ABC (band)

ABC
ABC
	File:ABCversion1.jpg; The original lineup of ABC: (I. to r.) Stephen Singleton, Mark Lickey, Martin Fry, Mark White and David Palmer. ; File:ABCversion2.jpg; ABC, phase two. (I. to r.:) Mark White, David Yarritu, Martin Fry and Fiona Russell-Powell (a/k/a Eden)
Background information
Years active	1980 – present
Members	Martin Fry; David Palmer

ABC is an English New Wave band that charted eleven Top 40 singles between 1981 and 1990.

History

ABC was formed in 1980 in Sheffield after Martin Fry, a music journalist, interviewed the band Vice Versa for his fanzine Modern Drugs. They adopted Fry as lead vocalist and changed their name to ABC. The revamped band were pigeonholed as part of the New Romantic movement of the time, which included the likes of Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and The Human League.

Their first single, "Tears Are Not Enough", made the UK Top 20 in 1981. Soon afterwards, David Robinson left the band and was replaced by David Palmer (no relation to keyboardist David Palmer). The band had three Top 10 hits during 1982: the singles "Poison Arrow", "The Look of Love (Part One)" and "All Of My Heart" and shot high-concept music videos that captured a suave Great Gatsby-meets-James Bond aesthetic.

Albums

For more details about the discography, see ABC discography.

The Lexicon of Love

Later that year, the band released their debut album The Lexicon of Love. Heavy on rhyming couplets and tales of unrequited love, the album was a big hit, reaching number one in the UK album charts. Produced by Trevor Horn, it often features in UK critics' lists of favourite albums: it ranked 42nd in The Observer Music Monthly's "Top 100 British Albums" (June 2004) and 40th in Q magazine's "100 Greatest British Albums" (June 2000).

Beauty Stab

ABC found it difficult to follow up their debut. Lickley and Palmer left the band before Beauty Stab, the second ABC album, was released in 1983. It performed poorly in comparison to its predecessor. Beauty Stab was, by design, a dramatic departure from the lush, melodramatic pop/funk of The Lexicon of Love, with emphasis instead placed on guitar-based rock. The first single, "That Was Then But This Is Now", a clear attempt to mark a new chapter in the band's career, briefly appeared in the UK Top 20, followed by a Top 40 showing for "S.O.S.". Stephen Singleton retired from the band in 1984.

How To Be A...Zillionaire!

Now a duo of Fry and White, augmented by two non-performing band members, Fiona Russell-Powell and David Yarritu, who were chosen for their unusual looks,^{[citation needed]} ABC's chart fortunes in the UK further dwindled with the 1985 album How To Be A...Zillionaire!. It marked another change of style, in this case toying with mid-1980s dance beats and samples. While the group did score its first American Top 10 hit with the infectious "Be Near Me", at home in the UK it failed to break the Top 20. The album also featured the hits "How to Be a Millionaire", "Vanity Kills" and "Ocean Blue".

Alphabet City

Following a hiatus while Fry was treated for Hodgkin's disease, ABC returned to the studio to record Alphabet City, which they thought might be their final album. Best known for "When Smokey Sings", a tribute to Smokey Robinson, the album also spawned "The Night You Murdered Love" and "King Without a Crown" as singles. Many critics lauded Alphabet City as a return to form for the group, noting its polished production by Fry and White in conjunction with Bernard Edwards, best known for his work with CHIC.

Up

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", an ode to love, peace and tolerance. They then released another single, "The Real Thing".

Absolutely

In 1990, the band released a comprehensive greatest hits package called Absolutely. This covered all of ABC's albums up until 1990 and feaured all of their singles. A video package featuring promos was also released. One new song, "The Look of Love 90", was released to promote the package, though the band did not approve of the mix and implored fans not to buy it.

Abracadabra

The group then moved to the EMI label, where they recorded the LP Abracadabra, a tightly produced fusion of early 1990s techno sounds and 1970s dance grooves which was met with muted critical approval and appreciation from the band's fan base. "Love Conquers All", the first single, barely placed in the UK charts, though remixes of "Say It" were well received on the U.S. dance charts.

ABC split up in 1992, with White leaving the music business to pursue an interest in Reiki therapy. Martin Fry continued to work with EMI in the months thereafter, but he was axed from the label before his solo material was released.

Skyscraping

Fry resurrected the band's name in 1997 for the album Skyscraping, an homage to several of his musical heroes, including David Bowie, Roxy Music, and The Sex Pistols. A collaboration with Glenn Gregory of Heaven 17 and Keith Lowndes, the album again was met with critical approval rather than broad commercial success. However, three singles were released, "Rolling Sevens", "Skyscraping", and "Stranger Things", complete with extra b-sides.

The Lexicon of Live

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

Look of Love - The Very Best of ABC

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

Re-issues

In late 2004 Universal UK re-issued a "Deluxe" double CD version of Lexicon of Love with 31 tracks, including demos and live tracks from the time of the original release. In 2005, Universal Music issued remastered versions of the group's five PolyGram albums, complete with previously unreleased tracks and elaborate booklets with pictures and album/single covers. EMI followed suit with a reissue of Abracadabra, again featuring unreleased songs, demos, and remixes via music download services such as iTunes and 7-Digital.

Future projects

Fry still tours as ABC, often in conjunction with other 1980s nostalgia or revival acts. In 2004, the VH1 show Bands Reunited attempted to get the line-up of Martin Fry, David Palmer, Stephen Singleton and Mark White together for a reunion concert. Martin Fry and David Palmer appeared and played together for the first time in over twenty years. Singleton and White opted not to participate.

Having completed a tour of the U.S. in May and June 2006, Fry and Palmer are putting the finishing touches on a new ABC album with a working title of Traffic, scheduled for release in February 2007. Gary Langan, who worked on The Lexicon of Love and Beauty Stab, is producing.

Martin has a track called 'New Man' on the SONIC HUB 'Eye Of The Storm' album. Available through Sonic-Hub Records, this album features a long list of diverse guest vocalists including Kim Wilde, Angie Brown and Loretta Heywood. The single 'New Man' is available from both www.tunetribe.com and iTunes.

Martin Fry worked on several songs for the upcoming movie Music and Lyrics By. Fry also served as Hugh Grant's vocal coach for the movie.[1]

Miscellanea

A different band called ABC released a 7" single in 1979 in the United States. That band played country & western music.

ABC was one of the first bands to do "video scratching" for several videos from the How to Be a... Zillionaire album, including the video for "Be Near Me." This fad was briefly highlighted by MTV News but never caught on.

Members

Current

Martin Fry - lead vocals (1980— )
David Palmer - drums (1982, 2004— )

Former

Mark Lickley - bass (1980–1982)
David Robinson - drums (1980–1982)
Andy Newmark - drums (1983)
Alan Spenner - bass (1983)
Stephen Singleton - saxophone (1980–1984)
Fiona Russell-Powell (a.k.a. Eden) - vocals (1985)
David Yarritu - vocals (1985)
Mark White - guitar, keyboards (1980–1992)
Glenn Gregory - vocals (1995–1997)
Keith Lowndes - guitar (1995–1997)

External links