ABC’s Martin Fry: It’s been a wild ride!

ABC were the band that redefined glamour and cool.

Led by the charismatic Martin Fry (pictured above) they scaled the heights of pop stardom with hits such as “Poison Arrow”, “All Of My Heart”, “The Look Of Love” and “When Smokey Sings”, and enjoyed Transatlantic success with “The Lexicon of Love” – a brilliantly distinctive debut album.

At the forefront of the early 1980s New Romantic scene, which included Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and The Human League, Martin Fry, with his gold lamé suit, harked back to an era of sophistication and he is to appear at The Apex, in Bury St Edmunds, next month.

At the peak of his success, Martin survived a brush with Hodgkin lymphoma, an uncommon cancer, while going on to hang out with such luminaries as Andy Warhol and Robbie Williams.

And now, with the publication of his autobiography “A Lexicon of Life”, he’s hitting the road to share his remarkable stories and sing acoustic versions of his greatest hits.

“It’s been an incredible journey,” says Fry, who grew up in the north of England, being inspired by David Bowie and The Sex Pistols.

“I vividly remember that magical moment when I first went to see a rock show. Even before the act came on, I was looking at the roadies on an empty stage and admiring the size of the PA system, totally entertained by that mind-boggling spectacle.”

Band mates came and went as ABC became a fixture of the charts, hitting the number one spot and earning a platinum disc for “Lexicon of Love” and enjoying gold discs for “Beauty Stab” and “Alphabet City”.

The band hit the road, playing to audiences around the world and hanging out with famous people.

Fry said: “After we played New York, we met Andy Warhol. We got this call to the hotel, asking if we’d like to go and meet Andy at the Factory.

“Andy was the most down-to-earth guy you could meet. He was talking to me about acne products because his skin wasn’t great, and neither was mine.

“I remember later in Tokyo, the four of us were sitting eating in a restaurant, and a crowd gathered outside. People were literally trying to smash the window to get in.

“We had to go out the back door as the front window splintered and we were ushered into a speeding car. That kind of fame and recognition I can live without.

“Obviously, there’s a big part of me that identifies with the man in the gold lamé suit. That’s who I became.

“Performing and playing shows changed for me in the 1990’s. I woke up to the reality that I’d become half-hearted. It’s a tough thing to admit to, but I felt I could have done so much better.”

A renaissance came and he joined Robbie Williams for a tour of football stadia.

“Playing to something approaching 200,000 people at Milton Keynes Bowl for three nights was something I never thought would happen. But it did.

“Robbie’s tour felt like being part of a Medieval Kingdom. It must have been like that when they took Henry VIII to Agincourt,” he said.

More tours followed, including a set of shows with Meatloaf.

“About midway through the tour, I could hear Meatloaf smashing up his dressing room, and for a while I was the only other artist who dared go in there. I didn’t try to restrain him – he was too big to restrain. But I did tell him to calm down and I warned him that if he carried on smashing up his room, he’d end up having a heart attack,” added Fry.

Fry created a new record: “The Lexicon Of Love II”, which took him back into the top five of the UK album charts. A tour in early 2024, accompanied by an orchestra and Anne Dudley, sold out theatres across the UK.

And now he’s sharing his stories during an intimate theatre tour, in which he’ll play acoustic versions of songs with two trusted bandmates, while remembering his remarkable journey.

“ABC – An Intimate Evening With Martin Fry” is at The Apex on Saturday, June 14, at 7.30pm, see www.theapex.co.uk or ring 01284 758000 for more information or to book tickets.