Album review | ABC's The Lexicon Of Love II

Sometimes being Martin Fry must be frustrating for Martin Fry himself. He’s dapper, debonair and possessed of a great voice, and he’s made lots of lovely music since ABC’s 1982 debut album The Lexicon Of Love. But still all a lot of the fans want to hear is that damned debut album.

So, in a give-em-what-they-want spirit, Fry and his band are touring the complete album and gloriously so – with a full orchestra to recreate its lush sound live and the revered Anne Dudley, best known for being in Art Of Noise and for her film scores, conducting.

For casual fans the first half of the show might be a patience-trier. After a teasing Lexicon Of Love overture and a lively When Smokey Sings (ABC’s biggest non-Lexicon hit) we get a selection of songs from The Lexicon Of Love II, the terrific new album. It kept we true fans in our seats at the London stop of the tour, but there were plenty of people popping out to the bar.

I reckon new songs like Viva Love and Ten Below Zero are every bit as good as their 1982 predecessors andThe Night You Murdered Love, their Chic-flavoured groove from the Alphabet City album, brought the first half to a rousing finish. But it was clear when the opening bars of Lexicon Of Love opener Show Me were struck after the interval and the crowd leapt to its feet that this is what most of them had paid for.

Fry, still in fine voice at age 58 but leaving some of the really high notes to his backing singers, gamely delieverd every brilliant single (Poison Arrow, The Look Of Love, All of My Heart) and awesome album track (Valentine’s Day, Date Stamp). It was, of course, pure nostalgia but – thanks to the singer’s conviction and rich orchestrations – reverent and celebratory, not hackneyed or cynical.

Rumour has it that Fry, the only original band member in the line-up, will be retiring the Lexicon Of Love live show next year. That’s a poison arrow to the fans but who can blame him for wanting to move on and there’s still time to catch it this year as the UK tour continues.

RATING: 5/5

ABC are touring the UK until November 15^th and Europe until December 15^th

abcmartinfry.com, @ABCFRY