Hold still, Buster!
Ready to get another great week started? No? Well, too bad! Because The Nest is gonna pump you up the only way we know how… with another awesome lost Monday earworm! This is the day we rummage through our tampon boxes full of imaginary 45’s to find another forgotten favorite from that jumpin’ jukebox we like to call the Dusty Vinyl Archive! Nobody will be snoozing on DJ Scratchy’s watch….. well, except when it’s the Sponkies’ nap time.
In 1980, a British pop band by the name of Vice Versa changed its name to ABC. While that trick didn’t quite get their records sorted in the rack before ABBA and Aaliyah, the name change did coincide with their first breakout success… the 1982 album The Lexicon of Love. Lexicon was one of the biggest albums of the year in the UK, but not so much in the US where its two hits only did moderately well on the Hot 100. Luckily for us Yanks, there was MTV…
That’s the look, that’s the look, the look of a great video!
“The Look of Love” only hit #18 in the US despite a quirky and hilarious video that played a lot on MTV. And faring even worse was their other single from that landmark album, which also had a great video and is an even better song. If you were alive in the early 80’s, you have to remember this one….
“Poison Arrow” only made it to #25, but while it may have lacked in radio airplay, it made up for in this three minute theatrical masterpiece. That girl who’s crushing Martin Fry’s heart in the video is even a bonafide Real Housewife of Beverly Hills.
As the weird musical interplay between Britain and its former colonies often goes, ABC’s next big venture, the album How To Be A Zillionaire, was a relative failure over there. But it was their next big step to fame in America thanks to the single “Be Near Me,” which became their first US Top 10 hit.
Oh, and half of the band at that time had no musical talent at all….
If Milli Vanilli can be a success with two stiffs, why not ABC?
The weird midget with the glasses is David Yarritu, and the girl next to him is Fiona Russell Powell. After everyone but Fry and keyboardist Mark White left the band after The Lexicon of Love, the remaining duo decided to bring Yarritu and Fiona along for the ride because it gave the band a unique look on stage. And that was about all either of them contributed to the Zillionaire era of ABC. Nice work if you can get it….
I better end this post before I get struck by lightning…
I’ll raise my aim for another awesome hit from the past next Monday!
Evil Squirrel's Nest 
I don’t recall ever hearing this tune but am grateful you hit the bullseye on this week’s selection! Loved the sax throughout the song and I enjoyed that MTV video. Well done! 🏹 🎯
Even a blind squirrel sometimes hits the bullseye…
I remember that but had never seen the video – it’s pretty darn creative – I love the eclectic (!) mix of dancers in the night club. LOL
Pam
I never noticed all of the senior dancers in this video before! That must be one swinging nightclub!
“Swinging” as in canes flying around the dance floor ? Yep – interesting mix of people!!
Wow. That was fun. I know the song but had no idea what an interesting history it has. Nice pants and vest. That is seriously creative and fun. Fast forward 40 years and nobody would bat an eye.
I think that outfit may have been cut out of some 70’s wallpaper designs…
I remember the song but not the video, which is not surprising. Our antenna only picked up three channels and MTV wasn`t one of them!
I miss those old antenna TV’s! My Mom won a portable black and white TV from work in the late 80’s which me and my sisters would use to watch The Three Stooges upstairs on Saturday nights while my parents had their “romantic time”. Getting good reception on that thing was almost impossible, but back then, if you could make out the picture, it was like HD!
Wow, you had 2 TVs? This was unheard of in my neck of the woods! LOL Funny enough, this conversation reminded me of something that I’d forgotten – the reason we were outside to hear Mt. St. Helens erupt on May 18, 1980! I’ve long wondered what we were doing outside on a cool, gray morning. Now I remember, my dad was turning our TV antennae, my mom was inside looking at the reception and my brother and I were running messages back and forth. There was rumbling and shaking and eventually we found out what caused it. Then I lived in fear of the ash cloud that was going to bury us and kill us…but it never came our way.
I love the video!!! and I loved this song… this is so 80’s it couldn’t be better…
Yes, this is one of those early 80’s songs I loved as a kid and still love 40 years later!
I was never really a fan of ABC. After hearing “Poison Arrow” again, I’m still not!
I guess I’ll have to keep trying to win you over to them. Good thing I like a lot of their songs…