Okay y'all:


ABC & Human League are 2 of the best-known names in British dance/pop, on both sides of the Atlantic..

Similar in enough ways, supposedly..
but both still unique.


My breakdown of the 2:


I probably remember hearing ABC’s music 1st; very likely it was "The Look of Love," a good dance/pop number, which seemed to draw upon different.. influences.
A better, "funkier" song (in my opinion, of course) was "Poison Arrow": the frolicking, rumbling bassline, the percussion, the sax.. & of course.. the lyrics:

"No rhythm in cymbals
No tempo in drums
Love on arrival
She comes when she comes
Right on the target
But wide of the mark
What I thought was fire
Was only the spark
The sweetest melody
Is an unheard refrain
So lower your sights
Yeah but raise your aim
Raise your aim"

Another good track is "Date Stamp", which has the following clever wording:

"I get sales talk from sales assistants
When all I want to do girl, is lower your resistance
Everything is temporary, written in the sand
Looking for the girl that meets supply with demand"

My favorite song from "The Lexicon of Love" is "Tears Are Not Enough"; unexpectedly QUITE funky, for a Brit pop/dance unit! The rhythm guitar is funky, the slap/pluck bassline too.. & again, the following "clever" lyric really stands out:

"Excuses had their uses
But now they're all used up
All used up"

This clever way of rhyming & timing the lyrics is really distinct on many ABC songs.

They had a 2nd album, "Beauty Stab," which I never really heard.

Then there was "How To Be A Zillionaire", which struck me as being "outer-spacier", more "progressive" sounding. Half this album I really like, the other half I could probably do without. My favorites:

"Fear Of The World" with the lines

"No real bruises I can show
Travelling the world on the radio
No real scars I can display
Burning up tomorrow into yesterday"

"How To Be A Millionaire": good background singing, this song has an appropriately "cold" & "mechanical" feel to it..

"I've seen the future
I can't afford it
Tell me the truth sir
someone just bought it"

"So Hip It Hurts" is rather good too – again, the background ("scat") singing stands out..

& my favorite track on this album is the marvelously melodic "Be Near Me"..
yes, very melodic, a real mélange of several different influences (the "12 remix version is.. interesting, too!)

"The message is perfectly simple
The meaning is clear
Don't ever stray too far
And don't disappear"

Followed (towards the end of the song) by

"What's your reputation? (ecstasy)
What's your destination? (next to me)"


Yeah, ABC is distinctive for their ability to incorporate lush orchestrations into otherwise very danceable- even funky- music which was still (mostly) very accessible pop.


Then, they weren't heard from for a few years..
the last song I remember them doing was "When Smokey Sings", released in '87. That song was okay.. a little too "poppy" for me, though..


If ABC was the more refined, "intellectual" Brit pop/dance older sibling, then Human League was the brasher, "funkier" younger sibling.

Like many in the US, my 1st exposure to Human League was "Don't You Want Me," the catchy, synth-driven pop number. I have always liked "pretty boy" Philip Oakey's voice- both his upper & lower registers are quite distinctive. He blended & played his voice off well with the 2 female singers in the group (predictably, I had the hots for Joanne, the brunette..)

It could be said that a "typical" Human League lyric wasn't as "sophisticated" or as clever as an ABC lyric, but it was at least heartfelt, if not "obvious":

"But don't forget it's me who put you where you are now
And I can put you back down too"

Or my favorite line from the song:

"It's much too late to find
You think you've changed your mind
You'd better change it back
or we will both be sorry"


Then, there's the interesting song about the JFK assassination called "Seconds".. not really "danceable" but a rather good, typically synth-prominent tune, definitely intriguing song, which I had thought was a "b-side"

I also like the.. "all-over-the-place" song "I Love You Too Much", & it’s simple refrain:

"Aaahhh, aaahhh.. I love you too much, I love you too much"


My FAVORITE Human League tracks are from their "EP" (Keep Feeling) Fascination.

"Fascination" was the song that really made me like this group: that song is VERY danceable, quite funky, I love the bright, "irregular" tempo of the synthesizers, & that rumbling bassline.. & I love how the singing goes "up & down" between the (higher) lyrics themselves & the (lower) "hey, hey, hey, HEY" fills.

"And so the conversation turned
Until the sun went down
and many fantasies were learned
on that day"

& the nice, high-low, male-female harmonizing on the chorus:

"Keep feeling fascination
passion burning
love so strong
Keep feeling fascination
looking learning
moving on"


also on this EP is the quirky, HEAVY "sythesizer funk" of "Hard Times"..
that phrase is the only lyric really said during the whole song, which builds up into this

frenzied,
almost dizzying,
rapid-fire
synthesizer attack!!!

it's 1 of the best synth riffs I've ever heard
(something I'm sure Dr. Fink would admire)


I also dig "Mirror Man" & it's female
"oo-ooh, oo-ooh.. oo-ooh, oo-ooh... aaa AHHH!"

"You know I'll change, if change is what you require
Your every wish, your every dream, hope, desire"


& finally there's the "Fascination" remix..
at 1st, I didn't like this version too much- I thought they had "butchered" the original.. but it did finally grow on me & now I like it basically as much as the original version

Then, "the League" had sort of a long "hiatus", & finally came back with "Crash".. produced by none other than the omnipresent Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. You can EASILY hear their version of "the Minneapolis sound" all over this record, especially on "Human", the number 1 hit from this album (& a song I was actually able to sing at karaoke, once!)

"Swang", "Jam" & "I Need Your Loving" are the other songs I like on this album.
For me, though, because the "Jam-Lewis presence" is so dominant on this album, the tracks kind of become a "blur" to me.. after a while, they all kind of sound like.. 1 song..

I read (in some magazine) after the fact- I believe from Philip- that he found the whole collaborative process with Jam & Lewis- to be tiring. They managed to put out another good mid-80s "pop record", but were apparently worn out in the process.


Though I lived in Richmond at the time, some colleagues of mine in the record store where I worked, we made a road trip up to DC to see Human League at the Warner Theater in '86. They put on a good show, I'd say; they did all of their hits plus a few songs I didn't know. I remember the stage lighting being VERY bright.. almost BLINDINGLY so..


ABC & Human League have made their mark on dance/pop music.

While ABC had a little more "variety" in their musical sound, & their lyrics were most often VERY clever..
I prefer Human League, just because.. between the 2 groups, they were the "grittier" & "funkier" of the 2..


What about y'all?
A preference between the 2 groups?
A favorite track?
An "adolescent memory" involving 1 or more of the songs?
Which have you seen, or which would you want to see?

What if- by strange, dumb luck- they were both playing in your town the same night..
Which would you go to see???

Let it out!

&

(keep feeling) that fascination..!

Theyre from my neck of the woods, both of them, so fair play 2 them

dig them Both&they both loved themselves some R&B.

I too, prefer Human League. Not to say that ABC
wasnt great back in the day but I am just tending
to lean more toward Human League! I would actually
love to see either in concert though.

Yeah, Keep Feeling Fascination is one of my favorite songs. Human was cool, too.

Not that familiar with ABC though, but I do remember seeing a couple of videos of theirs on VH1 many years ago. I'll have to give them a listen.

i love the Human League!!

I've been grooving to the new re-issue of DARE, with tons of bonus tracks.. it sounds fantastic.

Now if only the Fascination EP and Hysteria would get a re-release.

Wow mltijchr what a comprehensive post!! ABC are my fav 80s band. So now I'll bore you with some thoughts of my own!

I have to agree. Martin Fry (of ABC) is a very clever lyricist in terms of the rhyming that he uses throughout many songs.

The Lexicon of Love is obviously their commercial highpoint but the thing I love about ABC was there ability to re-invent themselves (as I have said on a seperate thread here some time ago - much like our man P).

The second album Beauty Stab was just about as full on a rock record as they could produce which of course completely stalled any momentum that they had built up from the success of Lexicon. Stand out tracks 'That was then but this is now' and a ballad 'SOS'. This is a very underrated album which you should check out if you can.

They returned to some level of chart success in the UK with the How to be a Zillionaire album which included the minor UK hits 'Be Near Me' and 'Ocean Blue'. I beleive that this album produced their biggest US hit though - wasnt 'Be Near Me' a Top5 hit there?

Probably in need of some cash, their next release (whose name escapes me now!) returned to a more soulful version of 'Lexicon' and included 'When Smokey Sings' which was a big hit in the UK and the minor hit 'The Night You Murdered Love'.

Martin Fry then got very ill (cancer I think) and ABC disappeared for a while. Thankfully he made a recovery and they made a return in the early 90s with the album "Up' which was quite influenced by the baggy/dance sound of the time and this has since been followed with another album 'Abracadabra' but neither have been very successful.

I was fortunate enough to see both the Human League and ABC on the same bill a few years ago (actually supporting Culture Club) and ABC blew everyone else off the stage - with the possible exception of Boy George). It was a fantastic 80s retro evening. One of the best concerts I've been to.

Also in support were Heaven 17 - remember them? - 'Temptation' and 'Come Live with Me'.

Since then ABC have toured the UK in support of Robbie Williams but I think they're now destined to do the 80s revival circuit and further mainstream success is not coming their way.

...phew!

They're listed No.'s 1 & 2 in my post to Stymie's "blue-eyed" soul thread!

hey MattUK..


thanks for your good post!


I got most of the info for my thread from the very nicely done website for ABC:

abcmartinfry.com.


You're right- ABC has "reinvented" themselves, from album to album, it seems. Maybe it was their way of "evolving" or "staying fresh"..


I am now rather curious to hear "Beauty Stab"..
it's hard to imagine a "sophisticated Brit dance/pop group" that can ROCK..!
Hm..

yeah, I'll check that out, & if you want, I can org.note you & tell you what I think.


Also, I'm interested to hear more about this Culture Club/ABC/Human League show you saw..
so if you'd like to tell me more, post here or send me an org.note about it!


I hadn't heard that Martin Fry had been ill..
I'm glad he's doing better!


In your opinion, MattUK, was there ever (is there still) any sort of "rivalry" between ABC & Human League? Has anyone in either group acknowledged such?


In a way, it's too bad that that the "current music market" chooses to pigeonhole a group like ABC as some sort of "80 nostalgia act"..

then again, maybe Martin can do another "transformation" of ABC & they can put out more of their clever brand of good dance/pop/soul music..!

I for 1 would like to see that!



again, yours was a good post! Nothing boring at all!



"Blueprint: That says that boy meets girl
Picture: Girl meets boy
A blueprint that says that the boy meets the girl
Picture in a magazine

Yes you've shown your feelings
Yes you've shown you're tough
Said things worth believing
Tears are not enough"

(that was THE JAM!)

In terms of rivalry between Human Legue and ABC - I was never aware of any. Although they both came from Sheffield I dont think they really saw themselves as being in the same musical genre. Human League were definitely synth driven but ABC had more 'depth' than that if you like.

There is a link between Human League and Heaven 17 though as Heaven 17 were formed by some early members of Human League. As such I think there was a rivalry there. I think I'm right in saying that H17 hit big first but Human League lasted longer.

As far as the gig went it must be 5 years or so ago now. Heaven 17 were on first, then ABC, then Human League and finally Culture Club.

ABCs set was basically a greatest hits affair. Martin Fry has an excellent voice and he had the crowd in the palm of his hand. Throughout the gig he was wearing a turquoise suit but the roof lifted off the place when he came on stage for the encore in the gold lame suit for The Look of Love. You'll know what I mean if you can remember the video.

Human League were good - competent I suppose. It was another Greatest hits set. They didnt really get the crowd behind them in the same way that ABC did.

Boy George and Culture Club were just excellent. George is a real showman and has a fantastic voice and they were the main attraction. George is also quite a comedian so the between-songs-banter was quite amusing too.

All in all an excellent evenings entertainment. If such a gig comes your way then I would take advantage,

Watch out for pale imitations though. Went to see a similar tour a couple of years later with Culture Club as top of the bill but they were supported by Belinda Carlisle (dire) and Bananarama (too worse)!!

again, thanks for the good feedback, MattUK!


I think I would pay to see Culture Club, even now. During their heyday in the early- to mid- 80s, I don't remember them being on tour in the U.S.! I somehow must've missed the word.. I would have seen them then, had I only known!


In today's Brit dance/pop scene, MattUK..

do you think there's anyone out there "similar" to ABC or Human League, in terms of music style?


Also, it's VERY interesting how in the UK, you generally say "Human League ARE.."
but in the US we say "Human League IS.."

I understand how you in the UK make that distinction
(because Human League is "more than 1 person", so it takes the 3rd person plural form of verbs)
but I wonder why you all say it that way & why we use the 3rd person singular..

we "yanks" must have changed something, somewhere!

i enjoy both bands but i like human league better dare is a classic

mltijchr said:[quote]again, thanks for the good feedback, MattUK!

In today's Brit dance/pop scene, MattUK..

do you think there's anyone out there "similar" to ABC or Human League, in terms of music style?


I've been struggling to think of a comparative artist these days but frankly can't come up with anyone. There is talk of a resurgence of the 80s style but I havent really heard anything that makes me think so. The nearest I can get to it is probably a recent hit single by 'Electric Six' called 'High Voltage' but this was much less polished than ABCs stuff. The chorus went something like "Danger, danger... High Voltage... when we touch... when we kiss... Danger danger' (etc) in a kind of mock pseudo european accent.

So nothing like ABC at all really!!! But worth checking out anyway.

There probably are bands that are a better comparison but I am not at all aware of whats going on 'underground' There may be others here who are better placed to comment.

Some 80s artists have attempted a comeback - Soft Cell probably being the most prominent but their new album has not been a commercial success although it was relatively well received by the critics. I think the first single from it scraped into the lower reaches of the Top40 - much like the Bangles new effort last week.

Alison Moyet is also putting out her best work in many peoples estimation (you may know her as the lead singer of Yazoo) but again not really to any great commercial success.

As I said further up the thread, these artists are really being confined to their 80s pigeon hole and the media/public arent about to let them out of it.

interesting, indeed, MattUK..


I'll look out for "Electric Six" here..
& if you come across anything reasonably close to the (very high) standards set by Human League & ABC..

let me know!


until then:


KEEP FEELING FASCINATION
PASSION BURNING
LOVE SO STRONG

KEEP FEELING FASCINATION
LOOKING, LEARNING
MOVING ON
!

Allow me to add my into this seeing as how I LOVE both groups. ABC is one of the best pop groups ofall time. They weren't just these fashionistas cashing in on the New Wave trends. They were soul rebels spreading their messages of love. "Lexicon of Love" has to be one of the greatest albums ever. I rate it with Sgt. Pepper and Zeppelin's first 4 albums any day. It's #2 on my list of favorite albums (#1 of course is Purple Rain). They were just a brilliant pop band. A lot of folks were hating on Beauty Stab too, I don't know why. I thought that was a brilliant work in itself. It showed that ABC could be more than just a gold lame sporting, heavily orchestrated band. They could rock hard too. Man, I could go on forever rating about these guys. The sad thing is, they don't get much play here in the U.S. They're only nostalgia pieces IMO.


About the Human League, another great pop band. True innovators of their time (f*** Depeche Mode, the League started first), they opened the floodgates of electronic dance music. They might've been the ones to invent Techno or House. "Dare" is a classic. You can't mess with a great record like that. "Love Action", "The Sound of the Crowd", "Dont You Want Me",etc. Great album. "Octopus" gets an honorable mention too. Their comeback record proved that they still had it. "Fascination" was pretty cool too, you can't forget that. I feel like grooving to these sounds right about now.

NEW WAVE FOREVER!

Both bands in my opinion had some cool singles but I think Echo and the Bunnymen are a little better.

With Echo & the Bunnymen though you're talking about a different genre of music - almost punk. Certainly more akin to Psychadelic Furs and stuff like that.

Dont know where you are boopgun but there are some new bands in the UK that have clearly been influenced by E&TB.

Hey whats up I live in the states.Which bands would you say are influenced by echo?Would like to hear them.I might be way off base on this one but cant help to think echo is influenced by roxy music in some way.Also have you heard anything recent about echo?

I have an ABC album that is called "UP"? Does anyone know about that? I love both of these groups..."I love your love action"!!!

DAV123 said:

Yeah, I have "UP". It was the last album on their Mercury label, where the band moved into a more house/acid direction. It also spawned the anthem, "One Better World".

Yeah, I have "UP". It was the last album on their Mercury label, where the band moved into a more house/acid direction. It also spawned the anthem, "One Better World".[/quote]


Cool! I love this album because I'm addicted to house ! A lot of my househead dj friends like this album as well.

Wonderful post! I much prefer Human League. "Don't You Want Me," "Human," "Heart Like a Wheel," "All I Ever Wanted" and "The Lebanon" are all classic, classic songs. What do you think of their album "Secrets?"