ABC - Sheffield City Hall & Manchester Bridgewater Hall dates announced

23 September 2009
Performing the album ‘The Lexicon of Love ’in its entirety 27 years after its debut release At Sheffield City Hall and Manchester Bridgewater Hall this December Conducted by: Anne Dudley “Hands down, the gig of year so far” ***** The Daily Telegraph After the resounding success and critical acclaim of ABC’s performance at London Royal Albert Hall in April, Martin Fry along with ABC and a 50 piece orchestra due to overwhelming public demand will be performing debut album “The Lexicon of Love” in its entirety at Sheffield City Hall and Manchester Bridgewater Hall in December. Once more the shows will be conducted by critically acclaimed musician and multi-talented arranger and composer, Anne Dudley. ABC were one of those groups who come along once a decade to effect a paradigm shift in the way music is heard and made, one of those groups who move the music forward, alerting us to the possibilities of strange combinations, employing radical ideas yet never confusing arrogance with ambition. They ‘kick-started’ the eighties with their own brand of pop for the ‘new decade’. Fusing dance floor finesse with a post-punk attitude they released their first single, ‘Tears Are Not Enough’, in the autumn of 1981. More hits followed in rapid succession. ‘Poison Arrow’, ‘The Look Of Love’ and ‘All Of My Heart’. On its release in May 1982 their debut album ‘The Lexicon of Love’ crashed straight into the album charts at number one. Mercury Records repackaged and re-released ‘The Lexicon of Love’ in 2004 to critical acclaim, and the album was acknowledged as the greatest British pop LP of the decade, and remains one of the 10 best of all time. Moving forward to 2008 ABC continue to tour extensively throughout the world., playing sell-out concerts from London‘s Royal Albert Hall to California’s Hollywood Bowl. Whether performing as a band, or performing with an Orchestra Martin Fry is the consummate show man. On live performances the NME described ‘The Look of Love’ at the Shepherd's Bush show thus "It's not perfect but it's near as dammit". With Worldwide hits and eight studio albums; ABC demonstrate that even now 27 years on from ‘The Lexicon Of Love’, Martin Fry’s song-writing and musicianship is still as contemporary as it was in the beginning. To see ‘The Lexicon of Love’ performed in its entirety and conducted by Anne Dudley; December Saturday 5th SHEFFIELD CITY HALL 0114 278 9789 Sunday 6th MANCHESTER BRIDGEWATER HALL 0161 907 9000 TICKETS ON SALE: 10.00AM FRIDAY 25th SEPTEMBER 24hr CC Hotline: 0871 2200 260 or buy online: www.gigsandtours.com Reviews of ABC at the Royal Albert Hall, April 2009 “Fry still brings his hit singles to life” 4/5 The Independent “If only today’s pop was this smart, fun and poetic by stealth.” 5/5 The London Lite “The Glossy pop funk still sounds not just remarkably fresh, but remarkably consistent” **** The Guardian “The sing-along to The Look of Love is deafening” **** News of the World “Lavish, intricate, spirited and funky” ***** The Daily Telegraph Audience Quotes, April 2009 “Everything about it was perfect and beyond my wildest expectations” Andy “A triumph for ABC” Tim “In a few words.....brilliant, outstanding, magnificent, remarkable, fantastic” Alison “From start to finish an absolutely fantastic performance.” Ann “Everything I hoped it would be and more!” Chris Reviews of ‘The Lexicon of Love’ Album WORD MAGAZINE (DEC 2004) "As fresh as yesterday, tomorrow - or a dream" UNCUT MAGAZINE (DEC 2004) "The Lexicon Of Love is a record that should be reissued every year" OBSERVER MUSIC MONTHLY (17TH OCT 2004) "The eloquent Eighties masterpiece"