Number 971 - ABC

Number 971

ABC

"When Smokey Sings"

(1987)
.
.
.

Genre:Pop

Alrighty then..... Well i will be honest, it was a tough choice between "Poison Arrow" or "Look of Love" by ABC, and after listening to both many times it drove me to choosing "When Smokey Sings"

Why????????? You whinge saying on your knees pleading for answers to insanity! Well isn't one ABC song enough ?

I thought so too. Anyhoo.... ABC were a minor hit in the early 80s, a couple of Albums and then vamoooose. Pop music is such a fickle industry, here one day and then *poof* back on the world tours with all the other forgotten bands from that time, raking a zillion dollars in for a mere One Hit Wonder!

Yes people....... Sisqo will be back on tour in 2018 with the Bloody Frog and others im sure.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine says.......... One of the more popular new wave bands of the early '80s, the British group ABC built upon the detached, synthesized R&B pop of David Bowie and Roxy Music, adding a self-conscious, campy sense of theatrics and style. Under the direction of vocalist Martin Fry, the group scored several catchy, synth-driven dance-pop hits in the early '80s, including "Poison Arrow," "Look of Love," and "Be Near Me."

However.............. in 1987 the released a single called "When Smokey Sings," which was a major hit, reaching number five in the U.S and number 11 in the U.K, and to be fair, this is a pretty snappy tune that you will find yourself singing and your toes will be tapping on the floor.

For David Bowie see Number 495 & Number 634
For Sisqo see Number 972

What does Rolling Stone think about ABC?

Hailed by the British music press as "purveyors of perfect pop," ABC was actually a highly self-conscious white neosoul group that articulated singer Martin Fry's grandiloquent vision. His mannered vocals recall "Thin White Duke"-era David Bowie, and his songs of romance revisit the worldly fatalism of Roxy Music's Bryan Ferry. Fry was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. ABC was off the scene until Alphabet City (#48, 1987), which featured the group’s biggest hit to date, the Motown tribute “When Smokey Sings” (#5, 1987). Fry dropped out of the music business after the release of Up. He made a full recovery from his illness and, by 1997, was back onstage. A new edition of ABC, with Fry the sole remaining original member, recorded two British releases - Skyscraping and the live album Lexicon of Live - and toured the U.S in 1999. ~ [Source:Rolling Stone - from The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll - Simon & Schuster, 2001]

For Bryan Ferry see Number 569

Rolling Stone Top 500 Songs ranked this song at (Nope they hated it) and the Album ranked at Number (Nope, doesn't even know its out yet)

This song has a crowbarred rating of 51.6 out of 108

ABC - When Smokey Sings
Uploaded by jpdc11

Lyrics to the song

Previous Song 970 ..... Next Song 972

Tags: ABC, David Bowie, Roxy Music, Martin Fry, Rolling Stone Magazine. Youtube

Search Artist here:1-2-3-A-B-C-D-E-F-G-H-I-J-K-L-M-N-O-P-Q-R-S-T-U-V-W-X-Y-Z

Search by country: CAN-ENG-FRA-GER-HOL-IDO-IRE-ITY-JAM-MEX-NIG-NIR-NOR-NZL-OZ-PRI-SCO-SWE-USA-WLS+UC

By The Year 1955 to 2005:

1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967, 1968, 1969, 1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1987, 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005