Martin Fry is every bit as intriguing on Zoom as he is on those amazing ABC albums from the ‘80s.
The ever-dapper frontman — known for giving voice to such heartfelt new wave gems as “The Look of Love” and “Poison Arrow” — begins our video interview by giving me a tour around his home office area.
“These are my collection of bikes,” says Fry, pointing over to a number of cool two-wheelers hanging from hooks in the background. “Sometimes people think I’m in the back shed, but, no, I’m inside my Edwardian house in the center of London.”
He also shows off the art on his wall, with the highlight being a vintage Sex Pistols tour poster.
“I stole that one off a wall in Sheffield and I believe it’s worth a lot of money now,” the vocalist remarks.
It’s a fun intro into the interview, conducted in advance of ABC’s long-awaited return to California this month. The band — which released the amazing debut album “The Lexicon of Love” in 1982 — performs Nov. 16 at Bimbo’s 365 Club in San Francisco. Show time is 8 p.m. and tickets are $49.50-$50, apeconcerts.com.
Q It’s so nice to talk with you, Martin. Thanks for showing me around your office via Zoom. I’ll do the same and so you can check out some of the music memorabilia on my walls. (Lifting up the camera so Fry can take a look around.)
A You’ve got Roxy Music “Stranded” up there, yeah?
Q I sure do. I just love that album.
A I ran into (Roxy Music guitarist) Phil Manzanera about two weeks ago in a Q&A in Brighton by the coast. I met Phil Manzanera before — he played on a couple of ABC songs many years ago. But it was fantastic to be able to tell how much I love that (“Stranded”) record — “Amazona,” “Mother of Pearl.” His guitar playing is fantastic, isn’t it?
Q Absolutely. He’s one of my favorites. And it doesn’t surprise me to learn that you are into Roxy as well, given how frequently you’ve been compared to the band’s suave crooner, Bryan Ferry. Was Roxy Music a big musical influence for you?
A Yeah, Roxy Music, David Bowie, Marc Bolan, T. Rex, glam rock. Then I use to go to soul clubs and listen to a lot of Motown, Stax, Atlantic in the ‘70s. It was kind of the fusion of those two worlds.
When we first started making records, we wanted to sound different from the other bands in Sheffield. We were from Sheffield in the north of England — steel town. In Sheffield was the Human League, Cabaret Voltaire, Def Leppard — playing bars.
That’s where the tuxedos came from and the shiny suits and the whole Cole Porter, Sinatra kind of end of things, in a modern setting, came from — to try and wind those people up.
Being in a band, when you’re young, is fantastic — because you get to wind people up. It’s shock and awe, basically. You go into a bar and you try and wind up all your blokes.
Q What was the original goal when you were putting ABC together? What kind of band did you want ABC to be?
A I loved Joy Division and the Cure and the Human League. But I also loved Chic and Sister Sledge and Earth Wind & Fire. There’s a whole Northern soul tradition in England. Back in the late ‘70s, it was mixing those two worlds.
But it was all coming out in punk rock, really. I loved Siouxsie and the Banshees and the Pistols and the Clash and that whole era. I’ve managed to live through many great eras of music. I love that.
Q Next year marks the 40th anniversary of your fantastic debut album, “The Lexicon of Love.” Is it hard to wrap your head around the fact that the album — which is still your best-known work — came out that long ago?
A How did that happen? Forty years? No way. You’re lying to me.
Yeah, ’81-’82 we started making “Lexicon of Love” and then that come out. Since then — yeah, a blur.
The last 10 years has been interesting, going back onstage and playing with my contemporaries from way back when. I just did some touring with Adam and the Ants, OMD, Howard Jones, Kim Wilde in Britain. I don’t know. It’s a weird feeling being a survivor. But I think we are all like that now anyway, aren’t we? After lockdown.
Q Why do you think “The Lexicon of Love” struck such a note with the public?
A It was our first (album). Sheffield is a tough place to come through. So, you knew that if you didn’t take off — that was it. There was an air of desperation. So, we threw everything into it.
We had this fairly big hit in the U.K. with “Tears Are Not Enough.” But we heard Trevor Horn’s production on some Dollar records and we just thought they were fantastic. So, we approached him to make the record.
Part of the appeal of that record now is that (it features) kind of inflated, emotional songs about a broken heart.
Q I have very specific, and very important, memories associated with your music from the ‘80s. How does it make you feel when you hear people tell you about your songs being the soundtrack for first kisses and prom nights and such?
A It’s really touching — because as soon as you make a record, write a song, it’s public property.
We had a really strong run for about 10-to-12 years. Then in the ‘90s, I was kind of wandering around thinking, “Look at all these other bands that are around. You are out of sync.” There is always a period for an artist — including the Rolling Stones and Elton John — where you are kind of completely and utterly out of sync with popular tastes.
Q ABC actually called it quits in the early ‘90s, but would return by decade’s end. By that point, ‘80s nostalgia had entered the picture.
A We started playing shows (again) in around about the 2000s and I looked out into the audience and I could see that people were really touched by some of those songs — like “All of My Heart.”
Also, I realized that the audience had grown older and they had lived through a couple of marriages, a couple of divorces, or mortgages or houses going downstream. All the kind of drama in people’s lives is there. But somehow the music has still got a force — a force of good. I never undervalue that.
I think that’s the best thing about having a hit record — having success all around the world with a record. I’ve made a lot of music — some things are successful and some things aren’t. But I think that’s what a hit record does. It touches people’s lives. I never underestimate that. I really don’t.
Q When I found out I was going to get to interview you, I immediately put on “All of My Heart.” What happened next is what always happens to me with that song — I just welled up with emotion. Did you know that song was something special when you recorded it?
A With “All of My Heart,” it started out as like a country and western song — with a steel guitar. Then we decided to put the orchestration on. So, it kind of got bigger and bigger and bigger every hour.
It feels finished, that one. And it’s a beautiful song to sing live as well.
I don’t know. I am mystified by songs. That’s why I still write songs. I’m an old guy now but … you’re always chasing something.
Q Is the ending of “The Look of Love” as fun to sing onstage as it seems? You know, where you get to the whole “hip hip hooray-yay, yippee aye, yippee aye yay-yay” part.
A For some reason audiences love that moment in that song. I’ve only got criticism once. I was in John Henry’s rehearsal studios and a guy came over and said, “I’m from Texas. What are you doing with the yippee-aye?” I kind of had to defend myself, really — “Oh, it’s just a spontaneous moment.”
I’ve always liked the kind of music that is really uplifting and really stupid and smart at the same time. I think there’s a lot of that that goes on with “Look of Love.”
It’s kind of very camp, but also very serious at the same time. I love that balance.
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