The Toy Box: ABC

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Retro Spins: ABC - Up

Today marks the end of my journey with ABC. It's a band that has been hit or miss, in terms of gems to add to the old shuffle list. However, in general, it's been a pretty good listening experience. Hands down, The Lexicon Of Love is their most superior album, and frankly, I don't think that's going to be topped.

ABC had redeemed themselves with their 1987 release, Alphabet City, returning to chart success with their biggest hit to date, When Smokey Sings. With that album also returning the (now) duo to gold certification, things seemed on the rise again. Then they returned to the studio, completely changed their style, and released, Up (1989). It would become their first album to not hit the top forty in the UK, and from there would usher in an era of continued dwindling sales, the departure of Mark White, and effectively solo albums for Martin Fry, released under the guise as ABC.

Well, that doesn't set expectations very high, now does it?

As soon as it starts up, I got the sense that this wasn't going to be for me. House music is generally not a genre I visit. Not that I don't like the style, I'm just not that big into dance music. I prefer my albums to sooth my ears, not full-on assault them with pounding beats.

I let the album run its course, but never really came across anything that screamed, "I'm a great song!" All and all, it was fairly mediocre, and pretty uninspiring. I dare say I won't remember any of these songs by this evening. In fact, I've relatively forgotten them already.

Personally, it's a pretty poor note to end the era on, but I've said that before about a lot of artists. It just makes me reiterate what I've said before. The 80's kind of follow the timeline of G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero. Between 80 - 82 it's an okay start, but nothing really exciting. 83 the potential starts to shine through. 84 - 86 you get the classic era. 87 still has a lot of good stuff, but there's some questionable things starting to show up. 88 - 89 things start to head on a downward trajectory.

Martin Fry and Mark White would collaborate one final time for 1991's Abracadabra. However, by the end of it, White was tired and had enough. He retired from music, seemingly closing the chapter on ABC. That is until 1997, when Fry returned to the studio to record and release Skyscrapping. Though released as an ABC album, it was effectively a solo project for the singer.

In 2004, VH1's Bands Reunited saw host Aamer Haleem pounded the pavement in search of original members, Martin Fry, Mark White, Stephen Singleton, and David Palmer. While he was able to track them all down, only Fry and Palmer would end up reuniting. This would lead to the two collaborating on a new ABC album, 2008's Traffic.

No information seems to be available as to why Palmer departed a third time, but by the time Fry returned in 2016 for The Lexicon Of Love II, he was essentially a solo act again. These days, Fry continues to tour under the banner of ABC, with his most recent shows being a collaboration with Howard Jones in 2025.

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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
December 28, 1985

Retro Spins: ABC - Alphabet City

In hindsight, it baffles me that ABC's previous album, How To Be A...Zillionaire! wasn't better than I thought it would be. When I first heard it, I wasn't all that impressed, which was disappointing to me since it has my favorite tracks from the band. Apparently, this wasn't an opinion limited to me, since the album would break their streak of sales certifications.

After a brief hiatus, and concerned that it would be their final album, Martin Fry and Mark White began work on what would become Alphabet City. Fry would say of it, "It's a record where we sort of caught up with ourselves. For a while we were making records that just seemed to confuse people. It was necessary for us to work from a firm foundation and in a way, we figured Alphabet City might be the last record we ever made anyway, for a lot of reasons. So, we figured, let's just make it a statement of our work that drew on all the other records we've made."

The efforts paid off, rewarding the band with a gold certified album in both the UK, and Canada. It also garnered them their highest charting Billboard Hot 100 achievement, with When Smokey Sings, peaking at number five.

Upon its release, Alphabet City took full advantage of CD technology. While the LP and cassette versions featured eleven tracks, the CD added four additional tracks. However, two of these are just remixes of songs already included.

Unlike my previous listening session of The Lexicon Of Love, Alphabet City isn't what I'd call a perfect album. Truthfully, it has what I think is one of their weakest songs, the aforementioned hit, When Smokey Sings. It was never one of my favorites, and simply got added to my collection for the sake of checking a box.

With that said, it is a song that's grown on me a little. Additionally, I did find some other gems hidden about. These included, Think Again, and Rage And Then Regret.

What I also noticed is that some of the songs sounded familiar with previous material produced by the band. For example, you could easily fit the lyrics of Be Near Me over the music for Rage And Then Regret. Perhaps it's because of this that I like the latter, since Be Near Me is my all-time favorite from them.

ABC would release a final album in the decade, 1989's Up, which would coincidentally also be their last with Polygram Records. I'll dive into that one tomorrow.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
December 27, 1980

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
December 27, 1986

Retro Spins: ABC - The Lexicon Of Love

I've touched on a couple albums from ABC, and even went into a little bit of their history while playing through their sophomore album, Beauty Stab. However, what I hadn't done up until today, was play through their highly successful debut, The Lexicon Of Love. So, it's time to jump in our Delorean, and head back to 1982.

The album entered the UK charts at number one, going platinum. It then exceeded expectations further by going gold in the US, led by Billboard Hot 100 singles, The Look Of Love (Part One), peaking at number seventeen, and Poison Arrow, peaking at number twenty-five. Since then, The Lexicon Of Love has been repeatedly listed as one of the best albums from the 80's.

Well, that excited me! Let's get into it!

Things kick off with Show Me, a song I'm unfamiliar with, but which definitely has found a new home in my shuffle list - you know, for the IPOD I still can't find. It's followed by the hit, Poison Arrow, a song which I admittedly didn't like back when it was first released, but which has grown on me considerably.

While I thought things would taper off with the slow starting, Many Happy Returns, the tempo quickly picked up, making it another solid entry for me. ABC, I found, was a solid rock group. I was really digging the drum and bass work, and the overall smooth vibe coming off of each track. The word, "groovy" kept coming to mind. Almost like a Kool & The Gang vibe, one that continues with Tears Are Not Enough.

Look, at this point I could keep going track by track, professing how great this album is, but that's just going to be sentence after sentence of me stating the same thing over and over. Basically, what we have here is another contender for the faux third row of wall albums. The Lexicon Of Love is a fantastic album from start to finish. No fillers. Just hit after hit of carefully crafted tracks. Granted, I'm not shocked considering the involvement of Trevor Horn (The Buggles) as producer. The man consistently delivers solid music.

An interesting after thought aspect about the album was the work contributed by Gary Langan, J. J. Jeczalik, Anne Dudley, Trevor Horn, who would all go on to create the band, Art Of Noise.

As for ABC, as noted above, I've already listened to a couple of their albums for a Retro Spin: Beauty Stab, and How To Be A...Zillionaire! So, my next stop for them is on the tail end of the 80's with 1987's Alphabet City, and 1989's Up. I'll be diving into those over the next couple days.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
December 26, 1981

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
December 26, 1987

Retro Spins: ABC - Beauty Stab

In the 80's, ABC could do little wrong. They were poised for greatness after their debut powerhouse album, The Lexicon Of Love. Then a decision was made, a bad one, which derailed it all, threatening to ruin everything in the process.

Beginning as Vice Versa in 1977, ABC was evolved into a lineup featuring singer Martin Fry, guitarist and keyboardist Mark White, saxophonist Stephen Singleton, and drummer David Palmer. Rather than fuss with the struggle of finding a label to sign them, the group founded their own, Neutron Records. With the aid of other members and musicians, The Lexicon Of Love, produced by Trevor Horn (The Buggles) was released in 1982, and quickly catapulted the band to success. It entered the UK charts at number one, where it stayed for fifty weeks. It would also become the fourth biggest selling album in the UK that year.

With such a monumental launch, ABC began work on their follow-up album. They took everything they learned from their debut, all the new wave goodness, their commercial sound...and promptly threw it all away.

1983's Beauty Slab was panned by critics and fans when it was released for its vast departure from the sound which made the band so immediately popular. Synthesizers were replaced by edgy guitars, and riffs akin back to the heydays of the 70's. Critics didn't like it, and fans didn't want it.

Lead single, That Was Then But This Is Now, has often been featured in worst lyrics polls, and even today critics continue to sight the album as an example of how a band can sabotage their own careers. To call it a bad decision seems an understatement.

But, is Beauty Stab really that bad?

Truthfully, no. In fact, if you're a fan of 80's rock, weren't accustomed to ABC's synth pop roots, or simply wanted something different from them, it's quite enjoyable. Personally, I liked the guitar work which was dominant across each track. Dare I say, I may like it more than their synth based tunes.

Now, with that said, what Beauty Stab lacks for me is hits. It's enjoyable, but ultimately unmemorable. By the halfway point, I still hadn't heard anything which I could recall or recite. Nothing was impacting enough to actually stick in my mind. Ultimately, there wasn't anything here that I necessarily needed to ever hear again. As a whole, it was forgettable. That, perhaps, is worse than being bad. Because at least with bad albums, they're memorable for the wrong reasons.

Members would depart, but ABC got back up in 1985 with the highly popular How To Be A ... Zillionaire!, intent on giving the fans what they wanted by returning to what worked. After its release, the group slimmed down to that of just Martin Fry and Mark White, and together they continued strong with 1987's Alphabet City. This was short lived, as by 1989's Up, sales were in decline.

The duo's synth pop style was quickly lost in the shuffle of 90's grunge, and after releasing 1991's Abracadabra, ABC would disappear until 1997's Skyscraping. However, by the latter, it had devolved into nothing more than a solo act for Fry, using the band's name as nothing more than a guise. Though he continued to release additional albums, the prime of ABC was over.

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THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
March 22, 1980

THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS
March 22, 1986

Retro Spins: ABC - How To Be A...Zillionaire!

I'm no expert when it comes to ABC. I know the hits, they're okay, and I wanted to add them to my vast collection of 80's albums. But, an album you don't listen to serves about as much use as a comic book you don't read, so today was the day I busted out ABC's How To Be A...Zillionaire!

It's very 80's sounding. In fact, it may be too 80's sounding. This could very well be a perfect example of why people from latter eras of music don't understand why people rave so much about my favorite era of tunes. As big a fan as I am, this album has not aged well. I'm sure it was cutting edge in 1985. However, in 2023, it's very retro sounding.

Now with that said, I won't outright call this a terrible album. For me, it was very nostalgic feeling, and because of this, I enjoyed it quite a bit. Granted, I didn't swoop up a bunch of tracks for my IPOD shuffle. I really only needed Be Near Me, Vanity Kills and How To Be A Millionaire.

If you're a fan of synthpop in abundance, then this could be an album worth checking out for you. However, if you're one of those people questions why people like 80's music, this one should definitely be skipped.

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Full House (Tiger)

Full House
Tiger
1993

For as corny as it was, Full House climbed the top of the pile to dominate sitcom television between 1987 and 1995. Its cast of characters had something for everyone - A loving dad, a cool uncle, a comedian uncle, and of course several kids of all ages - Each with their own personalities.

As the series was winding down in its latter years, Tiger released two sets of dolls. The first pack featured father Danny Tanner (Bob Saget) with his three kids, DJ (Candace Cameron), Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and Michelle (played by Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen).

The second pack featured Uncle Jesse (John Stamos), Rebecca (Lori Loughlin) and their twin children Nicky and Alex (played by...some twins who went on to be nobodies).

Tiger also released an individually packed doll which featured Uncle Jo...Wait? No Uncle Joey? How rude! No, the single pack was just another iteration of Uncle Jesse. Yeah, Joey truly did get snubbed.

Dave Coulier must be rolling in his grave. Oh, wait...He didn't die? That was just his career? Got it.

One of the final items Tiger released was a board game. We've never personally played the game, but based on the box "art", it appears everyone moves their pieces at the same time - Which would make for a rather confusing game if you ask us. Sarcasm...Classic.

While the company also released a hand held game, this particular item is rather difficult to track down. We've only ever found one which was opened, and have never seen one in the package.

The four pack dolls are fairly commonplace on secondary markets, and will set you back around $25.00 each - That's about half the retail price from when these first came out. The single packed Uncle Jesse fairs a little better at $35.00, while the board game fluctuates between $10.00 and $25.00 depending on the condition and potential missing pieces.

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