ZTT Records  

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ZTT Records is a record label founded in 1983 by NME journalist Paul Morley, record producer Trevor Horn, producer/engineer Gary Langan and businesswoman Jill Sinclair. The majority of the creative team at ZTT had first assembled when Horn produced the acclaimed album The Lexicon of Love for New Romantic band ABC. The label's name was also printed as "Zang Tumb Tuum" and "Zang Tuum Tumb" on various releases.

ZTT is an initialism based on the title of Filippo Tommaso Marinetti's sound poem Zang Tumb Tumb. The word "Tuuuum" is also featured on the cover of the original publication of the poem in book form.

ZTT enjoyed considerable success in the 1980s with the composer Andrew Poppy, bands such as Propaganda, Art of Noise, and the chart-topping Frankie Goes to Hollywood. In 1989, both Propaganda and Frankie Goes to Hollywood frontman Holly Johnson went to court to be released from their contracts, and won. In the Holly Johnson case, the court chastised Horn for production cost over-runs. It has since become common knowledge that Horn's perfectionism can be expensive. (The sleevenotes of the Pet Shop BoysDiscography compilation make good natured references to Horn's methods).

In the 1990s, ZTT became a successful dance label once again, with major names on their roster including Seal and 808 State.

Over the years, the label has continued to dip into its well of 1980s material by constantly reissuing material by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, Propaganda and Art Of Noise in various formats - from remix albums, to straight reissues.



Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "ZTT Records" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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