This 12″ single was accompanied by a message from lead singer Martin Fry, penned on the back of the sleeve:-
Dear Reader
24 March 1982
I hold in my hand four letters….L.O.V.E. welcome to the new ABC record, it’s called ‘The Look of Love’. The third in a series of three and a story with a happy ending. Do you remember ‘Poison Arrow’ or even ‘Tears Are Not Enough’? Well, I hope you agree with me that this is the best ABC recording so far. It’s time to put down that bow and arrow and dry those tears and enjoy the one thing, yes the one thing that turns this grey sky to blue.
Incidentally, it comes from the first ABC Long Player ‘The Lexicon Of Love’ which we are making right now. It’s my ambition to make a record you can cherish and to be Number One in your personal chart – maybe Lexicon of Love will be such a record’
The message then thanks the record label for giving him the opportunity to pen the sleeve notes and everyone who has a copy of the single is encouraged to write to the ‘Very Special ABC club’, enclosing a stamped addressed envelope. Did anyone reading this do such a thing or know anyone who did? I’d be curious to know what was sent back in return.
As it turns out, The Look of Love, in reaching #4, would prove to be the best performing single in the history of ABC. The album that Martin Fry referred to in his notes was finished and then released on 21 June 1982. It went straight to #1, a position it held for four weeks, and would spend 40 weeks in the Top 75, becoming the fourth-best selling album of the year.
There were four tracks on the 12″ single, but just the one song:-
mp3: ABC – The Look Of Love (Part One)
mp3: ABC – The Look Of Love (Part Two)
mp3: ABC – The Look Of Love (Part Three)
mp3: ABC – The Look Of Love (Part Four)
Part One is the version that was all over radio stations in the summer of 82. It’s also track six on the album, which in those days meant it was the first track on Side Two.
Part Two is an instrumental version where the lush production delivered by Trevor Horn can be fully appreciated, along with the orchestrations that were arranged by Anne Dudley. I have no doubt that Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe paid close attention, as there’s a lot in there that would influence the music of the Pet Shop Boys over the years.
Part Three is the longest of the versions, one in which a lot of the orchestral overdubs are removed, and the vocal is more to the fore. Something akin to an advanced demo or early take on things.
Part Four is barely over a minute in length. It made much more sense when it appeared on the album a few months later as the closing track, offering itself as the perfect outro to all that had come before it.
I’m more than happy to state out loudly that The Look of Love is one of the great pop singles, not just of its time, but of all-time. It sounds just as big, powerful, catchy and radio-friendly nowadays as it did back in June 1982. Hip-hip hooray, yippee-aye, yippee-aye-a.
THE NEW VINYL VILLAIN 