Where are they now? - Trevor Horn
This page last updated: 30 Nov 2024
On this page: The Trevor Horn Band
- The Buggles - Dire
Straits Legacy - Musicals &
soundtracks - Production work - Re-releases
Trevor Horn's official sites: Official site; Official
Facebook; Instagram;
Twitter
In a Mar
2018 interview, Horn said: "I've been playing bass a lot
lately. I've been doing less producing. There's not much around I'm
prepared to spend the time on really. An interesting-sounding record
takes a long time, y'know? [...] It's a lot of work. You have to
believe in the material, and the people." In a Dec 2017
interview, Horn said, "I've had 30 years in a recording studio
[...] Now I'm getting a bit older and I've had enough, y'know?
Unless I find a song really worth doing, I don't want to do it
[produce] any more. So... I like to play." In a Dec
2023 interview, Horn was asked, "Are you done now, Trevor,
with producing full albums for other artists. Or are you still open
to opportunities?" He replied, "It's always something I like. But it
takes up so much time, so I'd have to really be into it. If I heard
something I liked, I could get excited about it." In a Jan
2024 interview, he says he did 80 live shows in 2023. (I only
count 68, so I'm missing some activity.)
Horn continues to work on projects with Geoff
Downes, including occasionally as The
Buggles, although he also toured as The Buggles in 2023
without Downes. Another Jan
2024 interview with Horn said he "is contemplating both a Los
Angeles-based concept album and a Buggles tour for next year."
However, it doesn't have a direct quotation from Horn. (It's also
unclear if it means 2025 or if it actually might mean 2024 when it
says "next year".) I don't know whether the concept album is a new
project or connected to some other idea reported below.
Echoes: Ancient and
Modern
Horn's latest album is Echoes – Ancient & Modern (trailer;
he had wanted to call it Ancient & Modern), out 1 Dec
2023 on Deutsche Grammophon. It is sort of a follow-up to 2019's Reimagines the Eighties, with had orchestral
covers of older material, some that Horn worked on at the time, some
that he didn't. Horn explained in a Dec
2023 interview, "I've really gone back to liking the sound of
synths, again. I'm sick of orchestras. Because I did that with the
Rod Stewart record, as well [as Reimagines the Eighties]. So
I'm orchestra'd out – I don't want to do that again." Tracks:
- "Swimming Pools (Drank)" (3:56; originally by Kendrick
Lamar), with Tori Amos
- "Steppin' Out" (4:25; originally by Joe Jackson), with
Seal (vocals); second digital single (out 6 Oct 2023)
- "Owner of a Lonely Heart" (3:43; originally by Yes),
with Rick Astley (vocals); fifth digital
single (out 17 Nov 2023)
- "Slave to the Rhythm" (4:17; originally by Grace
Jones), with Lady
Blackbird (a.k.a. Marley Munroe; Bandcamp);
first digital
single (out 22 Sep 2023)
- "Love is a Battlefield" (3:32; originally by Pat
Benatar), with Marc Almond (vocals); third digital
single (out 19 Oct 2023); Almond said, "I was
intrigued by the song, as it wasn't one I would have
chosen for myself. People all too often pick obvious
songs for me they think I would like and so often get it
wrong. But this was something else. I like a challenge
and to do the unexpected."
- "Personal Jesus" (3:26; originally by Depeche Mode),
with Iggy Pop and Phoebe
Lunny; fourth digital
single (out 3 Nov 2023)
- "Drive" (3:54; originally by The Cars), with Steve
Hogarth (Marillion); side B
begins; Horn said, "It's a sad song and I tried to make
it even sadder."
- "Relax" (4:06; originally by Frankie Goes to
Hollywood), with Toyah Willcox (vocals) and Robert Fripp
(King Crimson; guitar); Horn
said, "The pure joy of Toyah, which also means her
husband Robert Fripp and his fantastical guitar, seemed
about as wonderfully distant from Frankie Goes to
Hollywood as it's possible to get."
- "White Wedding" (4:34; originally by Billy Idol), with
Andrea Corr (vocals) and Jack Lukeman (vocals)
- "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (4:33; originally by
Nirvana), with Jack Lukeman (vocals)
- "Avalon" (4:05; originally by Roxy Music), Horn on
lead vocals
Release formats included CD,
180g
LP, limited
edition crystal clear 180g LP, and limited
edition, signed, white label LP. There is also a
Blu-ray Audio edition with a Dolby Atmos mix, 5.1 Surround
mix (dedicated separate mix, not rendered from the Atmos
mix), Hi-Res stereo mix, instrumental version in 5.1, and 22
minute video with Horn talking through the album track by
track, exclusive
to the Super Deluxe Edition online shop. Liner notes
include an interview with Horn by Paul Morley
(ex-Art of Noise, ex-ZTT Records). There is also a
limited edition 10" single of "Swimming Pools (Drank)", b/w
an instrumental version thereof. The album made #31 in the
UK midweek album chart (4 Dec) and was at #81 in its first
full week (8 Dec). It was #21 in the album sales chart and
#22 in the physical sales chart. It made #47 in Germany and
#68 in Austria. It was also on various iTunes charts: Brazil
#3, Italy #8, UK & Germany #11, Australia #12, US #85.
In addition, "Relax" made #81 and "Steppin' Out" #65 on
Spanish iTunes, while "Slave to the Rhythm" made #51 in
Italy and #63 in Germany.
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String arrangements are by Julian Hinton (Trevor
Horn Band) and orchestrations are by Alan Clark. In
promo, Horn described the album, saying, "Finding the right singers
was as important as finding the songs, probably more so[.] It's an
album by me, as a kind of auteur. I'm the artist commissioning other
artists rather than them hiring me." Horn said of second single
"Steppin' Out": "The Joe Jackson original is like stepping out into
the fast-moving neon-lit edginess of New York after you've got high.
With Seal I thought it should be like stepping out into California
where it's lush, comfortable and much less speedy. I was thinking of
"The Girl from Ipanema."" Seal sang his part in 1 day. Aaron Horn (Trevor's son) arranged "Love is a Battlefield".
Pop recorded remotely in a Zoom session, doing 4 takes, and it was
Pop who suggested adding Lunny on guitar. In an interview with Classic
Pop magazine, Horn explained, "he [Pop] wanted us to rough the
track up a bit, because it was all acoustic with the harmonica and
stuff. So we called in Phoebe Lunny and she plays very raw guitar."
The original idea for the song was all acoustic. While Pop recorded
remotely, most of the vocalists did not. Horn said in the Dec 2023
interview: "there's only a couple that were done remotely and he was
one of them due to COVID." He also said, "Iggy with 'Personal
Jesus', he wasn't happy with a couple of things so we had to cope
with that. He was in the middle of a tour. So he had to sing some
bits of it again." Credits for the album are:
Trevor Horn: keys (1-3, 5, 6, 8, 9, 11), bass (3-9, 11), double bass
(7), guitar (3, 5, 9, 11), vocals (11), backing vocals (3, 5, 7-9),
drum programming (4)
Tori Amos: vocals (1), piano (1)
Tashya Lorien (Amos' daughter): backing
vocals (1)
Jon Evans (worked with Amos, Linda Perry, Chris
Cornell, Sarah McLachlan): bass (1)
Ash Soan (Producers,
Downes Braide
Association, works with Tori Amos, worked with Rick Wakeman,
Gary Barlow, Doctor
Who): drums (1)
Alan Clark (Dire
Straits Legacy, Trevor Horn Band): keys
(1-9, 11), piano (2, 7, 8), synth (8)
Seal: vocals (2)
Izzy Chase (Trevor Horn Band): backing vocals
(2)
Simon Bloor (Trevor Horn Band): guitar (2, 4,
11), keys (2, 9)
Lol Creme (Trevor Horn Band, Producers,
ex-10cc, worked with Yes): guitar (2-4, 6, 8, 9, 11), keys
(11)
Phil Palmer (Dire Straits Legacy): guitar (2,
4-7, 9, 11)
Steve Sidwell: trumpet (2)
Jamie Muhoberac (Seal, The
Buggles): bass (2), keys (2, 9)
Earl Harvin (Seal, The Buggles): drums (2, 7,
9, 10)
Tim Weidner: programming (2-9, 11)
Rick Astley: vocals (3)
Tessa Niles: backing vocals (3)
Jesper Lynggaard Rosenmejer Nielsen (Trevor Horn
Band): programming (3, 5, 8, 9)
Lady Blackbird: vocals (4)
Marc Almond: vocals (5)
Bryan Chambers: backing vocals (5)
Louise Clare Marshall: backing vocals (5)
Iggy Pop: vocals (6)
Mica Paris: backing vocals
(6)
Alex McArthur: guitar (6)
Phoebe Lunny (Lambrini Girls): electric
guitar (6)
The Revd. Jimmy Wood: harmonica (6)
Danny Cummings (Dire
Straits Legacy, ex-Dire Straits): percussion (6)
Alex Torjussen: drums (6)
Dave McCracken: programming (6)
Steve Hogarth (Marillion): vocals (7)
Hayley Sanderson (worked with Rick Wakeman,
Trevor Horn Band): vocals (7), backing vocals (11)
Calum Landau: percussion (7)
Toyah Willcox: vocals (8)
Robert Fripp (ex-King Crimson): guitar (8)
Andrea Corr: vocals (9)
Jack Lukeman: vocals (9, 10)
Alan Connor: piano (10)
Horn said on BBC Breakfast (4 Dec 2023) that they demo'd
about 30 songs ("mostly" sung by Horn), before narrowing the
selection down to the final 11. In the Dec 2023 interview, Horn
said, "We did a great version of [Visage's] 'Fade to Grey'. Jakko
[Jakszyk] from King Crimson sang on it and he did it like it was
prog track. It just never made it. I couldn't get a definitive
version of it and I was running out of money [laughs]." He also
said, "[Neil Tennant] was one of the early ones that I asked. He
won't do anything that's associated with reissues or anything from
the past. Not interested, unfortunately! I can't blame him." To Classic
Pop, he said he nearly did a version of "London Calling" with
a choir. An interview for Prog #147 (Feb 2024 cover date)
said Jakszyk's "Fade to Grey" will be "on forthcoming expanded
editions of the album" and quoted Horn as saying, "We changed it
quite drastically, [jokingly] because the original was quite
sketchy."
On 14 Mar 2023, Horn's social media accounts had a video
clip labelled, "A sneak peek at the process for recording
strings for a new Deutsche Grammophon [...] album at Angel Studios,
with Julian Hinton conducting." The clips shows a large string
section and the song being recorded was "Love is a Battlefield". In
an appearance on
The Hustle podcast, recorded Dec 2022, when Horn was asked how
he chose the songs for Reimagines the Eighties, he replied,
"I just knew all the songs from the eighties and thought which ones
I'd like to do. I've done the same thing again, but this time not
symphonic. [...] [It] won't be [out] till the middle of next year
[2023]."
Horn has said he started work on the album just before COVID-19
lockdown. The earliest reports of the album described a rather
different plan to the finished result. In a late Aug 2021
interview, asked what he had been doing during lockdown, Horn
said, "I'm making a new album... of... different versions of songs
from the '80s, at the moment. That's all anybody seems to want. [laughs]."
The interviewer brought up Reimagines the Eighties in
response, and Horn continued, "This is the Eighties Chill [...] Only
a few instruments, but different versions. Quite interesting,
actually. I didn't like the idea at first, but I've been working on
it for a while [...] I've got a couple of good things now, so I'm
quite happy." The interviewer then asked who he had involved in the
project. Horn replied, "It might be multi-artist, or it might be
one, I don't know. I haven't made my mind up." In an early Aug 2021
interview, Horn described the album as for Deutsche Grammophon
and as being "very gentle versions of famous songs" and that the
challenge set was to "just use three instruments". In a Jun 2022
interview, he said, "I'm working on an album for the Deutsche
Grammophon label, strange versions of old songs, I've got some
interesting people on it, should be out next year [2023]." At a 30
Oct 2023 Q&A in London, Horn explained how "it started off one
way and ended up another way". The label had initially suggested the
album be "stripped down". He "started trying to do it, but found I
got really bored". So, he thought he "might as well play to
my [...] strengths". The album still reflects these origins: "a lot
of the songs start out simply, and then lots of things come in". The
theme for the album instead became doing hit singles in "a different
way. A way you wouldn't imagine." The Prog interview
described the impetus for the album as coming from Deutsche
Grammophon, with Horn explaining, "We were talking about doing an
acoustic record[.] But then I thought, 'There's plenty of other
people that can make boring acoustic records, and I don't need to
join them.' So I went back to do what I normally do, and although
quite a few of the songs start out quite sparse, they then build up
into something else." In a Jan
2024 interview, he said, "The whole album was a bit like a
journey where you don't know where you're going. It started off one
way and ended up another. I knew I didn't want to do another
orchestral album. Initially, I was going to do a really
stripped-down record, but I tried it and didn't like it. This is
what I like really." He continued, "The one I wouldn't do was Video
Killed The Radio Star, I couldn't face it! It was bad enough with
Relax. At first I was like, 'No way, I’m not doing another fucking
version of Relax!' And then you have an idea. I realized, when I did
it the first time, I knew it was a hit idea, but it took time to
work it out, because it was like a chant and to make it into a
record was quite a thing. But this time, I didn't have that
pressure. [...] I could do what I wanted. I just had to stop myself
from messing around with it." To Classic Pop, he said, "I
definitely had no desire to do Relax again. It was only some mad
idea that the record label nagged me about. And one night I just
started messing around and saying, what would it be like if it was
quite slow, and it actually went, reee-laaax, you know? But
we couldn't figure out how to do a vocal. So it just went into a can
for a couple of months. And then [...] Weidner, put a vocal on it.
But he tweaked his voice, probably with AI, so he sounded almost
like a robot. And we started to think about getting an actual robot
[called Erotica] to sing it. Obviously it would be a female robot,
because I was trying to do songs that men have done with women, and
songs that women have done with men, to try and shuffle the deck."
At the Oct 2023 Q&A, he also talked about "Relax": "The way that
we designed it was, it was going to be: you're in a little booth
somewhere, with a Japanese wankbot. And you're feeling really
uncomfortable [...] The robot is doing something to you. When we
tried to do that literally by getting [...] an automaton, it all
felt a bit creepy. But we liked the mood of it, and I bumped
into Toyah at a show and thought, wheyyy, why not Toyah? Toyah comes
with Robert Fripp." He described Fripp's guitar solo as "one of my
favourite guitar solos ever", also saying how it was based on a
guitar solo Creme had recorded for the song. In the Dec 2023
interview, Horn was asked, "There's a few of your signature songs on
here, like 'Slave to the Rhythm', 'Owner of a Lonely Heart'. Was
that you wanting to put them on, or the record company? Because
'Owner of a Lonely Heart' was on the last one, as well..." Horn
replied: "I know. So was 'Slave to the Rhythm'. Actually, I have to
say, I quite like this version of 'Owner of a Lonely Heart'. [...]
But with 'Relax' I was definitely kicking and screaming. I really
didn't fancy 'Relax'. I did it so many times before. [...] with this
new version of 'Relax', we had this idea of a sex robot [singing
it]. That was, sort of, the inspiration. I just sat down at the
keyboard and a drum machine and played it, pretty quickly. And then
my engineer Tim [Weidner] did this voiceover on it when I wasn't
here and it made me laugh [...] It sounded like a Japanese
animatronic. But in the end, I had to get real and use a human being
and an artist! And Toyah and Robert Fripp seemed like a wacko idea."
Horn also talked about "Swimming Pools (Drank)": "There was a lot of
creative input from her [Amos], on the vocals. We had a demo that
was sort of like the finished thing, with a really lovely girl
singing on it, a session singer. And it changed quite substantially
from that. Because Tori did a version of it and then I did a third
version somewhere in-between the two versions which had all of her
vocals from her version. She really liked the idea, and she came
around to it. That's what we did with most of them; we did a
semi-complete backing track, but we could only go so far with each
track, because, for instance, with Marc Almond and 'Love is a
Battlefield', we did a really nice backing track for that but it was
five semitones down." Horn "went down to her [Amos's] place [in
Cornwall] for a couple of days" to record her. To Classic Pop
magazine, he explained that it was Weidner who introduced him to the
track and also worked out the chords to use.
In an Oct
2022 interview, asked what he was currently working on, Horn
replied a cover of "Swimming Pools (Drank)" with Amos. At a Nov 2022
appearance, Horn was asked if there were "any projects or
tracks you've worked on that weren't released at the time". After
mentioning a song with the Mint Juleps, he continued:
I'm sort of sitting on a bunches of
tracks that I've been working on for the past year. And I've got
a couple of pretty good ones, I mean, if people are interested.
I've got a great one of Tori Amos doing a Kendrick Lamar cover,
that we did. It's turned out really well. Where we've turned,
like, a rap tune into a song. Because I was looking for songs
with really good lyrics and there aren't many and this
particular tune [...] "Drank", it's got a brilliant lyric. I got
Toyah singing "Relax". And Marc Almond singing "Love is a
Battlefield" [...] I'm always doing stuff. [...] I don't know if
anybody'll[?] listen to it. I think that's the fate of all old
producers and all old artists is that they spend the latter
years of their life making music that not too many people ever
hear. But still you do it anyway, because you hear it.
In a YouTube
update on 9 Jul 2022, Toyah
Willcox and husband Robert Fripp (King
Crimson) said they had just got back from recording a
track, later confirmed to be "Relax" on Echoes.
Horn asked Willcox to sing, and Fripp then asked to play guitar too.
They were recording with Simon Darlow (worked with
The Buggles, Grace Jones, Toyah Willcox) in his studio.
On 12 Apr 2023, Horn posted to social media about "working with Lady
Blackbird in the studio in LA." Horn tweeted
18 Nov 2022, "Always a good day with @rickastley in the
studio. Another project on the way, something for the new year
maybe." Two days before, on 16 Nov 2022, Horn posted to Facebook,
"In the studio with Bruce Woolley [ex-The Buggles] [...] and Hayley
Sanderson [works with Rick Wakeman] this
week working on something exciting. Keep your eyes and ears
peeled..." It is unclear whether that session is related to Echoes.
In a 17 Nov
2022 radio appearance, Horn said Iggy Pop had recorded for him
"about 9 months ago".
In a Nov 2023
interview, Horn said he wouldn't be touring behind the album,
but, "We'll probably do a show for it". He appeared on "Pablo López
Sin Anestesia" on Spanish TV channel RTVE
on 24 Dec, performing
a medley of "Avalon" and "Kiss from a Rose" with López. Horn
was on bass and on vocals for "Avalon", with López on piano and on
vocals for "Kiss from a Rose". The duo also had a backing band.
Horn sings on a solo album
In an interview with The
Hustle podcast, Horn mentioned another project. Asked why
there had not been a Trevor Horn solo album, he replied, "I've done
one. Just figuring out what I have [...] [It] is me singing a whole
bunch of songs [...] [from] when I grew up [...] Mainly from the
fifties and the sixties, so songs that I heard when I was a kid
[...] And a couple more modern ones, but not many." He continued,
"I'm working on the art. I've finished the record. Coz the record
itself is like a bunch of demos."
The Buggles and Seal
A Jan
2024 interview with Horn said he "is contemplating [...] a
Buggles tour for next year." With the interview published in Jan, it
is also unclear whether it means 2025 or if it actually means 2024.
We have yet to hear any further news on this. The Buggles did tour
in 2023 as the support act for Seal.
Seal played 28 US and
Canadian dates Apr-Jun 2023; dates in New York, NY and
Toronto, Ontario sold out. A European tour began with 5
mostly festival dates (7 Jul, Spain; 9 Jul, Netherlands; 12 Jul,
Switzerland; 14 Jul, Denmark; 16 Jul, Monaco), followed by dates in
Sep: Belgium, 8 Sep (sold out); Turkey, 10 Sep; 5 UK
dates 12-17 Sep (17 Sep London date sold out); and France, 19
Sep. The tour featured his first two albums (both called Seal
and produced by Horn) in full. Horn played bass on the tour (upright
electric bass on 1 song, second electric guitar on 1 song) and was
the musical director. 17 Sep London set: "Crazy", "The Beginning",
"Deep Water", "Future Love Paradise", "Violet", "Bring It On",
"Prayer for the Dying", "Don't Cry", "Fast Changes", "Killer", "Kiss
from a Rose"; encore: "Get It Together", "Love's Divine". The tour continued in 2024 with a slight altered
set list: they played 2 US dates 3-5 May 2024, 5-6 Jul in the UK,
9 Aug back in the US, 30 Aug in Curaçao (Netherlands Antilles),
6 dates in France 30 Sep-10 Oct, Turkey on 12
Oct, Czechia on 16 Oct, Switzerland on 18-19 Oct. I think Horn
continued with the band, but I am uncertain if he was at all of
these shows. Given Horn missed Trevor Horn Band shows in Jul/Aug
due to ill health, I presume he must also have missed some Seal
dates.
The 2 Seal albums featured on the tour were also re-issued in
expanded form: see
below. In a Mar
2023 article revealed Seal had started writing for a new
album, but on whether Horn would produce, Horn said, "I'd make
another album with Seal if it was the right record and the right
moment. But I'm getting on a bit, and the hours I put in when
producing? I'm not sure I want to do that now."
The support act for the 2023 North American leg was The Buggles,
after Seal offered Horn the opening slot. (They were not on European
dates, where Zia Victoria
was the support act. Victoria also covered "Crazy" in her slot at
the 17 Sep London show.) Geoff Downes is
not in the line-up, as he was to be touring with Yes at the time
(although that Yes tour leg was then postponed). An Apr
2023 article said:
“My daughter, who is a music business
lawyer, keeps saying, ‘You’ve got to change the name, because
there’s only one of you. It should be called the Buggle,’” Horn
explained with a laugh.
Seal's backing band also doubled as The Buggles, so Earl Harvin (worked with Seal, Robbie Williams, Jeff Beck, Air,
Tindersticks) on drums, Mat Dauzat on guitar, Jamie
Muhoberac on keys, La Tanya Hall
on backing vocals, and Everett
Bradley on percussion and backing vocals. Horn posted to
Facebook on 31 Jan 2023 from rehearsals in London for the tour. On
the opening night, The Buggles set was "Two Tribes" (short,
instrumental version), "Living in the Plastic Age", "Elstree", "I am
a Camera" (i.e., The Buggles' version of Yes's "Into the
Lens"), "Owner of a Lonely Heart", "Video Killed the Radio Star"
(with "Check It Out" excerpt). At later shows, they added the Art of
Noise's "Close (to the Edit)" after "I am a Camera". The Seal set
was "Crazy", "The Beginning", "Deep Water", "Whirlpool", "Future
Love Paradise", "Violet", "Bring It On", "Prayer for the Dying",
"Don't Cry", "Fast Changes", "Killer", "Kiss from a Rose"; encore:
"Get It Together", "Love's Divine". A 35:23 pro-shot of The
Buggles set on 2 Jun 2023 was on Horn's YouTube page for a
limited period. The songs in the set are now individually going up
on Horn's channel.
Horn performed
"Video Killed the Radio Star" as the opening act on
Rai Uno's Arena Suzuki, 23 Sep 2023, filmed in Verona,
Italy. He seems to have been performing with a house band.
The
Buggles had previously intermittently reunited. In an Oct 2020
interview, Downes was asked about the possibility of a new
Buggles album. He replied, "I was due to go see Trevor a couple of
week ago [but didn't because of pandemic restrictions] [...] But
we've had a few things in the past where we've assembled some ideas,
so it's just really a question of when, when we can actually get
together again." In a Feb
2021 interview (a joint interview with Chris Braide), Downes
said of The Buggles, "I'm in constant contact with Trevor, so that's
work in progress." Asked to compare Yes, Asia and The Buggles in an
Apr
2021 interview, Downes said, "all three are still going today
[...] Not so much activity with The Buggles and Asia any more". In a
May 2022
interview, Downes said, "I do speak to Trevor from time to
time [...] to discuss the possibility of doing a show at some
point". In another May
2022 interview, he said, "I do still talk to Trevor about The
Buggles as well. We still play around with the idea of going out and
doing a few shows here and there."
In a Jan
2019 Facebook Q&A, Horn said, "I'm gonna do another
Buggles track with Geoff. I don't know what. [...] We were
thinking of trying to get Seal to sing on it [...] The problem is
with Seal." In a Feb 2019
interview, Horn said, "Geoffrey and I are meeting up next
month". He explained they were considering doing a new Buggles
song for the 40th anniversary of "Video Killed the Radio Star" in
autumn 2019. When someone tweeted
about this news, saying Horn and Downes will be recording in
Mar 2019, Downes re-tweeted them. Nothing emerged in late 2019
however.
In a Nov
2019 interview, Downes said, "I've been doing some stuff
with Trevor... not a lot of stuff [...] but we've been touching on
a few bits and pieces". Downes tweeted
7 Oct 2019:
Very nice to have my old Buggles chum, Trevor H
at my studio down here in S. Wales today working on some new
stuff together. 40 years ago we had just entered the UK chart
at #10 with our debut Video Killed... 👍🏻 Let’s have some
more of that folks, eh? 😃
In 2016, there were plans for re-issues and possibly live
work, although the Sep 2016 issue of Prog quoted their
management as saying, "Nothing is set in stone." A new album also
appeared to be in the works, as well as a musical based on "Video
Killed the Radio Star" (see this subsection).
In Feb 2016, Geoff
Downes tweeted, "heading out to LA to do some work with my
old chum, Trevor Horn. #thebuggles". Later that month came this:
"Been really great working this week with my old Buggles buddy,
Trevor H. Got some new tunes on the go! More news to follow..." In
a late Mar
2016 interview with BBC Radio Oxford, after the interviewer
talked about Yes, Asia and The Buggles, Downes, "I'm still
involved with all three bands today. […] I was working with Trevor
Horn a couple of weeks ago in L.A." And in this Apr 2016 interview:
"I've been doing some more stuff with Trevor and the Buggles
recently". In a Sep
2016 interview, Horn said, "We might be going out touring
with The Buggles, me and Geoffrey, just the first two albums". A tweet
in Dec 2016 from Downes said: "Down The Docklands this week
working with my old Buggles chum, Trevor H. Expect to see some
"shake-up" stuff coming your way!" In a Feb
2017 interview, Downes said, "I think Trevor and I may want
to do something with The Buggles in the future." Asked on Twitter
that month whether they were any closer to some Buggles gigs, he
replied, "Not yet [...] but watch this space!" In an Apr 2017
interview, Downes said, "We still do stuff together as The
Buggles. [...] We've been doing a bit of writing this last year
[2016]." In a Jul 2017 interview, Horn said he is, "Currently
[...] getting together another version of Video Killed the Radio
Star, so that should be fun." In a Nov 2017 radio interview (The
Magic Bus, Marlow FM, UK radio), Downes said, "I'm
going to be working with Trevor Horn next week on a small project"
that they have been working on for the "last year or so". He tweeted
later in Nov 2017, "Great two days in the studio with my
oldest and amazing chum, @Trevor_Horn_ CBE. Some killer songs and
ideas in the mix. Says muchly that The Buggles still working
together 40 years on!" Asked about keyboards, he followed this up
with: "All very early vintage in our world. Rhodes, Solina,
Minimoog, Clavinet, Polymoog, Prophet V, etc #thebuggles". To the
Feb 2018 issue of Prog, Downes said, "I've been working
with Trevor Horn on some stuff and we're thinking that maybe we
might do some one-off shows with Buggles." In an early Mar
2018 interview, Downes said, "myself and Trevor Horn are
trying to carry on with Buggles. We're kicking around a few ideas
and we hope to release something." Asked about new Buggles
material in Apr 2018 on Twitter, Downes replied, "There are a few
things in the pipeline...that's all I can tell you right now".
However, asked
by a fan after his Nov 2018 show whether they were doing a
third Buggles album, Horn said no, but then said he keeps calling
Downes about doing something, implying live shows that could, he
said, also include some Yes material. In a Jul
2019 interview, Downes said of Horn, "We've done a lit bit
of writing here and there. Nothing major, but, er, I think that
we're looking at re-visiting some of the ideas that we had, er,
even going back to the '70s [...] it's always on his mind, it's
always on my mind, that one day we will do something. [...] We've
talked about maybe going out later this year [2019] [...] doing a
few one-offs here and there [...] we do get together sometimes and
put some bits and bobs together."
A Mar
2016 article quoted Downes as saying, "We're looking at
releasing some of the old Buggles stuff at some point and we
worked on another couple songs fairly recently[.] There's the
option of maybe putting some more stuff out. [...] next year
[2017] we might do some gigs. We'll take it as it comes, really." Although one of those prior quotes
refers to "new tunes", Prog describes 2016 sessions as "to
work up demos from around the making of [...] Adventures in
Modern Recording"; they also say there will be further
sessions in the autumn. Downes is quoted: "Trevor and I were in
Los Angeles working for a week on some stuff, such as our old
track Dion." While Horn says he wants to re-make
"Vermillion Sands" as "a duet with a [...] jazz singer." Downes
was described as saying an album of new material "can't be ruled
out".
Prog also described a "more extensive concert schedule"
than recent one-off live shows, and Steve Howe was strongly
implied to be on the tour, as well maybe as additional Yes
members. The article reads: "It is also believed that members of
Yes are likely to be involved. "Especially certain guitar
players," Horn told Prog, possibly hinting at [...] Howe."
A report in Sep 2016 had that Howe would appear on some of the
album too, but that he would probably only guest on selected tour
dates. Horn also did Fly from Here - Return Trip, which
was of course built around demos from around the making of Adventures
in Modern Recording and before.
The Buggles originally
included Bruce Woolley, but Woolley left to form his own band,
The Camera Club, who released English Garden in 1979.
This included Woolley's versions of "Video Killed the Radio
Star", "Clean, Clean" and "Johnny on the Monorail" (in a very
different version called "Johnny") that were later included on
The Buggles' The Age of Plastic. Released 15 Nov 2024 is
the 3CD The
Definitive Anthology 1977-1981 by Bruce Woolley and
the Camera Club. This consists of English Garden, the
band's unreleased second album, two live concerts and various
further tracks. In all, 41 out of 69 tracks were previously
unreleased. The boxset comes with a 28-page booklet with input
from original band members Woolley (vocals), Dave Birch (guitar)
and Thomas Dolby (keys). Tracks: CD1—English Garden - Expanded
Version:
- "English Garden"
- "Video Killed the Radio Star"
- "Dancing with the Sporting Boys"
- "Johnny"
- "No Surrender"
- "Flying Man"
- "You Got Class"
- "WW9"
- "Clean Clean"
- "Get Away William"
- "Goodbye to Yesterday"
- "Goodbye to Yesterday (Reprise)"
- "You're the Circus (I'm the Clown)",
which is the end of the original album
- "News (Eden Studios)", previously
unreleased
- The Killers: "No Surrender"
- The Killers: "Killer on the Dancefloor",
produced by Horn; these two tracks are from a 1978 single, the
line-up consisting of Woolley (vocals, guitar), Horn (bass,
keys) and Rod Thompson (keys)
- "Clean Clean (US Version)"
- "Video Killed the Radio Star (US
Version)"
- "Goodbye to Yesterday (US Version)"
- Bruce Woolley: "Bobby Bad", 1979 single,
also previously released on the 2009 expanded version of English
Garden
- Bruce Woolley: "You're the Circus (I'm
the Clown)", b-side to the above; with Horn (bass), Downes
(keys), Birch (guitar), produced by Mike Hurst
- Bruce Woolley: "You Got Class
(Soundsuite Studios)", previously unreleased
- Bruce Woolley: "Going to the City",
previously unreleased
- Bruce Woolley: "Needletime", previously
unreleased; these two tracks were co-written and demoed by
Woolley, Rod Thompson and Trevor Horn for a punk rock musical
called "Killer on the Dancefloor"
- Bruce Woolley: "Sugar Daddy (8 Track
Demo)", previously unreleased; the liner notes imply this was
produced by Horn
CD2—Polaroid – Snapshots of Sound:
- "I Set Fire to You", previously
unreleased
- Bruce Woolley: "Ghost Train", 1981 single, also previously released on the
2009 expanded version of English Garden
- "Killer on the Dancefloor (Olympic
Studios)", previously unreleased
- "Trouble is", presumably the 1980 single
version
- "Only Babies Can Fly"
- "All Real Americans", previously
unreleased
- "Morning Shadows", previously unreleased
- "Ghost Train (Olympic Studios)",
previously unreleased
- "All at Once", 1980 b-side to "House of
Wax"
- "Warning Shadows", previously unreleased
- Bruce Woolley: "Blue Blue Victoria", 1981 single, also previously
released on the 2009 expanded version of English Garden
- Bruce Woolley: "1000 MPH", b-side to the above, also previously
released on the 2009 expanded version of English Garden
- Bruce Woolley: "The Black Girls
Understand", previously unreleased
- Bruce Woolley: "Ghost Train (Club Mix)",
b-side to the 1981 single
- "How Do You Say Goodbye?", previously
unreleased
- "Too Late for Tears (Demo Version)",
previously unreleased
- Bruce Woolley: "Blue Blue Victoria (Demo
Version)", previously unreleased
- Bruce Woolley: "You Got Class (Revox
Demo)", previously unreleased
- "News (Olympic Studios)", previously
unreleased
- "House of Wax", 1980 single, also previously released on the
2009 expanded version of English Garden
- "Radio Pictures (Bye Bye Love)",
previously unreleased
CD3—In Concert, all previously unreleased:
- "You're the Circus (I'm the Clown)",
live at High Wycombe Town Hall, 6 May 1979
- "You Got Class"
- "Too Late for Tears"
- "Clean Clean"
- "The Problem"
- "Goodbye to Yesterday"
- "Johnny"
- "Video Killed the Radio Star"
- "No Surrender"
- "Dancing with the Sporting Boys"
- "News"
- "Flying Man"
- "You're the Circus (I'm the Clown)",
live at My Father's Place, Long Island, USA, 25 March 1980
- "News"
- "You Got Class"
- "Trouble Is"
- "Johnny"
- "Get Away William"
- "Dancing with the Sporting Boys"
- "I Set Fire to You"
- "No Surrender"
- "English Garden"
- "Video Killed the Radio Star"
In a Nov 2024
interview, Woolley talked about further archival material
he hoped could be released one day, including the original
versions of "Killer on the Dancefloor" and "No Surrender", released in edited form under
the name The Killers as a 1978 single, and the original demo of
"Video Killed the Radio Star" performed by himself, Horn, Downes
and Tina Charles.
Trevor Horn Band
The Trevor Horn Band were due to play
the opening night of the 2024 season of Hampton Pool Summer Picnic
Concerts on 5 Jul 2024, and to headline the second night of
the 2024 Cropredy
Festival on 9 Aug (Rick Wakeman
headlines the first night). However, both shows were cancelled for
health reasons affecting Horn.
The Trevor Horn Band played mainly festival dates in 2022. The usual
band were Lol Creme (ex-Art of Noise, ex-10cc,
worked with Yes, Seal; guitar, vocals, keys), Alan Clark (Dire Straits
Legacy, Eric Clapton, ex-Dire Straits; Hammond,
keys), Simon Bloor (lead guitar), Julian Hinton (worked
with Seal; keys, musical director), Ryan Molloy (ex-Frankie Goes to Hollywood; vocals), Ash Soan
(drums), Florence Rawlings (works with Lisa
Stansfield, Sigala, worked with Clean Bandit; vocals),
Hayley Sanderson (works with Rick Wakeman; vocals;
who Rawlings described as "filling in" for Izzy Chase) and Jesper
Lynggaard Rosenmejer Nielsen (samples). They
headlined Cropredy
on 11 Aug 2022, when the line-up had an additional lead guitarist in
Nick Fitch (worked with Michael Ball, Marisha Wallace) as
Bloor had a baby on the way and might have had to be absent. They
had a different drummer to Soan, called Alex ?. Set: "Two Tribes"
(Molloy on lead vocals), "Video Killed the Radio Star", "Rubber
Bullets" (Creme on lead vocals), "Cry", "Are You Gonna Go My Way?"
(originally by Lenny Kravitz; with Toyah Willcox on vocals, Robert
Fripp on guitar, Sanderson on tambourine), "Slave to the Rhythm"
(Makeda on lead vocals), "All the Things She Said", "The Power of
Love" (Molloy on lead vocals), "Living in the Plastic Age",
"Everybody Wants to Rule the World" (originally by Tears for Fears;
Molloy on lead vocals), "Life on Mars" (originally by David Bowie;
with Steve Hogarth (Marillion) on lead
vocals, keys), "It's Different for Girls" (originally by Joe
Jackson; Hogarth on lead vocals), "I'm Not in Love" (Creme on keys,
Hogarth on lead vocals), "Owner of a Lonely Heart" (Molloy on lead
vocals), "Can't Fight the Moonlight" (Sanderson on lead vocals),
"Kiss from a Rose" (originally by Seal; Hogarth on lead vocals),
"Downtown Train" (originally by Tom Waits; Hogarth on lead vocals),
"Relax" (Molloy on lead vocals); encore: "Money for Nothing"
(originally by Dire Straits; Molloy on lead vocals), "Master Blaster
(Jammin')" (originally by Stevie Wonder; Makeda on lead vocals).
Hogarth also played some keys. At short notice, Willcox and Fripp (King Crimson), who have recently recorded with
Horn (see
next section), guested on "Are You Gonna Go My Way?" (YouTube clip).
Fripp explained on Facebook:
Trevor Horn invited Toyah & Robert
to sit in with The TH Band at Cropredy yesterday evening with
Are You Going My Way, the Lenny Kravitz classic, after seeing
this on Toyah & Robert's Sunday Lunch. And T&R had a
blast! (I don't usually comment on behalf of my Wife, but on
this occasion I speak with authority). The TH Band is superb
Producers
The Trevor Horn Band (see immediately above) evolved out of the
Producers, with was Horn, Lol Creme, Stephen Lipson, Chris Braide (Downes
Braide Association, worked with Sia, Marc Almond) and
Ash Soan. In a Dec
2018 interview, Horn said, "I keep saying we should get the
Producers together and do a mini-tour". In a Feb
2021 interview, Braide said, "Every couple of years I bump
into Trevor [Horn] and he will say, 'We should do a Producers gig.'
[...] It's always like unfinished business in a way. In some ways,
the five of us are secretly really keen to get back in a room
together. But maybe some things should be left as a sort of a wish
or dream or whatever." In a Sep 2023
interview, Braide explained the band came to an end when he
moved to the US. However, "But I'm back now [in the UK], so we're
sort of resurrecting it. Which is going to be, y'know, the release
of the original album, remixed, early next year [2024]. And some
live dates next year as well." Horn, likewise, told Prog
#147 (Feb 2024 cover date) that "We're talking about maybe doing a
couple of shows together. I've got to try and persuade Lol..."
A 5CD box set called Producers
(Cherry Red, CRCD5BOX179) was released 26 Jul 2024, compiled
with the band, with alternate version, remixes, out-takes and
instrumentals overseen by Lipson (with assistance from Andy Pearce).
A booklet includes an interview with the band by Daryl Easlea. This
is an expanded re-release of their 2012 album Made
in Basing Street. Tracks:
CD1: new 2023 mix (advertising had discs 1 & 3 the other way
around) by Lipson, but representative of the original 2007/8 version
of the album and seemingly just performed by
Horn/Creme/Lipson/Braide/Soan
- "Freeway" (7:46)
- "Waiting for the Right Time" (4:43)
- "Your Life" (7:41)
- "Man on the Moon" (4:06)
- "Every Single Night in Jamaica" (5:18)
- "Stay Elaine" (3:45)
- "Barking Up the Right Tree" (3:20)
- "Garden of Flowers" (5:28)
- "Watching You Out There" (5:37)
- "You and I" (6:21)
CD2: this was advertised as being the same as the original second
disc from 2CD
version of the album + 2 more tracks ("Garden of Flowers -
Radio Edit" and "Garden of Flowers - Radio Edit with Guitars"), but
it is actually more a new version of that disc and with just one
additional version of "Garden of Flowers"
- "Looking for Love (2023 mix)" (3:56), "Seven" under a
different name
- "Theres Only So Much You Can Do (2023 mix)" (3:31)
- "Freeway (extended)" (6:44)
- "Your Life (extended)" (7:41)
- "Garden of Flowers (alternative)" (5:28), which makes it a
different version to "Garden of Flowers (alternative)" on the
prior 2CD release
- "Garden of Flowers (radio edit with guitars)" (4:43)
- "Two Tribes" (4:51)
CD3: original album mix
CD4: extras; tracks (somewhat different to what was advertised),
with Horn or Braide on lead vocals:
- "Broadway" (4:55)
- "Come in Elektra" (5:53)
- "You and I (Dada Mix)" (3:13)
- "Give Us a Clue" (3:37)
- "Home" (4:33)
- "Music for Bel Air" (4:28)
- "Summer Rain" (4:46)
- "The Path of Sydney Arthur" (3:51)
- "Your Life (End Intro Idea)" (0:52)
CD5: instrumentals of the 2023 mix (advertising omitted "Every
Single Night in Jamaica", but it is included)
There is also a 2LP
version (BRED2LP893), with the first disc being the original
album mix. Side C is "Your Life (Extended)", "Garden of Flowers
(Alternative)" and "Seven". Side D is "There's Only So Much You Can
Do", "Freeway (Extended)".
The album made #24 in the UK Progressive Albums chart (Aug 2024).
Toyah Willcox and Robert
Fripp
Husband and wife Toyah
Willcox and Robert Fripp (King
Crimson) are on the cover of Frankie Goes to
Hollywood's "Relax" on Horn's Echoes.
They were recording with Simon Darlow (worked with
The Buggles, Grace Jones, Toyah Willcox) in his studio.
More work has followed. In a 13 Aug 2022 YouTube update,
Willcox said, "I've recorded quite a few things with him [Horn]
now". That implies more than just "Relax" on Echoes. Fripp
and Willcox also guested live with the Trevor Horn Band in Aug 2022:
see above.
Willcox released a cover of Grace Jones' "Slave to the Rhythm"
(4:11; video)
on 1 Aug 2022, produced by Darlow, performed with Darlow and Fripp
(guitar). The track was originally co-written by Bruce Woolley (ex-The Buggles) and Darlow. Willcox had sung on
a demo that was presented to (and rejected by) Frankie Goes to
Hollywood, before the song was recorded by Jones (with additional
writing credits for Horn and Stephen Lipson). Willcox, Fripp and Darlow also performed the
song on the Toyah & Robert's Sunday Lunch YouTube
series. The song is also included on Willcox's In the Court of the
Crimson Queen Rhythm Deluxe Edition, an expanded version
of her 2008 album with Darlow, on CD or 2LP.
Reimagining the Eighties
Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties saw Horn
re-visit classic '80s pop songs, mostly that he wasn't involved in.
Details
on Yescography. Live work began with a show in London on
2 Nov 2018. Performing were Horn (bass, vocals), Alan Clark (Dire Straits
Legacy, Eric Clapton, ex-Dire Straits; Hammond,
keys), Steve Ferrone (Dire Straits Legacy, Tom Petty
and the Heartbreakers, worked with Eric Clapton, David Bowie, Paul
Simon, Duran Duran; drums), Cameron Gower Poole (worked with Billy Idol, Dua Lipa, Anne-Marie;
samples, percussion), Kate Holmes-Smith
(vocals), Izzy Chase (worked with Ellie Goulding, Kim Wilde, Boy George; vocals),
Phil Palmer (Dire
Straits Legacy, Eric Clapton; lead guitar), Lol Creme (Trevor Horn Band, ex-Art of Noise, ex-10cc, worked with
Yes, Seal; guitar, bass, vocals, keys), Simon Bloor (Trevor Horn Band; lead guitar, keys), Julian Hinton (works with Numa Palmer, worked with Seal;
keys, conductor, string arrangements) and an 8-piece string section
(which I think was with Q
Strings, Paloma Deike,
Jess Cox (worked
with ELO), Amy Stanford, Laura Stanford, Miriam Wakeling), with
various further guests. Front of house sound was by Tim Weidner (worked with Yes), and
organisation by Joel Peters. Read
my review here. Set:
- "Owner of a Lonely Heart" Reimagined intro, string
section only
- "Two Tribes", Ryan Molloy (ex-Frankie Goes to
Hollywood, worked with Producers) lead vocals
- "Video Killed the Radio Star" (with "Check It Out" insert),
Horn lead vocals
- "Dancing in the Dark", Holmes lead vocals
- "Different for Girls", Steve Hogarth
(Marillion) lead vocals
- "Ashes to Ashes", Hogarth lead vocals
- "Rubber Bullets", Creme lead vocals, no strings
- "All the Things She Said", Chase/Holmes lead vocals, Creme
second bass, no strings
- "Slave to the Rhythm", Chase/Cardle lead vocals
- "The Power of Love", Cardle lead vocals
- "Living in the Plastic Age", Horn lead vocals
- "What's Love Got to Do With It?", Molloy lead vocals
- "Take on Me", Horn/Molloy/Cardle lead vocals
- "Cry", Molloy lead vocals, no strings
- "Blue Monday", Jimmie Wood lead vocals & harmonica
- "Brothers in Arms", Horn lead vocals, Mick MacNeil (ex-Simple Minds) accordion
- "Girls on Film", Chase/Holmes lead vocals
- "I'm Not in Love", Cardle lead vocals, Creme keys
- "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", Molloy lead vocals
- "Owner of a Lonely Heart", Horn lead vocals, Creme bass,
Cardle additional backing vocals
- "Relax", Molloy lead vocals
- "Money for Nothing", Molloy lead vocals, Wood harmonica
The show was filmed: in the Jan
2019 Facebook Q&A, Horn said that they are "still
editing at the moment" and then that he will "figure out what to
do with it".
(Dire Straits) Legacy
DSL* Dire Straits Legacy (YouTube)
is a band led by former Dire Straits guitarist Phil Palmer
(Trevor Horn Band, Eric Clapton, worked with Cher).
Several other former members of Dire Straits are or were involved
in the project. Live, they mostly play Dire Straits material, but
they also released an album of new material as Legacy: 3
Chord Trick (2017). Trevor Horn was providing bass and
backing vocals, but his last live show with the band was 4 Dec
2023. The rest of the band are usually Palmer (guitar, vocals,
musical director), Alan
Clark (Eric Clapton, ex-Dire Straits,
ex-Tina Turner; piano, Hammond B3), Marco Caviglia (vocals, lead
guitar), Primiano Di Biase (keys), Mel Collins (King
Crimson, worked with Dire Straits, Chris Squire, Eric
Clapton; sax), Danny Cummings (ex-Dire
Straits, ex-Mark Knopfler, ex-Tina Turner; percussion,
vocals) and Cristiano
Micalizza (worked with Eros Ramazzotti, Max
Gazzé; drums). However, the line-up does vary on some
tour legs. The band tours
regularly, including Europe, and North and South America in 2023.
They played 10 Brazilian dates in May 2023, 6 European dates
across Jul-Sep 2023 (9 Sep, Norway, sold out), and 10 US dates in
Sep. Nov and Dec 2023 saw 3 dates in Germany, 1 in China and 9 in
Italy (30 Nov, Rome, sold out). The band continues to tour without
Horn, with Steve Walters (worked with George
Michael) on bass.
The band played Europe and then North America in 2022. The 21 May
2022 set was all Dire Straits material: "Once Upon a Time in the
West", "Expresso Love", "Walk of Life", "Setting Me Up", "Private
Investigations", "Tunnel of Love", "Romeo and Juliet", "Down to
the Waterline", "The Bug", "Your Latest Trick", "Telegraph Road",
"Brothers in Arms", "Sultans of Swing", "Solid Rock", "Money for
Nothing", "So Far Away". They played "On Every Street" as an
alternate second encore the previous night. North American dates
in Aug/Sep 2022 included "Owner of a Lonely Heart", which I think
stayed in the set through to Horn's departure.
Musicals & soundtracks
Horn and "Video Killed the Radio Star"
co-writer Bruce Woolley
have, for a long time, been developing a musical, provisionally
called The Robot Sings. In a Nov 2024
interview, Woolley said, "I'm working on a musical, with
Trevor [Horn], about robots". Mar 2017 reports described
it as in "early initial development", although in an Oct
2018 interview, Horn said that the pair had been working on
the material much longer, explaining that the track "The Happy
Worker", used on 1992's "Toys" soundtrack, comes from this
project. This appears to be the project that the Sep 2016 issue of
Prog called Mirrors on the Sea and indeed the
project that Horn mentioned in a Yahoo chat in Oct 1999 ("I'm
writing a musical [...] about Robots"). 2017 reporting had that
the musical will feature "Video Killed the Radio Star" (which was
by Woolley, Horn and Downes) and original music. Geoff Downes was
contributing additional music, the script is by Jack Woolley, with
graphic designer and illustrator Paul Sizer also involved. The
story is loosely based on Shakespeare's The Tempest:
it entails a world where robots obediently serve humans and
reflects the work of Brain Aldiss, JG Ballard and Isaac Asimov. An
orphan, Jay, see his robot guardian shut down: his attempts to
save her could lead to reconciliation between robots and humans,
or to war. The 2018 interview was in Italian and has Horn saying:
Sono anni che tento di scriverlo, ma
credo di non essere portato e porta via troppo tempo. A questo
punto credo che non lo faremo più e che io e Bruce pubblicheremo
un album con le canzoni che abbiamo composto. Uscirà a nome
nostro… o qualcosa del genere.
That is, Horn has been trying to write the musical for years and, at
this point, he thinks that they will not do it as a musical, but
that he and Woolley will do an album of the songs that have been
composed.
Horn is working on another musical, set in
a recording studio: A Day in the Life of a Recording Studio
is written with Lol Creme (Trevor Horn Band,
ex-Art of Noise, ex-10cc, worked with Yes, Seal). A Jan
2014 interview with Horn described him as currently writing
the project, while one
the following month said the pair had "just finished writing a
musical about a day in the studio." An Aug
2013 interview had more, describing "a stage production set
appropriately enough in a recording studio", with Horn saying, "I've
nearly finished it[.] I'm a big fan of musicals."
"Do They Know It's Christmas? – 2024 Ultimate
Mix"
Band Aid's "Do They Know It's Christmas?
(40th Anniversary)" was released 25 Nov 2024 digitally and
comes on CD and 12" on 29 Nov. Proceeds benefit the Band Aid
Charitable Trust. Tracks (physical release): "Do They Know It's
Christmas? – 1984 Version", "Do They Know It's Christmas? – 2004
Version", "Do They Know It's Christmas? – 2014 Version", "Do They
Know It's Christmas? – 2024 Ultimate Mix" (4:58; start of b-side),
""Do They Know It's Christmas? – Live at Wembley Stadium, 1985".
The digital track listing moves the 2024 version to be first. Horn
was associated with the original charity single, producing the 12"
version and a 1985 remix. He has now returned to produce the 40th
anniversary version of the song that mixes together recordings of
the song from over the decades: the original in 1984, Band Aid 20 in
2004, and Band Aid 30 in 2014. (Horn has said
he didn't use anything from Band Aid II in 1989 because
multitracks weren't available.) In a Sep 2024 interview,
Geldof said Horn had just completed the mix. Co-writer Midge Ure
explained in an Aug
2024 interview, "There's a big megamix about to come out, done
by Trevor Horn, utilizing all of the different mixes and a bunch of
new stuff [...] He's done his magic. He's created kind of this
slightly symphonic, mega-extra-long thing, which was just wonderful.
It's great. It's a great way of celebrating the 40 years, really." Singers included in the Ultimate Mix include Bono,
Paul Young, George Michael, Boy George, Sting
(ex-The Police), Simon Le Bon (Duran
Duran), Gary Kemp, Paul Weller, and Kool & the Gang
from 1984; Bono (again), Chris Martin (Coldplay),
Robbie Williams, Dido, Dizzee Rascal and the Sugababes from 2004;
and Bono (again), Chris Martin (again), Ed Sheeran, Sinéad
O'Connor, Sam Smith, Seal, Guy Garvey, Rita Ora, Karl Hyde (Underworld) and One Direction from 2014. Horn used machine learning
technology to separate out some vocal parts for use in the mix.
Reports of which instrumental contributions have been used are not
entirely consistent. The backing band have been reported to be
taken from just the 1984 and 2004 versions, including Ure (1984),
John Taylor (Duran Duran; bass, 1984), Paul McCartney (bass,
2004), Thom Yorke (Radiohead; piano,
2004), Phil Collins (ex-Genesis; drums,
1984), Jonny Greenwood (Radiohead; guitar,
2004), and Justin and Dan Hawkins (The Darkness; guitar,
2004). Promo also mentions Damon Albarn, who was only ever
originally credited as a tea boy on the 2004 version. However,
another report has Roger Taylor (Queen; drums,
keys) also included, who was on the 2014 version. The mix also
includes a spoken word contribution by David Bowie and audio from
Michael Buerk's BBC news report that inspired the record, both
from 1984. The new version also uses some new recordings
(including orchestra, choir). Cover art is by Peter Blake. There
is a music
video (single
version) also mixing together performance and other footage
from across the years, directed by Oliver Murray (directed the
music video for The Beatles' "Now and Then").
Various documentaries about the song have also been made. Band Aid
have released a documentary
about the original recording, with footage of both Horn and
Jill Sinclair. Horn contributes at the end of BBC Radio 2's "Do They Know
It's Christmas?: The Song That Changed The World" (part of Sounds
of the 80s with Gary Davies), now available, talking about
the 40th anniversary version. Archive interview footage of Horn is
included in BBC4's TV documentary "The Making of Do They Know It's
Christmas?", expected late Nov. Horn is also being
interviewed for a Virgin Radio 2-part documentary on Band Aid, due
to be broadcast around Xmas 2024.
Production
work etc.
In
a Jan
2019 interview, Paddy McAloon (Prefab
Sprout) said he had "a new project, a bunch of
songs, that I plan to send to Trevor Horn." It is unknown
whether Horn was expecting these.
There was work on a debut album from opera singer Olivia
Safe (La Mia
Bocca, worked with Robbie Williams, The Squad),
produced by Graham Archer (worked with
Robbie Williams, John Legend, Olly Murs) and Julian
Hinton (works with Horn, Producers, worked
with The Buggles, Seal, The Squad) and with Horn as
executive producer. Horn signed Safe in 2010. The album was
to be on SONYArista. It was described as a collection of
covers, including of pieces by Damien Rice, Leonard Cohen,
Rufus Wainwright and Tim Buckley. Hinton described "putting
the finishing touches to [...] Olivia Safe's debut album" on
his website. However, I've not seen any news on it lately. |
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Art of Noise
In the Apr 2008 interview for Future Music, asked about whether the
Art of Noise will be doing anything new, Horn said, "We keep talking
about it." He also describes how they worked on a "visual sampler"
before The Seduction of Claude Debussy: "So when you hit a
note, you get a picture as well as sound. [...] there's about a 20
minute video that Lol Creme did, and I'm going to put it on DVD." JJ
Jeczalik told a source that the original band line-up met up in 2014
to discuss a reunion.
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Other
re-issues & covers
Cherry Red released expanded versions of Marc Almond's 1991
Tenement Symphony, produced by Horn (trailer).
There is a 6CD+1DVD limited edition deluxe
box set, with 34 previously unreleased tracks. CD1
reverses the sides of the original release (to reflect what
had been Horn's original plan) and adds 6 b-sides. CD2
collates released remixes, extended versions, 7" versions
etc. CD3 has early versions, unreleased mixes etc. CD4
contains a live show from 1992. CD5 has a live show from
2000, plus 5 demos. CD6 has more mixes and backing tracks.
The DVD contains promo videos and BBC appearances. There is
also a 2CD expanded
edition, with just CDs 1 and 2; and a translucent blue
vinyl 2LP.
Horn produced 3 tracks ("The Gunman", "The Sun Ain't
Gonna Shine Anymore", "Shape of Things to Come") on Cher's
1995 album It's a Man's World, and co-wrote "Shape
of Things to Come" too. The album was remastered and
re-released summer 2023 with a 2CD Deluxe Edition, the
second CD containing contemporary remixes: "One by One (JR
Vasquez Club Vocal Mix)", "One by One (JR's Pride Mix)",
"One by One (Piano Dub)", "One By One (with Melle Mel)",
"The Sun Ain't Gonna Shine Anymore (Trevor Horn Remix)",
"Walking in Memphis (Shut Up and Dance Vocal Mix)", "Walking
in Memphis (Baby Doc Mix)", "Paradise is Here (Garage
Revival Mix)", "Paradise is Here (Sunrise Mix)", "Paradise
is Here (Runway Mix)", "Paradise is Here (Glow Stick Mix)".
It was also released on vinyl for the first time, with a
limited edition 4LP
version.
ABC's The Lexicon of Love, originally produced by
Horn, is receiving a limited edition 40th
anniversary Blu-ray re-release from Super Deluxe
Edition, with remixes by Steven
Wilson. There are various versions of the album,
including a Dolby Atmos mix, hi-res stereo, and instrumental
version. Release is on Blu-ray and/or LP; there are no CD
releases involved.
Seal's 1991 debut
eponymous album, which was produced by Horn, received a
deluxe re-issue on 4 Nov 2022, with the 4CD+2LP Seal:
Deluxe Edition. This comes with a 12" hardcover book
by Jisim Farbe. CD1 is the original album. CD2 contains rare
versions of the tracks, including 6 early mixes (dubbed
premixes) that were available on the earliest pressings of
the album. CD3 contains the contemporary dance mixes. All
this re-released material has been remastered. CD4 is a
previously unreleased live show from 16 Dec 1991 in Dublin.
The 2LP contains the album over three sides, with an etching
on side D. Seal: Deluxe Edition is also being
released digitally. Upgraded HD versions of the music videos
from the album are also being made available. As promo, "The
Beginning (Roundabout Mix) (2022 Remaster)" was released to
streaming sites.
Horn, with Tim Weidner engineering, did a Dolby Atmos
surround sound remix of the debut album: this is also
getting a digital-only release on 4 Nov 2022. Horn explained
the process in a Mar
2022 interview: "It took a lot of time to track down
the original tapes[.] We eventually found most of them, and
what we didn't have, we worked around by using 5.1 mixes or
live recordings. This was my first experience of mixing in
Dolby Atmos and it was an interesting experiment, especially
for someone who has mainly recorded in stereo for the last
50 years."
Rhino are also releasing Seal:
Deluxe Edition, a remastered and expanded issue
of Seal's second album, Seal or also known as Seal
II, from 1994. This was due 14 Jun 2024. "Kiss from a
Rose (Alternate Version)" was released digitally 16 Apr
2024. The album is in various formats. There are 2 CDs: the
original album, remastered, and a second disc, "Rare";
tracks:
- "Bring It On" – Alternate Version, previously
unreleased
- "Reality", previously unreleased
- "Prayer for the Dying", previously unreleased
- "Kiss from a Rose", previously unreleased
- "Fast Changes", previously unreleased
- "Newborn Friend", previously unreleased
- "I'm Alive"
- "Don't Cry", previously unreleased
- "People Asking Why", previously unreleased
- "Dreaming in Metaphors", previously unreleased
- "If I Could", previously unreleased
- "Love is Powerful"
- "Manic Depression"
- "Blues in E"
- "The Wind Cries Mary"
- "Fly Like an Eagle"
A Blu-ray comes with an Atmos mix and a Hi-Res stereo mix.
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Other
news
Horn's memoir, "Adventures in Modern Recording: From ABC to
ZTT" (Bonnier Books Ltd/Nine Eight Books, 384 pages, ISBN:
9781788706032) is out. The description for the book says,
"This book is Trevor's story in his own words, as told
through the prism of twenty-three of his most important
songs - from the ones that inspired him to the ones that
defined him. This play-by-play memoir transports readers
into the heart of the studio to witness the making of some
of music's most memorable moments, from the Buggles'
ground-breaking 'Video Killed the Radio Star' to Band Aid's
perennial 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', via hits such as
'Relax', 'Poison Arrow', 'Owner of a Lonely Heart' and
'Crazy'." The book covers up to 2004, with Horn not wanting
to cover the period including his wife's accident and later
death. He initially wrote 4 chapters ten years ago, but
plans for a book then fell through. The cover is by Lora
Findlay. Horn also read the audiobook version. A paperback
is now available. Horn did a Q&A/book signing for it in
London on 30 Oct 2023. The book was 2nd in the multimedia
section of Prog magazine's 2023 critics' choice. It
appears the book had provisionally been titled "Crazy:
Adventures in Modern Recording: From ABC to ZTT". On BBC
Radio 2's The
Chris Evans Breakfast Show in Oct 2018 (hosted
by Sara Cox), Horn had said, "I was thinking about" writing
an autobiography. In a Sep
2021 interview, he confirmed an autobiography was
planned.
Horn is to appear in the forthcoming documentary film "The
Unexpected Return of Mr. Meek", about producer Joe
Meek (worked with Steve Howe/The Syndicats,
David Bowie, Jimmy Page, Ritchie Blackmore, Tom Jones,
Diana Dors, The Tornados).
Horn is managed by Sandy Dworniak. He signed with PPL for the
international collection of his neighbouring rights
royalties in Mar 2023.
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Thanks.