ABC are an English pop band which formed in Sheffield, South Yorkshire in 1980, evolving from the earlier electronic band Vice Versa. Associated with the new pop movement of the early 1980s, ABC blended synth-pop with disco and rock influences. The band achieved mainstream success with their debut album, The Lexicon of Love (1982), which reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and featured the hit singles "Tears Are Not Enough", "Poison Arrow", "All of My Heart" and "The Look of Love".

Fronted by lead vocalist Martin Fry, the band's only constant member, their classic line-up featured Fry, guitarist and keyboardist Mark White, saxophonist Stephen Singleton, and drummer David Palmer. ABC achieved ten UK and five US top 40 hit singles from 1981 to 1990. The band's early-1980s success in the US made them part of the Second British Invasion. Following The Lexicon of Love, ABC continued to release music throughout the 1980s, with notable albums including Beauty Stab (1983), which included the hit single "That Was Then but This Is Now", How to Be a ... Zillionaire! (1985), which included the hit singles "(How to Be A) Millionaire" and "Be Near Me", and Alphabet City (1987), which included the hit singles "When Smokey Sings" and "The Night You Murdered Love".

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 studio album, which was well received by both critics and fans.

History

Formation

ABC have their roots in Vice Versa, a Sheffield electronic band formed in 1977 by synthesiser players Stephen Singleton and Mark White, with the latter on lead vocals. Their debut gig was as an opening act for the post-punk band Wire at the Outlook Club in Doncaster. They founded their own label, Neutron Records, releasing the extended play (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 their lead vocalist. 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.

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. she 'chickened out' of Vice Versa's first live gig, and the job as frontman went to Fry. The Fry-White-Powell-Yarritu line-up recorded the studio album How to Be a ... Zillionaire!, released in October 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. The album also spawned "The Night You Murdered Love" (UK No. 31) and "King Without a Crown" (UK No. 44) as singles. 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, United Arab Emirates (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 master tapes had been discovered of rare remixes and unheard songs from ABC's first three studio 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

alt=ABC performing live|thumb|ABC performing live

In October 2015, Fry announced that he was working on a new ABC studio 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 version of Radiohead's "High and Dry", with a regular version and a remix.

In January 2016, Fry said the new ABC studio 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 of Living in a Box, 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 had 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–present

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.

thumb|[[Martin Fry performing in 2023]]

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

In March 2023, ABC announced the 19 May 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 studio 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 including "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 Steven Wilson of Porcupine Tree 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".

Musical style and influences

ABC were associated with the British new pop musical movement of the early 1980s. Jess Harvell of Pitchfork wrote that they became "the embodiment" of this scene, adding that "in many ways, no one did it better". new wave,

During their early years ABC also sought to blend the sentimentality of mid-20th century show tunes with a modern songwriting aesthetic. Fry was enamoured by contemporary synth-pop acts such as Gary Numan and OMD, but elected to pursue an alternate lyrical approach to those artists' often technology-based themes: "I wanted to take my songs to a more emotional level, along the lines of Rodgers and Hammerstein or Cole Porter. At that time, there were few songs about really loving or hating someone."

Studio albums

  • 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
  • Timeline of Billboard number-one dance songs
  • List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance Club Songs chart
  • List of synth-pop artists

References