Horn had commercial success with his first project, "The Dollar Album" (1982) by pop duo Dollar, which his wife had assigned him to work on. He co-wrote and produced four songs that follow a love story across them: "Mirror Mirror", "Hand Held in Black and White", "Give Me Back My Heart", and "Videotheque". All four became top 20 hits in the UK. The potent production work made him noticed by other bands and it was followed by even greater success with "The Lexicon of Love" (1982) by ABC, which reached No. 1 on the UK albums chart. It was during these sessions that Horn acquired a LinnDrum drum machine, and assembled a team that would characterise and define the sound of much of his work in the 1980s, with Dudley on keyboards and arrangements, Gary Langan and later Stephen Lipson as chief engineer, Jeczalik as programmer, backing vocalist Tessa Webb, and percussionist Luis Jardim.