The Lexicon of Love (1982)

The Lexicon of Love is the debut studio album by the English pop band ABC. Released on 21 June 1982 by Neutron Records, it entered the UK Albums Chart at number one, also topping the New Zealand and Finnish charts. Certified gold in the US, it went platinum in the UK where four singles reached the top 20; "Tears Are Not Enough", "Poison Arrow", "The Look of Love" and "All of My Heart", which Pitchfork ranked number one on their "Now That's What I Call New Pop!" list.

The album has frequently been ranked as one of the greatest albums of the 1980s, and was included in the 2018 edition of Robert Dimery's book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

Background, recording and release

ABC was formed by Stephen Singleton and Mark White as electronic band Vice Versa. Joined by Martin Fry, the band eventually morphed into ABC, with Fry as lead vocalist. A debut single, "Tears Are Not Enough", followed in 1981; it was remixed by record producer Trevor Horn for inclusion in The Lexicon of Love. The album's title originated in the headline of an NME review of an ABC gig.

The group set out to create an album that merged their disco and post-punk influences. "I loved the strings on Chic records, and the whole soundscape of Earth, Wind & Fire", Fry said. "Fusing that with the likes of the Cure and Joy Division was what we were after." The band also sought to blend the sentimentality of mid-20th century show tunes with a distinctly modern songwriting aesthetic. Fry was enamoured by contemporary synth-pop acts such as Gary Numan and OMD, but elected to pursue an alternate lyrical approach to those artists' often technology-based themes: "I wanted to take my songs to a more emotional level, along the lines of Rodgers and Hammerstein or Cole Porter. At that time, there were few songs about really loving or hating someone." Although the 10 tracks on The Lexicon of Love address romantic experiences, Fry has denied that the record is a concept album.

Songs were written collectively by the band, with arranger and orchestrator Anne Dudley also given a credit on some tracks. The majority of the album was recorded at Sarm East Studios in London, with additional work done at Abbey Road, Townhouse, RAK and Good Earth studios. Produced by Horn and engineered by Gary Langan, it features programming of the recently developed Fairlight CMI by J. J. Jeczalik. Horn says that he convinced the band to replace their bassist, Mark Lickley, with Brad Lang. "I talked them into getting a better bass player, which maybe wasn't a kind thing to do", he said, "[but] Brad Lang was quite brilliant".

A year after its release, Horn, Langan, Dudley and Jeczalik formed the Art of Noise, and most of the production team and session musicians on the album formed the basis for ZTT Records. The cover photograph is by Gered Mankowitz. Distribution in the US and Japan was handled by Mercury Records; Vertigo Records released it in Canada and Europe.

Musical style

The Lexicon of Love has been described as disco, pop, new wave, sophisti-pop, dance-pop, blue-eyed soul, synth-pop, and lounge, as well as part of the new pop movement.

Performance, tours and further releases

"Tears Are Not Enough" (in its initial release produced by Steve Brown), "All of My Heart", "Poison Arrow" and "The Look of Love" were all top-20 entries in the UK; the latter two also charted in the US, peaking at No. 25 and No. 18 respectively. The album reached No. 1 on the UK charts and peaked at No. 24 in the US charts.

The band was augmented by session musicians, and the 11-piece ensemble toured Europe, the US and Japan. The shows at Hammersmith Odeon in November 1982 were recorded for inclusion in the band's film Mantrap which was released the following year. In 2004, a two-disc deluxe reissue including previously unreleased outtakes and early demos and a live performance of the album from 1982 was released by Neutron Records.

In 2009, ABC (with Fry as its sole member) performed the entire album at the Royal Albert Hall in London, accompanied by the BBC Concert Orchestra and conducted by Dudley. They were joined onstage by Horn. The Lexicon of Love was again performed live in its entirety on 18 December 2012 at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane to mark its 30th anniversary. Dudley reprised her role as conductor, performing with the Southbank Sinfonia Orchestra, and they concluded a four-date mini-tour at the same venue on 30 March 2014. Between 4 and 9 November 2015, the band and orchestra also performed at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, Sheffield City Hall, the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London and Symphony Hall, Birmingham.

A sequel studio album, The Lexicon of Love II, was released on 27 May 2016. A Blu-ray audio disc with new Dolby Atmos and 5.1 surround sound Blu-ray remixes by Steven Wilson, as well as a remastered vinyl edition of the original mix, was released in August 2023.