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(More customer reviews)The name Trevor Horn didn't mean much to me - and it's probably not at the top of your pop music "names" list but , after watching this fabulous two-hour-plus concert, recorded in 2005 at Wembly Stadium in London, I now know that I've been listening to his productions for over 25 years!
Horn is a bassist and was a recording star in the 1980s. Though his name didn't appear as a the "artist" on the label, he was the co-writer and lead vocalist on the song that "launched" MTV: "Video Killed The Radio Star". He and his partner were known as The Buggles. Shortly thereafter he began producing hits for others and many - if not all - of them were at this concert to aid The Prince's Trust (Prince Charles' annual benefit concert). It was filmed in what looks like high-def and was produced by Clear Channel (now known as Live Nation). The camera work is some of the best I've seen and the sound is near perfect. Horn either sings or plays on nearly every one of the songs and, recruited the original back up singers (and many of the original studio musicians) to appear on the stage. While he could have used synthesizers to replicate the string and horn sections, he chose to have a large live string section and a top-notch horn section filling the huge stage. There's even a harpist who doubles on backing vocals!
The guest artists appear mostly in chronological order by the year the hits were released and most perform one song. There is Grace Jones, and Lisa Stansfield (performing a new song, not one of her hits) - well known in the US - along with lesser known acts like the German group Propoganda and the duo Dollar. Throughout the first 90 minutes the large crowd moves to the music in their seats, unlike many US concerts where everyone stands through the whole concert. But then come the Pet Shop Boys (for three songs) and they are out of their seats. Following that comes a super-fine performance by Seal (whose hit song is the basis for the title of this DVD) and then the reunion of most of Frankie Goes to Hollywood and the concert reaches it's peak. Oh yes, there's also a performance by most of the group YES as well as ABC and Belle & Sebastian. There is literally something here for everyone who lived through the pop music scene of the 1980s and 90. And Horn makes a wonderful MC for the evening.
The bonuses don't disappoint either. There is a short documentary on the staging of the concert and another on Frankie Goes to Hollywood's audition to find a new lead singer for the concert. And, finally, a "juke box" option to play the songs.
This is one of the highest quality DVDs to be released by MVDvisual - a division of Music Video Distributors - which usually just distributes European-produced DVDS. It's a lot of fun and highly recommended.
Steve Ramm
"Anything Phonographic"
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