Electric Disorder's Clive Sinclair song

When it was launched some 25 years ago, Sir Clive Sinclair's C5 was an instant smash hit.

Millions of the little plastic personal transport devices were sold, and these days it's hard to walk through any town in the country without seeing one whizzing along the pavement. They're everywhere.

Meanwhile, Sir Clive is all over the newspapers and on TV, where he's being interviewed by Jonathan Ross and company on the anniversary of his greatest triumph.

At least, that's what could have happened . . .

Sadly, as we all know, the C5 was a complete disaster - but it could be about to live again thanks to two Shropshire musicians and their new video, which is on its way to becoming an internet smash hit.

Electric Disorder, a synth duo based in the Newport area, have written a song named after Sir Clive, and the accompanying tongue-in-cheek film, which portrays a world in which the C5 is the number-one selling vehicle of all time, was watched more than 2,00 times in its first week on YouTube.

The band, keyboardist Matt Richards and singer Peter Kern, are hoping it could prove to be a launch pad for the CD worth of songs they have ready for release.

The pair met when renovating a shop in Newport. They chatted over music and discovered shared influences, from Kraftwerk to dance music.

They particularly like records from the 1970s and 1980s, when real synthesisers were used, not just computers.

"They just sound warmer and organic," says Kern.

"There's something about them."

As a result the pair's music sounds very Eighties, but modern at the same time.

The tune for "Clive Sinclair" came out of a jamming session, but the lyrics came when Richards watched a programme about the worst inventions of all time.

"And I just lit up when I saw the Sinclair C5 whizz past. It just made me smile more than any other car. It had charm. It's cheeky. It just had something about it which appealed to me.

"It was humorous to me but I also thought it's quite a unique little design. It actually looks futuristic now, 25 years on."

Having written and recorded the song, the pair decided they needed to make a video. But with little money and no record label, they had to do it themselves with the help of friends.

Having acquired several C5s, they made a mask of Sir Clive Sinclair and then went to London to film a world that so nearly could have been, where the C5 is king.

"But people kept getting in the way because they were staring at the C5s," Richards recalls.

"And then the police moved us on for filming without a permit. The second time, outside Harrods, we got a ticket."

They returned to Shropshire and filmed the rest of the video, with "Sir Clive" being interviewed by a Jonathan Ross-style chatshow host and being lauded by a host of 1980's celebrities.

But Electric Disorder are not making fun of Sir Clive. In fact, Richards and Kern are serious fans of the great man and his idea of an environmentally-friendly car aimed at all budgets.

"On the one hand I can see how people might think they're rubbish," says Richard. "But the people who knock it have never had a go in one.

"The thing I like about the C5 most is Sir Clive's concept. He never had a chance to see it go because it was ridiculed."

Richards genuinely hopes Sir Clive will be pleased with Electric Disorder's tribute.

"I would love for him to like it," he says.

"I just want people to hear the music and get enjoyment from it. That's what I get out of it," he adds.

"To get people to enjoy the music is the number one goal for me. It's just that on top of that we've made a video that's turned out to be a little bit bigger and a bit wackier than we originally thought."

• "Clive Sinclair" is available for download on iTunes.

• For more on the band, visit electricdisorder.com