Having grown up in the 1980s, most of my memories are tied to the rock and metal scene of the Sunset Strip. Music, however, is a powerful thing. Seeing New Wave pioneers Howard Jones and Martin Fry of ABC, along with legendary 1st Wave DJ Richard Blade, unlocked long forgotten memories of the synth-based music that ruled the pop world before guitars invaded Los Angeles. On a February night in New Haven, CT, those memories came flooding back during a high-energy, fun show. Please scroll down for my Howard Jones and ABC photos and review!
Opening the night was DJ Richard Blade, who’s smooth, British accent is synonymous with the “Second British Invasion” of the early 1980’s. Blade spent nearly an hour giving a fascinating, and very entertaining, history of synthesizer music leading up to the new wave bands. As he spoke, he played clips of songs to jog the audience memories. In between bands, Blade came out again, this time doing a countdown of the ten biggest New Wave bands of the 1980’s. Blade was informative, entertaining, and a great addition to the night.
ABC, led by the always dapper Martin Fry, took the stage first in what is billed as a co-headline tour. From the opening notes of the classic “When Smokey Sings”, it was clear that Fry still possesses the incredible voice that first hit the radio back in 1982. Fry looked and sounded amazing as he led a phenomenal group of musicians through the band’s catalog.
The majority of the set consisted of tracks from the band’s first four classic records, Fry and company did add the track “Viva Love” from the 2016 release Lexicon of Love II. The vibe of the later track fit perfectly with the band’s hits. Those hits were in full force all night, six of the ten tracks on their monster debut Lexicon of Love were played, as well as mega hits like “That Was The, But This Is Now”, “(How To Be A) Millionaire”, and many more.
I discovered ABC through MTV when I saw the video for “Poison Arrow” and got the cassette of Lexicon of Love through the Columbia Record and Tape Club as one of my “12 tapes for a penny”. While I moved away from this style of music in later years, revisiting that record now and seeing Martin live certainly gives a new appreciation of what a great band ABC still is.
Howard Jones and his band were next up, following the intermission set by Richard Blade. The bright neon stage accents and standing lights immediately transported you back to the early 80s. Much like Fry, Jones is still in incredible voice and sounded wonderful as he led off with the 1984 hit “Pearl in the Shell”. The opening 3 tracks were all from his early days, including the song that introduced Jones to most of us, “The New Song”, which, at an unbelievable 42 years old isn’t so new anymore.
The majority of Jones’ set stayed firmly within the 80s, however he did jump to his 2019 release Transform for two tracks. One of the surprise songs was his cover of the 1983 Kajagoogoo classic “Too Shy”. Jones’s bass player, Nick Beggs, was a founder of that band and a cowriter of the song. Jones was a ball of energy on stage. Whether it was playing his signature keytar or sitting behind his piano Jones engaged the crowd, told stories, and breathed new life into his classic songs by changing up some of the arrangements.
Jones had an immediate impact on pop music with his debut Human’s Lib. He earned a spot on Live Aid just as his sophomore record Dream Into Action was being released. The songs that filled his set tonight, “Life In One Day”, “No One Is To Blame”, “Things Can Only Get Better”, and others, are genre-defining classics, and it was great to see and hear how he can still own a stage four decades later.
One of the most interesting parts of the night could be found in the bands backing both Howard Jones and Martin Fry. There is a definite line that runs from the British New Wave into what is known as the “neo-progressive” movement of the 1980s with bands like Marillion, Asia, Arena, and others. That line is illustrated on this tour. ABC features drummer Jimmy Keegan, one time member of prog legends Spock’s Beard and current member of Pattern-Seeking Animals, while Jones features Nick Beggs on bass. As mentioned, Beggs began in Kajagoogoo but is also a member of former Porcupine Tree leader Steven Wilson’s solo band and as filled in for Pete Trewavas in Marillion on some live dates, straightening the line between New Wave and prog rock. If you were a fan of New Wave back in the day, or just discovering, or rediscovering, it now, this tour makes for a special night of music.
