Wonderful wonderful interview. Thank you Trevor for some of the greatest moments on record for me. Franky, Lexicon of Love, Street Fighting Years, Tatu, Seal....and some might not know this but the Billy Idol album is a sonic masterpiece as well. Only Trevor could keep up with Forsey when it comes to making those songs soar out the speakers. Just amazing.
Video killed the radio star did so much for me back in 1980. I started my secondary school which was so daunting and I was scared. A school mate took me under his wing but little did he know this song was going through my head and I related it to him for what he did. Brian Dicker you looked after me and every tie I hear this song I go back to when you looked after me as a young kid. Lost all contact with you now but when I hear this song I go back to the day!
I really hated 'Video Killed the Radio Star' as it seemed to be on constant rotation Downunder here in Australia but as I started to gradually build a singles record collection into the 80s, I eventually noticed a constant on my 7" disk centers: "Produced by Trevor Horn". Today, the 12" version of 'Relax' still sounds as fresh and vibrant as it did back in 1983 and 'Cry' with Godley & Creme is a work of genius all round, especially their analogue morphed video images which were likely to have been the inspiration for later Michael Jackson videos. 'Slave to the Rhythm' & 'Owner of a Lonely Heart' remain my two favourites so well done Mr Horn, you've brought so much inspiration to so many.
When I was a kid I lived inside the ZTT records. Especially FGTH. Trevor Horn's 12 inch remixes of Relax and Two Tribes defined cool for me. All other remixes have disappointed since. Mostly, because they arranged them to perfection rather than just stretching out a song to fill time. Genius.
I remember the singles well,all great records. My interest stems from his involvement with YES. He is open and honest here but and certainly contributed some great stuff to the group.
How did he replace the sounds on those original wibbly synth lines with the newer sample sounds, I wonder? There was no Midi then. Maybe he just asked Rabin to play them again as much like how he did on the demo, and could assign a Moog-type sound to the emulator keyboard enabling Rabin to roughly replicate the wibble modulation he applied on the demo? Not that the particularities of the wibbles mattered as much as Rabin's 70s-style wibbling technique resulting in the right amount of wibble being applied to mangle the sounds Horn planned to use instead, without twisting them into useless little bits of squeaky or white noise? If so, this could only have been a hunch of Horn! I'd like to know more about the prototypes of Midi used by those really early sampling workstations, in terms of how well they captured note on/off/parameter/system & etc info!
Langer and Winstanley were very talented but What Price Paradise by China Crisis got mixed reviews to put it charitably. I think Q magazine said it sounded like CC had collided with Madness or something similar. Brand New Toy by the Jeremy Days is a great Langer and Winstanley production.
Video Killed The Radio Star was the fear of things to come at the time it was representing this kitsch period of technology replacing the organic process of recording music and listening to the radio but fast forward 40 years plus and technology which was embraced at one time but now it’s completely took over everything and corrupts life as it stands people being replaced by machines and so on so it’s so relevant now even more because it’s evolved so much It’s all stems and quantising in studios now not people like Trevor who just had this amazing ear to create these incredible walls of sound that he did and everything done the right way !!!!. Everything’s digital not analogue sound is 5.1 or Atmos not monaural it really takes so much originality out of everything which is sad these days. I’d love to go back in time where music was done with tapes and 48 track mixers and faders not Autotune etc and digital compression but here we are everything’s so computerised now and it’s only when you listen to ‘Radio’ you totally get it.
IF ONLY Trevor produced a whole OMD album. I often wonder how it would have sounded. On a side note, why does Trevor constantly look down and hardly look at the interviewer?
Wonderful wonderful interview. Thank you Trevor for some of the greatest moments on record for me. Franky, Lexicon of Love, Street Fighting Years, Tatu, Seal....and some might not know this but the Billy Idol album is a sonic masterpiece as well. Only Trevor could keep up with Forsey when it comes to making those songs soar out the speakers. Just amazing.
Appreciate the Lexicon Album too🎉Some Dollar Masterpieces along the way. Have much Respect for Trevor, and Geoff Downes too..
The Lexicon of Love is a masterpiece and my all time favorite album . Best production ever .
Video killed the radio star did so much for me back in 1980. I started my secondary school which was so daunting and I was scared. A school mate took me under his wing but little did he know this song was going through my head and I related it to him for what he did. Brian Dicker you looked after me and every tie I hear this song I go back to when you looked after me as a young kid. Lost all contact with you now but when I hear this song I go back to the day!
"Left To My Own Devices" is such an uplifting track .
Mr. ZTT ! Responsible For Frankie Goes To Hollywood ! RELAX !
Fantastic legend, cheers from Montevideo, Uruguay.
“We’ve got the best rubbish musicians in the world.” Love it.
Very good interview. Love The Buggles
The Buggles were great, their album 'The Age Of Plastic' is a masterpiece !
I really hated 'Video Killed the Radio Star' as it seemed to be on constant rotation Downunder here in Australia but as I started to gradually build a singles record collection into the 80s, I eventually noticed a constant on my 7" disk centers: "Produced by Trevor Horn". Today, the 12" version of 'Relax' still sounds as fresh and vibrant as it did back in 1983 and 'Cry' with Godley & Creme is a work of genius all round, especially their analogue morphed video images which were likely to have been the inspiration for later Michael Jackson videos. 'Slave to the Rhythm' & 'Owner of a Lonely Heart' remain my two favourites so well done Mr Horn, you've brought so much inspiration to so many.
Growing in the 80s Southern California I would adore any ZZT records I could get a hold of… MUTE and ZZT … ❤ constant in my walkman
When I was a kid I lived inside the ZTT records. Especially FGTH. Trevor Horn's 12 inch remixes of Relax and Two Tribes defined cool for me. All other remixes have disappointed since. Mostly, because they arranged them to perfection rather than just stretching out a song to fill time. Genius.
Snap🍻
"I hate 5.1" What a man!!!!!!
GREATEST TREVOR HORN ALBUM OF ALL TIMES: Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Welcome To The Pleasuredome 👊🏾🔥❤
Great interview.
brilliant !
I remember the singles well,all great records.
My interest stems from his involvement with YES.
He is open and honest here but and certainly contributed some great stuff to the group.
Ironically, "Video Killed The Radio Star" sounds even better...on the radio , with the compression and all. ;-)
it's always Video Killed The Radio Star :D don't know about you but "I Am A Camera" was so much better
The yes album drama done well , got to number 2 in the uk ,,, how did the presenter not know that he was in yes as a member then a producer for them .
How did he replace the sounds on those original wibbly synth lines with the newer sample sounds, I wonder? There was no Midi then. Maybe he just asked Rabin to play them again as much like how he did on the demo, and could assign a Moog-type sound to the emulator keyboard enabling Rabin to roughly replicate the wibble modulation he applied on the demo?
Not that the particularities of the wibbles mattered as much as Rabin's 70s-style wibbling technique resulting in the right amount of wibble being applied to mangle the sounds Horn planned to use instead, without twisting them into useless little bits of squeaky or white noise? If so, this could only have been a hunch of Horn!
I'd like to know more about the prototypes of Midi used by those really early sampling workstations, in terms of how well they captured note on/off/parameter/system & etc info!
Knighthood surely!
Can't believe this man hasn't been given a knighthood. Maybe he was offered it but turned it down?
He's a CBE, a commander of the British empire
Ian Horne & Clive Langer were two of the best 80s producers.
Langer and Winstanley were very talented but What Price Paradise by China Crisis got mixed reviews to put it charitably. I think Q magazine said it sounded like CC had collided with Madness or something similar. Brand New Toy by the Jeremy Days is a great Langer and Winstanley production.
Video Killed The Radio Star was the fear of things to come at the time it was representing this kitsch period of technology replacing the organic process of recording music and listening to the radio but fast forward 40 years plus and technology which was embraced at one time but now it’s completely took over everything and corrupts life as it stands people being replaced by machines and so on so it’s so relevant now even more because it’s evolved so much
It’s all stems and quantising in studios now not people like Trevor who just had this amazing ear to create these incredible walls of sound that he did and everything done the right way !!!!.
Everything’s digital not analogue sound is 5.1 or Atmos not monaural it really takes so much originality out of everything which is sad these days.
I’d love to go back in time where music was done with tapes and 48 track mixers and faders not Autotune etc and digital compression but here we are everything’s so computerised now and it’s only when you listen to ‘Radio’ you totally get it.
Are we sure this isn't Marshal Krenshaw?
Brothers in glasses
IF ONLY Trevor produced a whole OMD album. I often wonder how it would have sounded.
On a side note, why does Trevor constantly look down and hardly look at the interviewer?
The interviewer is terrible
The ‘Producer’s Producer!’ Always, learn something new listening to Clever Trevor’s YT interviews.
He's knowledgable and has a great empathy...numptie!!