ABC THE LEXICON OF POP

Rob Hughes tells the story of one of the greatest albums of the 80s

So it’s a balmy night in April 2009 and ABC’s Martin Fry has just stepped onto the stage of London’s Royal Albert Hall. Waiting there patiently is the 50-piece BBC Concert Orchestra, alongside its Oscarwinning conductor, Anne Dudley, and perhaps the most celebrated pop producer of our times, Trevor Horn. “Why,” Horn turns to the audience, “are we all gathered here to listen to an album that came out 25 years ago?”

The enormity of the occasion wasn’t lost on Fry. “It was kind of spooky, really,” he admits today. “There was Trevor Horn, Anne Dudley and a cast of thousands. I suddenly thought that, having rehearsed it, we should have really tried it out beforehand. Some quiet backwater somewhere, but we went straight for it.” The album they had all come to hear, played live in its entirety, was 1982’s The Lexicon Of Love, the record that dared to recast UK post-punk as a fantasia of sleek, oh-so-Chic sophisti-pop.

Fry’s nerves soon settled. The lavish new arrangements sat perfectly with that most lavish of 80s albums. The night was a spectacular success. “It felt really natural,” he says. “The album itself had some orchestration on it, but it wasn’t heavily stringed. So …

by Rob Hughes
<< Back to Issue 371

You must be a subscriber to view the full article, subscribe now for full access to all online content.

Already a Magazine Subscriber? Register now for online access.

Login Here

Free Newsletter


Subscribe to
our email newsletter by emailing:

david.harvey@
metropolis.co.uk