Album: Star to Star
Artist: Chromium [Chrome in the US]
1978 Infinity Records
LP: INF 9017

Alma Thibou: lead vocals
Vicki Spence: lead vocals
Geoff Downes: keyboards
Anne Dudley: all other keyboards
Hans Zimmer: electronics
Trevor Horn: vocal bits and pieces
Linda Jardim: backing vocals
Peter Robinson: drums
Tom Blades: guitar
Louis Jardim: bass, percussion

Produced by T.C. Horn
Executive producer: Edward Germano
Engineer: Steve Allen
Cover art: Christian Piper


Tracks:
Side A:
1. Radar Angels [Alex Everitt/Horn/Downes] (4:27)
2. Forces of Light [Everitt/Horn/Downes] (3:05)
3. Star to Star [Everitt/Horn] (4:23)
4. Time Traveler [Everitt/Horn/Downes] (3:36)
5. Castaway [Everitt/Horn/Downes] (3:42)

Side B:
6. Haunted Disco [Everitt/Horn/Downes] (3:40)
7. Beam On [Everitt/Horn] (5:50)
8. Caribbean Air Control [Everitt/Horn/C. Trevor] (3:25)
9. Fly on UFO [Everitt/Horn] (3:50)


Notes (***): Star to Star promises to be a 'lost' Buggles album from the year before Horn and Downes formed The Buggles, particularly with the involvement of other Buggles names like Hans Zimmer and backing vocalist Linda Jardim (a.k.a. Linda Allan). The first track, "Radar Angels", could almost be a Buggles out-take. In a Nov 2017 tweet, Downes described it as "the 1st ever Horn-Downes co-write." But the rest of the album that follows is somewhat disappointing: this is largely just generic disco.

After the Tina Charles Band split up, Horn and Downes had continued working together on various projects, including advertising jingles. 1978 saw Horn working on two singles with the act Big A on Sonet Records: "Caribbean Air Control" b/w "Juke Joint Bop" [A. Everitt/C. Trevor]; followed by "Fly on UFO" b/w "Ofu No Ylf" [Everitt/Horn/Trevor] (Sonet SON 2167). This second single, produced by Horn, featured two versions of "Fly on UFO", both different to the later Chromium one.

The owner of Hit Factory liked "Caribbean Air Control" and Horn and Downes were asked to do an album of disco music, and Chromium was the result, recorded in New York. Single releases included "Fly on UFO" (prod. by T.C. Horn) b/w "Juke Joint Bop" (produced by C. Trevor) in the Netherlands; "Fly on UFO" b/w "Beam On"; "Fly on UFO" (extended mix) (7:37) (prod. by Horn) b/w "Caribbean Air Control" (instrumental version) (7:12) (produced by C. Trevor). The identity of C. Trevor is unclear. Could it be a pseudonym for Trevor Charles Horn? (HP, 28 Mar 10; updated 17 Nov 17)


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