Reimagines the Eighties is a studio album by producer Trevor Horn, released in 2019. The project revisits songs associated with Horn’s production work during the 1980s, featuring contemporary vocalists interpreting material originally recorded by artists including Tears for Fears, Frankie Goes to Hollywood and ABC. Robbie Williams appears as a featured vocalist on a new version of Everybody Wants to Rule the World, issued as one of the album’s lead singles.
The concept of the album was to rework well known tracks with updated arrangements while retaining Horn’s polished production style. Williams’ contribution marked a rare collaboration between the singer and Horn. The recording sessions placed Williams within a roster of established British and international artists, aligning his voice with a catalogue that helped define 1980s pop production.
Musically, the album blends orchestral textures, layered backing vocals and contemporary studio techniques with melodies rooted in the original recordings. Williams’ performance on Everybody Wants to Rule the World adopts a more dramatic tone than the 1985 version, complementing the album’s cinematic approach. The project overall reflects Horn’s long standing interest in reinterpreting his own body of work through modern perspectives.
I was thrilled that Robbie agreed to do it.Trevor Horn
For Williams, participation in Reimagine the Eighties positioned him within a lineage of British pop shaped by Horn’s production legacy. The album functions both as retrospective and reinvention, reaffirming Horn’s influence while presenting established songs through contemporary collaborators.