ABC's Martin Fry reveals how the band's merchandise has changed over four decades

It's had an upgrade over the years!

Martin Fry and Ken Bruce
Author: Anna Sky MagliolaPublished 2nd Aug 2023

Following the exciting news that ABC will be going on tour next year, Ken Bruce welcomed Martin Fry into the studio for Golden Years, where they talked about David Bowie, Top of The Pops and how the band's merchandise has changed over the years.

ABC formed back in 1980, with the line-up of Martin Fry, Mark White, Stephen Singleton, and David Palmer, and Martin told Ken how things have changed over the years.

Talking about his upcoming tour, Martin said: "When we first started, we made an album called 'The Lexicon of Love', with Trevor Horn producing and Anne Dudley walked into the studios and played some piano, and we became friends then."

He continued: "All these years on, you go round to Anne's house there's like Oscars hidden away in the corner, she's very understated, and will be very embarrassed if I say these things. She's scored incredible films, Netflix series, TV shows and she was in the Art of Noise as well.

"But she was also instrumental in some of the early ABC records, 'The Look of Love' and 'Poison Arrow', so we hooked up, and we've been playing an orchestral show for a good few years now, so we get a chance to start off in Brighton February 5th, all the way through to the London Palladium on February 17th."

Martin then went on to comment about the merchandise they have at the shows saying: "I've noticed though in recent years that the merchandise has changed for us, we kind of released the super deluxe version of 'The Lexicon of Love', which came out 40 years ago, and all that, but I can't really do the T-Shirts and caps anymore.

"It's gone a lot more luxe now, when it comes to see ABC and their full-blown orchestra show, so, yeah, if you need a wallet or a tuxedo, come to the show! It's all about the celebrity endorsed merch these days, I'm told!"

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JANUARY 2024:

Wolverhampton The Civic at The Halls - Thurs 25th

Manchester Bridgewater Hall - Fri 26th

York Barbican - Sat 27th

Southend Cliffs Pavillion - Mon 29th

Stoke Regent Theatre - Tue 30th

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London Palladium - Thurs 1st

Cardiff St David's Hall - Fri 2nd

Bournemouth Pavillion Theatre - Sat 3rd

Brighton Dome – Mon 5th

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall – Tue 6th

Sheffield City Hall – Thu 8th

Glasgow Royal Concert Hall – Fri 9th

Gateshead Sage – Sat 10th

Birmingham Symphony Hall – Mon 12th

Bath Forum – Tue 13th

Liverpool Philharmonic Hall – Thu 15th

Manchester Bridgewater Hall – Fri 16th

London Palladium – Sat 17th

Truro Hall For Cornwall - Mon 19th

Portsmouth Guildhall - Tues 20th

London Palladium - Thurs 22nd

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Now read:

ABC add extra shows to 'The Lexicon of Love' orchestral UK tour

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