ABC - Poison Arrow
From the 4th episode of TOP(PA) 100
Love has its own lexicon made up of expressions, words, glances, and music. The ABC have written their personal handbook, knowledgeable and experienced in the subject like few others. The unparalleled romanticism and sophistication of the Sheffield quartet spreads across the dancefloors of half of Europe with an unprecedented orchestral, innovative sound, shining in the reflections of sequins and in the sequined jackets of the handsome and damned Martin Fry, supreme dandy of the new romantic movement. In clear contrast to the contemporary post-punk and the electronic scene that emerged right in their own city, the ABC know their craft well.
Artistically very skilled and under the watchful eye of the ZTT label (what else is there to say about this label?), they write and compose "The Lexicon of Love" with the awareness of those who are about to sign their name in bold letters in the history of music. The beautiful cover, which reproduces an ideal, tragic (Fry is about to shoot) final take from a Hollywood set, is prophetic and prescient. After the splendor of their dazzling debut, the band embarks on a slow downward trajectory (they will never again reach the sales of that stunning debut) that leads them to break up and reunite several times, though without the figure of the creative guitarist/keyboardist Mark White, who permanently leaves the band in 1991. Only Martin Fry remains, with his blonde tuft that has hypnotized an entire generation.