1. ABC

 

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/pic200/drP400/P464/P46423YDRET.jpg

 

1980s Sheffield based Synth Pop New Romantic Band with an R'n'B flavour fronted by Martin Fry.

 

ALL MUSIC GUIDE BIOGRAPHY

 

Key Album: The Lexicon Of Love (1982)

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov75/drc800/c845/c84594v9a7h.jpg

 

Best Compiliation: The Look Of Love (2001)

http://image.allmusic.com/00/amg/cov75/drf300/f300/f30070yhodf.jpg

 

Career Defining Song:

Poison Arrow (1982 UK#6/USA#25)

Other Key Songs:

 

The Look Of Love (1982 UK#4 USA#18)

 

All Of My Heart (1982 UK#5)

 

Be Near Me (1985 UK#26 USA#9)

 

When Smokey Sings (1987 UK#11 USA#5)

 

Any thoughts on the band?

Nat a fan of them personally, but far better than that vile quintet fronted by Tony Hadley! EUGH!

I really liked them, very melodic catchy songs that stuck in your head. All the videos mentioned are my favourites, although I liked "Tears are not enough" as well. They deserved more commercial success, but they seemed to wane just as S/A/W started to dominate the pop music scene.

I listen to Poison Arrow, All of My Heart and Look of Love even all these years later

 

Along with A-ha, Human League, Duran Duran etc they were one of my top bands of the 80's/90s

Nat a fan of them personally, but far better than that vile quintet fronted by Tony Hadley! EUGH!

 

Harsh lol, was not a massive fan of Spandau Ballet, True was :puke2: but loved stuff like Through The Barricades and even Gold

I always thought Lexicon Of Love was quite an overrated album. But The Look Of Love is sublime - defo one of the best tracks of the 80s

lets refrain from spandau bashing/loving until they inevitably crop up in this list! :)

 

abc were one of the classiest acts of the 80's, they kept their integrity throughout (and didnt sell out by making slushy mor pop pap like spa... erm...them who will be discussed later! :lol: ).

 

i too can still listen to their material today, its dated very well, 'poison arrow','tears are not enough','when smokey sings' etc, but imho 'all of my heart' is one of the best love songs ever committed to vinyl... BRILLIANT!

1. ABC

1980s Sheffield based Synth Pop New Romantic Band with an R'n'B flavour fronted by Martin Fry.

 

wow thats a mouthful - think using orchestral-disco is easier which is how the guardian discribe them evertime they are mentioned...and the recent ABC/Heaven 17/Human League Sheffield Sex City Tour got 5 stars in the guardian review and the human leagure were reported to have brought the slide show...tho it didn't mention if a cover of Joy Div's Love Will Tear Us Apart was played in an kinda ambient-dance stylee a la Honeyroot...tho it would have been good if any of the honeyroot albums were played at the concert as essentially ABC/Heaven 17/Human League all share members at points along their way so they are like one big band anyway so the tour is like so obv you wonder why they didnt do it in 1997...

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oIzL3_LkKio

 

My fave ABC track is actually Love Conquers All (which might be before EMF- I Believe on that dutch disky compilation i've got but i dont think OMD are next...shame thats looks like a theme developing i think its like Dielsel Park West but i dont know if they are called DPW by anyone?!?!?) for the line - Maybe you're a Montague, maybe you're a Capulet Maybe you don't trust me yet, let me light your cigarette - which is better than any food related comparisons to burning alaskas burning deep in side or caffanated beverages....

 

tho i think this record was about 1991 or 1992 so maybe they shouldnt have gona a bit more stone roses/happy moneys and ended up sounding like top baggy/indie-dance sensation Nixon with sweet temptation... a band so cool and indie that they never appeared in the charts and so indie that Alexa Chung had to have a relationship with the lead singer... who is also supposed have recorded the best Lexicon-esque ABC song that Martin Fry never recorded when they weren't called Nixon and were hanging out with famous film stars like Cyd Charisse rather than random people from T4.

 

 

 

 

I think the zillionare look might have been big in denmark and have invented the cartoons somewhere along the way...which is cool as the cartoons were great!!! -

 

http://www.lykkemusic.dk/images/upload/cartoons-doodah-witchdoctor-booking.jpg

 

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