ABC is an English pop band that originated in Sheffield in 1980, evolving from the earlier ensemble Vice Versa. The band's classic formation featured Martin Fry as the lead vocalist, Mark White on guitar and keyboards, Stephen Singleton playing the saxophone, and David Palmer behind the drums.
The Lexicon of Love is the debut studio album by the English pop band ABC. Released by Neutron Records on 21 June 1982, it entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, also topping the New Zealand and Finnish charts. Certified gold in the US, it went platinum in the UK where four singles reached the top 20; "Tears Are Not Enough", "Poison Arrow", "The Look of Love" and "All of My Heart", which Pitchfork ranked number one on their "Now That's What I Call New Pop!" list.
"Tears Are Not Enough" is the debut single by English pop band ABC. It was released on 16 October 1981 on two formats. The two singles versions of the song are both different from the version on their debut studio album, The Lexicon of Love (1982). Originally produced by Steve Brown, it was remixed for the album by Trevor Horn.
"Annie's Song" (also known as "Annie's Song (You Fill Up My Senses)") is a song written and recorded by American singer-songwriter John Denver. The song was released as the lead single from his eighth studio album Back Home Again. It was his second number-one song in the United States, occupying that spot for two weeks in July 1974. "Annie's Song" also went to number one on the Easy Listening chart. Billboard ranked it as the No. 25 song for 1974.
"Bizarre Love Triangle" is a song by English rock band New Order, released as a single in November 1986 from their fourth studio album, Brotherhood (1986), which reached the top five on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play Singles chart, and No. 5 on the Australian ARIA Charts in March 1987. It failed to enter the top 40 of both the UK Singles Chart and the US Billboard Hot 100; however, a new mix included on The Best of New Order was released in 1994 and charted at No. 98 on the Hot 100. In 2004, the song was ranked No. 204 on Rolling Stone's "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time."
"You Can't Hurry Love" is a 1966 song originally recorded by the Supremes on the Motown label. It was released on July 25 of 1966 as the second single from their studio album The Supremes A' Go-Go (1966).
Martin David Fry is an English singer, songwriter, composer, musician, and record producer.
"Jessie's Girl" is a song written and performed by Australian singer Rick Springfield. It was released on the album Working Class Dog, which was released in February 1981. The song is about unrequited love and centres on a young man in love with his best friend's girlfriend.
"Every Rose Has Its Thorn" is a power ballad by American glam metal band Poison. It was released in October 1988 as the third single from Poison's second album Open Up and Say... Ahh!. The band's signature song, it is also their only number-one hit in the US, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 on December 24, 1988, for three weeks. It also charted at number 11 on the Mainstream Rock chart. It was a number 13 hit in the UK. "Every Rose Has Its Thorn" was named number 34 on VH1's "100 Greatest Songs of the 80s", number 100 on their "100 Greatest Love Songs" and number seven on MTV and VH1 "Top 25 Power Ballads". Billboard ranked the song number five on their list of "The 10 Best Poison Songs".
"I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" is a song released by American singer Aretha Franklin and English singer George Michael as a duet in 1987. The song was a number one hit in the United States and the United Kingdom. Billboard listed "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)" as Franklin's all-time biggest Hot 100 single. The song was Franklin's biggest hit on the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, reaching number two. The song was written by Simon Climie and Dennis Morgan and produced by Narada Michael Walden. Franklin and Michael won a 1987 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for "I Knew You Were Waiting (For Me)".
Beauty Stab is the second studio album by English pop band ABC, released on 14 November 1983 by Neutron Records, Mercury Records and Vertigo Records. The album was recorded over a period of three months between August and September 1983, in sessions that took place at Sarm Studios East and West, Townhouse Studios and Abbey Road Studios. It was a departure from the stylised production of the band's debut studio album, The Lexicon of Love (1982), and featured a more guitar-oriented sound.
Here is the discography of the English pop band ABC.
"The Look of Love" is a song by English pop band ABC, released in 1982 as the third single from their debut studio album, The Lexicon of Love (1982). It was the band's highest-charting hit in the UK, peaking at No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart. The single also went to No. 1 on the US Billboard Dance/Disco chart as well as the Canadian Singles Chart. On the American Cash Box Top 100, it got as high as No. 9, and on the Billboard Hot 100 it peaked at No. 18.
"Conga" is the first hit single released by the American band Miami Sound Machine, led by Gloria Estefan, on their second English-language album, Primitive Love. The song was written by the band's drummer Enrique Garcia. The song first appeared on August 31, 1985, as part of the album. The single was released in Australia on September 9, 1985.
"Harden My Heart" is a song by American rock group Quarterflash, written by guitarist Marv Ross and included on the band's debut album, Quarterflash (1981). The song was originally released as a single in early 1980 by Seafood Mama, Quarterflash's predecessor band. Quarterflash's version became a top-10 hit in the United States, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in February 1982. The song's video features theatrics in and around an office trailer with dark corridors and swinging Metal Halide light bulbs from the ceiling before it was bulldozed and torched.
"Who's Zoomin' Who" is a song performed by American singer Aretha Franklin. It was written by Franklin, Preston Glass, and Narada Michael Walden for her thirtieth studio album of the same name (1985), with production overseen by Walden. The hit song was released as the album's second single on August 27, 1985, by Arista Records. It served as the follow-up single to Franklin's chart-topping smash "Freeway of Love", reaching number 7 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart that same year, and at the same time spending four weeks at the number-two spot on the Hot Black Singles chart. Elsewhere, the dance pop song entered the top twenty in Ireland and the United Kingdom.
"All of My Heart" is a song by English pop band ABC, from their debut studio album, The Lexicon of Love (1982). It was released as a single in the UK on 27 August 1982 and peaked at No. 5 on the UK Singles Chart. The B-side, "Overture", was an instrumental, orchestral medley of songs from The Lexicon of Love, arranged by Anne Dudley.
"Love Plus One" is a 1982 single by the British new wave band Haircut One Hundred from their debut album Pelican West. It was the band's biggest hit in their native UK, where it reached No. 3 and was certified gold by the BPI for sales in excess of 400,000 copies.
"I Love Rock 'n' Roll" is a rock song written by Alan Merrill and Jake Hooker and first recorded by the Arrows, a British rock band, in 1975. A 1981 cover version by Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, released as the first single from her album of the same name, became Jett's highest-charting hit, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming the No. 3 song for 1982. The single was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, representing two million units shipped to stores. Jett's version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2016.
The Lexicon of Love II is the ninth studio album by English band ABC. It was released on 27 May 2016 on Virgin EMI, eight years after their previous album Traffic. After a performance of ABC's studio album The Lexicon of Love in concert with Anne Dudley, lead singer of the band Martin Fry felt that it was time to develop a proper follow-up to the album. He wrote over 40 songs for the album with various guest writers and recorded the album with himself and Gary Stevenson producing. On the album's release, it received generally favourable reviews.
