Adventures in Modern Recording cover art

Adventures in Modern Recording

From ABC to ZTT

 Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 Months Free

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Get this deal
Offer ends on 15 July 2026 at 11:59 BST.
More purchase options

Adventures in Modern Recording

By: Trevor Horn
Narrated by: Trevor Horn
Get this deal

£5.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £13.43

Buy Now for £13.43

A Telegraph Book of the Year

As a renowned recording-studio maven, Trevor Horn has been dubbed 'the man who invented the '80s'.

His production work since the glory days of ZTT represents a veritable 'who's who' of intelligent modern pop, including the likes of ABC, Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Paul McCartney, Rod Stewart, Pet Shop Boys, Seal, Simple Minds, Grace Jones and Yes - among many others.

This book is Trevor's story in his own words, as told through the prism of twenty-three of his most important songs - from the ones that inspired him to the ones that defined him.

This play-by-play memoir transports readers into the heart of the studio to witness the making of some of music's most memorable moments, from the Buggles' ground-breaking 'Video Killed the Radio Star' to Band Aid's perennial 'Do They Know It's Christmas?', via hits such as 'Relax', 'Poison Arrow', 'Owner of a Lonely Heart' and 'Crazy'.

Offering unrivalled access to the dark arts of the producer's world and the even darker arts of the music business itself, prepare for some adventures in modern recording... Art Business Aspects Entertainment & Celebrities Music Celebrity Business Heartfelt Inspiring Thought-Provoking
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_t1
All stars
Most relevant
‘Produced by Trevor Horn’ records have soundtracked the lives of so many of my vintage (fifty-nine…) so I was interested to hear the back story. You get a lot more. Trevor is a good writer but an even better narrator and his soft, North East burr makes it easy to imagine buying him a pint and asking: “So what was it like making the ‘Lexicon of Love’ and then letting him genially chunter on…

Understanding the finer details of recording technology and the mystical (to me) points about musical construction (bars, semitones, chords, beats-per-minute) is necessary to get the most out of the book and will make it required reading for musicians and home-recording artists. For the rest of us, it’s an engaging glimpse of how painstaking and exacting the craft of a record producer is and how it’s a craft entirely without rules: what works in one situation doesn’t work anywhere else.

What makes the book strong and ultimately relevant is Trevor conveys it’s ultimately about being fair, decent and doing the best job you can. By the end, I was just glad I can just listen to the final versions of his work as the process - being cooped up for months on end, starved of daylight and sleep - sounds like hell.

I enjoyed this far more than I thought I would

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
some great stories and great narration from the man himself. I heard him on the wireless back in 79and followed his career since

exquisite

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Trevor Horn described a world I know little about but have always been fascinated by. He’s been behind and created some landmark recordings. Even if you don’t especially like his music (and I do!) it’s an interesting listen. Definitely a pioneer. Agree with others he comes across as a warm and passionate man. Tragic about his wife Jill who clearly has been a very key part of this story and his life. Recommended.

Great story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Music is a huge part of my life & being able to listen to the stories behind so much of the music from my youth has been very interesting. Thoroughly enjoyed listening to Trevor Horn tell his story. Well worth a listen.

Very interesting & entertaining!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Fantastic book…funny and informative…definitely worth a listen 5 stars all round …a must have.

Trevor at his best

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews