The man who invented the 80s

That one-man production powerhouse Mr Trevor Horn is 65 years old today!

He began his rise to the top as assistant to the legendary Biddu (the man behind Tina Charles, Kelly Marie, Jimmy James, The Real Thing, Kung Fu Fighting, The Stud and much of the British disco music of the 70s). Witnessing this virtuoso at work must have had a lasting influence - for Mr Horn went on to become one of the biggest producers of his age, forever to be known as "The Man Who Invented the Eighties".

He was indeed responsible for a myriad of 1980s classics, including the Buggles, Dollar, the reincarnation of Yes, The Art of Noise, Propaganda, Malcolm McLaren, Slave to the Rhythm for Grace Jones and ABC's The Lexicon of Love. He's worked with Pet Shop Boys, Simple Minds, Lol Creme, Marc Almond, Cher, Tom Jones, TaTu, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Texas, Bryan Adams, LeAnn Rimes, Robbie Williams and Barry Manilow, and in 1995 won Record of the Year at the Grammys for Kiss from a Rose by Seal.

Whew!

Partly by way of celebration of the great man's genius, and partly continuing my ongoing "timeslip moments" to the wonderful world of 1984 - "The Year of Frankie Goes to Hollywood", of course - here's one of Trevor Horn's greatest productions, the song that was Number 1 in the charts thirty years ago this week (and Relax was at Number 2!).

With an all-new video mix to celebrate its 30th anniversary, here's "the Frankies" and Two Tribes:

Frankie Goes To Hollywood - Two Tribes

Trevor Charles Horn, CBE (born 15th July 1949)