ABC took the Stirling stage at Radio 2 in the Park last Saturday, enlivening the crowd with hits such as “Poison Arrow” and “Tears Are Not Enough”.
Interview
Brig hade the honour of speaking to lead singer and new pop legend, Martin Fry about his upcoming performance, background in music journalism and the pop industry today.
Speaking about coming to Stirling and the festival atmosphere, Fry said:
“It is my first time here. I’ve driven past the castle a few times, but just to come down and see it and to play beneath it… it’s going to be something special, yeah.”
“And the audience here is incredible isn’t it. Just checking them out, they’re like such a wide age group. They’re here to have some fun,” Fry continued.
He went to talk about his upcoming performance on the Radio 2 main stage later that Saturday and what it means to him to sing to a such an audience.
“I do love that moment right at the end, when everybody’s got their arms in the air and there’s a lot of smiling faces, a lot of cheering. That’s a great, magical feeling.”
Relating to his experience, spanning an over 40-year career, Fry explained: “I think that’s why I play shows.”
Martin Fry made his entry into the music industry running his own fanzine, Modern Drugs, while at university in the 1970s. His journalistic pursuits would eventually offer him a gig in Vice Versa, the band which would later become ABC.
Fry told Brig: “…I realised very quickly in Sheff [Sheffield] that I could get into gigs free…”
“It was post-punk, and the fanzine was just kind of a couple of pages stapled together,” he humbly explains.
Fry did go on to admit that it is a great way to “check out” the current music scene.
When asked, he reflected the knowledge he took from working with the fanzine prior to the launch of his iconic career in the music industry.
“I suppose what I learned was, doing an interview is entertainment”, Fry said. “…because it’s boring when you meet somebody and they don’t say anything to you.”
“Because I’ve done that when I was interviewing ‘cooler than cool’ bands in Sheffield all those years ago”.
Calling himself an “Elder statesman of pop”, he also referred to a quote by the 32-year-old artist Harry Styles.
Paraphrasing Styles, Fry said: “…It doesn’t matter when they say you’re brilliant or you’re rubbish, you know what I mean, you have to have your own defined view of what you’re doing.”
As a veteran of the industry Fry described himself “as bulletproof” to the negativity most artists face, but he also offered consideration for newer artists.
“…But it must be hard for acts coming through and artists that are very sensitive to what people say.
“To be fair though, there’s a general consensus; you bring a piece of music out and people kind of like it or they don’t,” he added. “…generally, you know the truth is out there.”
Wrapping up, we couldn’t help but ask Fry about his iconic lamé gold suits.
“I’ve got three gold suits. One got stolen in Coventry, one got left in Japan, and I’ve got one for the Victoria and Albert Museum.”
Concert review
Contrarily, ABC’s Martin Fry entered the main stage later that day in a striking hot pink suit, ready to teleport the crowd back to the 80s.
Opening with “When Smokey Sings” Fry immediately graced us with the presence of the confident new pop artist demeanour so classic to the MTV generation.
Addressing the crowd as “All you children of the 80s”, the ABC frontman leaned into the nostalgia without hesitation.
Fry continued to play hits such as “Poison Arrow” and “All of My Heart”, swaying to the iconic synth sound.
Glimpsing across the festival field huddles of middle-aged women were dancing cheerfully to the famous ABC songs. Upon request, the crowd started clapping along.
It was as though Fry had time travelled and stepped out of one of ABC’s camp music videos.
Closing with the hits “Tears Are Not Enough” and “That’s The Look”, there is no doubt that performing is Martin Fry’s calling. Alight on stage just as he was 40 years ago, he enthralled the Saturday audience comprising of “the children of the 80s”.
Featured Image Credit: Kristina Wikensten
2nd year History & Journalism Student at the University of Stirling. Moved over from Sweden in 2024 to study in Scotland.