Musicians include:
Martin Fry: vocals
Mark White: guitars
Stephen Singleton: saxophone
Mark Lickley: bass
David Robinson: drums
David Palmer: drums, percussion
Anne Dudley: keyboards, string arrangements
J. J. Jeczalik: Fairlight programming
Keith LeBlanc: drums, percussion programming
Eden (a.k.a. Fiona Russell-Powell): additional vocals
David Yarritu: additional vocals
Produced by Trevor Horn (2-4), ABC with Gary
Langan (5-8), Martin Fry & Mark White (9-17)
Engineered by Martyn Webster (9-15), Mark Stent (17)
Mixed by Julian Mendelsohn (13-16)
(P) 1982 (1-4), 1983 (5-8), 1985 (9-12), 1987 (10-16), 1988 (17)
Tracks:
1. Tears are Not Enough (12" Remix) [ABC] (7:48)
2. Theme from "Mantrap" [ABC] (4:19)
3. Valentine's Day [ABC] (3:40)
4. Overture [ABC] (3:58)
5. Love's a Dangerous Language [Fry/Singleton/M. White] (3:39)
6. King Money [Fry/Singleton/M. White] (4:02)
7. Unzip [Fry/Singleton/M. White] (2:49)
8. Bite the Hand [Fry/Singleton/M. White] (3:06)
9. 15 Storey Halo [Fry/M. White] (5:33)
10. A-Z [Fry/M. White] (2:48)
11. How to be a Millionaire [Fry/M. White] (3:34)
12. Between You and Me [Fry/M. White] (3:16)
13. Bad Blood [Fry/M. White] (3:56)
14. One Day [Fry/M. White] (5:35)
15. Avenue Z [Fry/M. White] (0:42)
16. Minneapolis [Fry/M. White] (2:55)
17. I'm in Love with You [Fry/M. White] (4:33)
Arranged by Mark White (9-12)
Notes: ABC was formed when Martin Fry met Mark White and Stephen Singleton, the latter two then in Sheffield band Vice Versa. Joined by Mark Lickley and David Robinson, they formed ABC. Their debut single, 'Tears are Not Enough', was produced by Steve Lillywhite, but they turned to Trevor Horn for their next single, 'Poison Arrow', and Horn stayed for their debut album, 1982's The Lexicon of Love (with Robinson replaced by David Palmer).
Lexicon of Love is a classic period Horn production, with his then team of Anne Dudley (keys, string arrangements), J. J. Jeczalik (Fairlight) and Gary Langan (engineering). The liner notes to Hello! claim that it was during the Lexicon of Love sessions that the Art of Noise was formed by this team (plus Paul Morley, the journalist who had earlier first brought ABC to wider attention), although other reports say it was during the making of 90125: Horn, Langan and Jeczalik all worked on 90125.
The band's next album was Beauty Stab, self-produced with a little help from Langan. The band having been reduced to a core of Fry and White, working with various sessioners, two new band members were announced for 1985's How to be a Zillionaire: David Yarritu and Eden, although neither is credited with any instrumental contributions. After a period of illness for Fry, he and White re-grouped for Alphabet City in 1987. Two more albums followed before the group split, Fry alone resurrecting the name for Skyscraping in the late nineties. (HP, 10 Mar 02)