The Lexicon Of Love by ABC, released 1982 on Neutron Record label. Value £50

MANY readers have asked, “are cassette tapes making a comeback and are they collectable?” The world of portable technology has moved far beyond cassettes with the rise of MP3 and global streaming sites like Spotify, have made old tapes virtually redundant, but some have remained in demand which is surprising!

Those of us who grew up in the late sixties and seventies purchased several music tapes including blank ones, which we used to copy and record from a radio/cassette player, notably programmes like the top twenty, broadcast on a Sunday night.

The downside was, that on occasion, the tape would unravel, causing the cassette player to jam, even careful re-winding usually distorted the recording, thereby ruining it. Kylie Minogue released a tape of her 2018 album ‘Golden’ which only sold 6,262 copies, vinyl sales were several hundred thousand, which speaks volumes. The bottom line is simply cassette tapes are not a reliable or financial investment.

The eighties marked the ending of Punk music and embraced the beginning of what became known as the New Romantics era, heavily influenced by former glam rock stars, Bowie, T.Rex and Roxy Music. Both sexes often dressed in similar clothing, wore makeup, eyeliner, even lipstick.

Many bands associated with the New Romantics scene, dropped the eclectic clothing and makeup in favour of sharp suits. In their early days ABC wore gaudy, golden lamé suits copied from Elvis Presley images from his early Greatest Hits albums.

The Lexicon Of Love was the band’s debut album reaching the top of the charts also featuring four hit singles, Tears Are Not Enough, Poison Arrow, The Look Of love and All Of My Heart all written by lead singer Martin Fry. The album cover depicts perhaps a difficult situation? The young couple have a style and elegance that suggest the night is still young and full of endless possibilities, including dangerous ones!

ABC’s pop songs are nowhere better showcased than on this superb Trevor Horn production, sadly an album that they never managed to recapture but remains probably the best example of 80’s music with a formidable collection of melodramatic love songs ever assembled. Martin Fry was certainly wearing his heart on his sleeve when he put together this neat little package. ABC have recently released another album based on the success of this record, The Lexicon Of Love 2, the original lineup has changed, but Fry remains as songwriter and lead singer.