111: Trevor Horn: Adventures in Modern Recording, Buggles, “whiz bang” hits and old Jewish jokes!

This is my second sit-down interview with Trevor Horn and you’ll hear why it’s nothing like the first time. The previous one (episode 43) made an impression with Wikipedia’s editors, who included Trevor’s “I believe in Judaism, more than I believe in anything else” as a reference.

On leaving last time, Trevor told me at the door, "no one ever asked me about that before". In this in-depth conversation about his life and career, Trevor talks about growing up as a post-war baby boomer in Hetton-le-Hole and how the family left the Durham village to secure their future in the more prosperous midlands (as my own family had done a generation before).

We discuss Paul McCartney’s constant reinvention as the key to longevity and his own determination to keep working. Then there’s Rod and the magnificent orchestral album, his most recent production. Trevor also pays a touching tribute to his late wife, Jill Sinclair, “the first person who told me I was good. There’s also a couple of Jewish jokes she used to tell him too.

And we expand on his religious beliefs, how Shabbat is a “great idea” and reading the Torah illuminating. Trevor’s been touring the US as Seal’s musical director with support band, The Buggles, reuniting with his old friend, Geoff Downes. It was their number one hit, “Video Killed The Radio Star” which propelled him to fame before he became a producer on Jill’s recommendation.

There’s a stem-by-stem analysis of the brilliant “whiz bang” noises of Owner of a Lonely Heart, The Art of Noise, ABC’s band manifesto, the Belfast Child of The Simple Minds and why Two Tribes by Frankie Goes to Hollywood sounds like the Hatikvah, Israel’s national anthem! I had another hour of questions for Trevor, but I hope this gives you a snapshot of what a talented and modest man he is, and why I’ve been a fan since my teenage years.

Dear Listener, this is Trevor Horn II. Jonny Gould’s Jewish State is brought to you with Dangoor Education.

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