Editing Trevor Horn (section)

===1980–1982: Dollar, ABC and Malcolm McLaren===
In 1980, Horn married the music executive [[Jill Sinclair]], who became his manager.<ref name=":0" /> Sinclair told him that as an artist he would always be "second division", but if he pursued production he would become the best in the world.<ref name="zttaat" />[[File:Fairlight.JPG|thumb|In the 1980s, Horn incorporated [[Sampling (music)|samples]] into pop music using a [[Fairlight CMI]] synthesiser.]]Horn assembled studio equipment, including a [[Roland TR-808]] drum machine, a [[Music sequencer|sequencer]], a [[Minimoog]] synthesiser and [[Simmons (electronic drum company)|Simmons]] electronic drums.<ref name="sound2005">{{Cite magazine |last=Peel |first=Ian |date=March 2005 |title=Trevor Horn: 25 Years of Hits |url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/trevor-horn |url-status=live |magazine=[[Sound on Sound]] |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180708074347/https://www.soundonsound.com/people/trevor-horn |archive-date=8 July 2018 |access-date=30 May 2018}}</ref> He spent £18,000 on a [[Fairlight CMI]], an early [[digital synthesiser]], one of four in the UK at the time.<ref name="zttaat" /> The Fairlight was one of the first digital [[Sampler (musical instrument)|samplers]], allowing musicians to play back [[Sampling (music)|samples]] such as sound effects at different pitches.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=McNamee |first=David |date=28 September 2009 |title=Hey, what's that sound: Sampler |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/sep/28/whats-that-sound-sampler |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140304190836/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/sep/28/whats-that-sound-sampler |archive-date=4 March 2014 |access-date=12 October 2018 |website=[[The Guardian]] |language=en}}</ref> He said later: "I knew what it was capable of, because I understood what it did. Most other people didn't understand at the time – sampling was like a mystical world."<ref name="zttaat" /> Horn is credited as the "key architect" in incorporating sampling into "the language of pop".<ref name=":1" /> His understanding of electronic equipment made him influential on the development of pop music in the following decade.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hodgkinson |first=Will |date=5 November 2004 |title=Horn of plenty |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/nov/05/1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130030509/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2004/nov/05/1 |archive-date=30 November 2018 |access-date=8 July 2018 |website=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref> 
In 1981, Horn completed a second Buggles album, ''[[Adventures in Modern Recording]],'' largely on his own following Downes's decision to form [[Asia (band)|Asia]].{{Cn|date=April 2023}} Horn produced a string of hit singles by the pop duo [[Dollar (band)|Dollar]], writing the songs "[[Mirror Mirror (Dollar song)|Mirror Mirror]]", "Hand Held in Black and White", "[[Give Me Back My Heart]]" and "[[Videotheque]]". All four became top 20 hits in the UK.{{Cn|date=April 2023}} Though Dollar were a [[Middle of the road (music)|middle-of-the-road]] band with little credibility, Horn saw an opportunity to combine the electronic music of [[Kraftwerk]] and the crooner [[Vince Hill]].<ref name=":3" /> The music journalist [[Alexis Petridis]] said that ''The Dollar Album'' "mapped out ... the sonic future of 80s pop", with "booming drums, high-drama synthesisers and [[Sampling (music)|sampled]] voices".<ref name=":3" /> Horn did not complete the ensuing [[The Dollar Album|Dollar Album]] however and the production of the remaining tracks was attributed to Dollar themselves.

Horn's success with the Dollar singles generated interest from other acts. He next produced ''[[The Lexicon of Love]]'' by [[ABC (band)|ABC]], working also with [[Anne Dudley]] for the string arrangements. ABC's debut became one of the best-selling albums of 1982.<ref name=":3" /> During the recording, he had persuaded ABC to replace their bassist, feeling he was subpar. Horn regretted the decision, and he later learnt that [[U2]] had declined to work with him as they were concerned he would split the band.<ref name="zttaat" /> Horn won the [[Brit Awards 1983|1983 Brit Award]] for British Producer of the Year, thanks to his work on the album.

In 1982, Horn and Sinclair formed a [[music publishing]] company, [[Perfect Songs]].{{Cn|date=April 2023}} In 1983, Horn produced ''[[Duck Rock]]'' by the former [[Sex Pistols]] manager [[Malcolm McLaren]]. It featured the single "[[Buffalo Gals (Malcolm McLaren song)|Buffalo Gals]]", credited as the first British [[Hip hop music|hip hop]] single.<ref name=":3" />