Trevor Horn: The Stories Behind Relax, Seal, The Buggles, ABC & Yes

Trevor Horn tells the stories behind “Relax,” “Video Killed the Radio Star,” “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” ABC’s The Lexicon of Love, Grace Jones’s “Slave to the Rhythm” and his extraordinary work with Seal.

In this in-depth Trevor Horn interview, the legendary British producer, musician and songwriter explains how he transformed the recording studio into an instrument—and helped create some of the most ambitious and influential pop records ever made.

Trevor talks to Steve Blame about learning music from his father, teaching himself several instruments and spending years struggling as a working musician before finding international success with the Buggles and “Video Killed the Radio Star.”

He explains how “Video Killed the Radio Star” came together, why the Buggles were originally imagined as a computer-generated group, and what happened when he unexpectedly became the lead singer of Yes.

Trevor also discusses the influence of his wife and business partner Jill Sinclair, producing Dollar, discovering the possibilities of the Fairlight, programming “Poison Arrow” and creating the cinematic production of ABC’s The Lexicon of Love. He remembers David Bowie visiting the studio while ABC were recording “The Look of Love” and explains why he turned down Bowie’s suggestion.

The conversation explores Trevor’s work with Malcolm McLaren, how he recognised the potential in “Owner of a Lonely Heart,” and the long, difficult process of transforming Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax.” Trevor discusses ZTT Records, Paul Morley, the BBC ban that made “Relax” even more successful and the creation of Grace Jones’s “Slave to the Rhythm.”
He also tells the story of hearing Seal’s voice for the first time, producing “Crazy,” working with Lol Creme and creating “Pass the Flame” for the Athens Olympic torch relay.

Finally, Trevor considers artificial intelligence, what machines can and cannot contribute to music, and why AI still cannot make a Trevor Horn record.

CHAPTERS
00:00 Trevor Horn and the sound of the future
01:00 What his musician father taught him
03:38 How playing bass shaped him as a producer
05:04 Teaching himself to play and read music
07:28 His father, ambition and determination
09:07 Refusing to abandon his musical career
10:28 The slot machine, the Buggles and taking a gamble
12:56 How “Video Killed the Radio Star” came together
15:22 Technology and the idea of a computer-generated band
16:56 Becoming the lead singer of Yes
20:28 Jill Sinclair, Dollar and becoming a producer
22:49 The Fairlight and creating a new production system
24:42 ABC and The Lexicon of Love
29:40 David Bowie visits the ABC sessions
33:53 Working with Malcolm McLaren
37:36 Hearing “Owner of a Lonely Heart”
40:00 What a producer hears in an unfinished song
41:04 Rebuilding Frankie Goes to Hollywood’s “Relax”
45:21 ZTT, controversy and the BBC ban
47:35 Grace Jones and “Slave to the Rhythm”
50:16 Discovering Seal and producing “Crazy”
52:58 Working with Lol Creme and “Pass the Flame”
55:05 Trevor Horn on machines and artificial intelligence
56:24 His father’s influence and becoming our parents
57:44 Closing thoughts

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Trevor Horn and His Band
3 December — Leamington Spa Assembly
4 December — Independent, Sunderland
5 December — Queen’s Hall, Edinburgh
9 December — O2 Academy Leeds
10 December — O2 Academy Liverpool
11 December — O2 Academy Bristol
15 December — Tramshed, Cardiff
16 December — O2 Institute Birmingham
17 December — O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire, London
19 December — O2 Ritz, Manchester