Post by Fuggle on Jun 21, 2006 18:13:56 GMT -5
ABC band revives '80s madness
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"There is a new generation interested in the
flamboyance of the '80s," says Martin Fry of the band ABC.
You might not have known it from the gold lame suit and the string arrangements, but Martin Fry of the band ABC grew up going to see the Sex Pistols and the Clash in London.
When it came time to make his own musical statement, he knew it had to be something different.
"When you saw the Sex Pistols you realized you were never going to form a punk band that was better than the Sex Pistols," he says. "It was time for the music to change course and move on."
In 1980, Fry took the helm of ABC, a band that sought to bring elegance and sophistication back to pop music, while carrying on some of punk's swagger. ABC drew on its affection for old David Bowie and Roxy Music to craft such hits as "The Look of Love" and "Poison Arrow," and the band's telegenic quality made it a natural for MTV.
"We were trying to bring a cosmopolitan feel," says Fry, who brings ABC to Club Cafe tonight. "Like other groups around us, we were interested in fusing disco and dance music alongside rock music. We listened to Chic and Sister Sledge, and then we listened to Joy Division and Gang of Four. We were also influenced by Motown and soul music -- it was time to make pop a bit more shiny."
During that post-punk period, bands were scrambling to develop a sound and an image that set them apart from their peers. "It was like being in a gang," he says. "Human League was there, Depeche Mode, The Cure, you wanted to be as original as you could. When I met guys like John Lydon [of the Pistols] and Mick Jones [of the Clash] they liked ABC. They said, 'You beat your own rhythm.' There was no point in copying bands."
ABC was popular in the '80s but then faded, partly because of Fry's health problems. The singer, with all new members, made a comeback in 1997 with "Skyscraping," and, now, with original member David Palmer rejoining, ABC is touring again and planning a new release for early next year.
Fry, who lives in London, recognizes that the current New Wave revival as a good time to strike.
"In recent years," he says, "I noticed I was driving along and I could hear on the radio 'Tainted Love' by Soft Cell and ABC's 'The Look of Love.' There is a new generation interested in the flamboyance of the '80s, the sort-of madness of the '80s. We're having more fun now than I ever thought was possible."
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
By Scott Mervis, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
"There is a new generation interested in the
flamboyance of the '80s," says Martin Fry of the band ABC.
You might not have known it from the gold lame suit and the string arrangements, but Martin Fry of the band ABC grew up going to see the Sex Pistols and the Clash in London.
When it came time to make his own musical statement, he knew it had to be something different.
"When you saw the Sex Pistols you realized you were never going to form a punk band that was better than the Sex Pistols," he says. "It was time for the music to change course and move on."
In 1980, Fry took the helm of ABC, a band that sought to bring elegance and sophistication back to pop music, while carrying on some of punk's swagger. ABC drew on its affection for old David Bowie and Roxy Music to craft such hits as "The Look of Love" and "Poison Arrow," and the band's telegenic quality made it a natural for MTV.
"We were trying to bring a cosmopolitan feel," says Fry, who brings ABC to Club Cafe tonight. "Like other groups around us, we were interested in fusing disco and dance music alongside rock music. We listened to Chic and Sister Sledge, and then we listened to Joy Division and Gang of Four. We were also influenced by Motown and soul music -- it was time to make pop a bit more shiny."
During that post-punk period, bands were scrambling to develop a sound and an image that set them apart from their peers. "It was like being in a gang," he says. "Human League was there, Depeche Mode, The Cure, you wanted to be as original as you could. When I met guys like John Lydon [of the Pistols] and Mick Jones [of the Clash] they liked ABC. They said, 'You beat your own rhythm.' There was no point in copying bands."
ABC was popular in the '80s but then faded, partly because of Fry's health problems. The singer, with all new members, made a comeback in 1997 with "Skyscraping," and, now, with original member David Palmer rejoining, ABC is touring again and planning a new release for early next year.
Fry, who lives in London, recognizes that the current New Wave revival as a good time to strike.
"In recent years," he says, "I noticed I was driving along and I could hear on the radio 'Tainted Love' by Soft Cell and ABC's 'The Look of Love.' There is a new generation interested in the flamboyance of the '80s, the sort-of madness of the '80s. We're having more fun now than I ever thought was possible."