I had a bit of time to fill last night, so I had a look through my CD
collection for something to play. It's arranged alphabetically of course,
me being a bit anal, so I didn't have to look very far before inspiration
struck. ABC - The Lexicon of Love - and it's Valentine's Day tomorrow -
perfect! Ah, but it was too late to get it added... oh, hang on though -
it's there already, and no-one's written about it, so duty calls...

The Producer - Trevor Horn
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Trevor Horn was the top pop producer of early 80's pop, he first sprang
to prominence as the bespectacled half of the Buggles (of Video Killed
The Radio Star fame). A bit of a perfectionist, Horn's production style,
inspired by Phil Spector's Wall of Sound, utilised the most up-to-date
technology - often before anyone else got their hands on it. There is
nothing raw in a Trevor Horn production, everything is highly polished -
if you want a bit of rough, go elsewhere. (Horn's heroic production style
was later to make Frankie Goes To Hollywood a massive success.)

SHOW ME {4:02}
An opening that promises something special with a classic string arrangment
and a fanfare of horns; the tedious repetition of "show me, show me" in the chorus
gets on my nerves though.

TEARS ARE NOT ENOUGH {3:29}
Their first hit single showcased Martin Fry's vocal abilities, which often sound a bit strained to me. Not least his rather worrying falsetto work. Simon Cowell probably wouldn't have been impressed.

VALENTINE'S DAY {3:40}
A pompous opening, some interludes of tinkly electric piano and agonized vocals,
not even remotely romantic I'm afraid.

ALL OF MY HEART {5:18}
Pure pop perfection, and my favourite ABC song. I reckon that if I were making a compilation CD of early-80's pop, I would segue this song with Marillion's Kayleigh.

LOOK OF LOVE (Part Four) {0:56}
Part Four? What happened to Parts Two and Three? This track doesn't amount to much anyway, a brassy instrumental version under a minute long, it was the finale of the original album - which, for those of you who love stats, became the 250th number one in the UK album chart when it crashed straight in at the top spot on June 29th, 1982, staying there for three-and-a-half weeks. OK, four, but the fourth week it TIED for the number one position with the soundtrack to Fame, I believe this was the only instance of a tie at number one, although there was one week in October 1979 when Blondie and the Police both had the number one album because two charts were published due to a "change in chart collation".The Lexicon of Love was also rated the 4th best album of the 1980's by Record Mirror magazine, behind Sign O' The Times by Prince, Actually by the Pet Shop Boys and The Queen Is Dead by The Smiths. I know everything you know.

TEARS ARE NOT ENOUGH (Demo)
An impressive, funky demo, well on the way to the finished version.
Shades of those other early 80's jazzy-pop-funksters Level 42.