ABC (band)

ABC are an English pop band which originated in Sheffield in 1980, evolving from the earlier ensemble Vice Versa. They are best known as pioneers of the new wave and sophisti-pop movements, blending synth-pop with orchestral and jazz influences. The band achieved mainstream success with their debut album, ''The Lexicon of Love'' (1982), which featured the hit singles "The Look of Love" and "Poison Arrow" and reached number one on the UK Albums Chart.

Fronted by Martin Fry, the band's only constant member, the band's classic formation featured Fry as the lead vocalist, Mark White on guitar and keyboards, Stephen Singleton on saxophone, and David Palmer on drums. ABC achieved ten UK and five US top 40 hit singles from 1981 to 1990. Their 1982 debut studio album, '' The Lexicon of Love'', was a UK number one. Their early-1980s success in the US saw them associated with the Second British Invasion. ABC continued to release music throughout the 1980s, with notable albums such as ''Beauty Stab'' (1983) and ''How to Be a...Zillionaire!'' (1985), the latter producing hits in both the UK and the United States.

Although their commercial success declined after the 1980s, ABC have remained active through live performances, reissues, and occasional new material. In 2016, Fry released ''The Lexicon of Love II'', a sequel to their debut album, which was well received by both critics and fans.

History

Formation

ABC have their roots in Vice Versa, a Sheffield band formed in 1977 by synthesizer players Stephen Singleton and Mark White. Their debut gig was as the support to Wire at the Outlook club in Sheffield.Frame, Pete. (1999) Pete Frame's Rockin' Around Britain: Rock'n'roll Landmarks of the UK and Ireland, Omnibus Press They founded their own label, Neutron Records, releasing the EP ''Music 4''. Martin Fry, who wrote the fanzine ''Modern Drugs'', interviewed Vice Versa and shortly afterwards they asked him to join as synthesizer player. Fry accepted and by late 1980 the band had evolved into ABC, with Fry becoming lead singer.Reynolds, Simon (2005) ''Rip it up and Start Again: Postpunk 1978–1984'', Faber & Faber, The band's last day as Vice Versa was at the Futurama 2 Festival in Leeds in September 1980; from then on they performed as ABC, with Singleton playing saxophone and White on guitar and keyboards. In the new year, Singleton and White were joined by Mark Lickley on bass and David Robinson on drums.

''The Lexicon of Love'', ''Beauty Stab'' and ''How to Be a Zillionaire'': 1981–1985

The band's first single, " Tears Are Not Enough", made the UK top 20 in 1981. Soon afterwards, Robinson left the band and was replaced by David Palmer; Lickley departed shortly thereafter and was not replaced. In 1982, the band released their debut studio album '' The Lexicon of Love'', which reached number one on the UK Albums Chart. Produced by Trevor Horn, it often featured in UK critics' lists of favourite albums: it ranked 42nd in '' The Observer Music Monthlys "Top 100 British Albums" (June 2004) and 40th in '' Q'' magazine's "100 Greatest British Albums" (June 2000). The band had three top 10 hits during 1982: the singles " Poison Arrow", " The Look of Love" (both of which were recorded whilst Mark Lickley was still a member of the band) and " All of My Heart". Several high-concept music videos were made, including the long-form spy pastiche "Mantrap" by Julien Temple.

Following the culmination of the ''Lexicon of Love'' tour, Palmer joined the Yellow Magic Orchestra for a series of tour dates; shortly thereafter Fry, White and Singleton decided to reconvene in order to commence work on their next album, leading Palmer to depart ABC in order to honour his commitments to Yellow Magic Orchestra's tour. The remaining members found it difficult to follow up on the success of their debut. Their second album, '' Beauty Stab'', was released in November 1983, produced by Gary Langan who was the engineer on ''The Lexicon of Love''. It performed poorly in comparison to its predecessor, peaking at No. 12. The first single from the album, " That Was Then but This Is Now", briefly appeared in the UK top 20, followed by a top 40 showing for "SOS". The band eschewed remixes for the project and so the 12" single for "That Was Then but This Is Now" featured the disclaimer "This record is exactly the same as the 7" version. The choice is yours."

Singleton left the band shortly after the release of ''Beauty Stab'' as a result of Fry and White's reluctance to spend much time touring the band's material. Fry and White then enlisted the services of Fiona Russell Powell (under the name "Eden") and David Yarritu in the band's new line-up. Russell Powell had been a member of the original line-up of the pre-ABC band, Vice Versa. According to an article published on 7 March 1997, she 'chickened out' of Vice Versa's first live gig, and the job as frontman went to Fry. The Fry-White-Russell Powell-Yarritu line-up recorded the album '' How to Be a ... Zillionaire!'', released in 1985. The band's chart success dwindled further in the UK with this album, but they did score their first US top 10 hit with " Be Near Me", which also made the UK top 30. The album also featured the singles " (How to Be a) Millionaire", " Vanity Kills" and " Ocean Blue". Inspiration for the album's cartoons of the band members was taken from a photo shoot by David Levine whose work featured on many of the sleeves for singles released from this album. Keith LeBlanc from Tackhead programmed much of the beatbox work for the album.

Chart success continues with ''Alphabet City'': 1986–1988

After a hiatus, during which Fry was being treated for Hodgkin's lymphoma, he and White reconvened ABC as a duo, releasing the album '' Alphabet City'' in 1987. The album returned them to the UK Top 10 for the first time in five years, peaking at No. 7. It featured " When Smokey Sings", a tribute to Smokey Robinson, which narrowly missed the UK Top 10. The song did give the group their biggest hit in the US, where it peaked at number 5 in September. The album also spawned " The Night You Murdered Love" (UK No. 31) and " King Without a Crown" (UK No. 44) as singles.

''Up'', greatest hits album ''Absolutely'' and ''Abracadabra'': 1989–1992

In 1989, the duo issued '' Up'', their fifth and final PolyGram studio album. This time experimenting with house music, ABC scored a minor UK hit with the single " One Better World". A second single, " The Real Thing", and the album itself were less successful. During this period, the duo worked on a couple of outside productions aimed at the house music scene. One was Paul Rutherford's (Frankie Goes to Hollywood) solo album and first single release; the other was for Lizzie Tear on the duo's own Neutron label.

In 1990, the band released a greatest hits compilation album, '' Absolutely''. This covered all of ABC's albums up until 1990 and featured most of their singles. The compilation made the UK Top 10. A video package featuring promos was also released. One new song, "The Look of Love '90", was released to promote the package.

The duo moved to the EMI label (and MCA in North America), where they recorded the 1991 album ''Abracadabra''. Two singles, " Love Conquers All" and " Say It", narrowly missed the UK Top 40, though a remix of the latter by the Italian production team Black Box appeared on the US dance chart.

Martin Fry also collaborated with M People in 1991 on their first album, ''Northern Soul'', recording vocals for the song "Life". However, when the album was re-released in 1992, and again in 1995, this track was omitted.

''Skyscraping'' and comeback: 1997–2007

After a six-year hiatus, ABC released the album '' Skyscraping'', an homage to several of his musical heroes, including David Bowie, Roxy Music and the Sex Pistols. With Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17 and Keith Lowndes contributing to the sessions and songwriting, the album was commercially unsuccessful though a single, "Stranger Things", reached No. 57 in the UK. Two other singles, " Rolling Sevens" and " Skyscraping", did not chart.

In 1999, ABC released their first live album, '' The Lexicon of Live''. The album covered most of their major hits. Although Fry was the only member left, he had a backing band and adorned the album cover in his famed gold lamé suit.

'' Look of Love – The Very Best of ABC'' was released in 2001. Although essentially a reissue of the 1990 greatest hits compilation ''Absolutely'', the album featured two new songs by Fry, "Peace and Tranquility" and "Blame". A companion DVD, along with a bonus disc of remixes, was also released.

In 2004, the VH1 show '' Bands Reunited'' attempted to get the band's classic line-up of Fry, White, Singleton and Palmer together for a reunion concert. Fry and Palmer appeared and played together (with help from Nick Beggs of Kajagoogoo) for the first time in over twenty years. Singleton and White opted not to participate.

''Traffic'': 2007–2015

Following a tour of the United States in May and June 2006, Fry and Palmer, together with session keyboardist Chuck Kentis, put together a new ABC album, ''Traffic''. It was released on 28 April 2008. Gary Langan, who worked on ''The Lexicon of Love'' and ''Beauty Stab'', mixed and produced the album. The first single, "The Very First Time", debuted on BBC Radio 2 in January, was added to the station's "A" playlist for the week beginning 29 March and was released as a music download track on 1 April.

On 1 September 2007, ABC performed a set with other 1980s acts at Retrofest at Culzean Castle in Ayrshire, Scotland. This appearance included a rendition of " Addicted to Love", with Tony Hadley of Spandau Ballet and Peter Cox of Go West.

In mid 2008, ABC toured the US as part of the 2008 Regeneration Tour, which also featured the Human League, Belinda Carlisle, A Flock of Seagulls and Naked Eyes.

In April 2009, ABC performed ''The Lexicon of Love'' album live at the Royal Albert Hall, accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra. Anne Dudley of Art of Noise, who arranged and played keyboards on the original record, conducted the performance. A music review in the 13 April 2009 edition of ''The Independent'' newspaper, described the performance as a "glorious night that has placed one of the Eighties' most perfectly constructed albums back near the top of the pop pantheon".

In 2009, ABC toured the US as the headliner of the 2009 Regeneration Tour, which also featured Terri Nunn of Berlin, Wang Chung and Cutting Crew.

In June, July and August 2011, ABC performed at a few locations around the UK as well as Las Vegas, Nevada. In October 2011, they performed dates in Melbourne, Australia.

On 19 July 2012, Fry was made an honorary Doctor of Music at the University of Sheffield for his contribution to music over more than 30 years. The following day his daughter Nancy received her degree from the Department of Sociological Studies from the same university.

On 1 March 2013, ABC appeared in Dubai, UAE, in the '80s Rewind' concert with Rick Astley, Heaven 17, Howard Jones and T'Pau.

In June 2014, it was revealed that a dozen early tapes had been discovered of rare remixes and unheard songs from ABC's first three albums. These were returned to Martin Fry who was delighted, but unsure as to what he would do with them. According to ''Classic Pop'', the rediscovered songs include "a 'That's It Folks!' mix of 'So Hip It Hurts' from ''Zillionaire''. From ''Beauty Stab'', reams of early studio takes have come to light including one song, 'You and Me', that never made the final album. From ''The Lexicon of Love'' era, the band's own, pre- Trevor Horn demos of 'All of My Heart' have come to light, along with a reel entitled '4 Ever 2 Gether – The Outtake, Starring Martin Fry as Ken Dodd'".

''The Lexicon of Love II'': 2016 - 2021

In October 2015, Fry announced that he was working on a new ABC album. "It's going to be a take on ''The Lexicon of Love'', but all these years on. I'm a man in my fifties now with a wealth of experience. It's about how you grow older but you make the same mistakes over and over and over again."

In November 2015, a compilation album entitled ''80s Recovered'' was released, featuring many artists from the 1980s. ABC contributed a cover of Radiohead's " High and Dry", with a regular version and a remix.

In January 2016, Fry said the new ABC album would be entitled ''The Lexicon of a Lost Ideal'' and released in the UK in May 2016. Featuring tracks penned by Fry, with contributions by Rob Fusari, Marcus Vere, Matt Rowe and Anne Dudley, the album features orchestration arranged by Anne Dudley, who worked in a similar capacity on ''The Lexicon of Love''. In April 2016, the release of the new album, now entitled '' The Lexicon of Love II'', was announced with lead single "Viva Love" made available via digital platforms. It was A playlisted by BBC Radio 2. The release of "Viva Love" was accompanied by a video directed by Julien Temple, who also worked with the band on the Mantrap and Poison Arrow videos, which the new video references. The album was released in the UK and the US on 27 May 2016 and entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 5, the first time ABC had reached the Top 5 since the original ''Lexicon of Love'' album in 1982. "The Flames Of Desire" and "Ten Below Zero" were released as follow-up singles. Both were added to the BBC Radio 2 playlist.

ABC also contributed a new song called "Living Inside My Heart" to ''Fly: Songs Inspired by the Film Eddie the Eagle'', the soundtrack of which was released on 18 March 2016 on CD and digitally.

ABC released their first Christmas song, entitled "A Christmas We Deserve", on 2 December 2016 as part of a four-track EP. The other three songs are acoustic versions of "The Love Inside the Love, "Viva Love" and "The Look of Love".

In March 2017, just before the band's Royal Albert Hall orchestra show on April 6 (featuring songs from ''The Lexicon of Love II'', greatest hits and the complete ''Lexicon of Love'' album) the band announced the November 2017 XYZ tour. During the tour two new songs were performed: "Look Good Tonite" and "The Life And Times Of A Troubadour".

On 22 October 2020, the compilation album ''The Essential ABC'' - featuring songs and remixes from the first five albums - entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 62.

''The Lexicon of Love 40th Anniversary'': 2022 and beyond

On 9 June 2022 ABC released the vinyl-only single "Look Good Tonite"/"Sixty Seconds Later" in the UK.

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of ''The Lexicon of Love'', the band performed at Sheffield City Hall on 21 June 2022. The show was recorded for future release on CD and DVD.

In January 2023, a US show was announced: the band played at the Cruel World Festival in Pasadena, California on May 20, 2023.

In March 2023, ABC announced the May 19 release of the live double CD ''The Lexicon of Love 40th Anniversary Live At Sheffield City Hall''. It was released digitally and as a limited edition live album on 19 May 2023. The album was recorded in 2022 at a show in ABC’s hometown of Sheffield, to mark the 40th anniversary of the seminal album, ''The Lexicon Of Love''. ABC were joined by the original orchestral team of Southbank Sinfonia and longtime collaborator and arranger Anne Dudley who conducted on the evening of the recording. The album features the whole of the original Lexicon Of Love album, plus hits like "When Smokey Sings", "Be Near Me", "Viva Love", "(How To Be A) Millionaire" and "The Flames Of Desire".

On 4 August 2023, ''The Lexicon of Love'' was reissued (belatedly) for its 40th anniversary with special vinyl editions and an SDE-exclusive blu-ray audio, No. 12 in the ongoing SDE Surround Series. Renowned musician, songwriter and producer Steven Wilson remixed the classic album in Dolby Atmos, 5.1 and stereo for this special reissue, which was also made available on streaming platforms. The album (re)entered the UK Albums Chart at No. 48.

In 2024 and 2025, ABC went on tour in North America alongside fellow new wave musician Howard Jones. In the ABC half of each show, Fry performed many of the band's hit songs, mostly from ''The Lexicon of Love,'' as well as other hits such as "That Was Then but This Is Now", "Viva Love", and "King Without a Crown".

Band members

;Current members
* Martin Fry – lead vocals (1980–present)

Former members
* Stephen Singleton – alto and tenor saxophones (1980–1984)
* Mark White – keyboards, guitars (1980–1991)
*Mark Lickley – bass guitar (1981–1982)
*David Robinson – drums, percussion (1981)
*David Palmer – drums, percussion (1981–1983, 2004–2009)
* Fiona Russell Powell – vocals (1984–1985)
* David Yarritu – vocals (1984–1985)

Line-ups

Timeline

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Discography

* '' The Lexicon of Love'' (1982)
* '' Beauty Stab'' (1983)
* '' How to Be a ... Zillionaire!'' (1985)
* '' Alphabet City'' (1987)
* '' Up'' (1989)
* ''Abracadabra'' (1991)
* '' Skyscraping'' (1997)
* ''Traffic'' (2008)
* '' The Lexicon of Love II'' (2016)

Dance chart success

ABC had three number-one hits on the US Dance Club Songs:

* " The Look of Love" (18 December 1982),
* " Be Near Me" (28 September – 5 October 1984)
* " When Smokey Sings" / "Chicago" (29 August – 5 September 1987).

See also

* Honeyroot
* List of ''Billboard'' number-one dance club songs
* List of artists who reached number one on the U.S. Dance Club Songs chart
* List of synth-pop artists

References

External links

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Abc

English new wave musical groups
English synth-pop groups
English pop music groups
English synth-pop new wave groups
Musical groups from Sheffield
Musical groups established in 1980
Musical groups disestablished in 1991
Musical groups reestablished in 1997
ZTT Records
Parlophone artists
Second British Invasion artists