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Production Notes
Like all great producers, Trevor Horn knows not only how to get the best out of the musicians he works with, but who to call on to sprinkle some extra magic dust on a project. As he later told Classic Pop magazine, ‘When they first played it to me, it was like a live band. They played it quite well… but I said, “Is that what you want or do you want it better?”. And Martin Fry said, “I want it as good as it can possibly be”. I said, “If you want it as good as it can possibly be, we’ll have to start again. And this is what I propose we do...”’.

Horn’s approach was to dissect each song into single notes, which he would then sample, whether it be a bass note, a cymbal or a horn stab, sequence then stitch them back together. Trusting that there was method in his madness, the band went along for the ride, but when Horn suggested ramping up the symphonic accompaniment, they needed persuading to go all the way.

‘When Trevor said he wanted a full orchestra on “All Of My Heart”, I said, “Well, hold on here – are we going to go full treacle?”’, Fry later recalled. ‘To which Trevor said, ‘“Bridge Over Troubled Water” had strings on it...’ And I really liked Hall & Oates, which has that tradition, so...’

Entering the fray was Horn’s go-to arranger Anne Dudley, then just 25, whose classical training helped lift several tracks into the chamber pop stratosphere. ‘We’d hang out’, Fry told the SuperDeluxeEdition.com website, and I remember Trevor said, “Oh, this would be great if we put strings on it”. Anne said, “I’m gonna go home tonight, and I’ll put something together”.

‘She came in the next morning [with an orchestral arrangement] and that gave us all the confidence to book a string session in.’