THEN & NOW SPECIAL: ‘Echoes: Ancient and Modern’ – Trevor Horn

Legendary composer and producer Trevor Horn CBE has released a sequal to his 2019 album “Reimagines The Eighties” with “Echoes: Ancient and Modern”, in which he presents eleven classic 80’s tunes, three of them his own, with eleven new artists thus offering a different perspective.

For “Owner Of A Lonely Heart“, Rick Astley steps into the shoes of Yes for a wholesome new slant on the group’s 1984 US chart topper, while Toyah and King Crimson’s Robert Fripp join forces for Frankie’s “Relax“, which has just celebrated its 40th birthday. Stepping into the unenviable place of Miss Grace Jones for her 1985 classic “Slave To The Rhythm” is American jazz singer Lady Blackbird, who interestingly was born the year of the song’s release.

Elsewhere, Marc Almond offers a male slant to Pat Benetar’s “Love Is A Battlefield” and there is a welcome return for Seal as he records Joe Jackson’s 1982 UK/US top ten hit “Steppin’ Out”. Iggy Pop, ever up for his own interpretation of a standard bearer, delivers a deep and dark vocal for Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus“, while Steve Hogarth of Marillion slows things down for a cover of The Cars’ “Drive”.

Trevor, who came to fame as vocallist of The Buggles on their iconic 1979 smash “Video Killed The Radio Star”, has certainly been adventurous when it comes to pooling talent for this new collection of recordings, with all of the tracks given a totally new production from “Owner’s” Pop vibe to “Slave’s” orchestral arrangement. The 80’s reimagined perhaps how it could have been…

“Owner Of A Lonely Heart” – Then and Now