‘Shot! ABC live in Brighton’

Back for their third visit to the Dome to celebrate one of the most iconic albums of the 80s, 42 years on, were ABC right on target…or wide of the mark?

8 min readFeb 11, 2024

It was deja vu all over again as the Brighton Dome hosted ABC for another rendition of The Lexicon Of Love accompanied by the Southbank Sinfonia.

In fact, this was the third time I’d seen Martin Fry put on this orchestral show at this very venue and my fourth time seeing ABC live.

So before talking about the latest incarnation, let’s rewind some four decades and go back to June 1982 when The Lexicon Of Love was released.

Back then A.B.C. — as they originally styled themselves — were a Roxy Music-inspired band from Sheffield who had just released their debut album. Chock full of hit singles, it was hugely successful and to this day considered one of the best debuts ever and one of the best sounding albums of the 80s. It entered the UK album chart at number one — ironically replacing Roxy’s Avalon — and topped the charts for four weeks.

Apart from the quality of the songs, The Lexicon Of Love was notable for its scintillating sonics. The pair most responsible for that were producer Trevor Horn and Anne Dudley who played keyboards and arranged the album’s signature strings.

Hard to believe, but it was actually the first album Trevor Horn had ever produced and for many, including me, it’s an iconic album — a benchmark in pop music and song writing — that sounds as good today as it did forty two years ago. Indeed, someone recently remarked, it’s a record no one could get tired of listening to.

So it’s no surprise that there’s still an audience wanting to see it played live, something I got to witness first hand when I saw ABC do just that at London’s Hammersmith Odeon in December 1982. And I’ve still got the souvenir programme.

Years later, one thing still holds true: ABC were responsible for some of the most perfectly crafted pop songs from the 80s and penned some of the most memorable lyrics from that era. All the more reason to be baffled as to why, bar a handful of songs, they never came close to repeating their early success.

Their second album Beauty Stab sold a fraction of its predecessor and everything else ABC subsequently released was compared unfavourably to their debut, leading to fractions in the band which ultimately left Martin Fry as the sole original member.

Today, Fry and ABC are one of the same. Fortunately, his vocals are what makes ABC’s songs so distinctive and he was always the band’s frontman. I last saw this show in April 2019 and was intrigued if this time around, it would be any different.

So, with a sold-out audience to please — some of whom had shelled out £114 to sit at the front and leave with a souvenir lanyard, a printed set list and a photo — what was the 2024 experience like?

If my memory serves, it was almost identical, which meant the same issues I had with it then, I had with it now. In fact I concluded my 2019 review by saying:

“I’ve no doubt Fry will be back with the orchestra for another tour. When he does, I hope and I pray he gives a little more thought to the production and the running order and comes up with the right combination.”

Let me start with a new gripe. The ABC logo was projected onto a ruched curtain, echoing the album cover, but it was wonky. The fact it was there for the entire show, really annoyed me. Surely, Fry could have invested in a physical, internally lit logo, which would have looked so much slicker. I’m baffled as to why he hasn’t, or indeed why he has chosen not to do anything visually interesting.

Once again, the Dome’s stage was crammed with musicians and perspex baffles, giving the feeling you were looking at a recording session rather than a live show.

Not only was there no set design, no projection screens, no nothing, even the lighting was rudimentary at best. Personally, I don’t think that’s acceptable for a live show in 2024.

That being said, I appreciate the audience were there to relive the music and the fact the six musicians were backed by a full orchestra definitely elevated the live experience.

When Martin Fry took the stage, I was surprised at his attire. I expected him to be sporting a colourful tux, but instead he was wearing a pretty conventional suit. It may well have been a Savile Row suit, but for a man known for his suave persona it was underwhelming and made him look all of his 65 years.

Sartorial elegance aside, just as it was last time, my biggest issue was with the setlist, specifically the order in which the songs were played. Although still best loved for a set of songs recorded over four decades earlier, it seems puzzling to play your debut album in full, following a first half of songs recorded subsequently, few of which come close. Of course, there were some notable exceptions, such as 1987s When Smokey Sings, 1984s How To Be A Millionaire, and 1985s Be Near Me, which as Fry reminded us was the band’s biggest ever US hit.

Regards the running order, I still don’t know the answer to that question, but I don’t think what they did was the best solution. Would it have worked better if the orchestra only appeared for the second half? By dividing the evening up like they did, it gets everyone used to the expanded sound. So by the time they played The Lexicon Of Love in full, the novelty of all that extra instrumentation had gone. And I must say, having them accompany every song meant they all had a similar sound. What I felt was missing was some light and shade.

As before, things picked up in part two. Anne Dudley sparkled in a glittery outfit and Martin Fry reappeared in a light pink suit. He was in fine voice throughout and yet again special mention must go to backing vocalist Tracy Graham who added a great deal to the proceedings. Although somewhat anonymous, the rest of the band members played their part and there was a much needed uplift in energy.

What we didn’t get however was any change in the production. There was no attempt to give the second half a different feel, which I think it was crying out for. In the end, it was the quality of the songs that saved it.

Tears Are Not Enough, Valentine’s Day — where the strings and horns really shone — and Date Stamped all impressed, but none more so than ABC’s best ever song, The Look Of Love. It got the audience on their feet and even Martin Fry admitted “That felt like an encore!”

Running through that debut album in order does of course mean playing most of the big hitters early on, going against the adage of leaving the best to last. In the end, they ran out of songs and had to finish with a second rendition of The Look Of Love.

But as good as this show was, just like ABC’s career, one was left feeling it could have — indeed, should have — been so much better.

Was that down to lack of ambition, or something else? I don’t know. Perhaps the fact that Fry is taking ABC on the road later this year without the Sinfonia, suggests his aspiration has peaked. His 66-date 2024/2025 UK tour travels the length and breadth of the country, but pretty much all the stops are in small theatres in small towns.

The leaflet promoting that tour features a twenty-something Martin Fry, wearing a gold lame jacket, gold lame shirt and gold lame tie. He’s pictured sitting in an empty theatre and looks like he’s contemplating his future. I wonder whether a night at the Baths Halls in Scunthorpe or an evening entertaining the good people of Stevenage was what he was dreaming of?

Behind the shot: These images were taken using the Olympus OM-D E-M1 with the M Zuiko 1.8 75mm lens and the camera’s built-in digital zoom. As it was a seated audience there was no photo pit, meaning I was only allowed to shoot from the side aisles or from the back of the venue. What’s more, with a full orchestra seated right behind him and with conductor Anne Dudley having her back to the audience throughout, it was quite a challenge to get the ‘clean’ shots or the variety of close-up portraits I typically aim for. But that’s the thing when photographing gigs, each one presents its own unique challenge. Photographed in Brighton on 5 February 2024

About the author: Based in Sussex-by-the-Sea, on England’s south coast, Gary is a creative writer and image-maker. He specialises in creating out of the ordinary portraits of musicians and people with interesting faces, as well as photographing some of the world’s finest flowers and gardens, not forgetting an array of automotive exotica.

On the writing side, he has used his research skills to author deep dives into some noteworthy songs beginning with Bryan Ferry’s ‘These Foolish Things’ ‘Ghost Town’ by The Specials, ‘Real Wild Child’ by Ivan and ‘All The Young Dudes’ by Mott the Hoople.

He has also written a biography of Robert Palmer and the stories behind Whitesnake’s blatant Led Zep rip-off, ‘Still Of The Night’, Harry Styles’ anthem to positivity, ‘Treat People With Kindness’ and the little known Queen track ‘Cool Cat.’

Most recently, Gary has penned the fascinating story behind George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘Nineteen Eighty-Four’ as well as ‘Believe It Or Not’ a look into the rise of fake news and his latest essay ‘Nadir: How the cost of living crisis has brought so many in broken Britain to the depths of despair.’

All these can be found here on Medium, along with his reviews of gigs and events and chats with musicians including the likes of Royal Blood, Joe Satriani and Wolf Alice.

‘Shot! ABC live in Brighton’

Back for their third visit to the Dome to celebrate one of the most iconic albums of the 80s, 42 years on, were ABC right on target…or wide of the mark?

Written by Gary Marlowe