ZTT

Producer Trevor Horn was half of the duo Buggles, who topped the charts with Video Killed the Radio Star, before he created ZTT Records with his wife, Jill Sinclair, and NME journalist Paul Morley in 1982.

Horn managed the music, Sinclair handled the business, and Morley took care of the marketing.

Financed by Island Records, ZTT (an abbreviation of the phrase “Zang Tumb Tuum”, used in an Italian war poem by Filippo Tommaso Marinetti to describe the noise of a machine gun) first launched the act Art Of Noise before hitting the big time with Frankie Goes To Hollywood, with their controversial lyrics and eye-catching artwork.

Together with Propaganda, Art Of Noise and Frankie ensured that, in 1983, ZTT had a record in the UK Top 75 singles chart every week of the year.

To prolong the life of a single, the label frequently released multiple 12-inch remixes of a single track.

After fleeting success with Grace Jones, the label became independent in 1986, acquiring the right to buy the now-defunct Stiff Records label before entering into a joint venture agreement with Warner Music UK.

Hits from Shades of Rhythm and 808 State paved the way for the success of Seal (produced by Horn), who emerged as the next big ZTT act before switching to the US-based label Warner Bros.

ZTT split from Warner in 1998 and regained its independent status in the UK, with a roster which featured the reformed Art Of Noise, Leilani and Fragile.

The label later forged links with Universal Records in America to gain distribution and marketing support. Universal treats ZTT as a boutique archival brand, capitalising on the massive, collector-driven demand for ’80s and ’90s electronic music.

Jill Sinclair suffered irreversible brain damage in 2006 after being accidentally shot with an air rifle by her son. She died of cancer in 2014, aged 61.

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