conceived of it as "Radio caca" (from something his toddler son once said), which doubled as a criticism of radio for the decrease in variety of programming and the type of music being played. "Radio Ga Ga" in one of the original cassette boxes is called 'radio ca ca'.
The song makes reference to two important radio events of the 20th century; Orson Welles' 1938 broadcast of H.G. Wells' The War of the Worlds in the lyric "through wars of worlds/invaded by Mars", and Winston Churchill's 18 June 1940 "This was their finest hour" speech from the House of Commons, in the lyric "You've yet to have your finest hour".
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