ABC - THE LOOK OF LOVE

"The Look of Love" és una cançó de la banda de pop anglesa ABC, publicada el 7 de maig de 1982 com el tercer senzill del seu àlbum debut "The Lexicon of Love", un àlbum que es pot considerar una de les joies del pop britànic del anys 80. El senzill va ser l'èxit principal de la banda al Regne Unit, aconseguint el número 4, i també va arribar al número 1 a la llista Billboard Dance/Disco dels Estats Units i al número 18 al Billboard Hot 100.

Aquesta cançó va combinar una banda ambiciosa amb un productor ambiciós, i el resultat va ser una peça de música pop perfecta. Poques cançons evoquen l'esperit del 1982 de manera tan viva com "The Look Of Love" d'ABC. Trevor Horn diu avui sobre la cançó: "Així era com ho tenien al cap. Els nois d’ABC solien anar a un club de Sheffield i volien fer un disc que poguessin posar al club. Si hi penses bé, als anys 70, la producció disco era allò que ho va tirar tot endavant. Vull dir, la producció de rock també va ser molt bona... Però la manera com la gent feia discos de ball era molt diferent". Horn va aconseguir crear un so de pantalla panoràmica que combinava les immaculades produccions de Nile Rodgers i Bernard Edwards per a Chic amb les dramàtiques orquestracions de Nelson Riddle per a Frank Sinatra. Per a Horn, la visió musical d'ABC reflectia completament la seva en aquell moment, és a dir, crear produccions precises, imaginatives i d'última generació. "Estava intentant fer alguna cosa millor del que faries normalment. Suposo que estava intentant fer discos per competir amb Amèrica".

La lletra es va inspirar en una ruptura a la vida real que havia patit Martin Fry. Trevor Horn és un perfeccionista notori; va insistir que la veu femenina que responia "Goodbye" a Fry al segon vers hauria de ser cantada per la dona real  que l'havia abandonat. Martin Fry esmenta el seu nom a la lletra quan canta: "Diuen 'Martin, potser, un dia trobaràs el veritable amor'".

Publicat com a single i com a remix de 12", consta de quatre parts, anomenades "Parts One, Two, Three and Four". La primera part és la versió estàndard de l'àlbum, la segona part és una versió instrumental excel·lent, la tercera part és una versió vocal sense els overdubs orquestrals i Part Four és una breu part instrumental acústica de la cançó.

MTV va tenir un paper important en l'èxit nord-americà d'ABC, i el vídeo d'aquesta cançó va ser un dels favorits de la xarxa, que es va llançar al 1981. El clip va ser dirigit per Brian Grant i inspirat en antigues pel·lícules de Hollywood. Martin Fry ho descriu com un encreuament entre An American In Paris i The Benny Hill Show.

ABC - THE LOOK OF LOVE

"The Look of Love" is a song by English pop band ABC, released on 7th May 1982 as the third single from their debut album “The Lexicon of Love”, an album that can be considered one of the jewels of British pop from the 80s. The single was the band's highest charting hit in the UK, peaking at #4, and also went to #1 on the US Billboard Dance/Disco chart and #18 on the Billboard Hot 100.

This song paired an ambitious band with an ambitious producer, and the result was a perfect piece of pop music. Few tracks evoke the spirit of 1982 as vividly as ABC’s ‘The Look Of Love’. Trevor Horn says today of the track, “That was kind of how they had it in their heads. The guys in ABC used to go to a club up in Sheffield, and they wanted to make a record that they could play in the club. If you think about it, in the ‘70s, disco production was the thing that pushed everything forward. I mean, rock production was pretty cool too... But the way that people made dance records was so different.” Horn managed to create a widescreen sound that blended Nile Rodgers’ and Bernard Edwards’ immaculate productions for Chic with Nelson Riddle’s dramatic orchestrations for Frank Sinatra. For Horn, ABC’s musical vision completely mirrored his own at the time, namely to create precise, imaginative, state-of-the-art productions. “I was trying to make something better than you would normally make. I suppose I was trying to make records to compete with America.”

The lyrics were inspired by a real-life break-up Martin Fry had gone through. Trevor Horn is a notorious perfectionist; he insisted the female voice replying "goodbye" to Fry in the second verse should be sung by the actual woman in the relationship who had jilted him. Martin Fry mentions his forename in the lyric when he sings: "They say 'Martin, maybe, one day you'll find true love.'"

Released as a single and as a 12" remix, it consists of four parts, referred to as "Parts One, Two, Three and Four". Part One is the standard album version, Part Two is an excellent instrumental version, Part Three is a vocal version without the orchestral overdubs and Part Four is a short acoustic instrumental part of the song.

MTV played a big role in ABC's American success, and the video for this song was a favorite on the network, which launched in 1981. The clip was directed by Brian Grant, and inspired by old Hollywood movies. Martin Fry describes it as a cross between An American In Paris and The Benny Hill Show.