Where are they now? - Trevor Horn

This page last updated: 7 Feb 2024

YES and projects with several Yesmen
Jon
Anderson
Steve
Howe

Geoff
Downes
Chris Squire
Alan White
Billy
Sherwood

Jon
Davison

Rick
Wakeman

Patrick
Moraz

Trevor
Rabin

Trevor
Horn

Tony
Kaye

Oliver Wakeman
Jay Schellen
Igor
Khoroshev

Bill
Bruford

Peter Banks
Benoît David
Asia
Arc of Life
CIRCA:
Yes ft. Anderson Rabin Wakeman
Others associated with the band


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:

  1. "Swimming Pools (Drank)" (3:56; originally by Kendrick Lamar), with Tori Amos
  2. "Steppin' Out" (4:25; originally by Joe Jackson), with Seal (vocals); second digital single (out 6 Oct 2023)
  3. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" (3:43; originally by Yes), with Rick Astley (vocals); fifth digital single (out 17 Nov 2023)
  4. "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)
  5. "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."
  6. "Personal Jesus" (3:26; originally by Depeche Mode), with Iggy Pop and Phoebe Lunny; fourth digital single (out 3 Nov 2023)
  7. "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."
  8. "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."
  9. "White Wedding" (4:34; originally by Billy Idol), with Andrea Corr (vocals) and Jack Lukeman (vocals)
  10. "Smells Like Teen Spirit" (4:33; originally by Nirvana), with Jack Lukeman (vocals)
  11. "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.

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." 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/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.


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, plus, according to the promo, "Expect soul staples and standards peppered throughout the set, showcasing the full spectrum of his incredible repertoire." (The debut album has recently been re-issued in expanded form: see below.) Horn plays bass on the tour (upright electric bass on 1 song, second electric guitar on 1 song) and is credited as 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". (To promote the tour, Seal released "Kiss from a Rose (2023)" (4:46) on 12 Feb 2023, but this does not appear to have involved Horn. The song was produced by Seal, mixed by Colin Liebich and mastered by Mike Picotte.) 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 North American tour 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 [SPOILERS—highlight to read] "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".

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.




Trevor Horn Band
The Trevor Horn Band are headlining the second night of the 2024 Cropredy Festival on 9 Aug 2024 (Rick Wakeman headlines the first night).

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 the album is to be reissued in 2024, and, "We're talking about maybe doing a couple of shows together. I've got to try and persuade Lol..."

Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp
Husband and wife Toyah Willcox and Robert Fripp (King Crimson) are on a 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 now". That seems to imply more than just the cover of "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 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:
  1. "Owner of a Lonely Heart" Reimagined intro, string section only
  2. "Two Tribes", Ryan Molloy (ex-Frankie Goes to Hollywood, worked with Producers) lead vocals
  3. "Video Killed the Radio Star" (with "Check It Out" insert), Horn lead vocals
  4. "Dancing in the Dark", Holmes lead vocals
  5. "Different for Girls", Steve Hogarth (Marillion) lead vocals
  6. "Ashes to Ashes", Hogarth lead vocals
  7. "Rubber Bullets", Creme lead vocals, no strings
  8. "All the Things She Said", Chase/Holmes lead vocals, Creme second bass, no strings
  9. "Slave to the Rhythm", Chase/Cardle lead vocals
  10. "The Power of Love", Cardle lead vocals
  11. "Living in the Plastic Age", Horn lead vocals
  12. "What's Love Got to Do With It?", Molloy lead vocals
  13. "Take on Me", Horn/Molloy/Cardle lead vocals
  14. "Cry", Molloy lead vocals, no strings
  15. "Blue Monday", Jimmie Wood lead vocals & harmonica
  16. "Brothers in Arms", Horn lead vocals, Mick MacNeil (ex-Simple Minds) accordion
  17. "Girls on Film", Chase/Holmes lead vocals
  18. "I'm Not in Love", Cardle lead vocals, Creme keys
  19. "Everybody Wants to Rule the World", Molloy lead vocals
  20. "Owner of a Lonely Heart", Horn lead vocals, Creme bass, Cardle additional backing vocals
  21. "Relax", Molloy lead vocals
  22. "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 is on bass and backing vocals. 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). (Jack Sonni, who died 30 Aug 2023, was previously in the band too.) 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 sees 3 dates in Germany, 1 in China and 9 in Italy (30 Nov, Rome, sold out).

The band have further dates advertised, but these appear to be without Horn, although he remains associated with the band. They play New Zealand and Australia Dec 2023/Jan 2024, with a line-up of Palmer, Clark, Cummings, Collins, Di Biase, Caviglia, Steve Walters (worked with George Michael; bass) and Alex Polifrone (drums). There are then 7 European dates Mar 2024: these seem to be with Palmer, Clark, Cummings, Collins, Di Biase, Caviglia, Walters and Micalizza. They also play Rome, Italy on 15 Apr 2024 and 2 Greek dates Jun 2024. Promo for Greece implies Walters will again be on bass.

The band played Europe and then North America in 2022. The 21 May 2022 set was all Dire Straits material: [SPOILERS—highlight to read] "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".

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; 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 probably 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, 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."

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.

In a Prog magazine podcast (Jun 2014), Chris Squire said, "I was actually with Trevor Horn yesterday, doing a little bit of work in his studio", but it is not known for what project this was.

Work was continuing on the 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. The album was to be on SONYArista. It is 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.



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.



Other re-issues & covers
Cherry Red have 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 one of them too ("Shape of Things to Come"). 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 has also been 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  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."

Horn worked on one track on Blackfield's Welcome to My DNA (2011). That album is included in the 7-disc Blackfield: An Accident of Stars, which covers the group's work from 2004-2017. The box set includes 64 pages of liner notes by Anil Prasad (Innerviews). The album was at #14 on the April 2023 UK Progressive albums chart.

Horn wrote the English-language lyrics for and produced t.A.T.u.'s "All the Things She Said". The song regularly gets covered. "Wenn Du Mich Vermisst" by Fourty × Mathea, released 2022, samples "All the Things She Said". YotaYard released a cover as "Things She Said" on 30 Jan 2023. Their single had 3 tracks: "Things She Said (Extended Mix)" (3:34), "Things She Said" (2:51), "Things She Said (Radio Edit)" (2:34).



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. He did a talk on 4 Nov 2021 in London that was autobiographical in nature.

In Aug 2023, Spitfire Audio released Jupiter by Trevor Horn (trailer), a >45Gb collection of 300 presets and 672 sounds from Horn's archive, including synths, piano, FX, drum machines and bass (played by Horn).

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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YES and projects with several Yesmen
Jon
Anderson
Steve
Howe

Geoff
Downes
Chris Squire
Alan White
Billy
Sherwood

Jon
Davison

Rick
Wakeman

Patrick
Moraz

Trevor
Rabin

Trevor
Horn

Tony
Kaye

Oliver Wakeman
Jay Schellen
Igor
Khoroshev

Bill
Bruford

Peter Banks
Benoît David
Asia
Arc of Life
CIRCA:
Yes ft. Anderson Rabin Wakeman
Others associated with the band

Any news, additions or corrections, please e-mail Henry Potts. Thanks.