The Lexicon Of Love (Remastered) ABC

• 1Show Me (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix / 2022)04:01
• 2Poison Arrow (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix / 2022)03:22
• 3Many Happy Returns (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix / 2022)03:57
• 4Tears Are Not Enough (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix / 2022)03:28
• 5Valentine's Day (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix / 2022)03:40
• 6The Look Of Love, Pt.1 (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix / 2022)03:27
• 7Date Stamp (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix / 2022)03:51
• 8All Of My Heart (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix / 2022)05:12
• 94 Ever 2 Gether (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix / 2022)05:29
• 10The Look Of Love, Pt.4 (Steven Wilson Stereo Mix / 2022)00:58
• 11Show Me (Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix / 2022)04:01
• 12Poison Arrow (Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix / 2022)03:22
• 13Many Happy Returns (Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix / 2022)03:57
• 14Tears Are Not Enough (Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix / 2022)03:28
• 15Valentine's Day (Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix / 2022)03:40
• 16The Look Of Love, Pt.1 (Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix / 2022)03:27
• 17Date Stamp (Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix / 2022)03:51
• 18All Of My Heart (Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix / 2022)05:12
• 194 Ever 2 Gether (Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix / 2022)05:29
• 20The Look Of Love, Pt.4 (Steven Wilson Instrumental Mix / 2022)00:58
• Total Runtime01:14:50

Info for The Lexicon Of Love (Remastered)

The band’s timeless debut is, undeniably, their defining album; it reached number one in the UK album charts and delivered three UK top 10 hit singles: ‘Poison Arrow’, ‘The Look of Love” and ‘All of My Heart’ with first single – the original version of ‘Tears Are Not Enough’ – breaching the top 20 in late 1981. ABC also enjoyed US success with The Lexicon of Love, as ‘Poison Arrow’ and ‘The Look of Love’ did well on the Billboard Hot 100 (number 18 and 25 respectively) and the album reached the top 30, Stateside.

The Lexicon of Love sounds fantastic, thanks to the impeccable credentials of the ‘backroom’ team; it was produced by Trevor Horn, engineered by Gary Langan, with keyboards and orchestration by Anne Dudley. J.J. Jeczalik contributed some programming and Fairlight and Luis Jardim offered additional percussion. These names would go on to shape some of the best-sounding albums of the 1980s.

Few albums define a particular era as does The Lexicon Of Love. It’s embedded deep in the fabric of popular culture. Namechecked, referenced and, now, frequently in “best of all time” polls, the album opened up the 80s wide, in full, glorious Technicolor. In 1982, ABC became the toast of the world with this album. It also launched the production career of Trevor Horn. Like the greatest landmark albums, it has transcended its origins and is simply there, an ever-evolving testament to its marriage of youth, wit, creativity, technology, emotion, masterplan and happy accident.

"ABC's debut album combined the talents of the Sheffield, U.K.-based band, particularly lead singer Martin Fry, a fashion plate of a frontman with a Bryan Ferry fixation, and the inventive production style of former Buggles member Trevor Horn and his team of musicians, several of whom would go on to form the Art of Noise. Horn created dense tracks that merged synthesizer sounds, prominent beats, and swaths of strings and horns, their orchestrations courtesy of Anne Dudley, who would follow her work with the Art of Noise by becoming a prominent film composer, and who here underscored Fry's stylized romantic lyrics and dramatic, if affected, singing. The production style was dense and noisy, but frequently beautiful, and the group's emotional songs gave it a depth and coherence later Horn works, such as those of Yes ("Owner of a Lonely Heart") and Frankie Goes to Hollywood, would lack. (You can hear Horn trying out the latter band's style in "Date Stamp.") Fry and company used the sound to create moving dancefloor epics like "Many Happy Returns," which, like most of the album's tracks, deserved to be a hit single. (In the U.K., four were: "Tears Are Not Enough," "Poison Arrow," "The Look of Love," and "All of My Heart," the last three making the Top Ten; in the U.S., "The Look of Love" and "Poison Arrow" charted Top 40.) ABC, which began fragmenting almost immediately, never equaled its gold-selling first LP commercially or artistically, despite some worthy later songs." (William Ruhlmann, AMG)

Martin Fry, lead and backing vocals
Mark White, keyboards, guitars, backing vocals (6)
Stephen Singleton, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
Mark Lickley, bass (2, 4, 6)
David Palmer, drums, Linn LM-1 programming, percussion
David Robinson, drums on single/demo versions of "Tears Are Not Enough"
Additional musicians:
Anne Dudley, keyboards, orchestrations
J. J. Jeczalik, Fairlight CMI programming
Brad Lang, bass
Luís Jardim, additional percussion
Andy Gray, trombone (4)
Kim Wear, trumpet
John Thirkell, trumpet (2, 6), flugelhorn (2, 6)
Gaynor Sadler, harp
Karen Clayton, female speaking voice (2)
Tessa Webb, female lead vocal (7)

Produced by Trevor Horn, Steve Brown

Digitally remastered

ABC
ist eine 1980 gegründete britische Pop-Band aus Sheffield. Mit der Band wurde Sänger und Songwriter Martin Fry in den Achtzigern zum Star. Wer den Namen der Band ABC hört, der denkt sofort an den größten Hit der britischen Popgruppe. Mit „The Look of Love“ sind sie für alle Zeiten in die Musikgeschichte eingegangen und haben sich mit ihrem Schmachtsong in die Herzen ihrer Fans gespielt.

Martin David Fry (Jahrgang 1958) ist ein englischer Sänger, Songwriter, Komponist, Musiker und Plattenproduzent. Anfang der 80er Jahre wurde er als Mitbegründer und Sänger der Popband ABC bekannt. Die Band veröffentlichte in den 80er Jahren sechs Singles, die in Großbritannien in die Top 20 Charts aufstiegen. Darunter „Tears Are Not Enough“, „Poison Arrow“, „The Look of Love“, „All of My Heart“, „That Was Then Then but This Is Now“ und „When Smokey Sings“. Martin Fry ist seit der gesamten Geschichte der Popband ABC Bandmitglied und derzeit das einzige offizielle Mitglied.

ABC und die Musik der 80er – für immer unvergessen: Martin Fry schrieb 1978 für ein Fan-Magazin mit dem Titel Modern Drugs und traf dort erstmals die zukünftigen ABC-Band-Mitglieder Mark White und Stephen Singleton. Er interviewte die beiden für einen Artikel im Magazin. White und Singleton, die damals die elektro-Popband Vice Versa gegründet hatten, luden Fry ein, sich ihrer Band anzuschließen, um Keyboards zu spielen.

Mit Martin Fry als Leadsänger und Songwriter änderte Vice Versa ihren Namen in ABC und änderte ihren Sound in einen zeitgenössischen Pop-Stil. Inzwischen waren auch Bands wie Duran Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet und der Human League mit dieser Musikrichtung bekannt. Zwischen 1982 und 1991 nahm ABC sechs Studioalben auf (The Lexicon of Love, Beauty Stab, How to Be a…. Zillionaire!, Alphabet City, Up und Abracadabra). Sie veröffentlichte ein Album mit den größten Hits, Absolutely. Während dieser Zeit erlebte die Band zahlreiche personelle Veränderungen, wobei Martin Fry und Mark White die einzigen ständigen Mitglieder waren.

Nach dem Zillionaire-Album geriet die Band ABC vorübergehend fast in der Vergessenheit, denn Fry musste wegen des Hodgkin-Lymphoms, einem seltenen Krebs, behandelt werden. ABC löste sich 1991 auf, wobei Mark White sich von der Musik zurückzog, um sein Interesse an der Reiki-Therapie zu verfolgen.

This album contains no booklet.