ABC is an English group formed in 1980 by Stephen Singleton, Mark White and Martin Fry.
It was in 1981 that everything started with the release of the single "Tears are not enough", a single which was an immediate success.
A year later, the album "The Lexicon of Love" was released, which had the luxury of finishing number 1 on the UK Albums Chart in 1982. Album of which 3 major hits were "Poison Arrow", "All of my heart" and especially the over the top "The look of love".
The year 1983 saw the release of the second album "Beauty stab" with much more modest success. From which will be produced the singles “That what then but this is now” and “S.O.S.” also with relative success.
In 1985, the album "How to be a ... Zillionaire" was released, and the extract "Be near me" enjoyed a successful career in the USA.
The group returned to the peak of hits in 1987 with the release of the album "Alphabet city", notably thanks to the hit "When smokey sings", a song in tribute to Smokey Robinson.
Two other well-made singles will be extracted, namely "The night you murdered love" and "King without a crown".
To finish smoothly on a last hit "One better world" in 1989 from the album "Up".
The group will come back later but will only know a level of success after all limited...
This original group will have produced very good things and remains one of the pillars of the 1980s version across the Channel.
To discover or rediscover.
Discography (among others ...) :
• Tears are not enough 1981
• Poison arrow 1982
• The look of love 1982
• All of my heart 1982
• That what then but this is now 1983
• S.O.S. 1984
• (How to be a) Millionaire 1984
• Be near me 1985
• Vanity kills 1985
• When Smokey sings 1987
• The night you murdered love 1987
• King without a crown 1988
• One better world 1989
• The real thing 1989
• Love conquers all 1991
• Say it 1992
• Stranger things 1997
• Skyscraping 1997
• Peace and tranquility 2001
• Love is strong 2008
• One way traffic 2008
• The flames of desire 2016
• Viva love 2016
• Ten below zero 2016
Clips :
1981 ... beginnings that speak volumes. Everything is already there : the unique style, the voice. There is more to unroll and to unroll, it will unroll !
1982 ... the hit of the revelation ! The world discovers a group full of talent that will simply do wonders in the years that follow ...
1982 ... the HUGE hit which will definitively raise them to the rank of planetary stars. They simply sign here one of the biggest hits of the decade and at the same time offer themselves a direct ticket for posterity. MAS-TER-FUL !
1982 ... an absolutely incredible 1982 year which saw them produce no less than 3 mega hits and smash everything in their path. An incredible success to say the least, but they only owe one thing : their talent !
1983 ... a quality suite but which cannot compete with the previous road rollers as the bar has been raised. A 1983 single-title year which contrasts radically with the previous year in terms of level of success ...down, of course...
1984 ... a year of transition which saw the group diving into the Charts in an incredible way. And this despite excellent achievements which will unfortunately go somewhat unnoticed ...
1984 ... even if the group is somewhat at the bottom of the wave, its level of success across the Channel and in the USA remains more or less constant. The essential is therefore preserved !
1985 ... come back in force in this new year. Business is picking up but success will still remain concentrated exclusively in the Anglo-Saxon sphere ...
1985 ... then the group plunges again. A title that turns into a tiny hit and that sends the group back to the depths of the Charts ... Complicated this year 1985 ...
1987 ... it took them 5 years to find the same frank and massive success as in 1982. It was time ! New HUGE hit which puts them back in the race and which allows to glimpse the future again under the best auspices. MAS-TER-FUL !
1987 ... return of the success which is confirmed with this title. A beautiful and BIG year 1987 which sees the group succeed in everything he undertakes. What more !
1988 ... a new single title year and above all another significant drop in the level of success. The years follow each other but do not necessarily look like they say ...
1989 ... wow, what's that ? It looks like Hi-NRG, morning of Euro Beat, the opposite of their style. Very strange as a result !
1989 ... the group does not deserve, far from it, but the year 1989 is not really favorable to them, to say the least. They will have done more some figuration than anything else ...
1991 ... the transition to the 1990s will not change the situation unfortunately. They may well put in an obvious good will, the competition is now light years away ...
1992 ... their last major hit. Almost 10 years after their debut, they are trying everything for the whole while trying to stick to new trends. The result is honorable but they will never get back to the level of the leading pack ...
1997 ... big air hole of 5 years and return in a relative form in this year 1997. The group still believes in it but it is only them to believe it ...
1997 ... the group tries everything for the whole with the release of several titles in this year 1997. The quality is present but nothing will do, when it does not want, it does not want ...
2001 ... and the transition to the 2000s will not reverse the trend. It's nice, certainly, but really not enough to hope to fight on equal terms with young kids who are on average 20 years younger ...
2008 ... we will still find them 7 years later with this new opus. A new opus that will unfortunately go somewhat unnoticed...
2008...their will to believe in it always and again commands respect incontestably. That won't be enough to bring them back in the race...
2016...new air hole of 8 years and here they are again ! They won't let go until the end and it doesn't matter if there is success or not...
2016...even if no single will be ranked, the album will be. Certainly only in England but it's already better than nothing as they say...
2016... so we imagine that this title will not be the last. Because we now know with them, everything is always possible...
Top Bonus : the story of a lifetime...
Wiki :
Official Website :
Greatest Hits :
Discography :