Relaxed autobiography from peerless producer.
An unpretentious man who’s made some of the most brilliantly pretentious records in history, Trevor Horn offers a thoroughly entertaining memoir, which loosely bases each chapter on one of those records. Or, in the early stages, records that changed his life. Of course, each chapter spins off into other recollections, so the sections on, say, Tempus Fugit by Yes or Dr Mabuse by Propaganda veer into insights on the era, the personalities involved and music-making in general.
For many, he’ll always be the man who “invented the sound of the 80s”, and the magic tricks he brought to ABC, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Grace Jones and Dollar (Videotheque is a stunning production) are revealed (partially) here. After those epochal creations, he went on to work with Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, even Belle And Sebastian. He gives the book just enough juice (U2 decided not to work with him) without betraying any scandal (unless him getting thunderously stoned with Godley & Creme in New York counts), and it wraps up in 2004, with Horn preferring “not to think about” bereavements he’s suffered since. And as for Yes? “They remain my favourite group.”