Flamboyant frontman is Martin Fry – alongside guitarist Mark White – who acts neatly as host in his gold lamé suits with lots of glitter and kitsch. (And of course his blonde quiff, which he occasionally runs his hand through thoroughly.) Actually quite fake and slick but it has been proven that ABC is more than an image: they have made numerous hits that are still played worldwide. Their so-called alphabet of love (album The Lexicon of Love from 1982) includes songs like 'Poison Arrow', 'Lexicon of Love', 'The Look of Love', and 'All of My Heart'.
Funk
The second album is Beauty Stab from 1983, where both the sound and the concept are quite different. No longer kitsch and glamorous but rather sober. However, ABC failed to enter the charts with this album. The album Zillionaire from 1985 also could not surpass the success of the alphabet of love. ABC's last real hit was When Smokey Sings from 1987. ABC's music is classified under the so-called 'new funk wave' of the early 80s with bands like Duran Duran and Spandau Ballet.
Solo
Think of the funk and groove of Michael Jackson, Jackson Browne and Kool and the Gang mixed with some exaggerated glamour. But ABC never saw themselves as 'funk'. Martin Fry in an article in the 80s: "The word funk is completely misused, it exists at best by the grace of Kool and the Gang. The only emphasis we wanted to place was on dancing and romance: 'going out to nightclubs and looking good on a budget'. Synth-pop icon Martin Fry is far from forgotten. In 1997 he made an album Skyscraping that was only released in England. But he also still regularly performs with ABC in his home country. In March 2001 he sang the track 'One and Only' by DJ/producer King Britt on his album Re-Members Only.
Top 2000
In the 24th edition of the Top 2000 (we are currently in 2023) there are no entries for ABC.
Sunday Morning Classic
On 9 April 2023, it was ABC's turn to take the Sunday Morning Classic Podium. They did so with their debut album The Lexicon Of Love from 1982.
My first encounter with ABC was in the spring of '82 (I was just 17 years old then) with the 2nd single 'Poison Arrow'. New wave meets soul music. The Lexicon of Love is one of those albums you don't often take out of the cupboard again. The year the album was released also saw the start of the “video clip machine”. A channel like The Box broadcast music videos all day long. That was very special at the time. ABC made a mini film for almost every song on Lexicon of Love. My favourite is The Look of Love with flying nuns and a Martin Fry fighting a puppet beast. The album is very cleverly put together. Thanks to all those lovely synth sounds, it never really gets boring or annoying and Look of Love, Poison Arrow and All of My Heart are absolutely good songs.
In the pure pop genre, this is one of the best albums of the 80s. Music, lyrics, cover... everything just fits on this album. A true Sunday Morning Classic.
Martin Fry is touring again with a new band under the name ABC!
Source: NPO and Wikipedia Photo: free to use
