Trevor Charles Horn CBE (born 15 July 1949) is a British producer and musician. After working as a session musician in the 1970s, he formed The Buggles with keyboardist Geoff Downes and scored an international hit in "Video Killed the Radio Star" in 1979. Shortly after the release of their first album The Age of Plastic, he and Downes became replacement members for Yes as they released an album with a subsequent accompanying tour.
With Yes disbanding shortly afterward in 1981, Horn became a full time producer and bought a Fairlight CMI, with which he popularized the art of sampling. He was an especially prolific producer in the 1980s, not only working again with a reformed Yes to release their biggest hit "Owner of a Lonely Heart", but also forming ZTT Records in 1983, which oversaw a distinct breed of sample-heavy pop through acts like Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Grace Jones, Propaganda, and his producer collective Art of Noise (though he only appeared on their first and last albums thanks to Creative Differences with the other members). He had produced numerous hits going into the oughts and still works to this day, both as a producer and a session musician. He won a 1994 Grammy for his work producing "Kiss from a Rose".
Discography as a musician
See The Buggles for their full discography.- 1980 - Drama (with Yes)
- 1984 - Who's Afraid of the Art of Noise? (with Art of Noise)
- 1999 - The Seduction of Claude Debussy (with Art of Noise)
- 2012 - Made in Basing Street (with the Producersnote )
- 2017 - The Reflection Wave One — Original Soundtrack
- 2018 - Fly From Here — Return Trip (with Yes; also produced the original 2011 version)
- 2019 - Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties
Artists he produced for:
- ABC
- Bryan Adams
- Jeff Beck
- Belle and Sebastian
- Cher
- Charlotte Church
- Danny Elfman
- Estelle
- Frankie Goes to Hollywood
- Genesis
- Faith Hill
- Billy Idol
- Grace Jones
- Tom Jones
- John Legend
- Paul McCartney
- Mike Oldfield
- 1992 - Tubular Bells II
- Pet Shop Boys
- Propaganda
- LeAnn Rimes
- Seal
- Spandau Ballet
- Rod Stewart
- t.A.T.u.
- Tina Turner
- Robbie Williams
- Yes
- 1983 - 90125
- Hans Zimmer
His works contain examples of:
- Cover Album: Trevor Horn Reimagines the Eighties features Horn, the Sarm Orchestra, and various guest vocalists performing their own renditions of various well-known hits from the titular decade, including three ("The Power of Love", "Ladies and Gentlemen: Miss Grace Jones"note , and "Owner of a Lonely Heart") that Horn had previously produced.
- Lead Bassist: Of the Type B variety, being both bassist and vocalist for The Buggles; during his brief stint as Yes' vocalist on Drama, he also played bass on one song.
- Nerd Glasses: Horn has worn these throughout his career.
- Rearrange the Song:
- A major hallmark of Horn's production work, with countless songs under his belt coming in a wide variety of distinct permutations. Grace Jones' Slave to the Rhythm was even born out of Horn having trouble picking which mix of the Title Track he liked most, instead releasing them all at once.
- The making of Frankie Goes to Hollywood's debut album, Welcome to the Pleasuredome, was infamous for how heavily Horn applied this trope to the band's material: by the time the record released, the only member who actually played on it was vocalist Holly Johnson, with Horn having replaced everyone else with himself and session musicians during the remixing process. The result was massively successful, but the band opted not to work with him again for the follow-up, Liverpool.
- Yes' Fly from Here — Return Trip was a case of Horn applying this to a whole album that he'd previously produced, remixing the entirety of 2011's Fly from Here and re-recording Benoît David's vocals himself (effectively making it his first singing stint with Yes since Drama; both it and Return Trip even feature the same lineup).
- Record Producer: Especially known for being a very hands-on variety, which worked in his favor during the '80s.
- Sampling: Horn took an immediate liking to the Fairlight CMI just after leaving Yes, and used it to popularize sampling both as a member of Art of Noise and on his production work, especially 90125 and Duck Rock.
- Signature Style: Being both a major audiophile and especially a major technophile, Horn's production work is most commonly distinguished by copious use of sampling and new technology, a sleek, polished sound that emphasizes Echoing Acoustics and clarity (Horn having been an early and avid proponent of digital recording), and an overwhelming abundance of remixes.
