Trevor Horn’s Best Productions: 10 Groundbreaking Songs That Shaped Pop Music

Pop music was never the same after Trevor Horn burst onto the scene as a record producer in 1981. After making his name as one half of quirky new wave band The Buggles in 1979, and after a brief but surprising stint as frontman of prog-rock giants Yes, the Sunderland-born bassist and singer reinvented himself as a record producer in 1981, first with pop duo Dollar and then with Sheffield disco-funk band ABC. ABC’s boldly ambitious and sophisticated music is sophisticated, sophisticated and technically adept. The Lexicon of Love The album (1982) introduced all the hallmarks of Trevor Horn’s best productions.

Expansion into uncategorizable sound collages with Malcolm McLarens Duck Rock (1983), Horn brought the art of digital sampling into the mainstream. His next step was to found ZTT Records, which took off with a bang thanks to Frankie Goes To Hollywood’s controversial dancefloor smash Relax. The band’s debut album, Welcome to the Pleasure Domefound Horn expanding the parameters of pop even further with computer-driven rhythm tracks illuminated by widescreen production flourishes.

Once described as the man who invented the ’80s, Horn is a groundbreaking visionary who elevated pop records to high art. As the songs in this list of Trevor Horn’s best productions demonstrate, he achieved a level of sophistication that remains unmatched.

Best productions by Trevor Horn: 10 songs that shaped pop music

10: Dollar: Mirror Mirror (1981)

After four UK hits for the Carrere label, including 1979’s top five hit Love’s Gotta Hold On Me, plastic pop duo Dollar (David Van Day and Thereza Bazar) joined WEA in 1981, where they were introduced to Trevor Horn by his wife and manager Jill Sinclair. Having just split his time between The Buggles and prog rockers Yes, Horn was initially hesitant to work with the pair, but quickly realised they could help him develop his production range.

The follow-up to Hand Held In Black And White, Mirror Mirror was Dollar’s second Horn-produced single, co-written by the producer with trusted early collaborator Bruce Woolley (co-creator of The Buggles’ video Killed The Radio Star). With its drum machine backbeat, layered synth textures and extreme stereo panning, Mirror Mirror sounded fresh and new, and acted as a prototype for many of Trevor Horn’s best productions. The track, later featured on the 1982 album, The Dollar Albumreached number 4 in the UK.