ABC

About ABC

English new wave band ABC helped define the romantic, frothy synth-pop sound that came to be known as the dominating sound of the 1980's. Ironically enough, ABC came about when local Sheffield UK band Vice Versa sat down with fan zine journalist Martin Fry. Fry and the band hit it off so well that they asked him to join them as lead vocalist. To compete with fellow UK synth-pop bands like Duran Duran and Human League, ABC developed a sophisticated,"Great Gatsby meets James Bond" aesthetic. Their first single, "Tears Are Not Enough", was released in 1981 and it broke the UK top 20. They released three more top ten singles; "Poison Arrow", "The Look of Love (Part 1)" and "All of My Heart" in 1982, before going into the studio to cut their first full-length LP. 1982's The Lexicon of Love is considered by fans to be the band's classic. As the title suggests, Martin Fry sang clever lyrics about unrequited love, true love and obsessive love. The disc was filled with lush synthesizer landscapes and driving beats. The Lexicon of Love frequently shows up on critics "best-of" lists of English albums. Their follow-up LP, Beauty Stab, saw the band heading in a more guitar-based direction and they had a modest hit with the single "That Was Then But This is Now". Their 1985 album How To Be A Zillionaire was a solid slab of 80's dance pop and ABC achieved chart success with their arch singles "How To Be A Millionaire", "Vanity Kills" and "Ocean Blue."