... 12-inch, Vinyl record

Arguably one of the greatest concept albums of the 80s – and the only really strong full length album cut by Frankie Goes To Hollywood! At the time of the set, the group was riding high on the success and controversy of their singles "Relax" and "Two Tribes" – but in the ambitious ZTT mode, sought to expand their sound way past familiar hits, and into a realm of sonic exploration that rivaled that of labelmates Art Of Noise. Don't get us wrong, because the Frankie of this album is still very much in groove-oriented territory – but they also let Horn take over with some more striking tunes that are both longer and shorter than the usual pop track – offsetting the vocal numbers on the record with a rich tapestry of musical backdrops that also more firmly forward the group's social and sexual leanings. The album features surprising covers of "War", "Do You Know The Way To San Jose", and "Born To Run" – plus the hits "Relax" and "Two Tribes", and the original numbers "Welcome To the Pleasure Dome", "Krisco Kisses", "The Ballad Of 32", "Wish The Lads Were Here", "Black Night White Light", "The Only Star In Heaven", "The Power Of Love", and "Bang". LP, Vinyl record album

More of a sound collage than a regular compilation – with is an excellent testament to the creativity of Trevor Horn's ZTT label at this early stage! Features material from Andrew Poppy, Art Of Noise, Frankie Goes To Hollywood, Propaganda, Anne Pigalle, and Instinct. LP, Vinyl record album

Fantastic stuff – and still sounding pretty fresh today! This is the first e.p. of tracks from Art of Noise, a groundbreaking set of sound collage tracks that mixes samples, beats, and dada instrumentation into a groove that definitely set the tone for the next 10 years. The record includes the original mix of their spacey stepper "Moments In Love", plus the hard funky "Beat Box", and the cuts "Comes & Goes", "The Army Now", and "Battle". LP, Vinyl record album

It's hard to imagine a more exciting single from the early 80s – as both sides of this one completely changed our way of listening to music, and set the tone for a generation of sounds to come. "Moments In Love" is that breathy slow stepper, presented here in long and short versions – and "Beat Box" is the hip hop inspired groover that helped these guys win Best New Black Artist from Rolling Stone in 1984, in spite of their non-blackness. 12-inch, Vinyl record

... 12-inch, Vinyl record

With the hard to find "Sex Mix". 12-inch, Vinyl record

Arguably one of the greatest concept albums of the 80s – and the only really strong full length album cut by Frankie Goes To Hollywood! At the time of the set, the group was riding high on the success and controversy of their singles "Relax" and "Two Tribes" – but in the ambitious ZTT mode, sought to expand their sound way past familiar hits, and into a realm of sonic exploration that rivaled that of labelmates Art Of Noise. Don't get us wrong, because the Frankie of this album is still very much in groove-oriented territory – but they also let Horn take over with some more striking tunes that are both longer and shorter than the usual pop track – offsetting the vocal numbers on the record with a rich tapestry of musical backdrops that also more firmly forward the group's social and sexual leanings. The album features surprising covers of "War", "Do You Know The Way To San Jose", and "Born To Run" – plus the hits "Relax" and "Two Tribes", and the original numbers "Welcome To the Pleasure Dome", "Krisco Kisses", "The Ballad Of 32", "Wish The Lads Were Here", "Black Night White Light", "The Only Star In Heaven", "The Power Of Love", and "Bang". CD

Paul Morley wrote famously for the NME during the key years of punk, post-punk, and new wave – which makes him very able to draw a rich portrait here of contemporary and scenemate Tony Wilson – the man behind Factory Records, The Hacienda club, and a huge legacy of music in the 80s and beyond! Morley also helped form ZTT Records, and is very smart and well-read – and he brings in a surprising amount of theory and other references – really getting at the politics behind the art and business impulses of Wilson – in a very detailed book that's way more than you might expect! Morley also opens the door to other voices along the way – with occasional commentary from contemporaries – before dipping back in to this very deep, very well-written look at one of the most important figures on the UK scene during the late 70s and 1980s. This heavy, hardcover edition is a massive 604 pages, with some images in the middle. Book

One of the crowning moments of genius from 10CC – a record that has the duo of Godly & Creme really hitting their stride in the studio, and taking the group into completely different territory than on their first few records! The brilliance of the mega-hit "I'm Not In Love" is very well-known – and the rest of the record follows with a similar sort of sonic intensity, one that holds strong even as the song styles shift throughout – almost with the sort of mini-masterpiece in album format that Trevor Horn would so loudly proclaim at ZTT. The record's both a key part of 70s pop, and one that's also very much apart from the pack – with titles that include "I'm Not In Love", "The Second Sitting For The Last Supper", "The Film Of My Love", "Brand New Day", "Blackmail", "Flying Junk", and the three part "Une Nuite A Paris" suite. LP, Vinyl record album

An incredible swan song from Talk Talk – a group that nobody would have guessed would go in this direction from the early years of their catchy crossover new romantic pop! The sound here is something else entirely – a fully-formed extension of the ideas they'd been exploring on Spirit Of Eden – in these beautiful soundscapes guided by Mark Hollis and the rest of the group – and filled in with work from a range of jazz and string players, including the legendary Brit jazz trumpeter Henry Lowther! There's a sense of denseness and texture that really marks the music – and a lot more warmth than similar 80s projects that might have come from 4AD, Factory, or ZTT – instead almost a "new subtlety" that had a huge influence on so many other groups to come. Tracks include "Myrrhman", "Ascension Day", "After The Flood", "Taphead", "New Grass", and "Runeii". LP, Vinyl record album

An album of surprising brilliance – recorded late in the career of Yes, but one of the group's biggest hits ever! And while we've always been fans of Anderson, Squire, & Co, we're also ready to admit that the real star here is Trevor Horn – who produced the album and put the whole thing together with the kind of choppy feel as his best early productions for ZTT, especially work by Art Of Noise. The album's "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" still has a great resonance to our ears as a street-grooving number from the electro years – even despite its chart and radio fame at the time – and other tracks on the album follow in a nicely similar groove. Other titles include "Hold On", "It Can Happen", "Cinema", "Leave It", "Our Song", "City of Love", and "Hearts". CD

A landmark record – even if nobody thought so at the time! The Buggles were the first group of Trevor Horn – soon to be more famous through his work with Yes, Art Of Noise, and the ZTT label – and the group's lasting legacy will forever be the tinny pop number "Video Killed The Radio Star", contained on this album, and the first video ever played on MTV. The rest of the album's pretty darn great – in a similar mode to the more famous tune, with quirky little pop styles colliding with each other, all handled by Horn and Geoff Downes, in a flutter of keyboards, spare backings, and slight guitars – kind of a last gasp of the British mainstream pop sound of the 70s, trying to exist in a post-punk world. Titles include "Kid Dynamo", "Living In the Plastic Age", "I Love You Miss Robot", "Astroboy", and "Johnny On The Monorail". . LP, Vinyl record album

A near-lost set from the 80s, but one that we'd almost put right up there next to some of our favorite work by artists like Sade or Working Week – as the record shares a similar blend of jazz, soul, and catchy pop! Linda Di Franco sings in English, but with a nicely accented style – in a way that's a bit like Anne Pigalle over at ZTT Records – and the album's got these gentle-flowing grooves that are mighty nice – catchy, but just the right side of the spectrum to never sound too commercial at all – and instead maybe come across like some of the hipper British work of the time. Titles include a great take on "The Look Of Love", plus "My Boss", "Bless My Soul", "TV Scene", "Fran", and "The Rise Of The Heart". LP, Vinyl record album

One of the crowning moments of genius from 10CC – a record that has the duo of Godly & Creme really hitting their stride in the studio, and taking the group into completely different territory than on their first few records! The brilliance of the mega-hit "I'm Not In Love" is very well-known – and the rest of the record follows with a similar sort of sonic intensity, one that holds strong even as the song styles shift throughout – almost with the sort of mini-masterpiece in album format that Trevor Horn would so loudly proclaim at ZTT. The record's both a key part of 70s pop, and one that's also very much apart from the pack – with titles that include "I'm Not In Love", "The Second Sitting For The Last Supper", "The Film Of My Love", "Brand New Day", "Blackmail", "Flying Junk", and the three part "Une Nuite A Paris" suite. CD features two bonus tracks – "Good News" and "Channel Swimmer". CD